28 ounces: Alexi's Story (Part 3)

January 1, 2007
Lexi is turning 6 months old on January 3rd!!! She is the most amazing little baby ever. Lexi is still so tiny. She is about 10 1/2 lbs and 21 1/2 inches long, but she can do things that 6 month old babies can do. It is pretty funny to see reactions of people who expect her to act like a newborn because she's so petite. Lexi is really starting to establish likes and dislikes. She is so fun!
Lexi is teething now, loves to chew on everything and anything. You can tell Lexi is truly content when she curls her shoulders forward, puts her head back a bit and laughs this little "ah hah" sound. Lexi can stand up with assistance, isn't crawling yet, but is acting interested, so maybe it won't be that long until then. She loves the sound of her own voice, and will scream just to hear herself, it’s so funny!

January 10, 2007
It takes a village to raise a child, and Lexi thanks God everyday for our village! Here I was thinking that Lexi was posing and the poor thing was just trying to tell me she had an ear infection!!!
Lexi is trying to feed herself. We are still working on it, bottle doesn't quite make it into the mouth yet.

February 15, 2007
I can't remember if in the last update I told you that Lexi is up to 12 lbs. Her ear infection that she had is all better, and she is doing great. Lexi still doesn't want to crawl. She gets so mad when you put her on her belly, it’s like she gets insulted! She loves to hold onto your fingers and walk around! She may very well just skip the whole crawling thing all together.
Lexi has been staying up a whole lot more during the day, barely taking naps, but she is sleeping wonderfully at night. She is into everything and all she wants to do is explore
As far as I go, I am getting my tubes tied in the morning (Friday) at 7:30 am. It was an extremely hard decision for me to make, but it is the only logical answer. My doctors said that I should not ever get pregnant again as my body doesn't like being pregnant. I have also started on CellCept (chemotherapy drug) for my kidney disease, as the protein in my urine has shot up to above 5,000 grams and the nephrologist wants to take action to prevent kidney damage.

March 25, 2007
Lexi can sit up on her own, pull up and stand up on her own, and is so so close to walking! She has no interest in crawling. April 3rd she'll be 9 months old! She's around 13 lbs, and maybe about 23" tall (a guess).
Lexi starts daycare on April 23rd, and I go back into work in the office then.

April 30, 2007
click here for Lexi's first steps video
Lexi took her first couple of steps Sunday night. My neighbor was over, and we were playing with Lexi. All of a sudden she tried to take some steps. I didn't have my camera right then, so we tried to re-inact!
Lexi's stats: 10 months old on May 3rd, over 14 lb, about 25 inches long, week 2 of daycare

May 6, 2007
Lexi is feeding herself. She is to the point now where if I want her to eat, then I need to let her do it herself, or she will throw a fit. She wants to be a big girl so badly. So, I cleaned the kitchen floor and put Lexi and a cup of yogurt down on the floor. As much of a mess as she made, she actually got quite a bit into her mouth!
Lexi is going to be starting her 3rd week of daycare, and loves it. I have seen a huge difference in Lexi since she started daycare. She talks more, entertains herself more, and she sleeps more at night.

May 31, 2007
click here to see Lexi kissing the camera on video
Lexi had a double ear infection earlier in the month and was put on augmentin. That didn't clear it up, so she is now on omnicef, and they have added zyrtec to see if that will help her out. She has had a bunch of ear infections already... I believe we are on #5! She has been finally feeling better since being on this second antibiotic and being on the zyrtec.
Lexi is 14 lb 9 oz, what a whopper! She'll be 11 months old on June 3rd!!!

July 4, 2007
Lexi went to the doctor last week for her ears, and she still has the same ear infection. She has had this ear infection since the very end of April/beginning of May. She is on her 6th round of antibiotics. She has been on Augmentin, Omnicef, Rosephin shots, back to Augmentin ES, back to Rosephin shots, and now back to Omnicef. I have finally thrown my hands up in the air and taken her into the local natural foods store where a licensed MD specializing in wholistic medicine owns the store. She said to take Lexi off of all dairy to see if it helps. We took her off of dairy, switched her to soy and are crossing her fingers that the ear infection goes away.
Lexi has an appointment tomorrow, July 5th, for her 1 year check up. We will know her stats then, and find out if her ear infection is going away. We will also be referred to an ENT I would like to inquire about getting Lexi tested for allergies.
Other than all of this ear infection nonsense, Lexi is doing great. She's still tiny, and people still stare at her like she is a 6 month old, and practically fall out of their seat when they see her walk around. And yes, she has practically perfected walking despite having the longest ear infection on record. As of last week Lexi was 15 lbs 9 oz. She is still in 3-6 months clothing, and we have gotten such great use out of all of her clothes. She grows so slowly, that she wears every single outfit she has, definitely getting our money's worth on the clothing!


FAST-FORWARD TO TODAY...

Today, November 17 2009, Lexi is a happy and healthy 3 1/2 year old who loves Thumbelina, food, and anything pink. She has had 2 sets of tubes in her ears due to frequent ear infections and the milk was not an allergy. Still to this day, Lexi has a hard time with ear infections, but all in all she is a very healthy, smart, beautiful princess who can recite her ABC's and count to 15.
Lexi is still small; she is 26 pounds and 34 inches tall, but she makes up for her size in her attitude. Lexi is truly one of God’s precious miracles and I am thankful for my stubbornness to have a family despite the odds that were stacked up against me! Take me back to Lissa's World.

28 ounces: Alexi's Story (Part 2)

LEXI IS HOME!

Hey guys!!! Sorry it took so long to send an update out. LEXI IS HOME!!! She came home August 27th and she was sent home on a monitor that alarms if her heart rate drops or is too high or if she has an apnea spell.
Lexi had her first doctor appointment with the pediatrician last week and he said that besides her being tiny, she looks nice and healthy! She weighed 3 lb 13.5 oz and was 15 1/2 inches long!
Lexi also had an appointment with the eye doctor and she has stage 1 ROP- retinopathy of prematurity.
Lexi had a follow up appointment today with the eye doctor and she said that she is pleased with how her eyes are looking. The ROP is even more mild than it was last week. There is a real good chance that she will outgrow the disease and have no lasting effects from it.
Monday is another appointment with the pediatrician and they are going to give her the first set of immunizations and vaccines. I cannot wait to see how much she weighs at this appointment! I have to wake Lexi every three hours to eat, but she has been wanting food halfway in between feedings a lot, and I'm assuming that means she is going through a growth spurt.
She is a great baby! Poor thing, though, she is very gassy, I've been going through lots of gas drops, which seem to help her a lot.
Well, Lexi is starting to wake up. I will promise to try and update you all more frequently! I'm so glad she's home!!!!

September 11, 2006
Hey guys! Lexi had her 2 month check up and got her 3 shots today. She was not happy at all! I got sick over it too, my stomach was so upset by the time everything was all said and done. But it’s over now, thank goodness!
The doctor said that Lexi looks like a nice healthy baby! Her weight is up to 4 lb. 15 oz!!! One more ounce and she's a 5 pounder!!!! And she is 16 1/2 inches long.
Just wanted to let you all know how she's turning into a little chub!

October 7, 2006
Hi guys, sorry it’s taken so long to update. As you can imagine, I have been really busy! Lexi is off of her apnea monitor. She came off of her monitor on September 26th, the day after my original due date. The doctor said that she had no true episodes of apnea, just false alarms due to her breathing shallow and he is very pleased with her progress!
The ROP (retinal eye disease) is almost completely gone and the doctor said that Lexi most likely outgrow it completely (she is 99% sure) with no residual side effects!
Lexi now weighs 6 lbs 8 oz and the doctor said she is really healthy! Lexi has developed a slight case of colic though. She is fussy most times that she is awake and there is not really much that helps to calm her. The dr said to just hold her and swaddle her as much as possible. My mom suggested I get a snuggli (baby carrier that you wear) and I have. I got it yesterday. So far it is working great! Lexi is sleeping right now while I am wearing it. She looks so sweet and peaceful!
Lexi is going to be starting her first round in a series of 7 shots of the drug synagis which is to help her out during this winter with the RSV virus. Its an upper respiratory virus which can be dangerous, even deadly in babies, especially preemies. She gets her first shot on October 19th. The only side effect that she should have is a sore leg from where she got the shot and I am allowed to give her a little Tylenol before she gets her shot to help ease the pain.
I really can't complain here, Lexi is doing awesome and she is truly a little miracle! She is healthy as ever! And as fussy as she is I have stocked up on Tylenol and am just waiting for her to grow out of it, and the doctor said that she should within a couple of months.

October 19, 2006
Lexi had her eyes checked on Monday for the Retinopathy of Prematurity that she has been dealing with. It is gone!!! The eye doctor was very pleased with what she saw, said that Lexi's eyes are perfect and look just like newborn eyes! We don't have to go for another eye checkup until 6 months from now.
Tuesday Lexi rolled over for the first time! She was laying on her tummy with her hands under her chest, so she had a bit of help to begin with, but it counts for going in the baby book.
Today Lexi had her pediatrician appointment for her Synagis shot (shot to help out with RSV season- nasty bronchial respiratory infection that lands many infants in the hospital). She will get the shots every 28-31 days all the way into March or April. She did real well with the shot. I gave her some Tylenol first and it helped her to sleep a bit afterwards. Poor girl, she was exhausted after the shot.
Lexi weighs 6 lb 12 oz now and is 18 3/4 inches long. She's fitting into some of her newborn clothes now, and outgrowing those preemie clothes finally! She is sleeping for longer periods of time now, about 4 hours at a time and eating more too. Lexi is also wanting to play more and she loves her play mat that has the toy bar. She is starting to interact a whole lot more now and is so much fun! I love watching her look at everything so curiously! She is not very colicky now (well... as of a couple of days ago, I won't press my luck just yet).

October 26, 2006
Not much of an update really, nothing too new. You will see in the pictures though that Lexi is so curious now, and she smiles, and likes to play a bit too!

November 6, 2006
Hi guys!! Lexi turned 4 months old on Friday, and she had her 4 month check up and shots. She did much better this time with her shots.
Lexi weighs 7 lb 11.5 oz and is 19 1/2 inches long now. She is healthy as a horse, and she is progressing fast! The pediatrician is very pleased with her growth and maturity. Lexi is getting to hold her head up for a little while now on her own, and she is smiling true smiles… and she just might be in the very beginning stages of teething. She is drooling a lot more than before and is starting to chew on everything. We were given the go ahead to start trying rice cereal!

November 11, 2006
Hey guys! I'm excited to report that Lexi had her first bite of single grain rice cereal on Wednesday! It was very messy feeding her with a spoon, but we had fun.
Now that Lexi is eating cereal, she will be packing on the pounds... she's going to be a chunky monkey before we know it! She is just an absolute joy! Lexi is talking a lot more, she loves to hear her own voice. Haha! No complaints here. I just wish I could see everyone in person so I can show off my little princess. She is just beautiful!

November 22, 2006
Last Thursday Lexi had her doctor appointment for her RSV shot (respiratory virus vaccine), and she did real well with the shot. She only cried for a couple of minutes, and then the poor thing slept for 2 days. Lexi now weighs 8 lb 9 oz and is still healthy as ever. The pediatrician gave us the go ahead to start her on fruits and veggies and her first fruit she tried was bananas. She really liked the bananas. She has also just tried pears yesterday and likes them too. Lexi wants cereal in all of her bottles now, she's a little piggy. The cereal is awesome!!! I am now able to get a 6 hour stretch of sleep, which is the best thing ever!

November 27, 2006
We had a great Thanksgiving! Lexi got to visit with a lot of family. She had a very busy but fun Thanksgiving holiday and she's worn out!
So far Lexi has tried bananas, applesauce, prunes, and sweet potatoes. She loves the bananas, likes the applesauce after she gets over the initial tartness, is not too sure about the sweet potatoes yet, and absolutely does not like the prunes one bit. I have been feeding her a little bit of the food with the spoon, which she does real well with, and will make her smoothies with her formula, cereal and fruit. She chows down big time on the smoothies.
Lexi is now using the baby bath tub that goes inside of the regular tub... I call it the big girl bath tub... and she loves it!

December 6, 2006
Lexi was sick on Monday with a tummy bug. She didn't eat much all day and what she did eat came right back up. Yesterday she slept a lot, and was a bit crabby, but today she is back to her charming self and eating like a little piggy.
Lexi is getting so big! Well, as far as weight goes, I don't know how much she weighs. Maybe around 9 1/2 lb or so. She is rolling over more, and trying so hard to crawl a little, or at least to move. She is one strong little girl! Lexi is always happy, smiles at everything, and talks away like nobody's business.

December 11, 2006
First off, Lexi is feeling much better from last week's tummy bug. She is so over it. She has been crabby, and I thought it was because she was still feeling a bit woozy, but it is because she is teething now. I've been rubbing her gums with Orajel, giving her a bit of Tylenol here and there, and giving her cold wet wash cloths to chew on. The teething toys are too big for her tiny little mouth.
Lexi is now 5 months, 1 week and 1 day old and her adjusted age is 2 months 2 weeks and 2 days old. (adjusted age is age she would have been if full term, going by my due date of 9-25); She is a little bit ahead of schedule if going by the adjusted age to be teething, but she is pretty much on target from what I have read if going by her actual age. Lexi has actually been almost on target for a lot of milestones from reading about what to expect and when for newborns. She is very strong in her legs, and is able to stand with some assistance for a few seconds at a time (lightly holding her waist), she can roll over from tummy to back with almost no problem now, she follows objects with her eyes, she looks at you when you talk to her.
Lexi is grabbing things like my shirt, batting at toys, talking up a storm and using many different sounds. She is an extremely smart baby, and I'm not JUST saying that because she's my daughter, but because she is on target for her real age and ahead of schedule for her adjusted age. She's acting like a full term baby. I can gush about Lexi all day long. We are just so incredibly proud of her and feel so blessed this holiday season to have a happy healthy baby. ->