22/24 Days Old - Yahoo, Stage 2

Today I received my first official award. Isn't it beautiful with the purpley stars? I didn't want to tell you before, but I am quite certain that I have just passed from Stage 1 into Stage 2. I am right on schedule and have had 12 good days in a row. Let me tell you about Stage 2 This stage is all about growing and gaining weight and is generally for babies 30-36 weeks in gestation. I never would have thought that life could be so complicated. Some days I feel great and want to get up and look around. Other days I don’t feel so great and just want to sleep. If I am feeling really low, I may drop my heart rate a few times or forget to breathe a few times. Hopefully, I have better control over my heart rate and my breathing at this stage. I am off of my breathing machine and on CPAP working toward nasal cannulas. I am awake for longer periods of time and I am even more wigglely than ever before. I can scare myself by accident and my heart rate will jump really high. You have to learn how to help my calm down so that I don't burn up too many calories. I still can’t handle a lot of activity. I still like to do only one thing at a time. My bed is on a slant (helps with the digestion) , and I tend to slip down to the bottom of the bed. So , I have a diaper roll at the foot of my bed to keep my from sliding out of bed. I like boundaries, anywhere, anytime. If you are holding me, its best to lightly hold my arms to my chest (like I am hugging myself) with a light swaddle so I don’t have to wave them around. I really want to save my extra energy so I can gain more weight. I like to be held skin to skin a whole lot. Not for very long, but I helps me to calm down and to eat and to breathe and to sleep and to maintain a good heart rate. I only wear a diaper, so If you open up your shirt, I will snuggle into your chest. We can be together until I brady or desat (I'll tell you what that is later) , which means I want to be alone back in bed. I love to be held, but I also want my rest. I need to wear a hat to keep my head warm and to keep my CPAP mask on properly. I need head and neck support to help me breathe. I don’t want to get cold or get too fussy. These things all burn up extra calories. I want to save all my calories because I want to gain weight. When you hold me I want to look at you. I enjoy looking at you. But when you talk, I have to look away because I get overwhelmed. This is called gaze aversion. I’m still taking things slowly so I need a time out from the stimulation. As I adjust I maybe able to look back at you. Don’t take it personally; my immature nervous system gets in my way. I love looking at your face. My pacifier really helps me. It helps me calm myself and helps me organize myself. Let me show you what a great thing it is for me. I like to relax and curl my legs and arms underneath me. You can hold me in this tucked or flexed position. If I suck on my pacifier while I am being tube fed, it helps me digest food. Time to go, I have to eat some more and take a nap again.