So, it’s race day in Indianapolis. I was hoping to get a fun, little, themed outfit together for the kid… maybe some black and white checkered get-up. It didn’t happen. It was too late and really…buying an outfit for one photo shoot hurts me inside. So then I thought, “Well, what else might work for race day, if not black and white?” Unfortunately we don’t have a baby Lynyrd Skynyrd onesie and cut-offs either. So I gave up. There is no theme for the photo shoot today. I SHOULD say that we’re ignoring the existence of said race because we’re not allowed to watch it on TV here (still find this extremely lame). Coraline is also annoyed by that. She loves indycar racing.
So, this week in Coraline…
We did not have the best week ever.
Doctor #1
Monday was her 6 month pediatrician appointment. I was a little nervous about getting her weighed because the prior two weeks had been rough. She was consistently eating 3-4 ounces under what she should have been. She seemed in a lot of pain when eating and it was hard for her to take a bottle at all. We got her Zantac adjusted (for her reflux) and it seemed to have helped and she’s been on the upswing and is doing pretty great now. But Monday…she had gained 0 pounds and o oz. in 2 weeks. (sigh)
Everything else was great. She is developing great. When the doctor was checking out the back of her head, she was holding her flipped over with her hand holding her chest, and I kid you not, that kid tried to crawl away. It was pretty hilarious. She had her legs and hands going, just like they should…just not the strength to hold them both up. We all laughed at her (I know, not nice).
So, in terms of size, she is at the 10th percentile all around (height, weight, and head size) for a kid her adjusted age, which is almost 3 months.
Coraline got 3 of her vaccinations. We have just one more we have to go in for in a couple weeks. She took them like a champ and cried for about 10 seconds. She had no side effects the rest of the day! ‘
Doctor #2
Her pulmonologist appointment was also this week, on Friday. We had high hopes for getting her turned down to 1/4 liter flow. Sadly, it was not to be. The doctor said that because she was gaining so slowly he didn’t want her working any harder than she had to in order to breathe, and therefore waste valuable calories. So we’re still on 1/2 liter, but we go back in a month. Also, on the plus side…From Monday to Friday, Coraline gained 3.5 ounces. So it looks like since she’s been back on track, we are on our way up again. Her pulmonologist said that we need to go into the peds office once a week to follow her weight gain. So, we’ll do that.
We also got the speech again about how the best compliment in the world is that we are too overprotective of the baby. And we really should be sort of quarantined until next year about this time. Mom might lose it. I’m already planning a vacation.
New stuff Coraline does:
We got a for-real laugh yesterday! Turns out we can’t get rid of the dog because she is SUPER amused by him. She shook his head with those floppy ears and she laughed! More than once! I spent the rest of the evening trying to get her to do it again. Turns out I’m not a beagle with floppy ears.
She has become way less excited about tummy time. She used to love it. She used to love napping on dad’s chest on her tummy. Nope. Hates it. She gets very very angry after about 2 minutes. And she makes scary noises when she is angry. Loud raptor noises.
She only wants to sit up. Even when she is reclined in her Rock and Play sometimes she still tries to sit up. This child’s core is so strong. As someone suggested in an earlier comment, I see a Pilates instructor in her. She has got great neck strength. She loves being carried and looking around.
She is losing her excitement over snuggles in general. This is kind of sad.
She is starting to hold toys and bring them to her mouth. Everything goes to her mouth. She especially loves to put her arm in her mouth.
She has been severely loving on this blanket that she got in the NICU. Over Christmas we got a package while we were there that said, “DO NOT OPEN TILL CHRISTMAS!” So we were good. We waited. And it was a gift from a family who was in the same room the previous year (maybe two years prior) and they wanted to give a gift to someone else who had to spend Christmas at the hospital. So it was a lovely little green blanket with a satiny back. I thought, “Well…this blanket is way too nice for a baby.” But this is now her favorite thing. She snuggles with that thing and rubs her face on it. And puts it in her mouth. LOVES it. So shout out to that family!
This week in cuteness:
She bats at that butterfly….sometimes. Usually when I’m not in the room. I can hear it dinging.
Note the large mass of hair she is acquiring on top…not so much on the sides or in the back. It’s an interesting look.
She is really excited for Man of Steel to be coming out soon, and did her own Supergirl pose.
So I’m a little concerned that my baby loves the sight of herself so much these days. She’s becoming quite the little narcissist. Currently, her favorite toy is a mirror (which doubles as a rattle…so that helps); and when she wakes up in the morning she just stares at herself and smiles HUGE grins and sticks her tongue out. She just loves it. Needless to say, smiling has become a much more regular thing. I’ve even heard a little half giggle from time to time. Those are rare, but they’re popping up.
There hasn’t been too much excitement around here this week. We have been having a hard time keeping her feeding volumes where they are supposed to be. Ever since she had her reflux issues 2 weeks ago, she has moved up in volume, but not where she was prior to her mini- breakdown. Her pediatrician appointment is Tuesday so we will see if there is anything else we need to do. We really are hoping they don’t suggest going back on the tube. I’m pretty sure she’s still doing OK in terms of what she really needs. We are hoping for some decent weight gain. I’ll be happy if she’s up to 10 1/2 pounds.
Coraline is still loving bath time, even though she hates getting out of it. Although she seems to hate it less when she’s dealing with her dad. Not sure what THAT is all about.
She just loves her baby spa treatment.
This coming week is a really busy one. Andrew’s having a crazy week at work and between the 3 of us we have 4 doctors appointments. I also have 3 social engagements (IN ONE WEEK?! WHAT?!). By social engagements, I mean hanging out with friends/family for less than 2-3 hours. But I’m SO excited about it. So wish us luck on organizing our schedule. It will be….fun.
Maybe next week we’ll get some decent smiles out of this baby on camera. For now, she is still holding back when she sees that big black box.
She even got a little tummy time in during photo shoot time!
And then the cat got involved…
Have a good week, everyone.
OH! This is totally off topic, but CBS Sunday Morning was amazing today, and had their whole show about design, with a big focus on architecture. I would highly recommend it, if you can grab it online. That is all.
Happy Mother’s Day to all those new and veteran moms out there. I know that this was a big year for new babies (at least in my circle) and I hope that everyone is having a lovely day with their kiddos. I’m bummed my mom couldn’t be here to meet Coraline, but at least I’m still lucky to have a great mother-in-law who fawns all over her just fine.
Today I woke up LATE (awesome) and had breakfast made for me, which consisted of a smoothie, pancakes, bacon, and eggs. It was a feast, really. A super tasty one. The baby was compliant and let me and Superdad eat while she snoozed. Then she got a bath. Then she spit up all over dad. And then we had our weekly photo shoot. She was pretty amiable through the whole thing…even after getting out of the bath, which she usually hates!
We had a rough week with the baby this week. She has been eating very poorly and had seemed very uncomfortable a lot of the time. But over the last couple of days she has seemed on the upswing. She has been eating like a champ and in a much better mood. Although you wouldn’t know if from this picture:
This really says to me, “I will cut you.”
New things this week:
She is starting to swipe at her toys. She can’t really grab them yet. But she is getting excited about hitting them. Maybe I should be worried about a propensity toward violence. Hmmm…
She has been “chatting” a little more. She is usually pretty quiet though. My favorite is when she gets really excited about something and just builds up all her energy and screams just once.
She is smiling WAY more. Although you wouldn’t know it from her pictures. She isn’t really a huge ham for the camera yet. Yet.
She is really trying to figure out how to suck her thumb, but she does not want our help. She definitely is working on putting fingers in her mouth but with no rhyme or reason. It’s pretty funny. She seems to enjoy it, anyway.
This week is a doctor-free week. However we have two appointments next week. Cross your fingers for good news!
And now, Mother’s Day fashions, brought to you by Coraline Nelson.
And check it out… I even got a little smile for the camera!
This week the new thing in Coraline’s life is that she doesn’t like to be reclined very much. In fact, she dislikes it so much sometimes that she tries to sit herself up, and often succeeds. She does this with just the strength of her core. No arms or legs helping. It’s extremely impressive. I even find it hard to do! This baby has got some very strong abs. This is an example…she has pulled herself forward so she can try to eat her owl. You’d think we didn’t feed her (or try to) all the time.
This week we have gotten out of a house a couple of times. Grandma and Grandpa Nelson have been SO helpful and come over to babysit, just to let us get out for a dinner every once in awhile. So far she has treated her grandparents pretty well. I think she’s a fan.
Crazy enough, we don’t have another doctor’s appointment for this lil baby for another couple of weeks! It feels weird to not be juggling visits to the doctor with Andrew’s work schedule anymore. We’re finally starting to get back on track again with a decent schedule. Well, at least for Andrew. I am not sure when I’ll be able to go back to work. I hate not working. I feel the more time I spend at home the lazier I get and I’m not a fan. Coraline and I have a nice time together, but we’re kind of stuck here and I’m getting sick of the walls of my house.
Enough for me being frumpy…it’s SUNDAY! So we had photo shoot day! Here is Coraline, 5 1/2 months old actual, 2 months adjusted. She’s the cutest.
We’ve been getting some more real smiles these days, which is really nice. Here is KIND of one. She was about halfway there.
Just a little note, if you’re an NPR fan you might have heard or at least heard of Radiolab. It’s a pretty awesome show, and last week they did a show on micropreemies, specifically the moral implications of trying to save a 23/24 weeker. It’s an amazing story of a baby born down in Florida at 23 weeks and 6 days. She was two weeks earlier than Coraline was, but around the same size. It’s a great description of life in the NICU and the situation that the families of very early babies are dealing with. I love Radio Lab. Give it a listen if you’re just hanging out: Radiolab link
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