Itty Bitty Baby

Having a premature baby is definitely challenging, but special in it's own right. The first time I held Cameron she was only 4 lbs 6 oz. She looked like this miniature person to me because her skin was so thin and her features were aged in appearance. We are so used to seeing chubby cheeks and baby fat on babies. It made holding her so much more special to us because she was a survivor. The nurses worked with us on how to train her to feed (suck, swallow, breath). It was frustrating at times because she would fall asleep or not finish the bottle. We knew the only way we could get her home was when she was up to 5 lbs and could eat a certain amount a day. We worked hard and she was home with us in two weeks time.

I think the scariest part was when she was discharged. I was a nervous wreck and took it all out on my poor mother. I had so many fears inside my head that she was going to get home and stop breathing or not eat.

The first night home we had her in the room with us and she made these grunting noises all night long! I did tons of research online to discover grunting baby syndrome. Since premature babies GI tracts are immature it takes them hours to work through the poop. We eneded up putting the porta crib in the living room so we could get rest. She continued to grunt day and night for two months until one day it just stopped. It actually got amusing after a while and I took videos :) Here is baby at two week checkup.

It took work the first two month to feed her as well. We had to use special soft nipples and premature formula to supplement what breast milk I could produce. We watched her grow before ours eyes and fill out. Lots of tummy time because premature babies need to develop upper body strength. By her four month check-up she had gone from 2 percentile to 38 percentile and was 12 lbs (almost three times birth weight). That was such a happy day. The night before the appointment I looked at before and after pictures and was in tears...itty bitty has come a long way. Here is baby at three weeks...

And four months...