Hitting the Curve at Record Pace!

It seems my little guy is not so little any more! He just keeps amazing us at his record growth. Typically babies follow a growth curve, but Kyle seems to be shooting straight up, instead of following the line. We are being tracked on a VLBW (very low birth weight/ less than 1200 grams at birth) Boys chart, based on his corrected age. The Doctor joked that we may need to move him to the LBW chart next month, if he continues at this pace. Keep in mind, that when Kyle came home - he wasn't even close to ranking in the 3% tile category. As a matter of fact, he was so low on the length chart - that he was overlapping the weight graph just below it.

Here are his stats:

• Weight: 16lb 9oz (85%)
• Height: 23.5 inches (30%)
• Head Circ: 41cm (35%)
• Feeding: 4 2/3oz 6x/day

We also pulled him off of all his nebs and puffers 2.5 weeks ago (which upset the pulmonologist), within 2 days his oxygen requirement dropped from 2 1/4 litres to .75-1 litre, and he began taking his bottle. She said he sounds clear and looks good, so I guess all wasn't as bad as she made it out to be.

I had been researching his meds and found that the Flovent causes a sore throat and eating averssion (more pain in swollowing), and that the nebs - being stimulants, can also have adverse reactions if you are allergic to them. We already no Kyle is allergic to caffiene, a stimulant, and some of my relatives are allergic to albuterol - more specifically when used regularly. So, I keep the puffer on me for emergency sake (but haven't had to use it yet).

NEWSFLASH: We're Eating Solids... AND - Taking the bottle!!!

That's right folks, you heard it hear first... Here's the detail:

Last Tuesday, during NICU Follow-up Clinic, we were told that we could begin feeding Kyle rice cereal - which he ate, but didn't care for after a couple of days. So, we decided to add sweet potatoes to it (with pediatric approval, of course). And that did it! Ever since we started the sweet potatoes, Kyle has been sticking his tongue out "tasting" everything that he can get near his mouth.

However, due a little (or big) gas problem from the rice cereal - we needed an emergency dose of Prunes. Yes, those icky things people have to eat, when they can't you know what... Honestly though, the baby food version isn't that bad. Anyway, I decided to give him a bottle of Prune/Apple juice today at the pediatricians, because he was starving - and I didn't want to poor his milk down the tube before he got his shots (poor baby). So, I stuck a nipple on the juice jar, and stuck it in his mouth to see if it would quiet him... And boy did it ever! He went CRAZY, and cried everytime I took it away.

So, when we got home today from our appointments and errands, I sat down to do his feeding with a juice bottle & milk bottle. I started with the Juice bottle, and I got the same lip smacking result. Then I put the milk bottle in after a minute or so... Kyle got a concerned look on his face, but he didn't start choking - so I kept it in, and he kept sucking. Every now and then, I would alternate back to juice and the back to the milk - only to keep his interest in sucking & swallowing. He took 1.5 ounces in all, which is nearly 3x's what he's ever consumed in a single feeding since birth. We only stopped because he feel asleep in my arms :)

Fast forward to the 7PM feeding... And again, 1.5 oz. This time we stopped because something came gurgling back up, and he seriously started choking/coughing. Not wanting to overwork him, and out of fear of aspiration - I stopped. Of course, he wouldn't hear of it - and screamed until I could find the pacifier and stuff it in - LOL.

I figure that he needs to build a tolerance to this, he hasn't consumed more than 15cc's since the end of June - so I don't want to damage a good thing, Know what I mean?

Thanks to everyone that is constantly keeping us in their thoughts :)

A, B, C's

Well, our little guy has taken on the ennormous task of talking... He has managed to master the following letters:
a, b, e, g, h, i, k, l, n, o, r, u, & w

Quite the vocabulary for a baby that is only 4.5 months corrected, I must proudly say! In addition to this wonderful exploration of sounds, he has discovered that he can join the letters together to form the word of his favorite toy - Buh-All, BALL!

Well, I could go on - but it's just more bragging - LOL!

The Big Weigh-In & Med Line-Up

Kyle had his weekly visit from our wonderful home nurse, Nancy. Here are the medicine & feeding changes:

• NO MORE Ferrous Sulfate/Iron (Hurray)
• Prevacid is now 2x's day (instead of 1x)
• Albuterol & Atrovent Neb's only 2x/day instead of 3x/day
• Feedings are now at 4oz/120cc's 7 times/day

Now, on to bigger & better news... It appears that Kyle's weight gain has finally stabilized. After 5 weeks of dramatic increases, we maintained a relative weight, topping off around 14lbs. It seems that the changes in his calories/oz and increase in diuretics, have helped. However, if he doesn't have a gain next week, we'll have to re-evaluate the situation.

Weights & Measures
Weight: 14lb 1oz (6.39kilo)
Height: 22 Inches (56cm)
Head Circ: 40 cm