I'm going to be a rock star.

I'm still good at nap taking. I think I get that from my mom. 

My new high chair is great. Its very comfortable.

 



My eyelashes are so long. I'm hopng someday soon my hair catches up with that length.

 



I play really hard. Sometimes I get so sleepy that I fall asleep in the middle of my play, and I just can't let go of my toys.

 



I'm getting to be such a big boy!

Both of my grandmas do make me smile :)

Owen is doing well. He's doing great sleeping through the night.He's working hard on his exercises to improve his oral motor skills. At this point he's not as fussy during that time, and he even smiles a little bit. That's exactly the goal we've been working on; to help him have a more positive oral experience.
His gagging episodes are better. They still happen, but not as frequently, not as long, and not as severe. The Zantac is helping.
Owen is set up to start Sproutlings on the 10th of Sept. We're still waiting to hear about Medicaid.

 

 

 

 

Brevon is already introducing me to spiderman cartoons!

I'm so relaxed! Dad knows how to help me chill. And I do love my sleep sheep!

Owen started his new feeding schedule last night. He slept through the night from 11pm to 6am. It was great! He woke up in a happy mood this morning. He did tummy time, rolled from his side to his belly and from his belly to his side. He enjoyed play time on the floor for longer than usual. He took some of his 8:30am bottle. He went back to sleep for his feeding via the Gtube afterward. He wasn’t as fussy during the afternoon; which has been his new trend. So far, it looks like a good night’s sleep is going to make a big difference for him. We’re hoping that solid rest will help him be more organized with his suck, swallow, breathe skills, and he will be more successful with bottle feeding.

We’re working on new exercise strategies to help him improve his feeding skills. We’re back to only doing the bottle two times a day again. But we’re doing more positive oral exercises. The nutritionist and the speech therapist are wonderful! They’ve both got a lot of experience, and are helping to explore options for increased success.

Owen also started Zantac yesterday. He hasn’t been on that since before the Gtube. The gagging episodes appear to be reflux; minus the spitting up of course with the nissen. They say it will take a week to see the effect of the medication. We’re hoping that eventually it helps him be more comfortable and more open to feeding experiences.

He weighs 11lbs and 3oz!! –Thank you, Gtube, for his steady growth. And brain development!

I went to the good ole L&N building today. We have to wait 7-10 days to receive the determination on his eligibility for continued Medicaid coverage. I sure hope he’s eligible. We don’t have a lot of childcare options otherwise.

Tomorrow, we’re visiting Sproutlings. The First Steps people say its so great it will “blow you away.” We want to be sure that Owen is in the right hands during the daytime hours. Its not on the way to work like Kidz Club, but it sounds like it’ll be a place where we can be confident he’s getting the best care.



Owen weighs 10lbs and 15oz!! He's 23 inches long!!


He's been doing a little better lately with his bottle feeding!


We met with the nutritionist and have some new plans. We're working to help Owen sleep through the night. Its important for him to be undisturbed through the night in order to help him form healthy cycles with sleep. It is also important with my upcoming return to work.


Owen presently gets feedings at 10, 2, and 6; around the clock. Each feeding runs for 1hr. And he's currently at 140ml per feeding. Before his 10am and his 10pm, he's given the bottle first. However much he takes from the bottle is subtracted from the amount that goes into the pump.


We can't yet discontinue his 2am feeding due to his difficulties with tolerating volume increases. If we eliminate the 2am, we would have to add the missed amount from that feeding to the other feedings. That would be too much of an increase in the other feedings for him to tolerate. So the plan is for him to get his two formula feedings on a continuous feed throughout the night from 11pm to 6am. Then he'll still have breast milk feedings at 8:30am, 12pm, 4pm, and 8pm.

We have a new plan for his weekly volume increases too. We hope the slower increase will help him adjust easier and not have the gagging episodes.


We're also going to increase the bottle feeding from 2 x per day to 4 x per day. Friday we meet with the speech therapist. Hopefully, we can continue with his improved ability to bottle feed.