A Great First Weekend

Things are starting to feel a little bit normal since coming home. We are trying to get into a routine throughout the day but that is going to take a little bit of time still. At the hospital, Parker would normally be down to sleep by 7:30pm but we seem to be having a little bit of difficulty with that since coming home. It is now 8:20pm and the little guy is just getting to sleep.

We have been trying different kinds of nipples and bottles the past couple of days. We had bought the Playtex Dropins when he was first born, but they make it difficult to keep track of how much he is eating since the bag is not meant to let air in with the formula. As he drinks, the bag changes shape to accommodate how much formula is left. When he is done, there is no easy way to account for how much is left in the bag. Opening the bottle to pour out the remaining formula so it may be measured usually results in formula all over the floor. We have also tried the Avent bottles and nipples. These bottles are much better but Parker is not too crazy about the nipple. He is used to the Enfamil nipples that are individually wrapped (sterile) from the hospital. I think we will try and contact Enfamil to see how we can get the same nipples for Parker. He likes them, they fit on a standard bottle, and they are sterile.

Regardless, Parker has continued to eat extremely well since coming home. Yesterday, Parker had his biggest feed to date. He had 1145 mL. For those of you who are not much for metric, that would be just over 38 ounces. I am not sure if that is a lot for a four and a half month old but it is very impressive in my books. I have created a Excel sheet to track his feedings so that we may take them to clinic so they are well informed of his eating habits. We are also looking forward to seeing how much the little monkey weighs when we go to clinic on Friday. We are used to weighing him each day, but without a baby scale it becomes quite difficult. Finally, we have purchased an instant read thermometer. It is important to monitor his temperature so that we can keep on top of any fever that may occur. Parker's temperature is taken when he gets up in the morning and when he goes to bed in the evening.

Many of you will remember the video of Parker laughing at his monitor. Well, that little monitor has nothing on the television at home. Whenever we place Parker in his exersaucer in front of the television while the Backyardigans are on, he becomes mesmorised. I will definitely not let my little boy become a television junkie but a little T.V. never hurt.

I think the greatest thing we had gotten for Parker before we knew he was sick was his exersaucer. He can keep himself occupied for a good twenty minutes in that thing. He will move around in a circle checking out the different things on it. He has even learned how some of the toys on it work, and he does have his favourites. He always moves around the saucer until he finds his spinning rattles.

Our first weekend is coming to a close, and we are so grateful of every second that we have had together. We look forward to spending our first week with him as well.