Archive of the Day – Foot Friends!
Max, September 10th, 2011, 5 months, 4 weeks
Once Max found his feet, they quickly became his best friends ever!
Archive of the Day – All These Tubes and Wires
Max, April 28th, 2011
Max came home on oxygen and required continuous oximetry monitoring to make sure his oxygen saturation was adequate, and so we could monitor him for episodes of apnea. Needless to say, Max often had tubes and wires everywhere. The pulse ox made it difficult for him to wear any footie pajamas, so we had to feed the wire up through the space between the gaps. Needless to say, he didn’t have many pairs of footie pajamas, and, out of habit, still doesn’t today.
Archive of the Day – Deep in Thought
Max, 1 week
Max always looked like he was contemplating deep and serious issues. He continues to do so as he has grown. I like to think that, perhaps, he is solving complex mathematical equations or developing new ideas on string theory.
Archive of the Day – One Eye Open
Max, March 25th, 2011, 11 days
Don’t be fooled – he saw what you did there.
Archive of the Day – Hurry Up and Fix It!!!
Max, March 22, 2011, 8 days
Max hated having a soiled diaper. He would fuss and carry on until he was cleaned up. His body language in this picture demonstrates his distress. It also didn’t help that he swam in the preemie sized diapers.
Archive of the Day – Monkey Feet!
Max, March 20th, 2011, 6 days
Putting Max in clothes was a pretty big deal. I had stocked up on “0-3” size outfits initially, thinking it was pointless to buy anything “newborn” as he would only wear it for a short time. When we were told he was IUGR and not growing, I picked up more “newborn” outfits. When we were able to dress Max, it became very clear that I could fit two of him in a newborn sized outfit. I sent my husband down to the hospital gift shop where I had spotted this tiny outfit in preemie size. He brought it, we washed it, and dressed Max up in his first outfit – and became aware that even the preemie size was too big. Needless to say. he wore preemie sized clothes for his first 6 weeks of life, and newborn size until he was 4 months old. Now at 6 1/2 months, his 13.5 pound frame is in the “3-6” month sizes!
Archive of the Day – Room Air!
Max, March 19th, 2001, 5 days
Max’s NICU stay was a roller coaster – a small roller coaster, but one nonetheless. At birth, he was on oxygen, then laer that afternoon off, but couldn’t maintain his oxygen saturation, so back on, then off after a few days. At the time of this picture, he was off, but then went on to develop apnea of prematurity, and was placed back on the oxygen and started on daily caffeine.
Archive of the Day – Wrinkles!
Max, March 18th, 2011, 4 days
At 3 pounds, 6 ounces, Max had almost no brown fat that full term babies are born with. An expressive baby, Max quickly developed “worry lines” between his eyes and on his forehead, and little chin creases. Most have faded as he’s grown and gained weight, but they are still some residual faint reminders of his “grumpy old man” face.
Archive of the Day- Secure Slumber
Max, March 15th, 2011, 1 Day
Max had to be difficult right from the start- after multiple sticks, the pediatrician was only able to place an umbilical vein catheter for IV access. It would be several days before Max would trade the UVC for a regular peripheral IV line. Until that time, our ability to cuddle and hold Max was limited due to fears of losing his venous accidentally through any small tug. Needless to say, we’d cradle Max in our laps as he would lay on a pillow, surrounded by bumpers, sleeping safely and securely.
Archive of the Day – Lunchtime!
Max, March 19th, 2011, 5 days
Like most preemies, Max’s gut wasn’t quite ready for use at birth. While he had the NG tube for the bulk of his NICU stay, he was able to start working with a bottle at day of life 5 (he was deemed too small and not strong enough to attempt breastfeeding.) His initial feeds were only 5mL – roughly one teaspoon each. He’s now up to 4-6oz each feed – such an amazing feat to go from a teaspoon to 1/2-3/4 cup each feed!
From the Archives – Stressed Out
Max, 3/20/2011, 6 days old
In all of his ultrasound images, he has his hands on his head. This continued to be his thing until well past his EDC. We figured it was one of his comfort signs. Now, he only does this every now and again in his sleep.
Archive of the Day – In My Own Bed Now
Max, April 1st, 18 days old
One of the first pictures of Max in his bassinet the day we got home from the hospital.
Archive of the Day – Kissy Face
Max, June 6th, 12 weeks old
Leaving Max to go back to work became much more difficult once he became more interactive. We would play “kissy face” where I’d tell him I was going to kiss his “cheekies”. He’d smile and giggle with every kiss. He still does.
Archive of the Day- Out of the Warmer and in to the Bassinet
Max, 4/1/11, 18 days old
The best day in the hospital was when they moved Max out of the nursery and in to our room. It was the first real signal that he had made it through the scary forest of preemiedom and was entering the meadow of infancy.
Archive of the Day- If You’re Happy and You Know It
Max, May 20th, 2011, 9 weeks, 4 days old
I picked up the little yellow elephant outfit at Osh K’osh when I was about 8 or 9 weeks pregnant and had no idea if we would have a boy or a girl. I was so excited when he was big enough to wear it- it’s tucked away now, one of my dearest mementos of his early days.
Archive of the Day – Heading Home
Max, 4/1/2011, 19 days old.
The buckle is almost as big as his face.
Archive of the Day – Intent
Max, 6 days old, on 3/20/2011
Max always has the best facial expressions. Now we see many more smiles, but in the beginning, he was full of very serious looks.
Archive of the Day – Deep Thoughts
Max, 7 days old
I’ve been trying to figure out what serious thoughts such a small peanut could think up. World domination? The Riemann Hypothesis? Unified field theory? The next meal?
Archive of the Day- Artistic
Max at 4 weeks of age. It was bathday for my little guy, and I decided since I was going to remove his oxygen and tender grips to replace them, I would get a couple of pictures of him before the cannula went back on. I’m glad to report he tolerate everything very well.
Archive of the Day – Sleepytime
Max, 10 days old, sleeping in his isolette. I was always amazed how he just swam in the newborn size diapers. We eventually brought in some preemie-sized Huggies (they were still a bit too big initially!)
Archive of the Day- Teenie Weenie Feetsies
Max, 3 days old, under the bili lights. Max just had his 4 month Well Child Check yesterday, and he now weighs 11 pounds, 7 ounces. He’s much more beefier than his initial 3 pounds, 8 ounces at birth!
Archive of the Day – Bathtime
Max at 2 weeks, getting his first bath in the hospital with our physical therapist and ourselves
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