i met an online friend! (and so did devin) :)

most people who read this blog already know im a babycenter addict (because they are too), but for those who dont know, you should check it out! i frequent the preemie parenting group on the babycenter community site. these women played a huge role in me surviving the NICU experience. i've made some truly wonderful friends who i will most likely never meet face to face but today i got the privilege of doing just that! a fellow preemie mama named jen and i met in a park for a playdate today and it was so much fun. we read each others blogs, so we already kind of knew each other! she has some very fun to read stuff over at a a surprise rainbow. and some more pictures from today. shes way cool and down to earth and her son cooper is an adorable little guy! hes 6 months actual, 4 months adjusted so just a bit younger than devin. i knew from reading her blog that devin just happened to have the same outfit as cooper, so i hesitantly asked jen if she might want to dress them the same when we met... her answer was a very happy "YES!" so its not all my fault ;)

devin says "get in my belly!" to coopers bumbo

                                         

it was  lots of fun and i hope we'll have many more adventures in the future!

gymboree!

the one thing i couldn't wait to do with devin was a gymboree type class! i wished i could have brought him the whole time we were stuck inside but we were very patient and the time has finally come that i feel ok about starting him in some classes to let him socialize and have some fun. there is a place very close to the house called the little gym. i called and they offered me a free intro. class to see how we like it so we went on wednesday last week. the place seemed nice enough, the class would be 45 minutes long and there were about 8 other babies in attendance. the teacher was ok, but the actual activities ended up being pretty crappy! devin started out happy. he loved looking at the other babies. there was only 1 baby who was younger than him and one who was the same age adjusted. the rest were months older and crawling and cruising already. him and the little girl who was the same age as him were right on track with each other developmentally which is always nice for me to see :) anyway, this is why it was crap... the teacher had a remote in her hand the whole time and this really obnoxious recoding of a man singing and giving instructions was playing really loud! she would rush through activities trying to blow bubbles and have the babies dance with mom at record speeds before mr. recording told us all to move on to the next activity. it was so lame. the worst activity by far was when the parachute came out. it was ok at first. all the babies seemed to like watching us lift it up and down. then mr. recording told us to sit the babies on it and "lets go for a RIDE!!!" she hurriedly explained that we should sit them in the middle facing out towards us, lift the edges and spin them slowly around without lifting them off the ground. we started slowly and after a short moment the first baby went down, then the next, then the next and so on. crying, started, arms were flailing. it got very loud and the the a baby next to devin had landed very heavily on the baby next to her and was just so sad and screaming. her mom wanted to grab her, but the instructor kept up the pace. we had to wait until the all knowing mr. recording told us to stop to pick up our parachute traumatized babies. devin has a scratch in his ear from the flailing baby nest to him. it was pretty bad. i left super quick afterwards so i didn't awkwardly have to say, "no i wont be forking over $225 for a 2 month once a week membership".

the next day we had a trial with gymboree. it was HEAVEN! as soon as i walked in and met the teacher and saw the playroom it just gave off great vibes. parents and babies were hanging out calmly playing and waiting for the fun to begin. the teacher was bubbly and caring. she remembered talking to me on the phone a few days back and had name tags made up for us already. she remembered that devin was born early and proudly showed off her many bottles of hand sanitizer placed on different surfaces and told me about the "drool basket" where the chewed on toys go to be sanitized after class. i hadn't even told her anything about quarantine or my worries about germs. she was educated enough to know that this is a preemie mama concern. she did all the singing and games herself, with her own voice! the activities were fun and kept devin smiling the whole time. there were babies closer to his adjusted age and nothing was overwhelming or rushed. the play stuff they have there was just perfect for encouraging babies of all ages to learn so many things. it was really great. devin laughed at so many things and played with babies and had a great time. she explained how each activity helped with different milestones and i really feel like we got more out of that one session than we have with our monthly early intervention in home visits to date. we will definitely be enrolling! i cant wait! they have a deal where you can enroll for 6 months of classes instead of 1 month and you get an extra class every week and an "open gym"session. so that means devin can go three times a week! twice for classes and once when no classes are in session, just to play with the equipment. that is a waaaay better deal than the first place we went and its so much more fun! im so happy we found this place. i feel like its really going to help in so many areas, socialization for devin (and me), something to do a few times a week just to get out of the house on boring days, it will definitely help with hitting milestones. yay! for the atlanta area mamas, this is the sandy springs gymboree location:) here are just a few pictures of after we got home.

and some from bath time last night just because he's so cute!

tiny dancer

devin dances now! he'll shake his head kind of like hes saying no and he'll also drop his chest down and bounce a little to the beat of whatever music is playing! its soooooo adorable! he's also started raisng his arms up to me when he wants to be picked up. that is just so nice :) hes getting so big!

he's also so social! if im in a store with him, i usually have him in a wrap (baby carrier) and i'll be looking at something else and hear him giggle and its because hes flirting with whoever is around the corner. he LOVES people and LOVES, LOVES, LOVES kids and other babies! we went over our our friends nate and stefanie's house the other day to celebrate nate's birthday and devin had a great time! they have 2 boys who are 2.5 and 5.5 years old. there was also another friends daughter who is 18 months there. i sat devin on the floor and let the playing begin and he loved the attention. the kids were so gentle with him and he was just so excited, smiling and squealing with glee! that visit was such a reality check in a good way! devin is a NORMAL BABY! he ate his bottle in a room full of loud people and fell asleep and napped in someone elses pack and play! this may sound like no big deal, but to us, it was just so wonderful. hes been so sheltered and i really was worried how he would handle things like this and its honestly like hes been at it forever. he adapts so well and smiles through it all. i have to say, im pretty impressed with myself too. im not nearly as panicky and paranoid as i thought i would be at events like these. i actually love it and barely think about all the germs being shared. i did say barely... i still worry, but for the most part, i just really enjoy having him around people and children. i also did'nt push hand sanitizer on anyone! yay me!!! i have no idea why i did'nt have my camera... sorry there are no pictures of that!

in my last post i mentioned that we brought his pack and play out. this was because he needed somewhere new to play and also because hes threatening scary mobility more and more each day! we have the co-sleeper fabian made for him acting as a changing area right now and i knew it hasnt been safe to leave him in there alone for a while because its pretty shallow so the pack and play has been nice. its right next to it, so i change him and plop him in the pack and play while i make his bottle. well today he was sitting in the changer and i turned around for one second to get something and when i looked back, he had pulled himself up onto his knees!!! i couldnt beleive it! im sure if the rail was a little higher he would have gotten into a full stand! crazy baby!

happy 10 months devin!

i cant believe devin turned 10 months old today! DOUBLE DIGITS???!!! only 2 more months until his first birthday :( here are his 10 months shots i took today at a park today.

 i have'nt posted in so long and he's doing so many new things. we've been very busy and devin is just getting over his first cold :( it finally happened, he got sick. the crazy thing is that after all this time we've been so careful and paranoid about him catching a cold and fabian is the one who gave it to him. he was sick all of the week before this last one and devin was holding up ok until last friday night when i heard him become a little stuffy overnight. all of a sudden he would sniffle a little and wake himself up. he was very restless and i sat awake all night hoping he wasnt actually coming down with something but when he woke up that morning his temp. was 100.5. i called the dr. and they told me not to worry about the fever, just to pay attention to his symptoms and bring him to the e.r. if he had trouble breathing or started wheezing. he was very stuffy and his fever went up to 101.5 that day at its highest but he never had any breathing issues :) he really scared me at one point while fabian was out (of course it happens while im alone). he had eaten great all day but all of a sudden he would get a little snot attack and start gagging on it :( he would gag and throw up, gag and throw up, about 4-5 times in about 15 minutes. i was panicking! i was trying to call fabian in and call the pediatrician at the same time. when fabian got back in (he was outside) and didnt really "get" the severity of what was going on... (yeah, annoying!) we put him in the car and started rushing to the e.r. about 5 minutes later devin was happy as can be and breathing clear so we turned around. i wasnt ready to take him to the e.r. and have 8 different people try to draw blood and run a bunch of tests if it wasnt 100% necessary and im glad we did'nt go because he has gotten better and better very fast since then. his fever was gone by the next day and his feedings started picking back up by the 3rd day. the tail end of day one he started not wanting to eat at all because he was stuffy and not able to breathe from his nose while on the bottle. now hes eating normal and just has a tiny bit of  congestion lingering and he coughs 3 times a day or so but thats it. it was hard but he did so well! for so long we just did'nt know how his little body would handle even the smallest cold and he certainly put my mind at ease. he was a trooper. we got him california baby cold and flu aromatherapy bubble bath and gave him a bath 1-2 times a day for the first few days because he loved it and i really think it helped him feel better. it smells great, like a light version of vicks (i love vicks and just inhale it over and over even when im not sick! :) he has his 2 bottom teeth now, they're almost completley in. he got his second one right after the first. the next day in fact! his first showed up march 30th and his second came out on april 1st. in these pictures you'll notice devin's handsome little necklace, its a baltic amber teething necklace and he wears it everyday now. the amber stones contain succinic acid  and when they sit against skin, the heat lets trace amounts into the bloodstream and it acts as a natural pain reliever. its supposed to be great for teething and growing pains. its safe for babies to wear because there is a double knot in between each bead and its designed to break if its pulled to hard instead of choking the child. it fits snug so he doesnt evne notice it. its not for him to chew on which is what i thought at first, its all about the natural pain relief. im not sure if it works, but i'll try anything safe that will help keep teething pains to a minimum. i'll try to judge if his next teeth that come are accompanied by less fussiness. i ordered myself one too, so we have matching necklaces, which some people think is weird, but i think its awesome and devin loves pulling on mine :) plus, i think it makes him look like the coolest baby on the block.

in other news... he's becoming much more independent and capable of doing things for himself. his new favorite activity is to sit and play with one toy at a time out of his toy basket. he reaches in, takes something out , plays until hes bored with it and goes in for another when he's ready. so cute!

we also had to bring the pack and play out and take the newborn thing out of it that raised up the base so he was up higher. we took it out and use it as a little playpen now for when i have to make a bottle or get some chores done. he sits in there and plays and LOVES it!

and please, please tell me why my "little baby" loves to STAND up holding onto the edge??? when did this happen? he can stand there for any length of time and is just so proud of himself!

we still try new finger foods every once in a while. he really likes baby mum mums. hes getting the pincer grip down and will eat a few puffs, yogurt melts or baby cheetos but hes still not very fond of pureed foods.

once again, i have to mention that im in no way "ok" with the fact that my sweet babe is 10 months now when he would only be 7 months but what can i do? i just have to suck it up and deal! he makes it pretty easy because he's perfect no matter what his age is!

wordless wednesday/more easter pictures