I intended to do a "thankful Thursday" post yesterday, but by about 6pm I had such a bad headache that I was also nauseous. I ached all over. I attributed this to #1 lack of sleep and #2 muscle soreness from walking to the park for the first time the previous day. I thought I was "over" the side effects from the 10+ weeks of bed rest, but I still am not quite back in the shape I was several months ago. I'm sure it won't take too many trips to the playground for my body to adjust.
1. Yesterday morning the company that provided the pump I rented in Harrisburg called to say they were running behind schedule. A driver was supposed to pick the pump up sometime before 1pm as we were leaving at that time for Oliver's appointment. She asked what time we'd be back. I said I wasn't sure because doctor appointments can be very unpredictable in their length. She said they don't come up our way very often so she'd send a fedex label instead. I was thrilled with this delay because it means I get to keep the pump a few more days. I have an appointment to get one at the WIC office on October 3, and if there is a cancellation next week I can get one sooner than that. If there is a gap in between when I ship this one and pick one up from WIC, I am planning to use a manual pump for a few days. Maybe there won't be a gap if I return this one on Tuesday and am able to borrow one from WIC that same day.
2. I lowered Oliver's oxygen to .025 yesterday morning, and his saturation levels were great when he was tested at 2:00pm yesterday. WOOHOO! It was an extremely short appointment. Walking to and from the van took far longer than the appointment. She said that on the morning of October 17 I am to take him off his oxygen completely and they will check his saturation levels that afternoon. If they are still good, then he'll stay on the apnea monitor for 2-3 more weeks (while not on oxygen), and if all goes well, then the monitor and oxygen tanks will be returned. She also told me that I only need to keep him connected to the monitor when he's sleeping in a crib. If he's awake or in my arms, he doesn't need to be connected. That was also good news!
3. Yesterday I got to spend time with two friends. I played in the handbell choir with them from 2004-2008. They watched Nadia and Ian while I went to take Oliver to his appointment. Since his appointment was so short, I was able to spend time visiting with them for awhile at Donna's house. I often go months between times when I sit and talk with a friend so it makes it very special when those opportunities arise. Donna has a granddaughter who is Nadia's age so she has lots of toys at her house. Nadia and Ian didn't want to leave her house!
4. I am so grateful for the Weego. It was expensive but worth every penny. I used it again today. Last night I still opted to do my grocery shopping alone (after Paul got home), and this morning I asked Paul to watch Nadia and Ian while I took Oliver to his 8:35am doctor appointment. I am planning to use the Weego on Sundays when we go to church.
5. I really, really enjoyed our trips to the playground on Wednesday and again today. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous (it was 75 degrees when we went today). It's my favorite kind of weather!
6. I had been really dreading today's pediatrician appointment. I was so very relieved when Dr. C was actually pleased with Oliver's weight gain. They said he weighed 4lb 6.5oz on September 4, and they said he weighed 4lb 14.5oz today. Most doctors say babies need to gain 1 ounce a day, and this represented a gain of 8 ounces in 17 days. At this clinic you never know until the doctor walks into the exam room which pediatrician will be seeing your child that day. I am already hoping that Dr. C will be the one who does Oliver's next appointment, which takes place in 3 weeks. I have decided I'm not going to weigh Oliver again until Tuesday - a full week since the last time I weighed him. I don't want to be so stressed about his weight gain. The doctor's attitude was a HUGE relief. His only suggestion was to have Oliver wear a knitted cap so he won't use as many calories keeping himself warm. Oliver loves to remove the hat from his head and the cannula from his nose, but if it will help him gain weight, I will put more efforts into keeping the hat on his head!
7. Ian is doing SO much better with eating this week. Two weeks ago it was taking 1-2 hours to get him to feed himself a container of yogurt. He can do it in less than 30 minutes now. At dinner tonight I had put some applesauce and some pasta on his plate. He asked me where the grapes and carrots were. I asked him if he wanted these, and he said yes and specified he wanted green grapes (I have given him both green and red grapes this week). Ironically he doesn't actually seem to like carrots, but he does like grapes. I had tried to get him to eat a grape many other times, but he never had until this week.
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