Due Date

Today is Aiden's original due date! Since he came so early and wasn't supposed to be out of the womb until now, his body has been focused on doing all of the growing that it should have done in the last trimester of pregnancy. Today marks the time when he should start doing things like a 40 weeker/term newborn. All of his accomplishments from now on will be compared to babies born at this time, not his actual birthday, since technically he is just now being born! This will be hard for us as parents as we will naturally compare him to other babies born in February. We must remind ourselves to look at his corrected age instead of his early birthday as he grows and reaches milestones along the way.

Already he has made us proud! His biggest accomplishemnt thus far is that he is successfully breastfeeding! It may not sound like a big accomplishment, but for a preemie, it is. He was used to a bottle nipple and pacifier from the hospital, and making the switch can be a long and difficult process. On Friday, April 10, we went cold turkey on the bottle and pacifier until breastfeeding was mastered. He survived, though the first couple of days were hard for all of us. Most feedings at first ended with both mommy and baby in tears! Andy actually had to take off more days from work to help me. We had to drip my pumped milk into his mouth with a syringe while he attempted to latch on so that he associated the milk and breast together. After a few days he had it down, and we can now give him a bottle or pacifier if we need to, and he has no problems switching between the three. Now, for the first time since I gave birth, I can leave the house WITH the baby and without having to rush home to pump every 2-3 hours. HUGE relief!

He is holding his head up more and more everyday! We have to help him strengthen his muscles by doing 'tummy time,' which he enjoys more some days than others. He has been observing his surroundings more and got to hear his doggy bark for the first time the other day. It startled him a bit, but it is a sound that he must get used to! We have been on several walks and he seems to enjoy the movement, as he sleeps most of the way. Not much else is going on here. My mom is coming to visit on Thursday for a week; she just couldn't stand being away from the munchkin!

We will add more pictures later, but here are a few that we took over the last week or so!

From 2009-04 - Aiden Michael

From 2009-04 - Aiden Michael

From 2009-04 - Aiden Michael