Don't I look cute in my jumper? It even has a little crab on it.
Daddy propped me up and I stood for a few seconds!
It's been a month since Chase was discharged! Can you believe it? His crib is still not his favorite place to sleep, and there are definitely days that I don't get a chance to shower until Jas gets home-oh well! We've also been on a few solo outings, and yesterday I was able to put him in the Baby Bjorn for the first time. Yea free hands! Now I just have to practice not dripping water on his head while doing dishes.
He grows and thrives each and every day, and its so fun to see his little personality develop. We get more smiles every day:) He's also getting good at holding his head up, and he wiggles all over the place when he's not being held. We think he'll be rolling over soon!
On Wednesday we had our first appointment with the pulmonologist, and everything went well. He told us that Chase's lungs sounded clear, and although he still has what is considered chronic lung disease, his case is not as severe as some other preemies. Since it was our first visit I had a boatload of checklists to complete and we reviewed short and long term outcomes. He told us that preemies usually outgrow many of their lung issues by kindergarten age, but that Chase would definitely be more susceptible to illness and could potentially develop asthma.
We also talked about Respiratory Synctial Virus(RSV) and the synagis vaccine he'll be receiving every 28 days during the virus season. So for the next 5 months the little one will be getting another injection:( but it will be well worth it. Most kids before the age of 2 come down with RSV at some point and it usually presents as a bad cold, but it can be extremely dangerous for preemies and result in the need for hospitalization. Although there is no guarantee that Chase won't get RSV, if he does get it the symptoms would be less severe. Despite the fact that we absolutely loved the respiratory therapists at the hospital we hope to not pay them any visits any time soon. Limiting his exposure to crowds in enclosed spaces and kids under the age of five during the season will hopefully help minimize his chances of getting sick. This of course, is easier said than done.
The one other topic we discussed at length was medication. If Chase didn't still have that lovely heart murmur the pulmonologist said we could have looked at a wean off process for his meds. Unfortunately, since it still sounds like a bit of a washing machine when you listen to his chest, he decided to hold off on making any changes until we see the cardiologist in mid October. One thing he did do however was adjust the frequencies. Although Chase is still getting the same amount across the day, he doesn't need to get some of them every three hours! We now don't have to wake him up to give him meds. Not that he sleeps through the night, but for the past month once we got done the whole process of changing him, giving him meds, and feeding him some days we only had an hour and a half before the next medication time!
Now that we don't have to wake him up our goal for this week is to tackle the crib issue:) Wish us luck!
As I explained for what feels like the umpteenth time, Chase's corrected age today is exactly one month old. He was rather cooperative all day, and while sleeping did allow me to slide him off my chest onto the bed for a bit. Since he was on his belly I made sure I watched that he kept his head turned to the side and not buried! Occasionally he'd squirm around and rear his butt up and once he even rolled to the side a little. When Jas got home from work, and while contemplating dinner options and discussing the forecast for tomorrow's torrential downpour(we're still having roof issues) we watched Chase begin to stir and work up some momentum.
