One Month Check Up

Henry had his one month check up at the doctor's office today. They said he looks great and seems to be on track with growth. He currently weighs 7 pounds, 5 ounces (naked) and is 20 3/4 inches long. So he's gained a pound and four ounces since birth or two pounds since discharge and grown an inch and a quarter. His head is now 14 inches in circumference - up from 12 1/2 at birth. If he is measured against other one month olds, he is in the 10th percentile for weight and 20th percentile for height. However, if his age is adjusted for being 4 weeks premature, then he is in the 60th percentile for weight and 80th percentile for height. They reminded me that this is the correct way to measure him and that all his milestones will be delayed for awhile until he catches up with full term babies.

Our doctor is very supportive of a delayed immunization schedule, so along with his input and Dr. Sears' input (immunization authority) we will be doing both a delayed and an abbreviated immunization schedule (eliminating unnecessary immunizations). He won't start until he's six months old. Since he's breastfeeding and not around other children this poses no risk to him. I truly believe in the fewer medical interventions, the better.

I am taking him back in 2 1/2 weeks for another weight check up. Hopefully by then he will be getting enough breast milk and we can end the supplementing. Here is a picture of him getting weighed today. :)

One Month Old

Well, yesterday was his one month milestone! Crazy how fast one month has gone. I feel like it's been one week. We still don't have a routine established, but I think that's okay. I am working on Henry's schedule for the time being. If he's hungry I feed him, if he's tired I let him sleep. I'm not too worried (yet) about getting him on a time schedule. I stay up over night with him and then Brett gets up sometime between 5 and 6 am and watches him until he has to leave for work allowing me to get some sleep. Hopefully Henry will start sleeping longer than 2-3 hours at a time soon. He's still getting fussy in the middle of the night most nights - seems like stomach pain. Kati brought some great homeopathic remedies with her and they seem to be helping but not completely alleviating the problem.

Tomorrow we go to the doctor for his one month check-up so we'll see what the doctor has to say about his progress...hopefully his weight gain is right on track.

4 Weeks Old

Hello all!

Here is Henry's four week old pictures - he was not very happy when they were taken!!

Kati is here now visiting and it is SO nice to have her here! She is teaching me tons of tricks of the trade to help soothe Henry and make everyone's lives a little happier. She's also making food for me, doing laundry, and taking the morning shift with Henry so I can sleep. It is amazing. And Wilbur loves having her here too because she spends a lot of time playing with him...attention he's been missing from me lately. We went to The Lady and Sons (Paula Deen's restaurant) tonight and are all stuffed full with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and banana pudding. :)

We went to see the lactation specialists today and had a great appointment. They showed me how to tell if he's latched on properly and techniques to get him to eat more. They also weighed him so we didn't have to wait until next week to see how much he's gained...he's up to 7 pounds, 4 ounces now! Amazing! Nearly two pounds above his discharge weight. They weighed him each time after I fed him so we could see how much breast milk he was taking. Unfortunately, after about an hour of nursing (and nursing properly under their watchful eyes!) he only got 8/10 of an ounce. So they agree that we need to keep suplementing him until I get more milk. I can go back any time for another appointment to see how we're doing - it is such a great resource to have.

That's all for now!

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Henry's actual due date....I fully expected to still be pregnant at this point - instead we have a nearly one month old! Here is a picture from when he was only a few hours old.

3 Weeks Old

Henry is three weeks old today. I am going to try to take a picture of him sitting in his boppy (just like those here) every Thursday so we can see how much he is growing on a weekly basis. He is doing well - gaining weight for sure, although I don't know how much exactly. He is staying awake more and more every day, which is great. Wilbur is very sweet to him now. At first he was a little rough but now he stays near him all the time and if Henry cries Wilbur immediately gets up and checks on him. If we let him, he tries to lick Henry all over - his feet, hands, face, head. I think they'll be great friends.

(Doesn't Wilbur look gigantic next to him?!?)

First Bath!

Taken last week while mom was still here...

EARLY ARRIVAL!

Top picture: Hours old, Middle picture: 5 days old, Bottom picture: 9 days old

Hello to all!

We'd like to introduce you to the newest member of the family - Henry Theodore Winder Sutter. Born on March 27th, 2008, at 7:46pm. He was nearly four weeks early (three weeks and five days) but still weighed in at 6 pounds 1 ounce and 19 1/2 inches long.

My water broke at home at about 9 am on the 27th. After a quick stop at the doctor's office, we were admitted to the hospital and began to wait... I thought it would most likely be a long labour since my mother loves to relive how long her labour was with me... but with the help of Pitocin, I was fully dilated and pushing by 7 pm. We had to use Pitocin because even though the water had broken, Henry was still way up high in the birth canal and not descending. The Pitocin really kicked in and by about 5 pm I didn't want anyone to touch me, talk to me, or even look at me. Luckily, this part of the labour only lasted a couple hours and, also luckily, since I had gone into labour in the morning, I was well rested and ready to go.

Despite being so early and having a few breathing problems, Henry did excellent at the hospital. We checked out Saturday morning but had to be readmitted on Tuesday because he was extremely jaundiced. (Bilirubin level of 27 - which is VERY high.) Once in the hospital, they found that he had also lost a lot of weight - down to 5 pounds, 5 ounces - and was having a difficult time maintaining his body temperature. So into an isolation incubator under heat and blue lights he went. He spent nearly 48 hours there (with us by his side) and was discharged on Thursday afternoon.

Since then, he has been doing incredibly well and is almost back up to his birth weight. Since he is a premie, he sleeps all but about 30 minutes a day. It is very difficult to get him to wake up - even to eat! I know one day we'll look back on this time period and think we were crazy for wanting him to wake up...but right now we really look forward to those rare open eye moments.

The stress of being back in the hospital as well as that of simply having a newborn has left us quite exhausted. Thankfully, mom has taken an (extended) leave from her school and has been here for the past 2 weeks. She is cooking and cleaning and even staying up over night with Henry when he's fussy. It is going to be a real change when she leaves!! Many apologies to those of you who have called and left messages - we are not ignoring you...we are simply too tired to talk! Given his weight issues, we are on a very strict two hour schedule meaning that by the time feeding and changing is done I have about one hour of time before we start the routine all over again...around the clock. One hour to sleep, to eat, to shower, to clean, etc., etc! But I promise I will catch up on returning calls at some point!

Thank you for all the well wishes and support.