reuben's adventure

Well, so far neither Reuben nor I has gotten Eric's cold.  I felt really tired Thursday night and my throat was scratchy, so my mom agreed to come up Friday so I could take a long nap.  I don't know whether it helped prevent me from getting sick or not but I sure felt like the Empress of something or other as I lay up there sleeping most of the day and she just brought Reuben to me to nurse:).

We're still wearing masks to be safe.

Reuben is doing great developmentally.  He has found his feet in the last week or so and LOVES to play with them.  I wish it were warmer out so that he could have his socks off more because I think he's very interested in his toes.  He can sit up for long periods of time with only a little support on his lower back or sides, which is right on track.  He's also doing three or four periods of tummy time each day, though it's still not his favorite thing.  

I'm sending out the last batch of baby announcements tomorrow, so if you've been following the blog but haven't gotten one by Wednesday or so, please call or send us an email.  I went through all the comments to try to make sure we caught everyone but there may be "lurkers" out there and I want to make sure everybody gets one.

Love,

Jonna, Eric, and Reuben

Well, Eric has a cold.  He's been in bed all day in the up- upstairs so he's far from Reuben and we're being even more obsessive than usual about hand washing.  We're also wearing masks when we're around the boy in case I have it, too, and in case he hasn't been exposed.  Those are the main things they told us we could do to protect Reuben in this case. 

I'm trying not to worry too much that Reuben will get it because I'm sure worrying is not good for my immune system but it's a bit difficult.  So far he seems ok so that's a blessing. 

Uncle Paul and Grandpa Higgins were a huge help today with running errands for me -- I couldn't have done it without them.

Eric's absence has made me appreciate even more how lucky I am to have him and that I am not a single parent.  I don't see how they do it!  I never realized how much I looked forward to his homecoming at 4:30 until today.  He also does lots of chores around the house so I miss that help too.  Not to mention his company!

Love,

Jonna, Eric, and Reuben

I am playing around using Picasa Web Albums for posting pictures since we get a lot more space for free and I think they load a bit faster.  

Check out http://picasaweb.google.com/ehigginsfreese to see some great pictures.  I especially love the Laughing album.  I am probably bias but I think he has a great smile.

We tried to only give Reuben the bottle on Saturday and it did not go well.  I think it is fair to say we all suffered all day and went to bed exhausted - and he still won't take the bottle! By 3pm he was glassy eyed and not really looking at anything.  I don't know if he was exhausted, or enraged, just starving but it was not good.   Sunday we didn't even try.  

All the books make it sound easy.  "Just patiently offer the bottle and eventually they will take it"  Unfortunately they all treat it that way.  I have yet to find a "Holy crap! This isn't working" section - and I think that is the section we need.  We have tried several different bottles, we have tried different people, different locations, and about everything else we can think of...

At this point I think we will give it a rest for a couple days and try to regroup.  

We got Reuben to take 1 1/2 ounces from the bottle this afternoon!  Of course, we couldn't replicate it tonight, so maybe it was just a fluke.  But it was something! 

Check out the "Tummy Time" photo album for some cute pictures of Reuben -- he just loves the Whoozit he got from Laura, Kamyar, Nettie and Ada and the mirror from Joyce, Aron, and Jacob.  And you will see Eric indoctrinating him early into the miracles of setting up a wireless network.  He doesn't get to watch TV, but does occasionally get to help dad work.

Love,

Jonna, Eric and Reuben 

Reuben is doing great these days.  Grandpa Freese was here for a visit last weekend and they really enjoyed each other.

Last night Reuben was chewing on Eric's finger and we discovered that his bottom front teeth have popped through!  They're still just little bumps but they're sharp!  

With a little help, Reuben can now roll over.  He went from his back to his stomach first, which is a bit unusual for babies in general but probably not for Reuben since he's been so averse to being on his tummy.  He's getting much better at that, too, now and can hold himself up on his arms and look around.  He especially likes to look in the mirror that Joyce, Aron & Jacob gave him.  He grins at himself as if to say, "Who is that handsome young man?"

He can sit up with only a little bit of help, too.

We're still not having much luck with the bottle.  As Uncle Rich predicted, Reuben was deprived from nursing for so long that he's now a total breast man:).  We did find a nipple that looks like his pacifier and he took 10 cc's from that this morning and seemed to be actively sucking and swallowing rather than just gumming it, which was encouraging.  We'll just keep working at it.

Love,

Jonna, Eric, and Reuben

We had our 6 week "high risk" infant follow-up today, and Reuben wowed them again!  Everyone was very, very happy with his progress.  His weight was good, his motor development was good, and he smiled at them a lot (which I think just makes them feel great because he is so cute when he smiles!)

They said we can start trying to give Reuben his enriched feedings by bottle which would allow us to get rid of the dreaded NG tube.  I hope he takes to the bottle quickly because he is getting really good at pulling the feeding tube out of his tummy.  He has also developed a new high pitched scream when we put it back down - the kind of scream which makes the neighbors start dialing DHS.  

He was able to stay around 90% with his blood oxygen level without the supplemental oxygen for around 1/2 an hour.  At his last appointment he dropped to that level in 10 minutes.  So his lungs are growing very well.  

All in all it was a great visit and we hope for many more like that.