Happy Halloween!

Ian wishes everyone a Happy Halloween - this outfit didn't last long as you can see from the spit up - good thing we have back ups!

big happenings from this week

Ian was a busy boy this week- and when he's tired he naps with daddy. We lots of visitors on Saturday - Check out Colleen's blog for pictures of their visit. Below is a picutre of Ian and his Mummy waiting for the guest to arrive. Then on Sunday Steven's boss and friend Lauren came for dinner and Ian donned his halloween costume - he's going as a bananna like his daddy. Unfortunately we missed all the Halloween activities today since Ian has a stuffy nose and has gotten his mummy and daddy sick. Daddy came home from work and has been on the couch ever since. Maybe tomorrow will be better and he can trick or treat over to Debbi and Peter's. His Grandma gets in tomorrow night - and I bet he will be wide awake to greet her because he's been wide awake every night this week - making sleeping hard for the rest of us.

Two month check up

Ian's two month check up was today - he weighed in at 7 pounds 12.5 ounces - up two from yesterday! He is 19 inches long, up an inch and three quarters from birth and his head was 35 cm. He was really good while the nurse gave him his shots - poor guy! Daddy got to come with us too because he was working tonight - so that was nice. The doctor said that Ian is in the 50th percentile if you adjust for his prematurity - if not he's in the 5% category - pretty small. He is outgrowing his newborn size cloths though - some he fits in but others he's getting a little long. Preemie clothes went out the window weeks ago! he's gone up a size again in diapers - he is in size ones now. Tonight we relaxed with a bath and then played with mummy before eating. Here is the footage - as you can tell I get bored at night when Steven isn't around!

I've reached zero!

So Ian's no longer negative anything - he's caught up to his due date- today. Yesterday he was officially two months old, but adjusted age he's even right now. I thought his doctor's appointment was yesterday and we got to the office only to have them tell us that its really Wednesday - great. Today was pilates and he played on his blanket the whole time and farted. Then we went to mom's group where he weighed in at 7 pounds 10.5 ounces. Daddy wins the betting on size. Tomorrow we will go back to the doctors and he gets his immunizations - they go by real not adjusted age - so like any two month old he gets poked and pricked. Lets see - some milestones he has reached- he found his thumb yesterday and was sucking it when I went to feed him. He still spits up after eating - less with the nursing but still spits whether or not you get a burp from him - which is tough to do. He will turn is head toward my voice when on his tummy and facing the other way. And with his daddy his pushes his legs up to standing really well. Ian likes music and if you haven't heard he quiets right down when he hears U2's With or Without You. His newest thing is grunting - which he does in his sleep and while awake. He likes to be read to before bed - I've been reading him How Much I Love You each night. So - that is the update from here - and here are some pictures to enjoy which show how big he was just yesterday - sorry for the spit up!

Our little puppy...

No - it isn't his Halloween costume - its Ian doing his least favorite thing - getting burped. He gets a little fussy when you try to burp him in between his chugging - but if you don't then he's gassy for hours. Poor little guy- last night his daddy was burping him and this was the look he got - "hey dad - what do you think you are doing."

Eight Weeks Today

And Ian's not having a great day - as I type he is laying against me and I am sort of leaning back so he doesn't fuss. he had his eye doctor appointment today and I had to dilate his eyes with drops and he has been all out of sorts since then. He's doing much better feeding but still has a ways to go. Grammy came over the weekend to visit and she left on Monday morning. Today he hung out in his boppy pillow - and cried on and off all afternoon.

Game Day

Ian is showing off how to kick a field goal... he's all set for today's game and his Grampy and Auntie Colleen should be proud!

Seven weeks old

Ian is seven weeks old today - but 38 weeks gestation - so that makes him negative two... the big excitement of the day was the doctor's appointment. He weighed in at 6 pounds 4 ounces - up from yesterday when we weighed in at the mommy's group at 6 pounds 2 ounces. So he's moving right along. The mom's group met here in Bethel and it was cool - sort of put in perspective Ian's size - there were babies 4 weeks old who were bigger than him! The spitting is getting better- we can at least tell now when he's about to do it and so prepare for it. This afternoon Ian had fun in his chair listening to the music and watching the fish move - you can tell he likes it by the "ooo" face he makes.

Things I've realized with a baby...

They spit - a lot..
which creates tons of laundry...
especially when he spits in his crib, on the changing table or in his basket and I have to change the pad each time -
He also doesn't realize that a schedule is a good thing and is sleeping when he should be eating... and eating when I'd like to be sleeping...
But he's cute - so I can't complain much!

Two of Ian's things

Playing with his pacifier and spitting up...

Update from here

Sorry for the lack of posting- it was a rough week around the Stgermain house! First - Monday we went to the doctor's for Ian's diaper rash - it was Mommy's first time taking him out on her own. The PA prescribed an ointment for it and when they weighed him in he had only gained 2 ounces since the week before. That got me worried and then we had my doctor's appointment in the afternoon for the six week follow up - and Ian was sleeping a lot and not really eating. I called the lactation consultant and set up an appointment for Thursday but in the meantime she was concerned too and my milk supply seemed low. So she had me pump after feeding him (which I hadn't been doing - no one told me I had to) and feed him back an ounce. So we started doing that and doing more bottles and Ian seemed more like himself. So our course I was feeling bad - like I had done something wrong and I was so concerned. All week was basically feed Ian week. At our appointment on Thursday the lactation consultant helped me latch him on - turns out I had him way too low - but with the help of a pillow called "My Brest Friend" he latched right on since he was at the right height. She also called one of the doctor's from the NICU to come see him - his pal Dr. Kilchesvky. It made me feel better to have him see him again. He even gave us advice on his diaper rash - get him naked on a towel by a sunny window to air it out! So I went straight to Babies R Us to get the pillow and its made all the difference... and no more nipple shield - he can do it without it which was a concern of mine to have to carry this little plastic thing around everywhere - instead I have this huge pillow! I'll have Steven take a picture of me wearing it some day... its funny! Instead of pictures from this week I hope you enjoy the video!

First Week Home in Review

Here is Ian's first week home in review - the biggest happenings you already saw with his Grammy, Grampy and Auntie visit... here are the everday happenings...

Ian on the red chair - hopefully this puts his size in a little more perspective for those that have seen our living room...

Ian with mommy after eating...
You might have heard that we had to buy a freezer for all of Ian's milk - here's the freezer...
And here is the milk - and this wasn't even all of it! This was only September, Aug is in our regular freezer to use.
Ian in the English pram for his first walk around the neighborhood on Friday...
Getting a bath Friday night before his company on Saturday...
Hanging out with Daddy on the couch on sunday night after his walk downtown to the fall festival.

We've realized we don't need pacifiers - just stick your finger in his mouth.