Birthday boy!

Timmy had his five month birthday today. (Well, Timmy's daddy says that Timmy will not have a five month birthday because there is no 29 in February, but Timmy's mommy overruled him and said that Timmy is five months old now.) Timmy's mommy and daddy and I have learned that when we spend so much time in the NICU, it is important to celebrate milestones like monthly birthdays. And it helps to look back and see how far we've come.

Timmy's 0 month birthday:


Timmy's 1 month birthday (right after his first big airway surgery):


2 months old! (I forgot to remind Timmy's mommy and daddy to get birthday stuff, so we did not have a party that month.)


3 months! (Right after Timmy's second big airway surgery.)



4 months (so nice to be celebrating at a time when Timmy was not recovering from major surgery!)


5 months old today! (Timmy celebrated by wearing pants for the first time. Pants are not always practical when you have too many leads and wires everywhere.)





Timmy is now five months old. Since he was born almost two months early, that means he should be doing the things that three month old babies do. He is a bit over 10 pounds and is 22 or 23 inches long. This month he has gotten very good at head control, and he can sit up with very little support. (He is still not allowed to do tummy time, which is important for lots of upcoming milestones.) He can roll from side to back, and he is learning to roll from back to side. He loves playing with things that make noise. One of his favorite games is holding a rattle in each hand and whacking at stuff over his head. His other new favorite game is playing the piano with his feet. He is also learning about gravity--he likes to hold a rattle in his hand, and then intentionally open his hand and watch it fall. He may not be allowed to do any eating (not even tastes) but he loves to put things in his mouth--his fist, gauze, rattles, the edges of his mist collar, the elastic part of his mist collar, my antlers, etc. He also has started to slobber more, and Timmy's mommy and daddy wonder sometimes if he is at the beginning stages of teething. He is a very social little guy--he likes to sit in the doorway of his room and talk to people as they walk by. He is full of smiles and (silent) laughs in the mornings (unlike his mommy he seems to be a morning person!) but is usually pretty tuckered out by later in the day, because he does not always take good naps (he has too much fun looking around and sometimes it is too noisy for him to sleep well).

There is no word yet on when we get to go home. A few weeks ago we had a 100% chance of being home by the end of February. Now Timmy's mommy and daddy say we may be in the hospital until April. Timmy has been back on TPN (IV nutrition) for several weeks because of the hole in his belly. When (if?) the hole heals, he will get to start to eat through his G-tube again. If the hole does not heal, he will have to have a big surgery. We are hoping that does not happen.

This poor moose is all tuckered out. It is very exhausting organizing birthday parties! So I will tell you all good night now so that I can polish my antlers, pick the lint out of my hooves, and go to bed.