Well Hello There :) We may have gotten lost there for a little while, but time to catch up!
I feel like this month was a turning point for us. After a emotional month three with the hospital visit, going back to work, and feeling defeated by Emerson's medical team we made some changes. We decided to switch cardiologists to a Beaumont doctor referred to us by our pediatrician. I was a little worried about switching care but I just didnt feel comfortable with the cardiologist at Children's. We were able to get in to see her rather quickly, and our pediatrician and cardiologist had a new strategy all worked out. They had a secret plan on how to maximize his weight gain, coconut oil. Who would have thought? The coconut oil really helped him start packing on the pounds! They were going to make sure he got to that goal of 10lbs by his surgery date. Dr. Cutler's team confirmed the heart defects diagnosed at Childrens, but they confirmed that he had a PDA, Patent Ductus Arteriosus. A PDA usually closes up after birth but Emerson's did not. She said it was not a big concern and that the cardiac surgeon would close it during surgery. I have to say after meeting with Dr. Cutler I just felt so much better. Her staff was so nice and the nurse gave us her direct line to call with any questions. We would still go to Dr. Earles for his weekly weight check ins, but they would follow up with us to. It wasnt even a week later that I got a call from them checking up on Emerson. We were so glad we made the switch!
Dr. Cutler got us a visit with Emerson's surgeon, Dr. Walters, at Childrens Hospital. We have been waiting for this visit since we brought him home! The visit went really well. Dr. Walters explained everything in detail with diagrams, how each hour of the surgery would go, and the stay in the hospital. Very thorough. Something about his energy was very comforting to. He examined Emerson and thought he was doing very well considering and would like to get a little bit more weight on him, so we planned for surgery at the beginning of February. It felt great to have a date, it eased up my anxiety a little bit. Just a little bit ;)
We did find out about a new medical issue with Emerson this month. He has hypothyroidism. We were told about this possibility during the pregnancy so it wasnt to much of a surprise. Being hypothyroid myself, this is one area I may be consider experienced at :) They put him on synthroid and this will be a lifetime medication. I think the worse part is taking him in for bloodwork to keep monitoring his levels. Watching them poke him arm is heart wrenching. His arm is so small. :(
We continued to stay in hibernation mode through December, trying to keep Emerson as healthy as possible. Sadly, this meant holidays were spent at home. It felt really weird to not have Christmas dinner or be around all the family, but at the same time it was nice to have this quiet day with just the three of as a new family as well. We started a few new traditions with just us three, well six with those lovable furbabies :)
Weight: 9lbs, 2oz
Height: 22 inches
Hair Color: Strawberry Blonde
Eye Color: Hazel/Gray
Clothing size: Newborn size are now starting to get a little snug, and he is starting to fit 0-3 months.
Diaper size: Newborn, they looks so big on him though! LOL
Feeding: After a very trying time last month and our visit to the hospital, we started a new feeding regimen. Since he is on the NG tube now, we really didnt want Emerson to lose his suck/swallow. So did just a tiny bit from the bottle, 15ml, and the rest through the NG tube, 65ml. We also started adding coconut oil to his feedings. This helped tremendously by adding up to 5 additional calories per feeding! By the end of the month we had increased to 20ml by bottle, and 80 ml by NG tube.
Sleep: Emerson is definitely sleeping through the night now, anywhere between 7-10 hours. Which is wonderful for mommy and daddy! His re-flux is still pretty bad so he's been sleeping in his boppy in his crib. I know, I know, we arent suppose to let him sleep in the boppy! But we have his swaddled and secure where he really doesnt move out of it all night. And speaking of crib, he loves that thing. The only place he does not cry. He is really starting to notice his mobile, and will just lay there and stare till he falls asleep.
Milestones:
*First Christmas and New Years
*Sleeping through the night where mommy and daddy are waking up by themselves! And boy did that scare them the first time :)
Loves: Bouncing always calms him down. Moving - his legs are always moving, he wants to start dancing already! Yep that is Grants son :) And speaking of music, he loves anything that plays music, especially Marvin the Monkey. He also loves licking everything that comes near his mouth, blankets, toys, stuff animals, etc.
Dislikes: He is so over swaddling now, loves his arms and hands free!
Adventures: Not to many adventures this month since we are trying to keep Emerson has healthy as possible! We did make an important outing to meet Dr. Walters, Emerson's cardiac surgeon. But this was at Children's Hospital, a place we are very familiar with. We LOVED Dr. Walters.
Emerson got a quit visit to Mommy's work on the way to meet Dr. Walters.
And another exciting adventure was he experienced his first power outage, which led us to visiting Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Doug's house. That was probably the first time we realized how much you need to pack when taking the baby over someones house! LOL
My sisters came over and meet Emerson this month to! :)
Well I guess there were actually a few exciting adventures this month :)
Mommy and Daddy could not get through the month without: Emerson's cardiologist, Dr. Cutler. She has eased our minds when we didnt think they could be eased!
I feel like this month was a turning point for us. After a emotional month three with the hospital visit, going back to work, and feeling defeated by Emerson's medical team we made some changes. We decided to switch cardiologists to a Beaumont doctor referred to us by our pediatrician. I was a little worried about switching care but I just didnt feel comfortable with the cardiologist at Children's. We were able to get in to see her rather quickly, and our pediatrician and cardiologist had a new strategy all worked out. They had a secret plan on how to maximize his weight gain, coconut oil. Who would have thought? The coconut oil really helped him start packing on the pounds! They were going to make sure he got to that goal of 10lbs by his surgery date. Dr. Cutler's team confirmed the heart defects diagnosed at Childrens, but they confirmed that he had a PDA, Patent Ductus Arteriosus. A PDA usually closes up after birth but Emerson's did not. She said it was not a big concern and that the cardiac surgeon would close it during surgery. I have to say after meeting with Dr. Cutler I just felt so much better. Her staff was so nice and the nurse gave us her direct line to call with any questions. We would still go to Dr. Earles for his weekly weight check ins, but they would follow up with us to. It wasnt even a week later that I got a call from them checking up on Emerson. We were so glad we made the switch!
Dr. Cutler got us a visit with Emerson's surgeon, Dr. Walters, at Childrens Hospital. We have been waiting for this visit since we brought him home! The visit went really well. Dr. Walters explained everything in detail with diagrams, how each hour of the surgery would go, and the stay in the hospital. Very thorough. Something about his energy was very comforting to. He examined Emerson and thought he was doing very well considering and would like to get a little bit more weight on him, so we planned for surgery at the beginning of February. It felt great to have a date, it eased up my anxiety a little bit. Just a little bit ;)
We did find out about a new medical issue with Emerson this month. He has hypothyroidism. We were told about this possibility during the pregnancy so it wasnt to much of a surprise. Being hypothyroid myself, this is one area I may be consider experienced at :) They put him on synthroid and this will be a lifetime medication. I think the worse part is taking him in for bloodwork to keep monitoring his levels. Watching them poke him arm is heart wrenching. His arm is so small. :(
We continued to stay in hibernation mode through December, trying to keep Emerson as healthy as possible. Sadly, this meant holidays were spent at home. It felt really weird to not have Christmas dinner or be around all the family, but at the same time it was nice to have this quiet day with just the three of as a new family as well. We started a few new traditions with just us three, well six with those lovable furbabies :)
Weight: 9lbs, 2oz
Height: 22 inches
Hair Color: Strawberry Blonde
Eye Color: Hazel/Gray
Clothing size: Newborn size are now starting to get a little snug, and he is starting to fit 0-3 months.
Diaper size: Newborn, they looks so big on him though! LOL
Feeding: After a very trying time last month and our visit to the hospital, we started a new feeding regimen. Since he is on the NG tube now, we really didnt want Emerson to lose his suck/swallow. So did just a tiny bit from the bottle, 15ml, and the rest through the NG tube, 65ml. We also started adding coconut oil to his feedings. This helped tremendously by adding up to 5 additional calories per feeding! By the end of the month we had increased to 20ml by bottle, and 80 ml by NG tube.
Sleep: Emerson is definitely sleeping through the night now, anywhere between 7-10 hours. Which is wonderful for mommy and daddy! His re-flux is still pretty bad so he's been sleeping in his boppy in his crib. I know, I know, we arent suppose to let him sleep in the boppy! But we have his swaddled and secure where he really doesnt move out of it all night. And speaking of crib, he loves that thing. The only place he does not cry. He is really starting to notice his mobile, and will just lay there and stare till he falls asleep.
Milestones:
*First Christmas and New Years
*Sleeping through the night where mommy and daddy are waking up by themselves! And boy did that scare them the first time :)
Loves: Bouncing always calms him down. Moving - his legs are always moving, he wants to start dancing already! Yep that is Grants son :) And speaking of music, he loves anything that plays music, especially Marvin the Monkey. He also loves licking everything that comes near his mouth, blankets, toys, stuff animals, etc.
Dislikes: He is so over swaddling now, loves his arms and hands free!
Adventures: Not to many adventures this month since we are trying to keep Emerson has healthy as possible! We did make an important outing to meet Dr. Walters, Emerson's cardiac surgeon. But this was at Children's Hospital, a place we are very familiar with. We LOVED Dr. Walters.
Emerson got a quit visit to Mommy's work on the way to meet Dr. Walters.
And another exciting adventure was he experienced his first power outage, which led us to visiting Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Doug's house. That was probably the first time we realized how much you need to pack when taking the baby over someones house! LOL
My sisters came over and meet Emerson this month to! :)
Well I guess there were actually a few exciting adventures this month :)
Mommy and Daddy could not get through the month without: Emerson's cardiologist, Dr. Cutler. She has eased our minds when we didnt think they could be eased!
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