Time flies when your having fun!!

We have been trying to get Crew out of the house a little more... he is getting tired of always having to see a doctor every time he goes out!  He went on his first trip to Costco on Monday and his first football game (his cousin Colby Schow) last night.  I am not sure he knew he was at either place because we kept him covered and he slept through both outings... he loves his car seat and stroller!

We had two doctors appointments this week.  First, Crew saw his pulmonologist, Dr. Tippets, and he thought he looked great.  Dr. Tippets started talking to us about taking away Crew's heart monitor that he wears to tell us if his rate goes below 80 or above 200 and also alerts us if he does not breath for more than 20 seconds.  He told me I could kindly hand the monitor over when he was ready to take it, or he could tear it out of my fingers... I told him he will probably have to tear it out of my fingers!!  It is a step in the right direction, but it scares me nonetheless!

Next, we saw the ophthalmologist again and she said Crew's eyes are still premature, and although we thought this was going to be his last check up, she wants to check his eyes one more time just to be on the cautious side of things! She said things look normal, but she can't clear him until he is a little older... around 47-48 weeks corrected.

The physical therapist is still coming to the house every other week and she is very impressed with Crew's head control and his overall strength and progression.  We no longer need our home nurse however because Crew is growing like a weed... oh, by the way, he was 11 pounds 12 ounces at his visit this week!!

We see the hemotologist next week so I will update as soon as I  know more. 

Crew has a few nicknames so far... We call him "Ah-Gee" because he makes this sound whenever he complains... Nee Nee calls him "Grouch o Marx...Rolly Polly Olly... Snuggle Buggle...and Fatty Mcgee" to name a few, and I think those names speak for themselves!!  I like to call him "Big and Bossy and Muffy."  Daddy got strep throat this week so he was quarantined from Crew, which was not easy because his routine has been to come home, shower, and hog him for the rest of the evening! Nee Nee wants me to add to this post that she thinks Crew's poop smells like cake batter... Apparently I am feeding him straight cream!!

Music is one of Crew's loves right now and it almost always calms him to be sung to or just having music played for him....we told him it would be OK if he wanted to grow up and be Tim Mcgraw!!  He is also starting to smile a lot more, but we still can't say whether or not it is purposeful or just gas!!  And, last but not least, he still  LOVES to be snuggled!!

A visit from Crew's Great Aunt and Uncle, Nancy and Gary, from New York!

A visit from Crew's Great Aunt and Uncle, Janet and Wayne, from Chicago!!

We want to thank Crew's Great Aunts and Uncles for making the long trip out to meet him... we hope to see you all again soon!

One Month Corrected!

Our sweet baby Crew will be One month corrected on Monday . . . how the time flies!!  This means he'll be one month past his actual due date of August 2nd.  We expect him to progress and meet milestones according to his corrected age. 

Crew is what we like to call a little “bossy!”  He loves being held . . . sometimes even all night!!! Crew loves to be outside and went on his first walk on August 3rd.  Crew is a 4 time sneezer, LOVES his spa (bath) time, likes to sit up and look around, loves the car and his stroller, likes being sung to, and loves his Aunt Nee Nee!!  He even smiled for me for the first time awake and his mom was a little upset about it (even though it was probably just a gas bubble!).

At Crew’s doctor’s appointment yesterday,  he weighed 11 pounds 3 ounces!!!  Can you believe that?  He is growing like a weed and we tell him that he is naughty because we want him to stay little forever!!  The little fart takes 5 to 6 ounces at a time.  As for the doctor’s appointments….they have all gone well.  Crew has worn a “holter monitor” (a heart monitor which has 5 leads)  a couple of times to measure his heart activity for 24 hours and Dr. Womack saw no SVT . . . YEAH!!   He had another CBC done a couple of  weeks ago and his ANC is still trending low so he will have to consult with the hematologist again to do some further genetic and familial testing.  They may even do some autoimmune testing on Momma to make sure she did not pass anything on to him that he might just grow out of.  On a good note . . . his hematocrit was up to 36 – right where it needs to be!! 

Crew’s eyes continue to be premature, but Dr. Lee said that if his next eye exam shows that nothing has changed for the worse that he is in the clear and will not need any more eye exams for a while . . . whew! He also saw his Endocrinologist and we found out that he needs to stay on his Synthroid medication until he is about 2 years old to make sure his thyroid aids in proper brain development.  

Dalynn said that a few of you have been asking about a baby shower.  We have decided to cancel the shower.  Because of his lowered immune system, Crew is still very susceptible to infection.   We knew we couldn’t throw a shower now without him there to show off to everyone!! Gretchen is still registered at Target and Babies R Us. 

For those of you who want to meet Crew . . . Terrel and Gretchen are happy to have HEALTHY visitors . . . just be sure to call or text first!! 

SOME of Crew's Nurses!!

Kim

Heather

Heather reading to Crew

Jana

Lena

Jamie

Ann Margaret

A BIG Thank You to ALL of Crew's Nurses, Respiratory Therapists, Nurse Practitioners, Doctors, PCCs, Lactation, Social Workers, and NICU Staff that helped take such great care of him!  There are MANY more that we did not get pictures of, but you know who you are and we are forever grateful to all of you!!  We miss you.....kind of!! :) 

Love, 
Terrel, Gretchen, and Crew

P.S. I finally learned how to do blog posts!!

A visit from the cousins

Payton

Boone

Delaney

2 Weeks at Home . . . and going strong.

Plus this little video from his first afternoon at home outside.

Crew's first full Photo Shoot

Just a couple fun pictures from Crew's first mini photo shoot outside today.

Chilling in Grandpa Schow's fishing Creel

Down by the water . . . mamma bear was a little nervous.

Camping out for the night

And a couple bonus bath photos!

He likes his new sink tub