Visitors

We have had some visitors these past few weeks. Two weeks ago Tom's dad flew in from Alaska. So we had three generations of Tom Kortes in the house. The boys had a fun weekend together, Tom and his dad were able to enjoy this amazing weather we are having and play some golf. Tom sr was great with little Thomas and jumped in with holding and playing with the baby. This past weekend my brother Luke flew in from Chicago. We had some yummy dinners with my mom and watched a lot of football. We also got Thomas a Halloween costume, a monkey! It is so funny!!!

Carrots

1. To help celebrate Thomas's 6 month birthday we gave him some carrots! He does really well eating solids. He like carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans but hates peas. We have started mixing some bananas into his rice cereal in the morning. He gets cereal in the AM and veggies in the PM along with 5 bottles the rest of the day. He is a messy eater and I am sure glad we got so many bibs as shower gifts.

6 months

On Thomas's 6month check-up all was well. We went hoping that Thomas would be on his non-adjusted age, maybe at the 3-5 percentile. He measured in at the 30 percentile for non adjusted and 95 percentile for adjusted age!! We were so proud. Developmentally he scored for a 4 month old. The doctor was amazed at how well he is doing.

A Week of Firsts

Lots to update on. First Tommy has started eating solids. Well, the pediatrician calls them solids, I think it looks more like gruel. So far Thomas only has had rice cereal. Hopefully this week he will have some veggies.

He also had his first roll over, which Grandma Eileen was a witness to. I finally saw him roll over last night. I was so excited!!! He went from tummy to back twice. First he throws his head to one side (usually the left), then pushes with his right arm and leg, and flips. The best part is how proud of himself he is afterwords.

Tommy also for the first time moved an object from one hand to another. He was playing with his heart rate monitor wire and moved it from his left hand to his right and then went for his mouth. He did not succeed in getting in his mouth but he was able to poke his eye. Whoops. . .

Finally, he ate at his first restaurant. Last weekend Tom, Tommy, Eileen and myself went to the St. Louis Art Fair. We over dressed the poor guy and he sweated and fussed until we got him into some AC. We all had lunch while we cooled off and Thomas did great. I was worried he would cry and people would give us the "what are you doing here with a small baby" look, but he was just an angel.

He is getting so much better at holding his head up. The latest weigh in is 16 lbs! We see the pediatrician again on Friday and will get the official stats. then.

St. Louis or Bust

My mom has moved out to St.Louis. She has a great house just a mile down the road from us! Charlie and his girlfriend Monica came out for a visit and helped move mom in. The Jerseyites are slowly coming around to embrace the midwest lifestyle; little traffic, nice people, easy access to the city, less expensive etc. By the end of their visit mom's house was unpacked, set up and looked fantastic. I know mom left a lot behind and I hope she will be happy here.

Back to School

I have been back to work for three weeks. It feels good to have a routine and seeing all my kiddos again. Students and collegues alike are anxious to see Thomas and hopefully I can bring him to some sporting events. It is hard to leave Thomas in the morning, especially since he looks so snugly while he is sleeping! It helps that the grandmas are taking care of him and I know he is in loving hands.

My brother Luke came down for a visit from Chicago. We had fun with Uncle Luke as he got to know his nephew. Plus the old boy put on a show, water skiing at the lake.

And the father of the year is. . .

Yes, this is a picture of Tom vacuuming with Tommy in the baby Bjorn.

Baby in Motion

The orthopedist

Thomas went to the orthopedist this week to check his arm that was broken in the NICU. The x-ray showed that the arm was healed and in good working order. Not a big surprise since he flings his arms around like a fist pumping guido from the Jersey Shore. FYI a x-ray of a baby's head is super freaky. You can see his two sets of teeth in his gum, which makes him look like a scary gremlin on x-ray film. The doctor did diagnose Thomas with Torticollis, a twisted neck in which the head is tipped to oneside, while the chin is turned to the other. We have to go to physical therapy but it is nothing too serious. Thomas also had some blood work done to check his red blood cell count. Great news on that front, his numbers have increased and are in a good place. Thomas has also started sleeping through the night this week! Which is great timing since I started back at work part time this week and full time next Thursday. It breaks my heart to leave him. Maybe he can become my classroom mascot and hang out with Momma all day. My brother Luke comes into town this weekend and we look forward to his visit.

Pediatrician Visit

We saw our pediatrician today for our 4 month check up. Our big guy is now 11lbs 1.5 oz and 22 in long. We have hit double digits. For a 4th month old he is below the 5% mark for weight and height. But, if we adjust his age, he is in the 75% for weight and height. We also found out we are starving our kid. So we need to up his feeds by 1 oz/bottle over the next two days. Hopefully this will put him in a food comma during the nights and we can get some sleep. We are not rid of the heart rate monitor yet, but it usage has been reduced. We only have to wire him up during the night and when he take naps. One step closer to being wireless! Poor guy had to have three shots today and was not happy about it. Developmentally Tommy ranks around a 2.5 to 3 month old, which is great. He loves to stare at lights and ceiling fans. We are getting super cute social smiling out of Thomas. When Tom comes home from work and says hello, Thomas's face just lights up and gives his dad a huge smile.

The Blow Out

Let me preface this story by saying that my very financially responsible husband recently bought a pack of the cheapest diapers he could find. Apparently these diapers are not super absorbent but actually repels poop and pee. So when Thomas had a massive blow out the other day, it completely missed his diaper and exploded down his legs, up his back and all over his swing. The situation was so dicey that we had to cut Tommy's onesie off him. There was no saving it. It took two of us an hour to clean up the baby and the swing. Moral of the story, buy the good diapers. They are worth the money!

Peeing shenanigans

Does one ever grow out of potty humor?
It seems Tommy has made a habit out of peeing on himself. It happens when we are changing his diaper after a poop. When you are focused on his bottom, he unleashes the pee. Before his circumcision in the hospital, this onslaught would result in pee getting on me, bulls-eye. Post circumcision, the pee goes directly into his own face! Which, being the great mother that I am, find hilarious! TC is usually crying when we change him and when he pees on himself, he gets startled and then will cry even harder than before. I should probably start covering him up, maybe not until I get it on film.

You know the romance is dead when. . .

You know the romance is dead when texting between you and you husband primarily concerns the pooping habits of your son; how often, how much, color, texture etc. Or when you go to bed and you have puke in your hair and pee on you pants (which might have been the norm in college but I thought I was past all that)

Adjustments

Everyone knows that having a baby will change your life. But there is a big difference between knowing something and experiencing it. One of the most difficult adjustments thus far has been running errands. Before TC (or BTC historical chronology) if I had to run an errand or wanted an ice cream, I would just go. As simple as that, just go. After TC (ATC), going out is like planning an invasion of Afghanistan. It is a logistical nightmare. For example, I took Tommy to the mall yesterday. I had to stragically, pack my diaper bag will all necessary gear and gear for any possible scenario. What if terrorists hijack the mall, do I have enough formula to last a hostage situation? Where will I park? How much time do I have before he wakes up? What I was not prepared for was stroller maneuvering and stroller etiquette. I mean really, they just let anyone buy and drive a stroller. I think there should be a defensive driving stroller course at Babies R Us, that everyone should pass before buying a stroller. Or maybe I was just too much of a distracted driver. I was in the Gap, saw a shirt I liked, breifly looked at it while walking and proceeded to ram my stroller into a clothing rack. Whoops. Then while at the food court, I parked my stroller by the table and we got t-boned by another stroller whose driver was checking out the free sample lady in front of Sbarros. It is mayhem in the malls with all these strollers. Not to mention the evasive elevators. No longer can I just use the escalator or jog up some stairs. Now I have to find the elevators, which is no easy task. They appear to be housed in the farthest corners of the mall, down winding corridors, past the sketchy teens. To find an elevator was like entering the movie the Labyrinth and I feared David Bowie was going to jump out at me in tights, steal my baby and start singing, "Dance magic dance." In the end we survived the mall and I might have become one of those annoying stroller moms who in past I wanted to yell at and tell them to stay at home.

Daddy feeding Tommy for first time

July 4th weekend

4th of July was a great weekend. We took Thomas to the lake house in Bonne Terre. We packed the car with enough gear to last days, we were only there for a few hours. Thomas was introduced to Bradley the Tea Cup Yorkie, over the holiday weekend. Bradley might be a small dog but he is a mean dog and does not like small children. Apparently he does not like babies either. I fear for Bradley because Tom will end him if he does anything to Thomas. My mom has been in town for the past week getting in some quality grandma time. I think she is in love. We are still battling the thrush. Our doctor has prescribed gentian violet. It is an anti fungal but it is also purple and stains. It is quite messy and turns Thomas's mouth and lips purple. He looks like a goth baby. It funny to apply because we will coat his mouth, Thomas will put his hands in his mouth then proceed to get the gentian violet all over his face, hands and head until he his a big purple mess. Thomas now weighs 9.8 lbs. His beautiful silk baby hair is falling out. He starting to look very monk like. We are curious to see what color his new hair will be. We are pretty sure his eyes will remain brown like his moma's. We really love the way the nursery came out. It is the only room done in the new house and is a great place to hang out at all hours of the night.

Home sweet home

Thomas has been home for almost two weeks now and the adventure continues. The first night home Tommy was up on and off for 6 hours, most of which he was screaming. Tom and I looked at each other blurry eyed and proceeded to go down a check list of what could possibly be wrong: hungry, wet diaper, too hot, too cold, over stimulated, not stimulated enough, hurt, constipation, tummy pains etc. In the end, no solutions we just all wore each other out. Needless to say over the past two weeks we have missed the NICU night staff immensely. We had our first pediatrician visit last week. Thomas weighed in at 8lbs 10oz and was diagnosed with thrush. Thrush is a yeast infection of the mouth. YUCK!! Three days home with us and we are already messing him up. Thanks to some medication that Thomas hates the thrush has cleared up. Speaking of medications we came home with four. We have our own mini NICU at home, with syringes, meds and charting of feedings and bowel movements. We can't seem to give up the regimented routine just yet. A pediatric nurse comes to the house once a week to weigh, take vital signs and answer questions. It is hard not to still be obsessed with his weight. I look forward to the nurse visit so we can get the latest weight. Annette said to get on a scale check the weight, then pick up the baby and check it again to see how much he weighs. Are you kidding! I have no desire to see how much I weigh. Maybe that is something Tom can do. Our living room looks like Babies R Us threw up in it. We have swings, bouncers, play mats, play yards, car seats, blankets, bottles, pacifies everywhere. All in an effort to see what Thomas likes. Which happens to be nothing for more than 10 minutes. So it becomes like a work out circuit. Instead of ten minutes on a bike then treadmill then weights, its ten minutes in the swing, then bouncer then play mat. Though I did figure out Thomas's kryptonite, the dryer. I guess he really likes the white noise of the dryer. We have had lots of help, Annette, Eileen, Sam Becky and Ronni. Thank God!!! So my basic hygiene is met (i get to shower when they come over) and bills are paid thanks to many helping hands. The best part of being home is finally feeling like a real family!!! Well I hope to blog weekly and keep friends and family updated on our favorite preemie.