1st birthday countdown - devin's 5th month...

devin's 5th month brought his first "fun" holiday... halloween!!! i love halloween and if you read my blog regularly, you know i love a good excuse to dress devin up in ridiculous outfits, so this one was really great for me! he was a hotdog ;)

an adorable hot dog that will probably say "moooooom! why did you do that to me?!" one day.

another great thing that happened in this time period was his first smile! im sure the first smile is wonderful for all moms and dads, but after watching him suffer through the NICU i believe it was even more rewarding to me when i saw it! he hasn't stopped smiling since!

he really started watching toys and enjoying things more. he has a rain forest mobile that he just loved, loves actually, hes still intrigued by it today. in those days though, sometimes it was the only thing he would smile at despite everything we tried to do to get a smirk. it was such a fun time realizing that this baby has a personality that was starting to shine.

we got him a bumbo seat towards the end of this month that he wasn't quite ready for yet. i convinced myself he was so strong and loved sitting in it even though his head would get very heavy after a few minutes ;) if only i knew how quickly the squishy , adorable, newborn days pass, i would have savored it a bit more. oh well, im still doing stuff like that every day!

like i mentioned last night, we finally found a solution to his restless nights. he was just so uncomfortable sleeping flat and we ended up letting him sleep in his bouncey seat overnight. i didn't sleep very well because i didn't like the thought of that so i was very relieved when the napnanny arrived and devin actually slept through the night in it! im obsessed and have recommend it to everyone i know with a baby. devin still sleeps in it every night and he's almost a year old!

this is also the time when i first started this blog! here is my first blog post ever! im so glad im a blogger now. i think its great to look back on old posts now and i imagine it will be even better as time goes by. i hope devin likes it one day too.

i love thrift stores!

thrift stores are the best! i think i've mentioned already that we got the bulk of devins christmas presents from the thrift store. well we got more and i just have to share with whoever reads this that thrift stores are the place to go for children's toys and books! when i was little, i had a million books and i want devin to have even more than i did. since i first got pregnant i always wondered how we would afford so many books because they are really expensive brand new. first, it helped that my mom obsessiveley saved all of my books and toys, so devin has all of that, but thrift stores are where we will be adding to his collection from. on our first trip we got him 10 board books. we have them wrapped under the tree so i dont have pictures but they're all really cut. we got him more this last weekend and there are some really good ones! we only spent about $15 for all the stuff in the pictures!

board books are perfect for devin right now. he can hold them and really seems to like them alot!

i made devin a christmas onesie. being stuck inside all the time has really made me feel crafty! the stuff might be a little cheesey but it gives me something to do!

here are a couple more of devin looking a little thuggish but very cute. i wish my animal shots didnt always have glowing crazy eyes.

devin's bouncer!

he does'nt do much in it yet.  we had to put somes books under his feet because they dont reach the ground! he bounced a tiny bit but thats about it. he really likes the music it plays and the dangling cow. he stayed in it for  about 15-20 minutes and seemed to really like it. he looks so cute in it!

i  stitched fabian's name onto a stocking because hes the only one that does'nt have one. i have a pretty embroidered one from when i was a baby/kid and my mom got devin a nice one for christmas that she hasnt given him yet. my grandma also bought mine for me. i might add something cute to it but im not sure what.

and i just did a very bad thing! i ran into our room while devin was sleeping and took a picure (with the flash- so wrong!) he fliched a little and i ran out like a creepy stalker!

little reader

devin has really begun to enjoy being read to. he will sit and listen to a whole book, sometimes two and look at the pictures the whole time. its so funny, when i talk louder or in a funny voice while reading to him he gets so excited and kicks and grabs at the pages!

devin is also starting to seem bored with his millions of toys. i dont understand this because you would think such a young baby would be amazed by things over and over for a while, but he really seems to be not too interested in some things that he used to really enjoy. the only thing that used to make him smile it seemed were these owls on his mobile in his pack and play, apparently hes over them now because he barely looks at them anymore! he has soooo many toys and we actually make a mess with them now. i dont even want to think about what my house will look like a year from now. im going to have fabian make him some heavy duty toy boxes sometime soon.

his feedings are going better than they had been for the last few days and his little spots are pretty much gone now so hopefully whatever he had is clearing up. today we're picking up a jumperoo for him that we found for $30 on craigslist. its the one i wanted to get him but it cost $100 at babies r us and we cant afford that right now. so its pretty awesome that its so cheap and looks brand new. the jumperoo and sophie the giraffe are his gifts from santa. we also got him a bunch of toys from a thrift store, probably about 10 different things like light and sound type toys that are plastic and can be cleaned and 10 cute board books. that was a really inexpensive trip, i think about $30. thats the way to go for a baby who does'nt really care about presents! i hope he likes the jumperoo because lately he has been so restless while we hold him. all he wants to do is stand and jump and kick off our laps. he might still be a little young for it but im sure he'll grow into it.

here it is!

an update...

devin is doing great! we went to his pediatritian yesterday and he said there really isnt anything to worry about. he most likey is getting over some sort of viral infection and thats what made the rash thing happen. he thinks it may be a tummy bug because devin has been vey fussy for a few feedings a day since monday. he usually drinks 4-5 oz. every three hours on the dot but he has only been wanting about every other feeding and just 2 ounces or so in between. of course because of his nicu days and how tiny he used to be i feel like i need to force him to eat every last drop of milk i can get into him but his dr. assured me that this is not necessary. so we are letting him eat what he wants for now. the dr. says he should be picking back up most of his feedings by monday and he doesnt even need to be seen again for the spots/rash unless different ones appear in a few weeks after he has recovered. he is still fine in every other way, happy and smiling as usual, so that makes me not as worried.

and the little chubmuffin weighs 14 lbs. 9 oz.!  that puts him in the 80th percentile for weight for his adjusted age! hes actually on the charts for his actual age too, hes in the 8.9th percentile!!! most premature babies, especially 26 weekers dont get on the charts for their actual age until around 2-3 years old! im so proud! go devin!

here's a little bonus picture. why is fraggle so large and in charge? you can barely tell hes a cat! each dog is 60+ pounds!

went to the e.r. last night :(

so last night while i was changing devin around midnight, i noticed a bunch of purple pin head sized dots on his right leg, kind of on his calf and a little on his foot. i called the pediatritian and while we were waiting on a call back i got on the internet to see what i could find. the spots were not a rash on top of his skin. they looked like tiny little bruises. i found an article that said to press a glass against the skin and see if the spots "blanch" or go away. they didnt so off to the e.r. for us. (thats what it said to do if they did not go away when pressed.)

here is his poor little leg today. the spots have faded a little. the light line above them is eyeliner! i marked it to make sure they didnt spread.

when we got to the e.r. fabian waited outside with devin so he wouldnt have to wait in the lobby with all the sick kids and i went in to sign in. the bitchy nurse that "helped" me didnt even ask what i was there for, she just said "where is your child?" i said hes outside, he was born at 26 weeks and id rather have him wait out there because its very dangerous for him to be exposed to germs. i will have my husband bring him in when you are ready to see him. she then says very loud... "so you have him waiting outside in the cold by himself!?"  i say, no, hes with my husband in his carseat with 2 blankets on and footed pajamas, not to mention its about 60 degrees outside! so she says "well its very dangerous for him to be in the cold and hes going to have to come in here if you want us to help him." she had yet to ask me why he needed to be seen. i said, can you please stop trying to hint that im abusing my son by "leaving" him outside. his pediatritian told us to do this when we go to the e.r. or his office! if you would listen to me and help me instead of trying to cause a scene i will bring him in! then a very nice male nurse stepped in and apologized for the other nurses behavior and said that i was right. so fabian brought devin in and they brought us into a room! i was so pissed!

anyway... the dr. was not too concerned about the spots and said they can happen to a baby if he was straining hard, or crying hard or had something too tight on his skin. he had done none of these things so i was still concerned. he orded bloodwork and when the first nurse put the tournacate around his arm and tried in vain to draw blood from his arm for 5 minutes, his arm started to develop more of the spots! i told her to stop because she was not anywhere near getting a blood sample and requested to talk to the dr. again. he said, because more of the spots came up with the "trauma" from the bloodraw or lack there of, that he most likely has something going on with his blood right now, its usually something to do with plateletts. i was so scared at this point and felt so bad for him!

   here is what his arm looks like fromt he bloodraw!

a different nurse ended up getting a sample and all that came back normal. his plateletts looked fine and he did not appear to have an infection. an infection is what the dr. said he wanted to rule out because that could be dangerous. we are still waiting on the culture to tell us for sure if one is present but he does not believe he has one. they ran some other tests too to make sure his blood is clotting properly and it is. so basically after 5 hours in the e.r. we dont really know why he has this. the dr. said that most of the time its just something that happens after a viral infection. the blood is repairing itself and it will clear up in the next few days. he could possibly have some sort of blood disorder that they didnt find last night, so we will be seen by a hematologist to try to figure things out. the dr. said hes really not concerned because devin is fine in every other way and not sick at all. so hopefully this is just something that will pass and we wont have to worry about it again. of course im really worried and am being super paranoid now! the hematolgist is supposed to call by tomorrow so we'll see what comes out of that.
his diagnosis is a petechiael rash. i will keep you all updated!

teething?

can devin possibly be teething? hes only 2 1/2 months adjusted, so it feels too soon, but maybe not. he has been quite drooly and a little fussy for a couple days. he chews on everything and has been sucking his fists like crazy! he brings his toys to his mouth all the time but has'nt mastered kepping them in there for very long.

this next one is one of his favorite toys that always makes him smile

 he usually ends up dropping whatever awkward shaped toy he has and just sucks away on his clammy little hands! his hands need to be wiped many times a day now because they are always moist and clammy from him eating them! it kinda gross. today i ordered his "glorified dog toy" (sophie the giraffe). its supposed to be for christmas but she might come to the rescue sooner than that.

shes $20, which seems like a little much, but from what ive read shes well worth it and the best teething toy ever.  we'll see if devin thinks so. i hope hes able to chew on her and love her!

we also got him his first christmas ornament a week ago or so. we actually have my first and fabians first right next to his on the tree!

aunt kathy sent him 2 cute ornaments too. my mom ordered him a stocking that she'll give him on christmas eve. i cant wait to put things in it that he wont care about and will never remember except for all the millions of pictures we'll take!

i also made him a shadow box decoration thing. i found the unpainted box and snowflake and painted it, decorated it and added my favorite christmas picture of him (so far). im sure its presence will haunt him for many christmases to come!