6 months at home

Since my last post, our little mate has come on in leaps and bounds. He is now 10 months old (6 months corrected), and just so much fun. He's such a happy little man, not often upset, he gets frustrated and full of angst being unable to move his body to his advanced wishes, but overall just such a content and rambunctious little human.

As each day goes by he is becoming more and more mobile. On top of propelling around the house on his back, he is now an avid roller, and showing early signs of crawling. He gets up on his knees, and if there's something he really wants to grab, he'll move Heaven and Earth to grab it. When he tries to move forward on his knees, he often overbalances and ends up on his back, where he'll either shuffle backwards to reach the object of his desire, or roll back to his front and morph into a grunting slug, huffing and puffing once his goal is achieved. We are also practising sitting up. He can manage a few minutes unassisted, and does very well with stabilising and self correcting. However, I'm not sure he finds it terribly comfortable. He seems to burp loudly, and sometimes do a little vomit when sitting up, he also pants and grunts a lot. It's a big amount of effort you see. He's not far off though, so in no time I do believe we will have a moving, sitting, very mobile little man of the house. Needless to say Phil and I are now in the market for gates, barriers, and all other safety devices we can get our hands on.

Jensen has recently discovered he has feet. He has also discovered that these feet can go in his mouth. Furthermore, he now knows that his feet taste better with porridge on them. Nonetheless he looks such a cutie coiled up like a little slater beetle, and of course playing with his feet in this way further enables his development when it comes to crawling and walking.

In terms of development, we have some great news! Finally, after 10 months, Jensen has reached the bottom line of the weight chart. He has been on the line for head circumference and height for a little while, but it's been weight we've been 'weighting' for...so what does this mean? It means that now, at 6.3kgs, (ten times his birth weight), he is in the bottom 3% of the population of babies his corrected age. So as long as he continues on this curve or goes higher we have nothing to worry about, besides, it's not like he's skinny or underweight, he's got some Michelin man legs in the making, and he's certainly in proportion for his height, just little.

We've been home from hospital 6 months now. And for the last few, I've been making excuses as to why Jensen has to remain sleeping in his Moses basket next to us. "After his surgery" I said, "he can go in his big bed"' then it was "when we buy a new baby monitor", (which arrived way too efficiently for my liking). Next it was "once we've been home 6 months". So after precisely 6 months beside us, in his little basket (which he almost had to sleep curled up in), Jensen is now sleeping in his own room. I wake up in the night and go and check on him....he is fine, he is asleep, he is breathing. He still wakes up in the morning blowing raspberries, so I know he is happy too. Mummy will just have to get used to just having one male snoring next to her again..

Jensen has had his first visit with the big man in the red suit.....Santa. We took him on the train to the Queen Victoria Building in town early last Sunday morning, thinking we would avoid the crowds....boy was I wrong! Five hours later, he was sat on Santa's lap, swiping his spectacles and tugging at his beard.......luckily Santa was in a joyful mood and didn't seem bothered by this friendly attack. Little Jensen had been such a good boy with the long wait, having a few naps and feeds here and there, and wandering about the town, although I think ten more minutes and we may not have had such a lovely outcome.....ho ho ho. Daddy was also very well behaved too and didn't moan once!

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Post surgery update

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9 months old

Yesterday Jensen was 9 months old. Sometimes I feel like time has flown by, and others I feel like we've had him forever. He certainly is growing into a little man right before our eyes. He's even sleeping through the night now, sometimes for 12 hours!

So, now Jensen is 5 months corrected, and developmentally proving so. He is one shoulder movement away from rolling, and has found a way to move round the house on his back, shuffling his little feet and lifting his bottom. I caught him chomping on the curtains when I had my back turned for a moment this morning. Actually Jensen just never stops moving, he constantly flaps his arms and now kicks his legs, and he loves dancing and taking some little steps....

We are up to 5.5 kgs now. Little man is loving his food, in fact there's nothing he's refused as yet. Favourites seem to be banana, porridge, and avocado, actually anything sweet he opens his mouth wide for. This week, at dinner when he thinks he's had enough he closes his lips, when he is actually just making sure there is enough room left for dessert, as he will always polish off his sweets (not at all sure where he gets that from...). He is eating 3 meals and 2 snacks a day as per Dr Sinn's request, and all packed with protein to promote quick brain and muscle development. We still aren't on the chart yet, but only 5 cms and 700 grams away from the 3rd percentile. Sadly though he is quickly outgrowing his little Moses basket, with only 1cm of room left before he'll have to sleep curled up in a ball.

Our little family has been going on a few outings lately. We've popped down to Barangaroo, the beach, and the national park, and now the weather is getting warmer, we have lots more on our list. It's just so nice to get and about after so long in hospital, and winter confined at home, and most of all without a 5kg oxygen tank weighing us down. Mummy and daddy have even been out a couple of times, leaving little scrap with grandma and grandpa James for a couple of hours.

Some other exciting news.....Little man has a new little cousin, Cruze. He's Jensen's big little cousin, and Jensen is his little big cousin. We haven't spent much time with him as yet, but once everyone is all settled in nicely, I'm sure they'll be great pals.

After a couple of cancellations, Jensen is having his hernia repair surgery next Monday (all being well of course). Will keep you updated from there. After his surgery I promised daddy Jensen could move into his big bed in his own room.......sniff, sniff, sniff..

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Yum, yum

On Jensen's 4 month corrected birthday, we started solids. We've all been very excited about this and looking forward to it for a while. I have always thought he would enjoy eating solids, just from the way he attacks his dummy and medicines, so it was no surprise when he gobbled up his first mouthful, and almost a whole bowl of rice cereal. He's since gone on to enjoy pumpkin, sweet potato, broccoli, banana, pear, and apple. He pulls a face with carrot (don't blame him really), and I have some steamed kale waiting for him to try. I've read kale is very good for eyesight, and as we are not completely sure about his eyesight as yet, I thought we'd give it a whirl. It smells terrible though, so I don't like our chances.

Inconveniently, Jensen has coincided his eating of solids, with learning to blow raspberries. Therefore, as cute as it is watching him happily blow a raspberry, it has turned an already messy event into an even messier one. We have gone from wearing the same outfit for two days, to changing three times a day, mummy has had to go buy more clothes for Sir Mess-A-Lot !

The weather here has been beautiful, and summer has arrived early, so yesterday we had our first beach day. We headed out in the morning sun to Clontarf, a small kid friendly harbour beach, with no waves. I'd bought the smallest rashy, sunnies, and hat that I could find, lathered him up in baby sun cream and we were all set. Jensen seemed to enjoy the sand on his feet, but the water was very cold, too cold for mummy and daddy, so Jensen didn't really enjoy that part. If the weather keeps up, we'll be regular beach goers I think.

We had our physio appointment this week, with our new physiotherapist Gabby, as Bec is now on maternity leave. We were keen to show her how we walk...yes walk. Jensen prefers to stand rather than sit, and when standing moves his little legs in a walking motion, with the right music he can also do The Highland Fling! It's more of a reflex than actual controlled movements, but we still like to think he's very clever. He's on the 50th percentile for his corrected age in terms of his movements, which is fabulous. He's only on the third percentile for his weight, but now we are on solids, are hoping to change that real quick. And, he is displaying all the right motions for being ready to roll. He has his knees up in the air, he arches his back and turns his head. As much as I am looking forward to him rolling about, I'm also dreading the little man becoming mobile. As it is, he never stops moving, and I predict he's going to be one of those children that I place in one spot for a moment, come back and he's gone. We are going to have to secure all furniture, put up gates around the place, and get him a playpen....what a cheeky little monkey!

Daddy is hinting at having Jensen move to his own room, in his big bed shortly, but mummy is resisting. I like having him next to me, especially when he wakes through the night (although since eating solids, has gone through the night a couple of times), I can just peek over at him, rather than get out of bed and go check on him, and I believe I may well have some separation anxiety about the move. For so long I had to leave him every day in the hospital, sleep away from him, in another suburb, I want him as close to me as I can for as long as I can, but sadly his head and feet are almost touching either end of his little Moses basket :(, so the move is imminent I'm afraid.

This week we are heading for more blood tests, and hopefully the outcome will be that we can cease taking Calcium, and Phosphate. Perhaps even the Iron and Vitamin D can also stop due to being on solids. We will also have our first big weigh in after starting solids, which is very exciting. And it looks like we might be getting ourselves a new baby cousin this week. Will keep you all posted.

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It's my party

Last weekend we celebrated Jensen's homecoming with a big welcome home party for all of our dear friends and family that have supported us throughout our journey. As well as celebrating Jensen being home and healthy, this party was to say a big thank you to everyone that had us in their thoughts and prayers, those that fed us, cleaned for us, cared for us, went out of their way to help us out with things we found hard doing from hospital, those that visited us, those that understood when we weren't up for visitors, those that wiped many tears, and put up with anger, fear and angst, those that followed this blog, and all those that shared much needed positive energy around the place. It's these people, all of you, that have helped us get through the toughest time of our life, and without your love and support, this journey would have been much harder, so thank you.

The party was also an opportunity for everyone to meet Jensen. Initially, I was concerned about so many people being around and wanting to hold him. I asked Phil if we could put him in a display case at the front of the room. Those that asked for cuddles were not denied, and Jensen was such a good boy, considering the amount of stimulus around. He had first cuddles with his great nanna James, and other family members yet to meet him, some were too nervous for cuddles, but happy for hellos.

It was the perfect day for a party, beautiful sunshine and a cracker of a day. Mummy was up with the sparrows to hit the flower markets with beautiful friends Gemma and Anita. With armfuls of gorgeous blooms in tow, it was off the pick up the cake. What an amazing cake it was!! Well worth the expense. Next we hit the pub (to decorate), then it was home for a quick change and back for party time. We hired out the Atrium at the Greengate hotel, which was perfect for this occasion.... indoors, but not, light and airy, and nothing like a pub. Good food, good company, a great day.

We raised $500 for the RNS NICU, and also awareness of the importance of giving blood. This week Jensen and I will be purchasing something from the NICU's wish list with the donations received on the day. The wait staff at our party even donated their tips for the day, which was very sweet of them. We will keep you posted as to what we decide to purchase. Our next big fundraiser will be the Balmoral Burn, where we will be raising money for the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, those that donate the life saving medical equipment to NICUs throughout Australia, so start saving everyone.

It was such a big day for Jensen, and he was such a good boy. We had had a visit with Dr Sinn in the morning too, as surgery was scheduled for two days after the party, so he'd been out most of the day. We got home to bed and he was out like a light. I woke him 6 hours later for his feed.

The surgery ended up being postponed, as Jensen had had a little cold and cough throughout the week, which escalated on the Sunday. So to be safe Dr Sinn cancelled it and mummy and Jensen had a recovery day in their pyjamas instead.

Thank you to all those that celebrated with us, we had such a wonderful time catching up with you all, and we're so pleased you have all had a chance to meet our beautiful little Jensen. Thank you for the beautiful gifts, which were very unexpected, and unnecessary. Now to get planning his first birthday......

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Father's Day

Last Sunday was Father's Day. Daddy had been looking forward to his first Father's Day for quite some time, even way before Jensen was even born. Needless to say, the pressure was on mummy to perform. And if I do say so myself, I think I did pretty well.

Daddy woke up to a happy boy bearing gifts, a personalised Star Wars themed T-shirt, and tickets to the V8s in December. We splashed out for our first Father's Day did Jensen and I, but from here on in he can only expect socks, undies, and personalised handkerchiefs.

When the occasion suits we like to go for a drive to Windsor for a picnic of fish 'n' chips. Turns out the weather wasn't too fabulous, but we still went ahead with the fish 'n' chips part. We met grandma and grandpa James there and had a little wander through the markets and massive sweet shop, where daddy was very excited to find some Cheesy Wotsits, a steal at $2.50 a bag rather than 20 pence as they are back in England. I'm not sure they even lasted the trip home!

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Going going gone....

Since my last post, a few things have happened....

It's official.....the oxygen tanks have been removed from our house. Jensen absolutely no longer requires any respiratory assistance. Yeehah!! Since this point we have been trying to ween ourselves off the Graseby monitor. First, I stopped taking it in the pram, then the car, then tried daytime sleeps without it (unless Jensen was sleeping on his tummy, which he loves so very much). Last night, after removing the lead for its weekly change, I posed the question..."what do you think about sleeping without Graseby tonight?", thinking if Phil was unsure we would strike that idea, but he seemed confident and keen, so sleep without the comfort of the Graseby we did. I thought we would be in for a night of no sleep, but it had been a little while since I had woken up to check the light was flashing anyhow, and surprisingly I slept ok, only waking once or twice wondering why I hadn't heard from our little bundle in a while. Since we have gone to demand feeding it can be 6 hours in between sqwarks. Last night he went to bed at 8pm, and didn't wake until 230am. We still have a while left on our hire of the monitor, so won't be returning it just yet, but last night we made a major progressive step into normalising our little boy.

Speaking of normalising, a quick visit to Dr Sinn yesterday, saw him announce that Jensen was almost a 'normal' little boy. Blood test results showed his Thyroxin levels to be perfect (probably due to his meds), his Calcium and Phosphate levels almost perfect. His weight gain of 240grams this week, has put him at 4.54kgs, we have ceased Poly-Joule, Daktarin, and Flixatide....and therefore his thrush has gone (thankfully, as he vomited every time I put the gel on his tongue). So that leaves us with Vitamin D, Iron, and Pentavite, all of which he will stay on until we start solids (which is only weeks away), a probiotic, and Thyroxin, which I believe he will be taking until he is 3 years old.

This massive weight gain can be attributed to a change in teat. We have moved on from the 0-3 months to 4-6 months teat. We tried this a month or so ago, but were met with chugs, splutters and mess. Now however, this has solved all our previous feeding problems. Jensen was rejecting his bottle after exactly 50 of his 100 mls. Out of pure exhaustion we now suppose, from having to suck so hard to get a drop of milk from a tiny hole. Feeding had become my worst nightmare, and most stressful part of my day, it was such a fight and would take so long. Now it's a favourite time, takes half the time and Jensen is feeding so much better, even trying to feed himself by holding the bottle. We just have to teach him to hold the actual bottle, not the teat!!

Aunty Mel are you sure I can't have a piece of your birthday cake?

This week we caught up with a couple of nurses, which was lovely. It's been a long while between visits, and it was nice to have a catch up outside of the NICU. Everyone can really tell the difference with him now, being so big, a crop of hair (just on the top of his head), and a face free of tubes.

In news that makes me nervous and unsettled, we have booked Jensen's hernia repair surgery. Dr Holland (the surgeon) had been waiting for the all clear from Dr Sinn, in regard to coming off oxygen etc. So I popped into his clinic to make an appointment with him, and instead he booked us in for surgery.....very soon! I asked for a date after the 12th which is the date of Jensen's welcome home party, so the 14th is what we got. It's just a day surgery, and hopefully won't require an overnight stay in hospital. The surgery will be done at Westmead children's hospital..... I never wanted to go back to that place.

We also have had to make another appointment to see Dr Smith, the ophthalmologist. The baby health nurse commented on Jensen's eye, so we are off to get it checked out again. One of his eyes is slightly turned and his eyes float around a lot before focussing. Hopefully with a few easy exercises this can be rectified, and hopefully no more surgery is required.

Over the last few weeks we have also had some nice little get to know you sessions with family overseas. We regularly video chat with grandma and grandad Jackson, my uncle Geoff and Bernice, and recently have chatted with great grandma Jackson, and cousin Tegan, for the first time. Jensen is also getting to know cousin Daisy, and I'm sure will soon be babbling away at her. Phil's brother and girlfriend, Matthew and Emma and sisters Sally and Gemma, gather round for a chat when visiting the folks, and we even had the whole Jackson family a couple of weeks ago. It's nice that even though we are so far apart, our lives don't have to be.

In the world of learning and development, little man is learning how to kiss. He goes in for the big open mouth pash with a bit of a lick too. Very, very cute, and very very sloppy. We are learning about our nose, how to clap and to reach out and grab things. Jensen is very good at grabbing mummy's hair, but we are aiming for more tangible objects such as rattles and the like. This week's aim is to familiarise ourselves with our knees, in order to help us to roll. Stay tuned folks....

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The day we've been waiting for.....

Today is day 3 of no oxygen.....yep, that's right, little man is in air with no respiratory assistance for the first time ever!! The download on Friday night was just perfect, so Jensen has had his prongs and tubing removed since then, and assuming he is still happy in air for another download sometime this week, the oxygen tanks will be collected and removed for good. Yay!!!! We've all been waiting for this day for so long, we are so proud of our little man, and he seems quite happy with himself too. Thinking back to when he was just initiating breaths, and having the ventilator finish them for him, to see him now doing it all on his own is an amazing achievement in such a short time. We were initially looking at being on oxygen for a lot longer, so our little super star has just amazed everyone he knows once again.

Now that we can see our handsome boy's face unobstructed for the first time ever, we've been showering his bare cheeks with kisses. We've danced around the house in twirls without tangles, gone out on to the balcony without restriction, passed him to each other without getting caught in tubing, and gone for a walk minus the 5kg backpack. It only took us minutes to leave the house, and we were able to take turns pushing the pram, heck, today we even enjoyed a coffee at a café with outdoor heating...something we've had to avoid having a flammable tank on our back....it's these little things of everyday life taken for granted, that are our little treasures. We don't have inquisitive stares any longer, we just blend. Not that I have ever been one to blend, but in this instance, it's been a long term wish.

On top of this good news, Jensen also reached the 4kg mark. Actually he's had quite the growth spurt, growing 6 cm in a week! This means he is less of a worry to the doctors, and much more robust. It also means that we can move on to demand feeding again, and let the little man sleep for longer stints (and mummy and daddy). We still have to keep track of his supplements and meds, but have now scheduled them to feeds rather than a time.

I think that's enough exciting news for one post, so will keep you updated with our little star's progress as the weeks go by.

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