Beckett Miracle Milestone: He ROLLED over!

Yes, Beckett. Yes you are. You amaze me every day. You are almost 8 months old. You are about 4.5 months adjusted age. AND YOU ROLLED OVER! So proud, my Sweet Beckett. This is a miracle. We didn't know what you would be able to do. We still don't know what you will be able to do. But you are a miracle. Both you and your sister are miracles.

Good job, B-man. Hands to the knees.

 Hands to the feet. Very nice.

Leg crossed over, and flailing arm follows the momentum.

Push up with my arms to show off my cute elbow dimples.

Come. On. Other. Arm. Get. Out.

And we're up. Look how high he holds his head up! Getting better at that balance.
Kelli (his PT) would be proud! :)

 Perfecting the balance, and looking really cute.

And we are SO SO happy about it. 

Burgers for Babies 2012

Burgers for Babies 2012 was a blast! And a much needed break for this preemie parental unit. Even though we got there late (because we were super stressed Beckett wasn't eating very well), it was such a blessed night to dine on great food and drinks with some of our favorite friends! (Thanks so much Dave and Casi, Karen and Eric, Beckie and Scott. We LOVED catching up with you all)

And...for such a great cause. It was even a little emotionally overwhelming for me to see all the people there supporting a cause that would support families like us. So blessed by the generosity of others. I know NICU Helping Hands was too.

So blessed by all of YOU who donated toward the Team Gramkow table at the fundraising event! We surpassed our $2500 goal with flying colors!!! Ben and I were beyond blessed by your generosity. Preemie families obviously will always have a special place in our hearts. We can empathize with their need for help and support. And it's even great to be able to share with others the positive impact they can have on these families by donating toward this organization. Thanks for helping us help other preemie parents.

Oh, and we loved getting to see the DRG, and some of the other neonatologists and nurse practicioners who took care of Beckett. Had to remind one that Beckett's room was the airplane room, and she immediately remembered! :) And I thought it was cool to get a picture with fellow preemie parent, and owner of the Woodshed (where the event was held), Tim Love!

Kind of felt like a 15 year old asking for my picture with him, but oh well! I am very outgoing, but don't do well with celebrities. Guess it's a good thing I didn't ask for a picture with Pat Green too! Thanks to my good friend Tina Howard, of Fall Meadow Photography for "letting" me post some of her pics from the event on my blog :) Click on the link to see all the pics from the event!

Much love,

I'm Older than I Look. True statement about Beckett Gramkow.

Thank you http://www.itsapreemiething.com/ for this making this awesome onesie available for my purchasing pleasure. Some days as a NICU mama, you just have to "go with it." This one was my favorites especially since the question moms get asked for EVERY baby is "oh...how old is he/she?"

I don't know but this just makes me chuckle. "I'm older than I look." Baaahhhaaaa.

Today was tiring. I don't know why appointment days wear me out. Probably doesn't help that we were out of town visiting the Gramkow Fam all last week (which was way fun, I might add). And I even did laundry before we left, and I still managed to have about 4 loads last night! :) Fun times!

So here's the updato with the Beckett Gramkow. That's Gramkow with a "long" O....for all those of you wondering how to say our last name. :) Say it with me. Gram. "co." I know it looks like Gram-cow, but it's not. I repeat we are not cows. See that will help you remember. :)

Focus. Ok, here we go:

1. I think I've converted Beckett to the "cute" pacifiers. I have ones that are a soccer ball and a baseball. They are so much cuter than his favorite green soothies where you can see inside his mouth.
2. B-man is getting so good at holding his head up, and for LONGER periods of time. 
3. He took three 4-oz bottles last week. This was a big step for him. He still usually like to hang out around 2.5 - 3 oz. per feeding.
4. He has slept through the night the past two nights. I about have a heart attack when I wake up in the morning, wondering if he needed fed, and I didn't hear him. But he's been going from 9:30 pm to 6 am-ish. We shall see about tonight.
5. Beckett is now 4 months adjusted/7 months chronological age!
6. At today's doctor's appointment, he gained weight!
   13 lbs. 15.5 oz. (still not on growth chart); length. drat. I forgot to write that one down BUT it IS on the growth chart. 2nd percentile. Wahoo! And...head circumference (also on the growth chart 2-5 percentile) and stayed steady from the last check at 44 cm. PRAISE for his head not rapidly growing like it was last visit.
   
   Dr. Hanson thinks he is looking pretty good. His weight is still not steller, but I have to remember it still is a gain...and this is just part of the lovely-ness of preemiehood. Making adjustments! He did have a bit of a rash on his face when we went in, and we aren't sure what that's from. :( Keeping an eye on it. No high fever, so that's good. He has started his pooping strike now again. Ben is happy, but I am not thrilled. Beckett boy, you need to poop a little more regular.
7. Burgers for Babies is on THURSDAY! So excited! We will be joined at our table by Casi and Dave Faulk (remember Jon-Jon's parents); our favorite NICU Nurse, Karen and her hubs; and Beckie and a friend (Rick...we will miss you) - they lead our Young Marrieds/Families class at church. SO excited! And....we got the TABLE! And after all is said and done, and math is corrected, the Grand Total raised for NICU Helping Hands was $2935.00! So blessed! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! We will definitely take some pictures at the event with some Top Chefs!
8. So today was our appointment with Nutrition at Cook's. It was interesting. Probably most because when calculating how many grams he has gained per day....well, it's less than stellar. B man with his eating strike that I was telling you about only gained about 10-12 grams a day. Not good. Should be doubling that do stay along his growth curve. He still GAINED. So that is good. But again, the lack of volume intake is just bothering me...still have yet to figure out that mystery. So, the recommendations are: Fortifying all feedings of expressed breastmilk to 27 calorie. So, that means Mama is back to full time pumping. I tell you. Not to thrilled about this, but I'll do what I need to do. If only there could be less Beckett dishes to clean/sanitize! I really am hoping this is just temporary to get him beefened up a bit. I know breastfeeding isn't the end of the world, but I did enjoy the fact that it seemed to be working for us. He has gotten so much better at it. But again, we will just keep track of his weight gain. We'll be checking weight weekly at Occupational Therapy appointments, so we can make adjustments weekly, and not have to wait a whole month. Back to see Dr. Hanson in a month for another weight check.

This week is busy ahead!
Tomorrow is Physical Therapy
Wednesday is Developmental Specialist/ECI Case Manager visit
Thursday is Occupational Therapy and BURGERS FOR BABIES!
Friday is Beckett's appointment with the Cranial specialist. (Although I do think his head is looking better each day!) and FAMILY PICTURES from that we won from Sweet Sarah J who entered us in the Share the Love contest (remember when we were in the NICU)? I'm super excited for pictures now that B-man can lift his head up more!

Blessings to your week friends! Kisses from Beckett.

Oh, and YES, we will be making an appearance now in the outside world that we have tested the waters visiting Ben's family. So friends, I'll be in contact soon. Maybe not all at one time. That would overwhelm me, but we would like to maintain our face-to-face interactions. :) I think our first Sunday to church as a fam will maybe be next weekend, Mother's Day! :) We shall see. Sweet memories...as Mother's Day was when Ellie was dedicated at our church in Kansas.