Life in the Bubble: Twenty One and Twenty Two weeks old

Actual: Twenty one weeks (January 27th - February 2nd)
Corrected: Eight weeks
Weight: 9 pounds 12 ounces (January 30)

Not much happened this week. Evan just worked on growing!

Evan has bath time every other day and he really seems to like it. He hasn't started splashing, but he does seem to be very content. He hates getting out of the bath though - probably because he's all chilly. Andrew and I made a crucial mistake and didn't have a diaper immediately ready when Evan came out of the tub one day this week. He peed on everything. I think he was really proud of himself too. Gotta keep that weapon covered up!!

Thanks to wonderful family friends, we can now track Evan's weight daily. I'm trying to get in the habit of weighing him before he takes a bath. The scale is awesome and we're so thankful to have one. I didn't realize how much peace of mind it brings. I weighed Evan after he nursed one day - convinced he wasn't taking enough. The little man wolfed down 6 ounces!!!!! Guess he gets enough when he nurses!

Evan loves Fridays

Whoa. I am one handsome dude!

That's 9 pounds 12 ounces of happy baby
(even if I'm choosing this moment to not look happy).

Uh Daddy? Since this is your first time with the Bjorn,
could you try not to drop me? Kay thanks.

Shoot, busted for eavesdropping on Momma's phone call.
Just gotta make sure I'm the talk of the call!

Hehe. I think I like sitting in my chair! Maybe you and Daddy can take the next 2.5 seconds
to enjoy your nice dinner together. Like a normal couple.

I'm adorable. AmIrightoramIright?!

Actual: Twenty two weeks (February 3rd - February 9th)
Corrected: Nine weeks
Weight: 10 pounds 13 ounces

Boy is Evan getting heavy! He loves to spend the day in the baby bjorn which is awesome since I'm able to get stuff done around the house. He helped me bake angel food cake this week and usually tries to help with dinner. I'm noticing that I have to change my stance as he gets bigger. This must be what the 3rd trimester feels like... I have to continuously check my balance and make sure I'm not swinging Evan into things as I move around the house.

Evan is trying to work up to sleeping more at night. He is usually awake for most of the day. You would think this would make him extra tired come bedtime, but no. I think he just likes to stay up hanging out with his daddy. Andrew and I have a pretty good sleep routine. I pump and go to bed around 9 pm. Andrew hangs out/plays Grand Theft Auto/sleeps until Evan wakes up for a bottle (typically between 12 am - 1 am). Then he'll wake me up to pump. Evan gets wheeled into the bedroom and I get up with him whenever he starts to grump (around 3 am - 4 am). I'll feed Pants and then sleep on the couch so Andrew can get some solid grunt free sleep. (Grunts courtesy of Evan, not me.)

Evan had his hearing checked out this week. His hearing was last checked in the NICU. I was bummed when we couldn't be around for it, but now I understand why the night shift does it. Evan did not cooperate at all. We got instructions in the mail that told us to make sure Evan came to the appointment ready to sleep. Um, he's a baby. He'll sleep whenever he gosh darn wants to. So naturally, Evan was wide awake and ready to party when we got to his appointment. I tried stuffing him full of milk in the hopes that would make him sleepy - nope. No dice. It didn't help that he had electrodes on his head and a sensor in his ear that wouldn't stay. He was not a happy camper. In order for the tests to work, Evan has to be completely still and quiet. His head has to be at a certain angle and he cannot be awake. Maybe they've never met a baby like Evan, but even when he sleeps he grunts and moves. He is not a restful baby. Thankfully we were able to do one test. His hearing appears fine. Andrew and I were not worried about Evan's hearing since he startles himself with his farts. Due to Evan's prematurity, length of time on a ventilator and level of antibiotics that he received, there was a possibility for hearing damage. I can reschedule the test that looks deeper in the ear when Evan is on a bit of a better sleep schedule.

Evan also had his five month check up this week. The doctors are happy with his weight gain. He does have a bit of a rash under his chins, most likely due from milk dribbles. We're treating that with cream. Thankfully it doesn't seem to bother him at all. Evan did have to have his heel pricked for the newborn screen. He had this screen done several times while in the hospital. This test looks for 40 different disorders. Since Evan received many transfusions, there was one part of the test that was a bit high. The NICU doctors were not worried at all since transfusion blood comes from an adult which would make Evan's numbers high. The retest should show results comparable to a newborn baby (even though Evan is five months old). No news is good news on this test.

Active Evan video