3 months

Drew Aaron at 3 months:

• Weighs 12 lbs and has climbed from the 10th percentile to the 25th! He is noticeably more roly-poly.
  
• Has rolled over tummy-to-back twice and is tirelessly practicing rolling over back-to-tummy. His favorite time to practice is when he is getting his diaper changed; the poopier the diaper, the more urgent the need to practice rolling.
• Is off the ventilator for most of his waking hours (6-8 hours a day). One remaining challenge is dramatic breath-holding spells that he has both on and off the ventilator. The latest theory is that they may be triggered by pain from silent acid reflux, so we are trying to treat for that. He will be admitted to Children's Hospital ICU at the end of the month for a couple days for further testing.
  
• Has discovered his hands. He's been jamming them into his mouth for the last few weeks. This weekend after much intense cross-eyed practice he has finally been successful in moving to the more sophisticated task of sucking only on his thumb.
• Likes jumping, standing, and being held high in the air. Mommy is regaining some of her atrophied arm muscles and doing her best to discourage baby-tossing.
  
• Is still a die-hard Canucks fan, despite their dismal playoff performance. He will often stop what he is doing and stare across the room with a grin; when we track his gaze we find that he is watching his Canucks mobile.
• Likes listening to whistling.
• Shows a distinct preference for dark-haired women, and doesn't really have the time-of-day for blondies.
• Has no patience when waiting for meals. He receives most of his intake through an nasal-gastric (NG) tube in his nose. Yes, after 2 weeks of impressing everyone with his eagerness for breastfeeding, his ability to suck back a bottle in less than 5 minutes, and the fact that he has not once spit up or choked on his meals, a radiographic feeding study showed that Drew had all the while been stealthily shuttling milk into his lungs with every swallow. This was totally unexpected and quite a blow, it put an end to breast feeding and limited bottles to only 3 a day. NG tube feeding at home has been one of our biggest challenges; please pray with us that this will be resolved when his swallowing is reassessed on May 31.
• Has an impressive amount of drool.
• Prefers to play with his NG and ventilator tubing rather than expensive developmentally-stimulating toys.