HE GAINED WEIGHT!!!

I am very happy, relieved, grateful, etc. to report that Ian now weighs 5lb 12.5oz! WOOHOO! He gained 1.5 ounces yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I only did the technique of pumping for a few seconds before nursing him once because I really don't think that was the issue. The milk would come really quickly. However, I did the switch nursing technique the whole day. I didn't pump any more (since Diane thought part of the problem had been that I had pumped too much in the NICU), but that meant I didn't have any EBM to give him last night. Around my bedtime he usually goes through this phase where he won't sleep in the crib, but he also won't nurse well. He nurses a few seconds or minutes and falls asleep until we put him in the crib and then he wakes up and the cycle repeats itself for maybe 90 minutes unless we give him a bottle and then he'll go to sleep for an hour or two. So I gave him 2 ounces of formula last night (thanks, Jenn!). It worked like a charm. I got some sleep and then woke him up at 1:00 and 3:00. Both times he nursed well, which usually hasn't been the case in the past when I have awakened him. He didn't cooperate when I awakened him at 5am, but he woke up on his own not too much longer after that. He has had a couple of nursing sessions on the left side without the shield, but I think he's going to be using it a tad longer than Nadia did, which probably makes sense since he came 2 weeks earlier than she did. The bottom line is that I feel VERY encouraged by the weight gain since he hadn't gained anything the previous four days. He's gained a total of 3.5 ounces over the past 2 weeks since we were discharged from the NICU. He needs to gain 4.5 more ounces to get back to his birth weight. Hopefully we'll get there before he turns one month old. :-) I know we're not out of the woods yet, but I do feel much better about his weight gain today than I did yesterday that is for sure!

Last week I received the bill for my hospital stay ($16,126.10 this time compared to $19,678.97 with Nadia). Nadia's NICU bill was $51,096.48 so I was guessing Ian's would be over $70K since he was in the hospital 3 more days than she was. His bill came in the mail today, and it turns out I was right ($78,775.70). I am very grateful we have health insurance!!


I am also very grateful that I was able to take a nap yesterday afternoon. What a difference! It would be heavenly if I could take one today as well although the odds are not in my favor since Paul plans to go to PSU today.

As far as the kids' recent accomplishments, Ian rolled over for the first time the day before he turned 3 weeks old (last Friday). I had him swaddled in a blanket lying on his back in the pack & play, and when I heard him crying I assumed he wanted to be held (he spends most of his day in someone's arms). I was so surprised when I went in and found him lying on his belly! I am not saying he's mastered the art of rolling over yet, but still I thought it was amazing that the little peanut has already rolled over once! Nadia's vocabulary continues to grow by leaps and bounds. She is using more and more two word combinations such as "want more," "back up" (what she says when she's walking backwards), and "thank you." This morning when we were sitting at her table and chairs, she pointed to her crib and said "doggie out." I gladly went and retrieved her stuffed dog for her (a Christmas gift from Sarah). One of her newest words is "CD;" it's what she says these days when she wants to listen to music. The newest word that she uses the most frequently is definitely "okay." I love being able to communicate more with Nadia these days!