Check-up

Quinn had her 12 month well child check-up today.
It went really well!

Highlights:

* Her weight, height, and head are all back in about the 5% for her adjusted age. The doctor was very pleased.
* We also had some information off her pulse-ox machine downloaded and sent to our doctor a few weeks ago, but it was put in her file without him seeing it on accident. He read it today, and decided based on that and the information from us, that Quinn no longer needs oxygen. Or her pulse-ox machine. We are done. I am very excited, but a little nervous about not knowing if she is breathing all night long. It has been a pain and inaccurate, but some reassurance at the same time. Wish us luck.
* Quinn is hitting all her milestones for her adjusted age, and a good majority of them for her real age too!
* Quinn's iron levels were great! I was a little worried. She used to be very, very (scarily) anemic due to all her transfusions and whatnot, but not anymore!
* We are going to get to transition her off her very expensive formula that is free of cow's milk protein, and try her on a soy formula. And work toward giving her yogurt and cheese in a few months.
* She got four shots, and cried, but calmed right down. I was a little worried we would have a repeat of when she had her button for her g tube put in, but rather she slept the whole way home!
* The doctor asked if we celebrated Quinn's FIRST birthday with a bottle of champagne, and jokingly asked if Quinn drank it all herself or shared it with us. He later offered to buy us a bottle of champagne to celebrate her weaning off of oxygen. I am seriously considering buying a bottle, and billing his office. Ha, ha!

Photo-extravaganza Part 4

The Bumbo.

Quinn loves it. She loves to sit in it. She loves to play with toys in it. She likes to drop her toys from it. And she especially love to watch Piper while in it. We have had a lot of Bumbo time lately. She looks so mini in it. It is adorable. Speaking of sitting, Quinn is getting closer and closer to sitting up on her own everyday. She can do it on her own for about three seconds at a time, but most of the time, she needs a tiny bit of support to do it.

"If my calculations are correct....

when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're going to see some serious shit!"
-Dr. Emmett Brown, Back to the Future

Talked to Doctor Ferrari (what I call my pediatrician behind his back, because he may or may not be hot (he is), like a Ferrari) on the advice of some other NICU graduates' moms, and he changed Quinn's oxygen perimeters from 85 to 95, to 88 to 100. This means no more beeping when she is breathing "too well." She will only alarm if her levels are too low! Oh the joy that brings me. Hopefully, our home health care company will deliver the new machine tomorrow, and that means tonight will be my last (in theory) sleepless night. I will be able to function again, and not be a zombie. I will be able to sleep in my own bed again, instead of on that love seat in Quinn's room. I wish I would have known to call earlier, but I thought her limits were her limits until she was off of oxygen.

Anyway, the number 88 made me think of one of my favorite movie quotes. Sorry for the swear. I try to keep the blog clean.

That is three Back to the Future references in one week for those of you who are keeping track.

Solids

Yesterday, Quinn tried solids for the first time. It was a little (ok, a lot) earlier than I would have started them, but our occupational therapist suggested starting them now, for a couple of reasons. First of all, it will give her practice for future eating. And second of all, some kids just do better with solids than they do with a bottle, and it is worth a try. We started with sweet potatoes, and so far so good. I am going to make my own baby food, and thanks to Becca have an excellent method that will make it easy, totally affordable, and super healthy. I boiled and pureed a sweet potato, and then froze it in an ice cube tray, so now we have enough servings for about three weeks, all for about ten minutes worth of work, and a dollar in cost.

Yesterday, the OT fed her, in order to teach us some techniques. We will be using her binkie as part of the feeding to help her learn to transfer food from the front of her mouth to the back. I only took one photo since it was an occasion in which I was learning and observing, rather than snapping photos.

(hands (well, thumb...see below) in mouth, right after her first taste of "real" food.)

Today, Dalan fed her. She did great, and seems to like it ok. She ate well, and then just wanted to chomp on her binkie and go to sleep. Unfortunately for Quinn, it was then time to take her bottle. I obviously had to take the binkie out her mouth, so she started to instantly suck her thumb. Crazy girl! She has not done that forever. After her bottle, she just wanted to suck her thumb some more, so apparently, sweet potatoes turn Quinn into a thumb sucker. (You can also note that today was a bit of a crazy hair day for Quinn.)

eyes

Quinn graduated from regular check ups from the eye doctor last week! Hip hip hooray! Her eyes are mature and her ROP is gone. She will go back in February to get her vision checked. Near sightedness is very common amongst preemies, so that may be a possibility, but at least we are over the first major eye hurdles.

Quinn looking adorably grumpy after they dilated her eyes.

A post with words: an update on Quinn

Sleeping: has been pretty good. She is sleeping in her crib for a good portion of the night, and sometimes in her swing. She naps on and off throughout the day. She still sleeps best while snuggling with Dalan or me. And still likes to party in the middle of the night at times. Last night she was giving me wide-eyed grins at 1:30 am.

Eating: our biggest challenge. Sometimes she eats like a champ, sometimes not so much. We are working with an occupational therapist to hopefully get this all figured out. Her weight gain has been ok, so that is good, but it could be better. And her eating could be a whole lot better.

Breathing: going well. She is on the lowest setting possible most of the time, and goes onto room air from time to time. This is going very well.

Development: excellent. She smiles. She coos. She swats at and grabs toys. She chews on her hands. She holds up her head. She rocks her body from side to side. She tracks with her eyes.

Eyes: on track. We have an appointment on Thursday. Two weeks ago, things were progressing as they should.

Fashion: going well. Ali and Varonica threw me a shower on Saturday, and Quinn received so many cute things. She will continue to be the best dressed baby ever. Thanks to everyone who came! Everyone was so generous, and we appreciate all the gifts and all the donations to the March of Dimes.

Play: loves it! Quinn loves music! If you put a toy in front of her that plays music, she will be occupied and happy forever! She particularly loves playing on her mat while swatting at her Winnie the Pooh rattle, and swinging bird while listening to her piano play music. She did it on four different occasions yesterday for lengthy amounts of time. Helped me get a lot of things done!

Binkie: limited, but beloved. It was recommended that we limit her binkie time to see if we can get her to eat more. It has not really seemed to make a difference, but when she does get binkie time, she chomps, and holds it in with her forearm. Funny girl.

Hair: wild. Still has her crazy widow's peak. Still has all these super long wispy pieces. Still is bald in back. Still is lighter on the sides. Is now darker on top. The big question...will she be a red head?

Ok, and now for the photos!

First walk

After Quinn came home it got cold and rainy, so we stayed inside. Safe, warm, and dry. However, the weather has been gorgeous this weekend (reminds me of another weekend two years ago), so we took advantage, and have been taking her and Piper on a little late morning walk. Quinn just sleeps. You put her in her car seat, and she just passes out. Piper had to keep checking on Quinn to make sure she was still there/alright, during our first walk. During the second walk, she was far more ambivalent.

Isn't she adorable?

Eyes

Quinn will get her walking papers if her eyes are mature and healthy tomorrow. C'mon universe, send us some good eye vibes!

A blog with a list and pictures

I don't have too many new things to report. Let's see...

1. Quinn loves her bink. A lot. Still. She is getting better and better at holding it herself. This is a good neurological sign.



2. She is gaining weight at a great pace. Maybe too great. They are now fortifying her milk with less calories. Hooray for that. Quinn's bowels and belly thank you, NICU staff.

3. She is doing great at breast feeding. And bottle feeding. I am confident to say this is fact, and not opinion.

4. She played in her vibrating seat this afternoon. She did great.



5. She is in between sizes. She has been primarily wearing her newborn sized clothes. They are big, but she looks adorable. Thank you to everyone who has given Quinn clothes. She is the best dressed kid in the NICU!



*** Tomorrow is eye exam day. Let's all send those positive eye development vibes into the universe.

Catching Up

My wonderful friends showered Quinn with gifts this weekend. They were so generous and thoughtful, it is overwhelming for me. I feel so lucky to have such wonderful and supportive friends. The shower was so fun and "normal". It felt so good to do something traditional, since the last eleven weeks have been everything, but normal. Thanks to everyone who came, it was seriously very therapeutic and good for me. It was such a special afternoon.


Quinn got a bath on Monday. She continues to love her bath. She "ohhed" and "ahhhed" again, and was totally relaxed. Bath time is one of my most favorite times with Quinn. Quinn got a lot of fun toys for the tub, and some wash clothes and towels. I can't wait until we are doing bath time at home.


Quinn is getting bigger and bigger and more and more alert. She breast fed this afternoon, and then stayed awake and alert. She sat against her boppy, and sucked on her binkie and stared at her daddy. I got some of my favorite pictures this afternoon of her ever.



Quinn also sat in her bouncy/vibrating seat for the first time tonight. It melted my heart. She looked so old and so big. I cannot believe Quinn is now to a stage where she can do fun things like sit in a seat. What a big girl! She also wore newborn sized clothes for the first time. Most of the pictures were coming out blurry. So, here are just a few. She was really happy most of the time in her new seat.


And finally, here are a bunch of random, mostly sleeping pictures of Quinn from the last few days. She is so cute, and she is doing so well. She has weaned off of her high flow oxygen, and is now on a regular nasal cannula. She is doing really well with breast feeding, and she seems to be transferring milk from breast to her mouth. She has an eye exam tomorrow. Her eye development is her biggest question mark right now. Her eyes are right on the borderline of being ok, so I need everyone to send positive eye development vibes to Quinn. I know all your support and love has totally helped Quinn grow and heal!