Conquering Anemia

Yeah, Colin!!! We got his reticulocyte count back yesterday. It shot up significantly, meaning he is truly resolving his anemia of prematurity! It should now just be a matter of time for him to get to normal red blood cell levels. The prospect of not having to deal with any more blood transfusions is nice. Really nice.
Chunkers is still struggling with his feedings. I tried to give him a bottle last night, and he would do the same thing as before: start crying the moment that milk hit the back of his throat. It's a little disheartening, but now that the problem appears to be apparent, we just need to find the right medication for him to calm down that inflammed esophagus. Zantac doesn't appear to be the one right now. Hopefully it'll resolve soon since the last thing we want is for him to start associating pain with feeding. THAT would not be good.
Chunky Monkey gained another ounce too, up to 4 pounds, 5 ounces. We looked at his growth charts yesterday for head circumference, lenght and weight. He's still WAY behind the curve in length (16 and 1/4 inches) and weight, but he's almost low-normal on his head circumference. He's trying to catch up though. I honestly think once we get him home, his growth will really take off. I look forward to that, but for now, I'm going to enjoy my small miracle bundle. He's starting to get big enough where we cuddle faces and give him squeezes. My favorite is kissing that head. I know supposedly at this age babies don't smile to stimuli, but darned if I don't find that "sweet spot" on top of his head and give it kisses that it doesn't elicit a smile a good portion of the time! It is so, so adorable. That kid has an unbelievable, infectious smile. Watch out ladies, that's all I've got to say ;-)