One Month and he's not even a newborn yet!!!

One Month on 11.10.14... he even scrunches his face in his sleep!!

Well Cater is one month and three days of his actual age and he's not even technically a newborn yet! It's crazy to think of all of the things he has accomplished in this one month of life and he wasn't supposed to arrive until November 21st. I am still in the process of getting used to the whole adjusted age versus actual age for him, which is good because I still have time until that comes into play. I do know that Carter may always be 6 weeks behind of milestones due to the fact that he is a preemie so if a 4 month old may be able to roll over, it might take him 5 1/2 months. I know it takes some getting used to but I'm sure that once we hit his actual due date the whole adjusted age vs. actual age won't be too difficult. Plus doctors say that by the time a baby hits 2-3 years of age preemies are caught up to the milestones that children make.

Although it's only Thursday, Carter and I have had a long week. Monday we both had doctors appointments and we were at Mott's from about 8:45-12:00. Carter was seeing Plastics and I had to get a check up with my C-Section wound. While at Carter's appointment we received great news! Mike and I no longer have to dress the wound on his back, it is officially closed! However, plastics is still going to take a look at it due to the fact that it is such a new wound and will still need more time to heal completely. He does have some dimples in his back around the wound and doctors said that it would flatten over time and not be an issue. They did say that if it doesn't flatten out they will have to cut it open again and help to make the skin flatten itself out. The doctors explained to me that they don't see this being an issue or having to happen but did warn me about the worst case scenario. Carter has some pictures taken of his wound so that they could keep an eye on it and check its progress over time.

The next appointments he will have is both a cranial ultrasound for his ventricles and neurosurgery followed by a hip ultrasound from orthopedics and his breached little body before being delivered. These appointments will happen within the next two weeks and then we will follow up with the doctors as to what the next steps will be for him.

Once his appointment was over it was time for mine. The doctors took a look at the infected wound in my c-section area and told me to keep doing what I'm doing and get it packed twice a day to help with the healing and close it up. This is becoming increasingly irritating because I was hoping to be on the road to recovery and feeling better after the c-section but instead I continue to feel burning and pain of where the hole (literally) is in my stomach. Hopefully within the next two weeks I will not have to pack this wound anymore and it will close up eventually… fingers crossed.

Tuesday, both Carter and I had our visiting nurses stop by to see how we were doing. Mine was a quick visit to re-pack my wound and move along. Carter's nurse came and she took a look at the rash on his butt, (poor guy can't seem to catch a break in that area) take his weight, and check his vitals. We were told that when he came home we would have a visiting nurse for him for about 8-9 weeks. However, after weighing 8 pounds exactly (!!!!!!) she told us that she was going to discharge him from her service. She explained that his vitals continue to look great and that he is gaining weight really well. In fact since her last week's appointment he almost gained an entire pound. She gave me some advice for his rash and we are hoping it will get better but so far, after trying about four different things, including a prescription from the doctor Mike and I are running out of options; so if there are any moms or babysitters out there that have a magical butt cream please feel free to share!

Once our nurses left for the day and Carter ate, again and I changed his diaper, again it was time for our next visitors; Early On. Early On is a "program that offers early intervention services for infants and toddles, birth to three years of age, with developmental delays and/or disabilities, and their families." (http://www.1800earlyon.org)  We had both an occupational therapist and a physical therapist stop by to complete an evaluation of Carter to see how he is doing and to see what Mike and I are doing at home to help with his stretches and leg movements. This first visit was to check if Carter is a candidate and can receive the Early On Program; which he can! Luckily, the physical therapist explained that what Mike and I are doing is great and that she wouldn't recommend that we need to do more at this time considering that Carter isn't supposed to be born for another 10 days (at that time). She also said that she won't need to stop by too frequently and may only have one or two visits a month. The occupational therapist said that she won't see Carter for some time until he is a little older and will be able to do more for her to re-evaluate.

Since Early On is a Program and runs similarly to having and creating an IEP (for those of you in the special education field, or teachers who know about this.) which stands for an individualized educational program. Since Carter is not yet in education he will receive an ISFP (individualized family service plan) which means that both the OT, PT, and parents create goals that we want to see Carter reach within a six month period. We get time to create these goals (at least two) and then we work to see how he is doing with those goals and at the end of six months we check to see if he has achieved the goals that were made. Thinking of the milestones babies make around the six month mark we created goals for Carter like sitting up with assistance, grabbing at objects, and rolling over. Time will tell how the little man does. :)

By the time the wonderful ladies from Early On left, it was time to feed Carter, again, and change his diaper, again, and for me to finally lay down, at 5:00pm. By the time Mike got home from work I was exhausted, as was he after returning back to work this week, and it was ONLY TUESDAY!


The remainder of the week has been pretty low-key other than my mom stopping by to pack my wound, yippie! Carter and I are starting to get the timing of things down now during the day and I am figuring out when I can actually shower and brush my teeth, get things done around the house, and rest. It's only our second week home and first week without Mike around so it might take some time but we are getting there. Plus, the doctors appointments cutting into the week mess with our flow, but that is something we will have to get used to. For now, we are working together and it seems to be going well. On that note, time to eat! 

Comments