All About Desmond - 1 Year Old

Infant delivered through clear fluid with spontaneous cry. He was brought to the radiant warmer and was dried and stimulated. He had excess secretions so was bulb and then delee suctioned. Prior to 1 minute, infant became apneic and began turning blue. Pulse oximeter probe was placed. PPV was started 20/5 Fi)2 40% with poor air entry bilaterally and HR gt 60 but lt 100. Pressures were increased to 25/5 and squeaky air entry heard. Infant's HR improved to gt 100 by 90 seconds of life, and he began having respiratory effort, although increased work of breathing and fair aeration. Infant's sats at 2 minutes were 90% and attempts made to wean Fi02, however infant would desat and occasionally need manual breaths. An OG tube was placed. By 10 minutes of life, infant was stable on CPAP 5, Fi02 35%. CPAP headgear was applied and he was shown to mom briefly and then brought downstairs in a pre warmed isolette.

APGAR Scores
1 Minute:  HR:1  Resp:0  Tone:0  Reflex:1  Color:0  Total:2
5 Minutes: HR:2  Resp: 2  Tone:1  Reflex:1  Color:1  Total:7

The first night with Desmond wasn't bad. I think he slept in a boppy lounger in our bed. He liked to be propped up. Eleanor loved holding him in the bouncer. Oh, he was just so tiny!

Out of the triplets, Desmond reminds me most of what Eleanor was like as a baby. Both with his looks and his personality. He was(and still is) the hardest baby. He cried a lot in the beginning. It seemed like he was crying all the time if he was awake and not eating. And this kid cries LOUD. The only thing we could do to calm him down was to bounce him on an exercise ball. Thank goodness we discovered that, because it worked like magic. It just got a little tiring for whoever was doing the bouncing. I noticed that he spit up the most, and not just after eating. He spit up all the time. I asked a few doctors about it, but they said just to try thickening his feeds. Still, nothing seemed to help. Once we got to Alabama, my doctor let me try giving him Zantac, and in a couple days we witnessed a miracle. I put him down in a little pillow, and he sat there completely content for like 5 minutes. A miracle, I say! The medicine worked wonders for him. That poor kid was in pain all that time. Broke my heart.

He was born with a big red birthmark on his right eyelid. It has since faded, but it was one of the easiest ways to tell him apart from the others. He also has a brown birthmark directly on his left kneecap. And a little dimple on his right ear that makes it look pierced.

Desmond was the first to start laughing. Those first laughs are amazing. After giving and giving and giving everything to these little people, you finally get something back that isn't crying, pee, poop, or spit up. So with Desmond, it was glorious. I think he was 3 months old. 

He was first to sit up unassisted at 6 months. Maybe because he's so little, it was easy for him to hold himself up, but it was so cute to see such a tiny little baby sitting.

Desmond is my worst sleeper. He woke up the most, but most of the time was easily put back to sleep with his pacifier. Every now and then I had to pick him up, rock/bounce him, etc. So happy those days are over. I'm loving my sleep.

He melted my heart when he started cooing. His little voice coming out of his curled lips was the sweetest thing ever.

I feel like he is a little hyperactive. He's always getting really exciting and breathing really fast. He used to lay down on his stomach and start kicking his feet like crazy - kind of looks like he's a swimming frog or something. It was the cutest. He started crawling at 8 months, and hasn't slowed down for a second. At 10 months, he could stand up for several seconds unassisted.

He was scooting all over the place at 7 months old. He would sometimes gets in downward dog position and tries to walk that way, but it didn't really work. Before he was belly scooting, he was bum scooting. While he was sitting, he'd rock back and forth and inched his way forward.

He might be allergic to penicillin. He was prescribed antibiotics for a possible ear infection, and then the day after he finished the medicine, he broke out in massive hives. They think it's the medicine. Hopefully not - but I guess we'll see.

He has this funny, forced grimace he makes when he's not happy. Hopefully I have a picture of it somewhere. He also has a hilarious face he makes when he doesn't like a certain food. 

He opens his mouth nice and big for every bite and hardly makes a mess. And he's like a little bird - he leans forward with his mouth open, waiting for the food to come. It's the cutest.

He got his first tooth at 8 months. At 10 months, he had 4 teeth. 

Have I mentioned his amazing laugh? Yes, I did. It's the best. And when he laughs, he scrunches up his nose. Gets me every time.

He gets genuinely excited when he sees Spencer on the phone.

He loves music, and almost always calms down when he hears it.

I think he'll be the most sensitive. He has a hard time when his brother or sisters get in his space. Good luck to him on that one. He's also more sensitive to light and sound.

They all slept in rock n' plays for the first few months. Desmond would straighten his legs and push himself to the very top of it. And later, he'd be turning his body completely over in it(I didn't buckle them in). He is the reason we transitioned them to cribs when we did.

When he gets tired, he grabs my face with both hands and pulls me in until our faces are smushed together. Sometimes he'll try to make out with me.

He is very hot blooded. He sweats really easily, and is always happy when he gets undressed.

He loves to watch Eleanor. They all do, actually. She gets them laughing faster than anyone else. 

There are times when I look at him and think that he has thoughts. Is that possible for babies to have thoughts even though they don't know words? He processes situations and really observes and internalizes. Eleanor was the same way.

He has this face when he furrows his eyebrows and stares you down. Hilarious.

He will literally eat for as long as there is food in front of him. He is the littlest baby, but eats way more than the other two. Now that I know how much he likes to eat, I wonder if he cried to much as an infant because he was always hungry. Only problem is if I had fed him more, he would have thrown up more. Oh well, glad those days are behind us.

He greets you with a forehead touch. Often times he'll follow it up with a kiss. He is so loving.

He signs "more". 

He is always so gentle. Instead of pulling hair, he strokes it. Instead of hitting my face, he just touches.

When he gets in to trouble, he gives it away by giggling. Most of the time he'll find Nash, who is already in trouble, and Desmond will follow along side him, but laugh the whole time. Thank goodness, because that's my clue that they are up to no good.

He has tried my patience time and time again. He, alone, has made me question if I could really handle triplets. He has made me lose more sleep than anyone else. But oh, how I love him. I couldn't imagine life without him now.