Doctor Visit #2

The other day Hunter went to visit his Pediatrician for the second time since he's come home. We spend a lot less time there than I thought we would. I was planning on having weekly trips to the doctor right after coming out of the hospital. Instead, after his first appointment he wasn't scheduled for another three weeks. His Pediatrician is really impressed at how he's growing and has put him on the same schedule that any other kid Hunter's age would be on, now we don't go back until September.

Hunter's weight isn't changing much, he's still right around 14 lbs and just over 2 feet tall. That's still a big change from where we started. Looking at him now it's hard to believe that he's the same baby that was in an incubator 6 months ago.

Over the next few weeks we start seeing all of his specialists, there are a lot. Today is his first time with his physical therapists. The two that I'm really looking forward to are the G tube doctor and the oxygen doctor. I'm eager for his accessories to be taken away.

Hunter Update

Hunter has been doing great lately. He is growing up just like a little boy should.

His G tube has been healing well and he is able to spend a lot more time on his belly. He really enjoys spending time on his belly, he can nearly roll from his back to his front. The only problem is that he has some trouble convincing one of his arms to cooperate. He'll end up laying on his arm and can't quite pull it free yet. He pulls his feet up and it looks like he is practicing his crawl.

Until his 6-week checkup he is supposed to have his G tube open all the time. The problem with this is that it's a short, 12 inch leash that he is stuck to. Now that he is rolling and squirming it's very hard to do that with only a foot of wiggle room. After his checkup we should be able to take the tube out shortly after he eats and only put it back in when it's time to eat again.

Hunter and his Thumb

Hunter is starting to suck his thumb. He really likes his pacifier and when he can't have that he goes right for his hand. We're pretty generous with the pacifier though. I figure when it's time to get stop it's a lot easier to get rid of a pacifier than a thumb.

He has an appointment tomorrow with his stomach doctor because his skin around his g tube is growing odd. They said that it's possible that it would try to heal itself and the skin would start to grow up around the tube. It looks like that might be happening, so they're going to check it out.

I should post more pictures. I think I'll try to take some cute pictures tomorrow. He's very smiley (when he's in a good mood) and laughs occasionally. He also gets very sad and angry if you MOOOOO at him. I guess he doesn't like cows.

Getting to Know Hunter

Today is the one-week celebration of bringing Hunter home from the hospital. Over that one week we've had a lot of adjusting to do.

I think that we have a pretty good system of making sure that he gets all of his meds and meals on time. Between all of the care that he needs and playtime he ends up getting lots and lots of attention.

The next big challenge is going to be in about another week when Brother and Sister come home. Right now they're at Nana's house having a good time. It's also giving us time to get to know Hunter without a lot of distractions. Once they get home there will be a new bunch of adjustments to make.

I think that Alyssa will be helpful. I think she'll want to feed him and change his diapers. She already tries to change Gavin's diaper... he doesn't like that much. Gavin on the other hand I'm expecting to cause some trouble. He'll be looking for someone to play with and chase around, Hunter isn't quite ready for that.

Ain't Nothin but a G-Thang Baby

Hunter's G-Tube

Learning the Routine

Hunter's been home a few days now. We're learning how to handle the difficulties of having a baby that needs to be plugged in.

The other day we unhooked him from everything to give him a short bath. It was a pleasure to be able to hold him without worrying about pulling on any of his cords or accidentally pouring his stomach goo all over the floor.

Hunter went to his first pediatrician visit yesterday. It went much better than I could ever have expected. The doctor he visited is new to this practice so we hadn't met him before. He was very friendly and seemed quite knowledgeable on Hunter's accessories.

Doctor said that despite Hunter's two major issues (breathing and eating) that he is a very healthy baby. We've been concerned about a flat spot on the back of his head since he's spent a lot of time on his back but Doctor thinks he looks wonderful. He said that he sees lots of full-term babies with more pronounced flat heads.

Hunter's weight at the visit: 13 lbs, 10 oz.
Hunter length: 24 in.

Pictures

Baby Hunter at the hospital getting ready to come home.



A special message from Hunter's nurses.



In the car seat, ready to come home.



Hunter at home!