All babies change and grow so much during the first year of life, but it seems even more dramatic when a baby comes as prematurely as Oliver did. Here's an overview of Oliver's first year of life!
At 3:35am on 8/6/12 I woke up in my hospital bed in a pool of blood again. I knew I'd be immediately headed back down to the 8th floor Labor and Delivery unit, but I didn't know that I was about to given birth. Oliver weighed 3lb 15oz at birth. He was born at 4:22am, Paul arrived at 5:30, and my mom arrived at 6:00am. Paul and my mom left that afternoon, and I was on my own for the next four days until I was discharged on 8/11. His lowest recorded weight was 3lb 8oz, and he weighed 4lb 5oz on the day he turned one month old. During that first month he progressed from preemie size XS diapers to preemie size S diapers, from not being allowed to wear clothes to wearing preemie size clothes, from a ventilator to a CPAP to a low-flow cannula, from tube feedings to nursing and bottle feedings, and from being in the NICU to coming home sweet home. It was so very hard to have to wait several days after his birth to hold him for the first time. My fondest memories of his first month of life were the times I snuggled with him as his tiny head rested under my chin. His first ride in a vehicle was the ambulance that took us from Harrisburg to Danville, and when he was discharged from the NICU he came home in a car bed. I'm so grateful the Lord brought us through a very difficult pregnancy and NICU stay.
At two months old, Oliver weighed 5lb 9oz, and his head had grown to the point where it now filled my entire hand rather than just my palm. He was still wearing preemie size diapers and clothing and still on oxygen although he was off the two medications he had been on most of his life. He had a blocked tear duct and a much bigger umbilical hernia than his siblings. His hair was brown and his eyes were blue. It was very hard to get him to burp, but he was by far the best sleeper of my three kids.
At three months old Oliver weighed 7lbs 1oz and he was wearing newborn rather than preemie size clothing or diapers. He started smiling socially and got off the oxygen and apnea monitor and was promoted from the car bed to an infant car seat before he turned 3 months old!
The day Oliver turned 4 months old he switched to size one diapers, and at 9lb 6oz he was mostly wearing size 0-3 month clothing. I got him off the shield two weeks before he turned 4 months old. He very rarely took 3 naps at this stage. Most days he took 2 naps. We heard a little bit of laughter and cooing before he turned 4 months old.
Over the past month Oliver started laughing a lot more. He hit 11 lbs three days before he turned 5 months old and was still wearing size 0-3 month clothing. He still loved to grab one of my fingers while nursing or drinking his bottle! He's did that since he was two weeks old.
At 6 months old Oliver weighed 13lb 3 oz and was wearing size 2 diapers and mostly 3-6 month size clothing. Although his belly button was still much larger than "normal," it had gotten a LOT smaller by the time he turned 6 months old. He was a thumb sucker like his big sister.
At 7 months Oliver weighed 15 pounds and was using a convertible car seat that he'll be in until he turns 4 years old. He was eating solid food although he still hadn't really figured out what to do with his tongue. At 7 months he was enjoying playing with a variety of toys. He learned how to sit independently before he turned 7 months old!
At 8 months Oliver weighed 16 pounds and was wearing size 3 diapers and a combination of size 3-6 and 6-9 month clothing. Ten days before he turned 8 months old he was down to nursing just once a day.
At 9 months Oliver weighed 16lb 12oz, could scoot backwards quickly on smooth surfaces, had one tooth (on the bottom), was doing better with eating solid foods, and could say one word (dada).
At 10 months Oliver's hair was blonde whereas it was brown the first 9 months of his life. He could feed himself finger foods! He had two teeth, weighed a little less than 17 pounds, wore size 3 diapers, and wore anywhere from size 3-6 month to size 12 month clothing. Our trip to Florida last month completely messed up his sleeping habits, especially his naps.
At 11 months he could say dada and mama, weighed 17lb 11oz, was no longer nursing at all, wearing size 6-9 month or 12 month clothing, wearing size 3 diapers, lifting his arms to show he wanted to be picked up, and could go from sitting to his belly.
At 12 months old Oliver can crawl, pull himself up to a standing position, cruise, and go from his belly to a sitting position. He's mostly wearing size 9 month or 12 month clothing. He switched from bottles to sippy cups over the past month and can say "mama," "dada," and "hi." He eats just about anything and weighs 19 lbs. (5th percentile) I'm feeling a bit blue that we're using his last month sticker today, but it doesn't bother me at all that today he's switching from formula to whole milk! I think he's going to love the brownies I'm making for him today! Happy first birthday, Oliver!
At 3:35am on 8/6/12 I woke up in my hospital bed in a pool of blood again. I knew I'd be immediately headed back down to the 8th floor Labor and Delivery unit, but I didn't know that I was about to given birth. Oliver weighed 3lb 15oz at birth. He was born at 4:22am, Paul arrived at 5:30, and my mom arrived at 6:00am. Paul and my mom left that afternoon, and I was on my own for the next four days until I was discharged on 8/11. His lowest recorded weight was 3lb 8oz, and he weighed 4lb 5oz on the day he turned one month old. During that first month he progressed from preemie size XS diapers to preemie size S diapers, from not being allowed to wear clothes to wearing preemie size clothes, from a ventilator to a CPAP to a low-flow cannula, from tube feedings to nursing and bottle feedings, and from being in the NICU to coming home sweet home. It was so very hard to have to wait several days after his birth to hold him for the first time. My fondest memories of his first month of life were the times I snuggled with him as his tiny head rested under my chin. His first ride in a vehicle was the ambulance that took us from Harrisburg to Danville, and when he was discharged from the NICU he came home in a car bed. I'm so grateful the Lord brought us through a very difficult pregnancy and NICU stay.
Over the past month Oliver started laughing a lot more. He hit 11 lbs three days before he turned 5 months old and was still wearing size 0-3 month clothing. He still loved to grab one of my fingers while nursing or drinking his bottle! He's did that since he was two weeks old.
