Josh goes green

So Josh had his 4 month check up on Thursday.  It seems so weird to take such a little guy and put him through a 4 month check up.  They gave us information on what type of cereal he should be getting and developmental milestones he should be reaching, yet he is only about 3 weeks old adjusted age and he looks much closer to a newborn then a 4 month old.  Ok, enough with the ramblings.

Josh weighed in at 8lbs and measured 21 inches long!!!  Our little guy gained 1 lb 4 oz in a week and a day.  Quite a feet for someone so small.  He now is in the 10th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height based on his adjusted age.  Because of the vast weight gain, our doctor changed Josh to a 22 calorie formula (he was on 24 calorie formula) and we will continue to follow his weights closely to make sure he continues to gain weight at a steady rate.  He also got his 4 months shots, which were painful for both Josh and Mommy.  Since Josh is doing so well, we aren't scheduled for another appointment with our pediatrician for 2 months!!  We are hoping we won't need to see her before then either. Josh will be screened at either 6 or 9 months of age for developmental delays.  This will help us to get him any services he needs to get caught up on his milestones.  In the mean time, Mommy and Daddy will continue to work with Josh at home.

Our appointment was suppose to be on Friday, but we ended up going in a day early because Josh's left eye looked like it had an infection.  He was started on eye drops and it is looking much better today.  We are thankful that something that would have been so serious just a few weeks ago, is now just a minor occurrence.

Josh was seen by our eye doctor on Friday.  She said that his right eye continues to look good, while the left eye continues to show retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) stage 1.  We will follow up with her again on April 13th.  To help make these appointments shorter, she gave us a prescription for dilation drops, so Mommy can dilate Josh's eyes at home one hour prior to our visit.  This should cut down on the time we spend in the office waiting, which will be great since we average 1.5 - 2 hours a visit at these appointments.

In other news, Josh is becoming quite the social butterfly.  He enjoys "talking" to you, although it wouldn't necessarily be called cooing yet.  It is mostly a system of grunts and sounds that communicate his needs.  He is averaging one 2 -3 hour awake time in the morning and several awake times in the evenings.  Mommy and Daddy enjoy watching him smile and look around at the world.  He is quite curious about things going on around him and often looks at the world through very wide eyes Mommy and Daddy are convinced that Josh is smiling interactively at least some of the time (but what new parent doesn't think that about their baby)  Josh has also developed quite a few "rolls" and a large tummy in the last week or so (probably from his stellar weight gain).  It is amazing and a little disconcerting to look at our once 2lb baby and see fat rolls.  But we are adjusting nicely.

In an effort to be environmentally conscious and financially smart, Josh is now sporting cloth diapers!  It has been a bit of a transition and we are still having occasional leaks.  The diapers definitely make Josh look very large on his lower half now, although his newborn size clothes still fit!  Overall, Mommy and Daddy are liking the cloth diapers and Josh doesn't seem to mind them either.

This coming week will be Mommy's first week by herself with Josh.  After four weeks, Mimi left for a two week trip to Mississippi.  Mommy is sure she will be able to manage okay, even if things around the house don't get done as quickly as they use too.  Oh well, what really matters is that Josh get all the cuddle time he can!

Prayer Request:

• Josh's eyes would continue to mature and he ROP would heal up completely
• Josh's eye infection would continue to heal up and he would not get any other infections
• Josh would continue to mature well and begin to catch up on some of his developmental milestones
• Josh's anemia would resolve on its own with some good iron supplements
• Josh would continue to gain weight steadily with nursing and his new formula
• Mommy would be able to adjust quickly to being home alone with Josh

Praises:

• Josh is now 8lbs and 21 inches long!!  (That is a far cry from 2lbs 2oz and 15inches!!)
• Josh's four month check up went well ans he is up to date on his shots
• Josh is having better awake and sleep times
• Josh has gone green with his new cloth diapers 

**Unfortunately, we are having trouble uploading pictures right now, we will add them on as soon as we are able.**