Peter Gwydion

We’ve taken some big steps into the wonderful world of solid foods!

As many of you know, we started out with thickened feeds when we came home due to issues with reflux.  Lots of premature babies have reflux (isn’t it funny that I automatically say “reflux” instead of “heartburn?”  It’s the same thing!).  Their tiny bellies aren’t big enough to hold in their food, and of course the food needs to stay in to help them grow.  One of the treatments for reflux in a preemie is to thicken their bottles with rice cereal, so that it’s got a better fighting chance of staying in there.  It also supplies some extra calories, which is a plus when baby weighs about three pounds!

Since December, though, Gwyn’s been nursing exclusively, which meant no more thickened bottles.  We had some issues with spitting up, but noticed strongly that his guts seemed to be working better!  Since then, we’ve learned a lot about solid foods, and that oftentimes grains can be difficult to digest (although rice is usually the best bet). Some theories are also that starting off on the easiest to digest foods and slowly working to more complex ones can lead to less allergies in later life. So, instead of re-starting him on rice cereal, we opted for fruit - specifically, an avocado-pear concoction that we made up.  Avocados are packed with great nutrients for Sweet Pea - tons of calories, yummy fats, iron, potassium, and, seriously, who WOULDN’T want to eat a blended avocado-pear-sauce?  I’m thinking of putting some on ice cream.

I’m also really proud that he has been exclusively breast fed (with formula boosting the caloric content for a while) until he was seven months adjusted and ten months calendar, when he began to give us signs he was ready for food.  Instead of watching a calendar, we realized he was able to sit on his own, that he was mouthing everything that he could, and that when we did let him try some food it got swallowed!  In a society where most women breast feed for a matter of weeks if not days, I feel like I deserve to pat myself on the back for continuing nursing and (among other benefits) helping to protect Gwyn against food allergies!  Breastmilk contains so many amazing properties, one of which is a special antibody that coats the intestines, helping them to not see food as a foreign body that needs to be attacked (can you tell I’ve been doing my La Leche League reading?).  As adults, we make our own supply of this antibody, called immunoglobulin A.  Infants, though, get a big supply of it from momma milk!  IgA’s important role in preventing or lessening the impact of food allergies is one of the many reasons that our motto is “food is for fun until he’s one.”  Even though he’s getting a few important calories and nutrients from what he eats, the lion’s share of his nutrients are still coming from nursie milk.

He needs lots of nutrients ’cause he’s a growing machine.  I’m hungry all the time.

Seriously, I ate three Bavarian cream donuts yesterday, and they were totally delicious.

But, since I’m sure everyone but the most die-hard lactivists (hi guys!) who read our blog are tired of nursing pictures, here’s a few of one of our recent forays into food:

We went to the alpaca farm today with Emily and Scarlett.  There’s lots of gorgeous pictures to share, but I especially wanted to show these off:

He’s still pretty wobbly and is mostly a Baby Baryshnikov on his tiptoes, but Gwyn’s doing a lot of standing these days!  This was his first time pulling up on something that wasn’t Momma or Daddy’s hands.  Mostly, I wanted to see if he’d do it.  Turns out he can and will, and since he just turned seven months adjusted yesterday, that means he’s right on track developmentally.

Here’s a few more, some with Emily’s beautiful daughter, Scarlett:

We also weighed him on the alpaca scale - while we didn’t take any pictures, he clocked in at 16.7 pounds.  We probably should have taken a picture just so everyone would believe us.  It’s more than eight times his birthweight.  He’s huge!  Holding him draped across my chest with his head resting on my shoulder is a pretty far cry from the tiny two pound baby we cradled in our hands, and it feels surprisingly bittersweet.  I never thought there’d be things about the NICU that I’d miss, but remember his slender little hands?  They are now chubby and dimpled, like the rest of him.

Most of all, looking at how much he’s grown makes me feel so proud of Gwyn for the hard work he’s done, and I hope he’s enjoying all the playing and learning that his days are filled with.  He’s more than earned it.

Happy (slightly belated) seven month birthday!

You change so slightly every single day that I can’t believe what a different baby you are from week to week.  I’m so lucky that I get to see you grow bit by bit - all the way up to thirteen pounds, six ounces today at the pediatrician.

This month was a big one!  You got to meet your Grandma and Grandpa Ewert and took your first long car trip on a ride to Philadelphia to see Mimi and Grandgeek.  (Side note: While we were visiting, I got you a pink tie-dyed outfit, and I think it’s super cool.)   Through all of this, Daddy and I got to enjoy what a wonderful, calm fellow you are.  Your favorite pastimes - nursing and smiling - don’t seem to change, no matter where you’re at.  I hope it means that you really do feel safe when we’re around, no matter what your other surroundings are!

You’ve learned so much.  You finally rolled all the way over after about a month of going three quarters of the way, but seemed totally unimpressed with this new development.  You seem much more excited to be able to laugh at things that are uproariously funny, like when I turn you into an airplane on my knees.  You also are noticing smaller things, like the embroidery on a shirt, the whiskers on the cat, and the zipper on your sleeping gown (which you’re playing with right now!).  One of your favorite new pastimes is watching Momma’s wedding rings sparkle.  I love to watch you quietly observe and take all of this big world in.

Tomorrow we’re leaving for another big trip down to Durham, North Carolina, where Daddy is directing a play.  I’m so excited to share our visit with you.  There will be lovely trails for walking on while wrapped in the sling, lots of fabulous people to meet, and maybe a Momma/Baby yoga class to take together.  There really is such a lot of world for your big blue eyes to see, and I’m so in love with watching you learn.

I love you,

Momma

We’ve officially broken the 10 pound mark! Two weeks ago at the pediatrician, Gwyn weighed 10.5 pounds. He gains about an ounce or two a day, which is the weight gain that they like to see in a term baby! All of the “he’s premature, so…” warnings are slowly falling away from our visits - his weight gain is awesome, his iron levels are wonderful, and he is alert, strong and active, just like a baby should be!

Our pediatrician visit was purely to get shots, which of course breaks Momma’s heart every time. After some research, we decided to vaccinate Peter on an alternative schedule proposed by Dr. Bob Sears. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends giving six vaccinations at once, which we feel is too many for Peter’s little tiny immune system! Rather than overtaxing him by building immunizations to things that are very unlikely to become a problem right now, such as polio, we would like him to be able to slowly build his immune system while building very strong immunities to the diseases that are more likely for us, such as pertussis, HiB, and Pc. We’re delaying the vaccines for Hepatitis B and polio until he understands that a lollipop can be an excellent reward for being brave at the doctor’s office - which, incidentally, will also be at a time when he’s bigger and can handle the vaccines a little better.

On our schedule, the vaccines alternate monthly, so he only gets one aluminum-containing vaccine at a time. Because of his prematurity, we also get a shot called Synagis, which delivers antiibodies into his system to prevent a serious case of RSV. On DTaP months, he only needs two shots. On HiB/Pc months, he needs three.

Now, when we explain it out, it is obviously the right choice to make for Peter. He’ll be fully immunized by early adolescence, but have gotten the immunizations on a schedule that is least stressful to his immune system. It does mean, though, that he gets more actual shots. They do have combination vaccines, so there would be less pokes, but all of them involve a vaccine that we’ve decided to delay, so we opt for more shots but less vaccinations per visit. In the long run, this is the best decision for Peter - but tell that to him after he receives three separate shots in his baby leg!! Thankfully, we take the nursies with us everywhere we go, so Peter can have his comfort method immediately after his shots. He was really mad this time, and let us know it for about thirty seconds before settling down and nursing. Kevin was out of the room for the actual shots, and didn’t even know they’d done it!

We have been out and about a little more lately, and even took our first trip to a store over the weekend! Daddy was in New York City seeing some theatre, so Gwyn and I got to stay with Momma Justine. The night Kevin left, we realized that I’d forgotten my toothbrush, and I wasn’t about brushing my teeth with a finger all weekend. We chose to go to K-Mart because it is always desolate and empty. Gwyn was wholly unimpressed with the whole thing - he slept the entire time we were there, snuggled on my chest in his Moby Wrap. It feels so wonderful to be starting to do normal things, like take him to the store or to friends’ houses. It just means we should probably buy stock in Purell, because we use lots of it!

All in all, it seems like our normal life is slowly returning, with the addition of possibly the most fantastic person in the universe, who is growing faster than I could ever have imagined. Slowly, the hypercautious attitudes that we developed in the NICU are melting, and leaving us with regular caution. The handwashing policy remains firmly in place, though.

And that’s good enough for Pete.

We’ve been joking that he is training for the 2012 Baby Olympics in the marathon nursing category (guess he takes after his Olympian Grandpa!).  We have no doubt at this point that he would bring home the gold!  All this nursing has him up to 8 pounds, 8 ounces at our last pediatrician visit two weeks ago.  We think he’s probably nine pounds now!  Patience about updates is still very much appreciated.

Our friends Ed, Dorene, and Cat threw us a lovely homecoming shower on Saturday, where we got to see some of the people who we’ve been missing.  I even relaxed a bit, realized that if anyone was sick they would not be coming, and took Gwyn along with me!   While I wouldn’t let anyone else hold him (I am still somewhat germ neurotic), it was so lovely to get to introduce him to so many people who love him.  

Unfortunately, since we are so far away and the weather has been uncooperative, he still has to meet lots of people…but I am saying right here and now that we have an open door policy along with the strict handwashing one!  The best hospitality we can offer is the twin bed in the nursery or an air mattress in our dining room, but I will do my best to bake something delicious.  From the way he’s growing, he’s going to be in college next week, so catch him while he’s still at home!

Gwyn is officially exclusively breastfeeding!  This is wonderful, but means that there’s very little time for anything else (especially something that requires Kelley to have the use of her hands, like typing updates).   Everyone’s patience is really appreciated!

As of yesterday, he weighs 7 pounds, 4.5 ounces, and is still growing like a weed.

We also took our first walk around the neighborhood a few days ago!  We are truly thanking god for our baby sling, since Gwyn doesn’t like being put down unless one of us is within touching range.   We’re still learning how to use it, but it was nice to bundle him up and get out in some sunshine.

Don’t nurse and blog - as we have just learned from experience, it can result in very sad deletion of everything you’ve done the past two months. I guess we’re starting fresh!

Yesterday was the one-month anniversary of Gwyn’s homecoming! What a month! In said month, he has gained 1 pound, 15 ounces, putting him up to 6 pounds, 15.5 ounces. At our last pediatrician’s visit, he told us that the weight gain they like to see in term babies is roughly two pounds a month, so Gwydion’s weight gain is just fantastic. He is very awake and alert, working hard on getting his hands in his mouth and absolutely in love with our living room ceiling - the beams of dark wood that stripe across the white is great for him to focus on. He also is doing more cooing while he talks.

We have taken the plunge into exclusive breastfeeding, rather than giving him bottles supplemented with formula. It may mean a brief plateau in his weight gain, but we feel that it’s worth it to have him exclusively breastfed. So far, it looks like it’s going really well - a way of measuring if he’s getting enough is by counting wet diapers in a 24 hour period. With cloth diapers, eight soaked means that he’s doing just fine, and so far we’ve had nine! We also are much more rested and have time for things like organizing bookshelves since we aren’t constantly making bottles (although Kelley is coming to somewhat dread “I’m hungry” cry…that’ll get better soon!).

This month has been a real time of growth for everyone in our family. We are learning new skills, like how to remove a cat from a changing table while balancing a baby on a hip and the best way to get a squirmy baby into a sling. More importantly, though, we are learning new ways of communicating with each other, and the way our relationship works now that we have added in this small, fantastic person literally in the middle! We are working hard to be models of open communication, of honest emotional expression, and of strength-based, constructive criticism.

We had a visit from our good friend Emily, whose beautiful daughter Scarlett was born at home the day before Gwyn! Seeing her and sharing some cold camomile tea, stories about the difficulties of nursing and a whole lot of laughs really reminded us of how important seeing the people we love is. We’re looking forward to more visits soon.