Gig 'em Aggies!

Ben got out his new Aggie overalls to watch his favorite team beat Texas after Thanksgiving! He's such a happy little guy and he has laughed once, so now we're waiting to hear that beautiful sound again. He's also started rolling front to back so one of these days we won't be able to set him on the floor and expect to find him in the same place when we come back!

All sacked out on the couch after a big meal! Because Ben has had an insatiable appetite lately we've been giving him a little bit of rice cereal in the evenings and so far he's done great with it. It's his first step towards solid food. It will be something of a guessing game to determine when he's ready to make these steps since he's already 6 months old but should only be about 2 1/2 months. On a lot of developmental milestones he's falling somewhere in the middle of the two ages.

Sleep

We are so proud of Ben - he's been sleeping (for the most part) from 10-5 every night! We put him to bed after his 9PM bottle and he usually sleeps until 4:30 or 5 when he eats again. I especially love it because I've gotten my first full night's sleep since May. He did have a pretty bad week because he picked up some sort of virus and was definitely not feeling well, but he seems to be better now. We feel pretty fortunate that he's nearly 6 months old and it was his first time to really be sick.

Ben has started having "conversations" with us where he'll make a sound, we'll answer, and he'll respond and so on. It's a lot of fun seeing these things develop! He's also started to cry with big tears now when he's really upset, something I'm not as excited to see because it just kills me! He's getting better at holding his head up each day and we just got him a Bumbo chair, which is this ingenious little seat that supports younger babies enough to sit up before they can do it on their own.

Man of the House

Ben is starting to decide that he wants things done HIS way. That wonderful feeding schedule we had? Gone. The little guy is eating a lot more often during the day, and since he is eating a lot more volume we decided to see if he would sleep longer through the night last night. He still woke up twice, only at different times than usual. It seems like we're going backwards as far as consistent feedings go, but hopefully it will only be temporary if this is a growth spurt or something.

Here are some of his latest pictures. He's becoming much more interested in toys and you can see that he's strong enough to lift that big head up every once in a while!

10-pounder!

Ben is already 10 lbs! He has had an insatiable appetite the past few days so I bet he's already gained weight since we checked on Friday. He still eats every four hours but has been asking (well, crying) for extra bottles in between his regular feedings. Ben has a distinct "hungry" cry but really doesn't cry a lot other than that, which we really appreciate! He is becoming so alert to noises and actions around him and he'll turn his head or body to follow whatever catches his attention. We've seen a lot of rolling side to back or vice versa but so far no rolling onto his tummy. That tiny smile sure brightens our days and we love seeing more and more of it!

Fresh Start

It's nice to have a fresh start like a "normal" baby...we hope to not have to discuss any hospital visits or have any more nail biting on this page. As of last Friday, Ben was 9lbs 12oz and doing great. He smiles more each day and is starting to talk baby babble to us. Sometimes he even shakes like he's laughing although no sound comes out just yet. He likes to be held in a sitting position and is getting strong at holding that big head up and he's starting to put weight on his feet when he's held in a standing position. He'll be running around the house before we know it!

a very BIG yawn!

hanging out during bathtime

celebrating Daddy's 30th birthday

Ben dressed up as a pumpkin last night for Halloween and greeted a few trick or treaters at the door and then did a little trick or treating of his own next door. That's was enough for his first time. Maybe next year he can enjoy some of the treats and not have to give them to Mom and Dad!

Welcome to our blog

Here's a little background for our family. We found out we were pregnant on December 30th, 2005 and we were thrilled to be expecting a little one around September 4th, 2006. He, however, had very different plans and shocked us by arriving 3 1/2 months early on May 22, 2006. Little Benjamin Robert Kirkham weighed 1lb 10oz and was about 12 inches long, just an estimation since no one actually measured him in all the chaos. He came out pink and crying, but was quickly intubated, stabilized, and rushed to Texas Children's Hospital where he spent the next 2 1/2 months growing ounce by ounce. He faced enormous risks such as brain hemmorhages, blindness, bowel infections, just to name a few, but by the grace of God never got so much as a rash. Ben spent his last month in the hospital at St. Luke's where he had to learn to feed by a bottle and still breathe...a huge feat for a tiny preemie and one that took him several weeks to accomplish. Finally, one week after his due date, we brought our precious baby home and began life as a real family!

Together

What an amazing day - after 3 weeks in the NICU we finally got to hold our baby!  Well, I did while Daddy watched, talked to him, and took some pictures.  We were both hesitant to try unless everyone assured us it would be good for Ben, because he just doesn't handle any disturbance very well, but he did beautifully.  He slept on my chest skin-to-skin for over 2 hours today and had fewer alarms going off than he usually does in his incubator and his temperature stayed steady.  It was as if Ben remembered how comforting it was to be with mom and he relaxed and seemed to enjoy it, which raised my spirits tremendously.  It was the first time we got to be together as a little family without any barriers between us and it was good for all of us.

 

At the same time, we witnessed a priest praying over another baby just a few beds down that was having serious problems.  We had talked to her parents several times and it was really heartbreaking to see their 3-day old baby (whose start in life was very similar to Ben's) taking a turn for the worse.  We are parying that we find her doing much better when we go back tomorrow.  It reminded us of how fragile all of these babies are and how grateful we should be for every good day they have.

Overall, Ben had a very good third week with the exception of his lungs.  They are just very immature and struggling to keep up with his needs but we hope that given time they'll catch up and be fully functional.  As long as Ben remains stable and keeps gaining weight (he's already up to 2 lbs, 2 ounces) his lungs should have a chance to improve.  Maybe hanging out with his mom and dad will help, too!

Thank you all for your encouraging messages and emails.  We didn't realize that so many people had been sending emails to Matt's account linked to this webpage, so please forgive us for taking so long to respond!  Matt hasn't checked it frequently in the past and we found quite a few messages yesterday that date back to Ben's birthday.  We'll be better about corresponding from now on :)