Fat and Cheeks

First of all I want to say that dad has been amazing with Loki over the weekend. He was forced into a 24 hour care taking situation by my illness and he just jumped right in. Between throwing up and shivering, it was fun to overhear dad and the little guy have conversations together in the room next door. I was surprised how easy it was for me to let go and be grateful with a few hours of extra sleep. Then again, I felt so sick that half the day passed in a weird fog of misery about the nausea and gratitude for the space to lay down and close my eyes.

Loki saw his pediatrician Dr. Abbott yesterday, who is by the way a wonderful doctor, and he had gained the huge amount of 5 ounces in eight days. Now, that is not quite enough, as we should see a weight gain of approximately one ounce per day. But nevertheless, Dr. Abbott was very happy to see some increase. The NeoCate arrived yesterday, so we are hopeful that we will see more of fat on Loki's tiny body soon. For now I believe all the weight he has been able to put on went straight to his cheeks and his hands. His cheeks are ever growing and his hands, well.... they just seem really big to me. Like a puppy who still needs to grow into his feet. Now I think about it, this is what we thought about his feet when he was just born. His body seemed so tiny compared to his feet. When we look at his footprints now, it is hard to believe. They are so incredibly tiny.

Feeding continues to be quite challenging. We have to get a minimum of 8 feedings a day in, which with Loki's sleepiness at times is difficult. Every session takes between an hour and an hour and a half, so do your math. We start with 10 minutes of breastfeeding, and the remaining time is spent giving the bottle. We have a variety of nipples and depending on the day he does better with one or another. We never know before hand. Sometimes Loki does really well, he paces himself and is able to process the milk coming out. At other times he has a very hard time organizing his system. He chokes, coughs, milks dripping out of his mouth, arms flailing and little guy screaming while kicking his little legs vigorously. I have brought up the possibility of aspiration to the doctor but he thinks it is immaturity and time will help. Anywho, our little dude is becoming a little less little every day. That is a wonderful accomplishment for such a tiny guy who was not even able to drink from a bottle four weeks ago.

Yesterday Nurse Margaret visited again and this time she brought super, duper yummy hamburgers and sweet potato fries, wow! She spent some time with Loki talking about his eating habits. In return, he charmed her out of eating a full bottle by cuddling up and falling asleep with his booty sticking in the air. Who can resist that? Smart little baby he is indeed!

We are finding our way around our new lives with the three of us. It is wonderful being home again and spend time with dad, even though it is in between feedings, diapers and our own dinners. Just seeing each other wander around the house with sleepy eyes feels good.