Baby goes out on the town

Josh has been a busy little boy recently.  Since he got his synagis shot for RSV, and had good blood numbers, and has not gotten sick so far, he was allowed to go out in public (with appropriate safety precautions by Mommy and Daddy).  Josh's first official mass function was his baby shower at Daddy's work.  He had a good time (he slept most of time in his sling), and Mommy and Daddy enjoyed playing games.

Josh's next public outing was at church.  Mommy and Daddy really enjoyed being able to go back to church, since we hadn't been able to go since Josh got out of the hospital.  Mommy and Daddy came in a bit late and left a bit early (to avoid the crowds), but enjoyed the worship and service from the balcony.

Josh continues to have some gas and reflux issues, but Mommy and Daddy have found that mylocon and gripe water seem to help some, along with the reflux medication that Josh's pediatrician has prescribed.  Josh's weight seems to be going up nicely.  His last official weigh in was at 6 pounds 12 ounces at his pediatrician, but his latest weight (tonight) at home on the baby scale that we borrowed from the neonatalogy clinic said he was 7 pounds 10 ounces!  We preface that by stating that the scale is different than the official one at the pediatrician's office, and it always reads 2 to 3 ounces heavier than the pediatrician's scale, but that is still some great weight gain!  So much so that Mommy and Daddy actually called the pediatrician to make sure that Josh wasn't gaining weight too quickly.

Josh seems to be going through a growth spurt, which would account for his weight gain.  The last time he was measured, he was 18.5 inches long.  Daddy used the same technique to measure Josh at home and he measured out at 20.75 inches long!  He is also fitting lengthwise into his newborn sized clothes very well.  He still doesn't fill out most of them width-wise, but he is working on that.

Josh is also starting to have longer and more interactive awake times during the day.  Mommy and Daddy are working really hard to get Josh used to a day/night schedule where he is easier to put back to bed at night, and stays up more during the day.  He usually has a good two to three hour awake period in the morning, early afternoon, and evening.  Josh has also slept up to six hours at a time at night, while cluster feeding (feeding every two hours or so) during the day.  This has done wonders to help Mommy and Daddy's sanity.

Prayer Requests:

• Josh have a good visit at the pediatrician's on Friday, and that he not be too put out after getting his 4 month vaccinations
• Josh's eye appointment on Friday go well and that the stage 1 ROP in his left eye be decreased (if not gone completely)
• Josh continue to grown and gain weight well
• Josh continue to be healthy, and that he not get sick now that he is going out to more public places
• Josh continue to stay awake well during the day, and start to consistently sleep longer at night
• Josh be a content baby when fed at night and go back to sleep without fussing a lot so that Mommy and Daddy can get good sleep too

Praises:

• Unofficially Josh is up to 7 pounds 10 ounces and is 20.75 inches long!
• Josh got some cute and fun stuff at his baby shower at Daddy's work (thank you Natalia and Stacy for planning it!!!)
• Josh is sleeping up to 6 hours at a time at night!
• Josh's personality is starting to come out, and his parents love it!

(Josh enjoying his swing)

 (Uncle Nick enjoying holding Josh and cousin Noah)

(Peace Dude!)

(Josh showing off his tummy and how he is growing so quick)

(Mommy enjoying some birthday cake for her birthday - the big three oh!)