No More NG Tube
Baby Henry is 8 months old (5 months adjusted) and weighs 13lbs 9oz (6.155kg).
What a Smiley Guy! He loves to laugh. Peekaboo and kisses on his ticklish neck or sides does the trick. He’s also discovered spitting, so he tries it out when he first wakes up in the morning all different kinds of noises and spitting and sputtering.
It’s his first time without an NG tube and I love kissing his beautiful face! Now that he’s free to suck on his hands, he experiments with which fingers taste most delicious (his thumb by the looks of it) and how many fingers he can fit in his mouth 😅 I’ve seen him stick his entire fist in there!
Bath time is a highlight for him. He still loves being pampered with a warm water “spa day”. We’ve moved away from the newborn swaddle baths to more Big Boy ones using a wash cloth for warmth.
He is an avid jumper, though we had to prevent him during his first weeks of surgery. He seems most content sitting in the bouncer quietly watching his brothers play video games or Just Dance. I think it’s the colorful graphics, high movement, loud noises, and socializing.
We hear him chattering away (usually in his bassinet) making long conjectures, listing out his observations or reprimands.
He doesn’t sleep much during the day- mostly power naps lasting 15 minutes max. If I try to lay him down so I can nap, he cries loudly until I pick him up and walk him around like we’re actually going to do stuff and see places. He’s figuring out how to use Sophie the Giraffe better and get a better grip on his colorful ball. Lily discovered how much he likes to squish the wipes container because it crinkles. He’s also a bit ticklish!
Henry is an angel and usually sleeps all night.
Below is our setup for bedtime. You can see the oxygen tank we hook him up to, along with the monitor attached to his foot that alerts us to his breathing and pulse. I put socks on him since if he gets cold the machine beeps at me from poor blood circulation.
He has a continuous feed that drips his formula slowly throughout the night. I change it around 3am to prevent spoilage.
We rolled up some sturdier blankets to barricade him and prevent rolling onto his stomach while his surgery site is fresh, and have the cozy blanket in there since he gets cold with the erratic weather / temps lately.
Now that it’s past 2 weeks from his surgery, his bed is empty except for him being wrapped up.
He is still the light of our lives and we all love caring for him together. In the pic above, Baby Henry had just finished his bath and we were cleaning his surgical site so the kids kept him comfortable and entertained while we got him ready for bedtime.
Love you Henry angel, -Mom
