Recovering at Home

Roman loves to be outside!  He has always liked the contrast of the trees and the sky.

Other than his prescription formula and his sternal precautions (AKA not picking him up under the arms; we have to scoop him like a newborn) until mid March, everything else is healed up and doing great!

He actually has to practice sitting in the highchair, believe it or not.  His core is so weak that he has to be reclined slightly and have the four point harness.  The goal is to get him to be able to sit while supporting him at the hip level before he's "ready" for actual solid food.

Here he is in my lap after a bottle.  His reflux demands that we keep him upright for 30 minutes after he eats.  This creates a problem for me because that is when he is happiest, obviously, and they want him to also work on tummy time which he typically hates.

When Roman went to his 6 month check up with his pediatrician, he had still not gained ANY weight at all.  I can't figure it out because he was gaining before the surgery and was eating 17-20 oz a day, and he is now getting 22-24oz a day.    This formula is a different kind of fat and it is only fortified up to 24kcal whereas the other formula was fortified up to 28kcal before his surgery.  That doesn't seem like enough of a difference to account for the lack of gain.  Anyway, the doctor checked his thyroid again to rule that out as a cause.  It was normal.  Thankfully, she listened to me when I told her it needed to be a heel stick because his veins don't give it up the old fashioned way.  He also had to get an immunization.  I opted to start spreading them out for him, but he still had a fever for days, was fussy, and didn't eat as well.  In this picture he fell asleep in the swing, and it is the first time ever.  All my babies would rock straight to sleep in the swing, but he has never fallen asleep in it until today.  He was feeling so yucky and worn out.

Roman is rolling more frequently both ways now.  However, he won't do it often if I am sitting there.  Therefore, I am pretty sure the physical therapist that comes to our house every other week does not believe me.

This was Roman's first taste of food.  Stage 1 Peas.  He doesn't hate it, but having the mouth coordination to move it around and swallow it is hard for him.

Here's another attempt at a different flavor and texture.

He definitely prefers his feet to any food!

Really, he is such a sweetie!