Look at that two month old!
Carter had his two month check up this week and we had a busy day when we were there. He is 21" tall, growing 3.5" since birth and he is in the 50%ile for his height which is great. As for his weight, my little man is in the 97%ile weighing 11lbs. 2.8ounces, can you believe it?! My little chunky monkey is doing great with gaining weight and I am happy that he has been doing so well, especially because he has been eating fortified milk to help gain weight. I'm not sure how long he will have to continue with the fortified milk because his weight is doing so well but most preemie babies take fortified milk until they are nine months old.
At this appointment Carter had his first round of vaccinations and he was such a tough little man! Although he did cry by the time the second shot was in his thigh, he was all done crying when the bandages were on his little chubby legs. I am so proud of him and happy that it was fast because it's hard to hear your little one cry; something I never really realized until he was getting his many pokes and prods in the NICU.
What a trooper after his round of shots!
Carter has another big day ahead of him too. On Monday December 15th he will go in to have his shunt surgery. Here is how it works, or at least how I am aware of how it works. The shunt is placed under the skin on his head and it's connected to a tube that runs behind his ear to his chest and into his stomach. The tubing that will run down his body will help drain the extra fluid in his ventricles into his stomach and he will essentially, pee out the excess fluid. The tubing is about 7 feet long so as Carter grows, the shunt will grow with him so that he doesn't need multiple surgeries to replace the tubing. However, like with any surgery, and with a major surgery like this, there can be malfunctions and infections.
The shunt process that Carter will receive in surgery.
We were told by Carter's neurosurgeon that shunts on average last about 2 1/2 years; and that's because of the vast difference in shunts. Some shunts may last a person 30 years while others could last only 3 days, the shunting process is still being worked on so with such a large gap the average is 2 1/2 years. This means that Carter may have to have multiple surgeries throughout his life for his shunt. We are hoping and praying that he will be one of the lucky people whose shunt lasts them 30 years but we are aware that this may not be the case.
Another scary part of surgery is the risk of infection. At Mott's we are lucky to know that the risk of getting an infection with this surgery is 2%, which is about as good as it can get! I have said it before and I will continue to say it, throughout Carter's time in the hospital Mott's Children's Hospital has been amazing and I am thrilled to know the infection rate is so low. We will continue to pray that Carter is not in the 2% that get an infection but I know that Mike and I will keep a watchful eye on Carter to make sure that his surgery is a success.
I'm not sure exactly what time surgery is at this point but Carter will be in the hospital overnight to be monitored to make sure he is doing well and that he is eating his food too. As long as he is eating well and seems to be taking the shunt well he will get to leave the next day. I will have major watching to make sure he is still good at home and won't need to come back for another surgery. He will be sore from major surgery so we will have to be careful with his little body. Right now, we are just continuing to pray that surgery goes well and that he gets to come home the following day. Until his surgery I will leave you with his adorable bear picture waiting for the doctor. :)
Who couldn't love this face?! :)
Looking sharp that outfit :)
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