Homecoming!!!

Callie came home on Monday, September 20th, weighing a whopping 3lb, 8oz! She was 20 days old and a day shy of 38 weeks gestation. She has been doing well at home. It has been a bit of an adjustment for her getting used to a new environment (temperature, noises, etc). Her feeding volumes have dropped slightly as she seems to loose energy during feeding, but it is probably due to the energy she is using adjusting to home! We did take her to the pediatrician’s office Tuesday and she weighed in at 3lb, 10oz. Hopefully, in a couple of days she’ll start adjusting and picking up her volumes.

Since Callie is so tiny and still adjusting to home, we are trying to keep things quiet and easy for her. Although we would love to have visitors, we’d like to keep things quiet for a few weeks to allow her to adjust, as well as put on some weight and build up her immune system. Although the weather is nice and illnesses are not as frequent, Callie’s immune system is very fragile and her low weight would make it very difficult for her to fight off even a slight cold. Please remember, RSV season technically begins in October (although people can still pick up the virus any time of the year!). Due to Callie’s gestational age at birth, she will probably not qualify for the RSV vaccine (Synagis). As many of you remember, Henry got RSV while still in the NICU in late April of 2008 (the end of RSV season). He weighed about 4 ½ lbs at the time and was significantly impacted by the virus, which caused him to be on a ventilator for 5 days and extend his NICU stay by several weeks while he recovered. Obviously, keeping illness away is quite a challenge with two brothers in school/daycare! So, we have been practicing LOTS of hand washing, changing clothes, coughs and sneezes away from the baby, etc!!

Callie will have several appointments over the next several months. Next week she will have an appointment to examine her eyes for maturity and ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). ROP is more likely in babies who require oxygen support after birth; however, babies who are smaller than their gestational age are also required to be examined. Callie will also have another pediatrician appointment next week to check her weight and perform some follow-up labs. She will receive her 2-month vaccinations in November. Callie will also be followed by Wake Med’s Special Infant Care Clinic (SICC) to ensure that she is gaining weight and developing appropriately. Like Henry, Callie also qualifies for services through Wake County’s Early Intervention (EI) program. We will be meeting with her case manager next month.

The boys are very excited about Callie’s homecoming! Stewart is very interested in Callie and is very concerned with her well-being. Henry is also very interested in Callie and needs to be reminded to be “gentle!” Callie’s new bedroom is coming together well, with the new lavender walls adding a touch of “girl” to the house!

Henry seems to be doing well after having the tubes placed in his ears. He has picked up a cold and was complaining that his ear hurt this morning. Sigh… we’ll have the doctor check his ears today. We heard from his GI nurse practitioner last week that the biopsy results from his endoscopy are clear! What good news and such a relief! This means that Henry has been tolerating the small amounts of dairy he has been getting through occasional foods like pancakes (or “ca’cakes” as Henry calls them!). We haven’t heard what his allergy results are yet, but should know early next week. We are hoping that his allergy levels have decreased, indicating that he will likely grow out of his dairy allergy! We are keeping our fingers crossed!

Sorry, no pictures this time!!! I’ll try to post some in a few days!