2 weeks

Wow! Kieran is 2 weeks (chronological age) today! I say chronological because for his first year we will be using two ages - chronological/actual and adjusted age - based on his due date. Kieran's adjusted age is still his gestational age at this point, which is 32 weeks this Friday. It's confusing me already! Basically when he's 6 months actual age he will be 3.5 months adjusted, since he was 2.5 months early.

Anyways, today was a great day for Kieran. His caffeine was stopped, as he is having no stop-breathing episodes, also known as apnea. The neonatal nurse practitioner said that a preemie not having any stop-breathing episodes is very rare - Kieran's only had 2 and they were very short, and he was able to work it out on his own. He has an eye exam in 2 weeks, and he was started on iron today - it's pretty common for preemies to have anemia. He is also wearing clothing now! This outfit his grandma Gale bought him fits perfectly.

My little guy looking like a big boy :)

He's is now up to full feeds of 24 ml/3 hours. I asked why they moved them from 2 hours to every 3 hours, and they said it's because it allows Kieran to be bothered less by the nurses so that he can relax & sleep more. The more he sleeps, the more he will grow, as when babies sleep, growth hormone is released. The every-3-hour feedings also help make kangaroo care easier - we had to do every-other feeding holds before, to give him a break, and now we can hold him whenever we want and for longer periods of time. It's nice for me, too, since I have sometimes had to cut wonderful kangaroo care sessions short because I have to pump. He'll be so comfy and cuddled up and I hate to move him! Speaking of k-care, he is really thriving on it. When I arrived to him see this morning he was so antsy and active. He wasn't agitated or fussy so much as he just couldn't relax, and once I got him skin-to-skin he settled down immediately. He is such a sweetie pie!

My other sweetie pie, Maia. Check out those red curls!

As for the rest of the family 2 weeks out, we're all doing really well. I have energy again, which feels wonderful, and I'm getting great sleep - well, if you call 2 4-hour blocks of sleep great (which as a pumping mom, I do!) When Kieran comes home he'll be keeping me up so it's nice to have a little sleep in the interim. Josh is doing well with the full schedule - he works in the day, comes home for dinner and hangs out with the family for awhile before going to visit Kieran for a few hours each night. He's slightly tired but making it work :) Maia is doing great with the potty still. In the past week she's had only one accident, and she had a dry diaper last night! She is only wearing diapers at night now, and panties the rest of the day. We're so proud of her!