Observations

I am quickly learning that moms of preemies have to be pretty observant.  Every time someone from ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) comes they like to ask questions such as "Do you notice Casey turning her head more toward the right or the left?" or "When Casey is alert, what percentage of time is she looking at faces and what percentage is she focused on lights or other objects?" To which my response is usually "Hmm, I will try to watch for that next week."  To further complicate things, we have to watch for any skills between newborn and 5 months of age since she is delayed in some areas, on track with her 2 month adjusted age for certain skills, and the hope is that we will start to see some skills closer to her actual age of 5 months.  Despite my lack of knowledge, we did have some great appointments this week, and both our Dietitian and Speech Pathologist were so impressed with her progress that they are already talking about reducing services soon.  For now we are planning to leave services the same and continue to observe and monitor her progress until after I go back to work in a month to make sure she handles the transition well.  She has had a great week feeding wise, and  she is now consistently taking right at 3 ounces at every feed.  Her weight gain has been good, and she was 9 pounds 13 ounces at our weigh in on Wednesday (although the scale kept fluctuating and she was 9 pounds 14.2 ounces just two hours earlier at the doctor's office so I think that weight was a little on the light side). 

We were finally able to get her in for her Synagis shot, and I am definitely not looking forward to witnessing that torture for the next two rounds.  Poor baby! As usual we had to wait over an hour to see the doctor while we watched every person who came in after us be seen first.  It is scary and frustrating to sit huddled in the corner of a germy waiting room wanting to scream "We are supposed to be in isolation!" the entire time, but we are at their mercy.  Hopefully once we get all of her initial patient paperwork and appointments out of the way, the process will start to speed up at these doctor's offices. Since she hasn't had any apnea episodes, I felt comfortable enough to take her to this appointment by myself for the first time (normally Brian or my mom comes so that one of us can sit with her in the back).  She did great in the car, and I only pulled over once to make sure she was still breathing!

Casey did have her final evaluation with ECI for her gross motor skills, and at this time she does not qualify.  The physical therapist noted that her tone seems to be normal, she is often keeping her fists open, and that although her motor skills are more at a 1 month old level, there was nothing overly concerning or that we wouldn't already be working on during Specialized Skills Training (SST).  She will continue to be a consult on Casey's team, and could be called back out if we see anything concerning in the future.  The two things she does want us to keep an eye on are for Casey to start lifting her head without support when we pick her up (she is doing pretty well with head control once in our arms, but lets her head fall back when being picked up) and that one of the indentions on her legs looks more prominent (apparently it is important that your fat rolls be evenly distributed!)  At her bimonthly SST appointment, The Doodle decided to be a complete show off!  She was giving tons of smiles, tracking objects from side to side, gripping things placed in her hands, and lifting her head well for tummy time.  I also learned an infant massage routine which will hopefully help her when she is constipated and gassy (which is getting better but is still pretty frequent). Our specialist told me over and over again how great Casey was looking and how much progress she had already made since her visit two weeks ago. 

Throughout this week we have also noticed Casey picking up quite a few new skills.  She has discovered her hands and loves to put them in her mouth, she has started sticking out her tongue and will sometimes mimic me when I do it, her feet and arms are in almost constant motion when she is awake, and she has started making more cooing and babbling sounds.  Our new goals are to continue working on head and neck strength during tummy time, to encourage more baby talk and noises, and to give her lots of opportunities on the play mat to bat and kick at toys and objects.  Overall we are very encouraged by her progress, and we are loving every minute watching her learn new tricks (and telling her every day that she is the smartest baby in the world!)

Here is the latest Casey cuteness:

 Pretty Kitty!

 Flower Child!

 Sans the ridiculous hat!

She has no idea she is about to go and get an evil shot!

80s baby!

 Tired after her workout in the leg warmers!

 Tuckered out!

 I set her down for two minutes to get her bath ready and she was passed out!

 Pretending to talk on the phone!

 Play time wore her out!

 Pretty girl!

 Mischievous grin!

She loves to suck on her hands!

In other news, I had to show off our latest home project. We finally got the window I painted  a year and a half ago and the coordinating sconces hung.  Nothing like having your in-laws come to town to get a few things moved up the to-do list.  Brian and his dad also worked all afternoon to install our new storm door.  The most exciting part is that now I won't have to wonder every time the wind blows the old door open and sends the dogs into a frenzy if this time there really is an axe murderer at my back door!

 I am pretty proud of my masterpiece!

Also, I neglected to mention a few ago that our third dog is home!  Finn is Brian's Search and Rescue dog and since Border Collies have way too much energy to be cooped up as much as he would have been with us gone all the time, he went to stay with his doggie mom and dad while Casey was in the hospital.  We now know that this smart boy was the first to know I was sick before I delivered, but at the time we could not figure out why he had a sudden interest in cuddling with me all the time.  We are so glad he is home, and now the Inn is officially full again! Thanks Ben and Tiffanie for taking such great care of our boy!  It was no easy feat to get this boy to stand still for a picture, but here is the best I could do.

 Finn boy!