Have you seen the "melamine in formula" emails?

I'm sure most of you have seen the email that is going around about the melamine found in formulas that are made in China, and also tells you to check the bar code which will tell you the country code.  

Stevie is now on Enfamil Lipil & sometimes Nutramigen (made by enfamil - if you're child has a poop problem Nutramigen is the overnight wonder!).  At 10:30pm I read this email and proceeded to my kitchen to thoroughly check her cans of formula for information on where the product was made - it didn't say specifically the product was "Made in ....."  So I emailed Mead-Johnson the parent company for Enfamil.  Here was their response - if any of you are using Enfamil you can be assured it is all made in the USA.  

--------------------

Thanks for your e-mail, Erin, asking where our infant formulas are manufactured. I appreciate having an opportunity to respond.

Our infant and toddler formula products distributed in the United States are manufactured in the United States.

I have passed along your suggestion to modify our labels to add where our products are manufactured. I thank you for taking the time to relay your thoughts.

We appreciate your interest in our products, and I hope this information will be useful to you. Please let us know if you have additional questions about our products or if we can help you again.

Sandy Willett
Product Information Department
Phone: 1-800-222-9123
E-mail: MJProductInformation@bms.com
Websites: http://www.enfamil.com and http://www.meadjohnson.com

6 month shots - done!

Stevie turned 6 months old on November 11.  

She weighs 15 lbs now and is 25 1/4" long.  

We had a good appointment (except for the shots).  She got a flu shot and that made her feel pretty bad for 2 days, but today she is back to her little cheery self - thank goodness!

Stevie is sitting in my lap now as I'm typing this and I decided to take a quick picture with our I-cam.  

We had a great meeting also this week  regarding Christopher's room.  I will have more details early December.  I believe that by May 11 of next year we'll have a completed room - it will be a parent room in the NICU as I described earlier.  

Bye for now!

Stevie Dee & Erin

Stevie's Developemental Follow Up Appointment

This is a long one - lots to catch you up on. 

First - we are still raising money for Camp Christopher.  We have been approached about considering decorating a parent room in the NICU now vs. a pediatric room.  There is a an immediate need in the NICU to have a parent room where parents can spend some quiet time (away from beeping monitors and alarms), also a room where parents of very sick babies can spend the last moments with them.  We did not have that opportunity with Christopher, the hustle and bustle of the nurses and doctors were an earshot away while we held Christopher.  

Since we have such a strong bond with the NICU we feel this may be a good place to start utilizing the funds from The Christopher & Stevie Hickman Fund, however the room project is still a goal.  I will have more information on this in the next few days and will keep you all posted.  We are so thankful and humbled by the generosity of our family and friends that have given.  

The Developmental Update:

Stevie's Weight - 14 lbs 8 oz

Length - 25"

We are fast approaching Stevie's 6 month birthday.  Only 5 more days and our little "Bug" (Stevie's nickname) will be 6 months.  It is amazing how fast time flies by, and I remind myself that we have had her home almost 4 months now!  Everything changes so fast and just when you think you have something figured out you move on to a new stage.  It's so exciting to see her progress, and she is DEFINITELY developing a personality!  We know she has had one all along, but she is really showing her true colors now. 

This Tuesday she had a follow up with her development doctor who saw her on a weekly basis while she was in the NICU.  She gave Stevie a good looking over and then placed her on the floor (on a big blue mat) and showed Stevie different objects and toys.  Stevie did a good job, and the doctor seemed pleased with her progress.  Stevie's chronological age is almost 6 months, however since she is a preemie they refer back to her "corrected" age of 3 months - since Stevie was born at 29 weeks vs. 40 weeks  they consider her to be 11 weeks early (or almost 3 mos early).  

Here is part of what the doctor wrote in her report:

Stevie is a former 29 week surviving twin who is now almost 6 months old with a corrected age of 3 months.  She has had a nice interval growth and her growth parameters are well within the average range for her chronological age.  In addition, she is making very nice progress with her development.  Currently her gross motor skills (large movements) are average for 4 months 3 weeks.  Her fine motor/cognitive adaptive skills are at the 4-5 month level and her language skills at the 5-6 month level (of course she's a girl -we're natural talkers!)  Thus her skills are very nicely placed between her chronological and adjusted ages.  

SO, go Stevie go.  You rock little girlfriend.