Happy 4 Month Birthday Dylan!!

My little man is getting so big. At his 4 month wellness check (which occurred a couple of weeks ago) he weighed in at 12 pounds 4 ounces! That's almost 7 pounds more than when he was discharged from the hospital and 9 pounds more than his birth weight. For awhile there he was putting on a pound a week. Dylan has outgrown his 3 month clothes and is into 6 month clothes. There are so many cute summer outfits that he won't be able to wear!

Jacob seems to be warming up to his brother. When we first brought Dylan home, Jacob pretty much ignored him, then he moved into disliking his brother and trying to move Dylan out of his chair or play pen so that Jacob could play in it, now I am happy to say we have moved into the "okay you're sticking around so I'll try to like you" stage. He'll walk up to Dylan and give him hugs and kisses then walk away.

Only a week and a half of maternity leave left. I am not freaking out as much as I was with Jacob, it's because the first time I didn't know what to expect and thought Jacob would cry the entire day if I wasn't around. Well I was wrong, he didn't even care, and it was nice being around adults. So I know life will go on when I go back to work, but it's still sad knowing I won't be able to be with him during the day. I also feel like I've been robbed of the last month, the weather has been so bad, raining and cold, that Dylan and I haven't been able to get out as much as I would liked.

Happy 2 Month Birthday and Actual Due Date!!

Dylan turned 2 months old last Friday and yesterday was his actual due date. He is becoming such a chunkier. He actually has a double chin, it's probably from eating every 2 - 3 hours.

I have never been so tired in my life. Between Dylan and Jacob I have not gotten more than 3 hours of consecutive sleep in over a month. Dylan eats every 2 - 3 hours so by the time I feed him, change him, put him back to bed and settle into bed myself its been an hour and then he wakes up again. Everyone tells me to nap whenever Dylan is napping but I can't do that with Jacob at home. Lucky for me my parents take him a few days a week.

Jacob owns grandma and grandpa. I heard his cousin Bradley say that he was leaving the house because they love Jacob more than they love him.  My parents are not shy about their favoritism. Soon it will be Dylan and Jacob is probably going to say the same thing.

My Boys!!

Although Jacob ignores Dylan most of the time there are times when he'll take time away from his cars and trains and hangs out with his brother. Jacob is also turning into a very good helper. The other day while we were giving Dylan a bath, Jacob handed us the shampoo and a cup to rinse Dylan off with. He also has diaper changing duty.

The Luckiest Mom In The World

I have to admit that there is a little part of me that was sad to realize I am probably never going to get a little girl, but then I look at my life and realize how wonderful it is to have two little boys. Jacob is such a momma's boy and will give me hugs and kisses just because. Dylan looks at me so lovingly. I can't describe how happy I am to have all of my boys at home.

Dylan's home!!

After 40 long days Dylan is finally home from the hospital. Final wright 5 pounds 12 ounces! A gain of 2 pounds and 3 ounces.

Jacob has done surprisingly well. He's given his brother a couple if kisses and hugs. I don't think he's jealous yet or upset, mostly because Dylan doesn't want any if his stuff. He mostly sleeps. The only little melt down we've had is when I am feeding Dylan and can't do something for him. I still don't entirely trust Dylan's eating ability. She has choked on his milk once for me since we've gotten home so I still have to watch him closely during feedings.

I've already discovered one difference between the brothers. Jacob likes it cold while Dylan prefers it warm. Jacob can't sleep if he's too hot. He kicks his blanket off every night. Where Dylan loves it warm. The first night he couldn't sleep until I turned up the heat and put another layer on him.

5 lbs

We broke the 5 pound mark today!!! 5 pounds 1 ounce to be exact. Dylan is now 4 weeks old and 35 weeks gestational.

Dylan is still progressing very nicely but the doctor told us yesterday that he is still a little immature for his gestational age and may have to go home on an apnea monitor. He had a spell yesterday that was not feeding related and although he is bottling his entire feedings the nurses have to do quite a bit of pacing to make sure he breathes in-between sucks.  We also are unlikely to bring Dylan home on the 8th as the hospital originally estimated, we are looking at closer to Valentines day.

A Big Boy Bed

Dylan is now three weeks old (34 weeks gestation) and has been moved to a big boy crib!  This means that the doctor believes Dylan is old enough and big enough to maintain his old body temperature. The isolette was helping to keep warm until now. It also means that is it much easier to take Dylan out and put him back into bed Before I had to open the doors of the isolette and try not to bump his head on the top or sides of the isolate. Now I just have lift him out like any other normal crib - although you still have to be careful with all of the wires.

I've also successfully bathed Dylan twice on my own. Bathing a preemie is differently than bathing a full term baby. They lose heat really fast so the baths have to be really quick and you have to be careful not to get the feeding tube in the soapy water and the other cords that are stuck on him. When he was still in the isolate it also made drying and dressing him a lot harder because you only have a limited space to stick you hand in and you can only lift him so high to get the towels and clothes under him. I haven't bathed him since he's been moved to a crib, but I know that will make things much easier.

Dylan is also big enough to attempt nursing. He still can't coordinate the sucking swallowing and breathing part all that well and has had spells (where he chokes on the milk and stops breathing) every time I've tried to nurse him, but the doctors and nurses say he's still pretty young and in about a week or so he should be able to do it. This also means I am spending a lot more time at the hospital. He eats every three hours so I try to be there for as many feedings as I can so we can both practice.