Baby Momma News

Steven had his head turned so the IV was down last night when Doug and mom went to visit. Luckily Doug got a couple pictures before Steven’s nurse came over. She said that she had put him down with the IV side up and that he had turned his head in his own (he’s a strong little guy!), so obviously the IV really doesn’t bother him at all.

Its going to be hard to get a full view of any of his clothes because he’s always snuggled up in a ball, but this outfit isone that my sweet cousin is letting us borrow. Her twins Will and John Wesley were early so Steven gets to wear some of their clothes.

Steven is still doing well (it’s awesome to be able to say that every day).  His feedings have increased to 24mL…30mL is about the same as 1oz, so we’re very close!  He’s gained another ounce today and is up to 3lbs 13oz.  His biliruben has gone up to 9.8…he’s walking a fine line with those lights!

Tomorrow is his last day of antibiodics, so his IV will only be used for extra fluids.  He’s graduated from the “super leaded” fluids to ”decaf”.  His nurse last night said that he will probably be on sugar water soon.  Once he’s taking enough milk at each feeding then his IV will come out!  I’m very excited about that day.  They have to move his IV every 3 days and they’ve already used both of his hands and feet, so his IV is actually in his head right now.  I didn’t know they could do that, but it actually seems to irritate him less than when it was on a hand or foot.  Now at least he can move any way that he wants without a splinted arm or leg getting in his way.  The IV in his head does look really bad though (at least it does to me), so I’m not going to risk scarring anyone with a picture for the next couple of days. 

On a fun note, mom and I went shopping yesterday to get him a few blue things and premie clothes since all of Macy’s clothes are newborn and neutral colors.  The NICU has been dressing him in some of their clothes so I’m excited about seeing him in some of his own clothes.  Hopefully the IV will be out soon and I can get some pictures to show off his new wardrobe.

Macy is only 20 months old so you would think I’d remember how little baby clothes are, but Steven’s clothes look TINY to me…I know it’s not exactly rocket science, a tiny baby needs tiny clothes. I took a picture of one of his sleepers next to one of Macy’s 18 month sleepers and I’m amazed at how fast babies grow! It’s crazy for me to think that in 18 months he’ll be that big!

It’s humbling to think about how many people are praying for our little boy. Praise the Lord that we don’t live our lives by our works, but by His grace.

Thank you for praying for Steven and our family. We are incredibly blessed to have amazing family and friends to lift us up. Know that your prayers are felt each day. We love you!

I tried to write an update twice yesterday, but my phone erased both of them…I’m not loving the phone these days.  Steven continues to amaze us every day.  Yesterday they increased his feedings to 16ml each feeding.  He’s taking 2 or 3 of his 8 feedings by bottle.  He has to take all 8 feedings by bottle before he will be able to come home.  He weighs 3lbs 12oz now.  I’m convinced that if he had gone full term I would have been delivering a toddler! 

His biliruben has gone back up a little.  If it goes up one more point they will have to start phototherapy again.  We’ve gotten very spoiled being able to hold him as long as we want and being able to see his face, so we are praying that number goes down.  He had an ultrasound of his brain on Tuesday to make sure it has developed properly.  Praise the Lord everything came back fine.  They will do another one before he is discharged from the hospital.

Kangarooing is one of our favorite pass times.  Doug or mom has to take a picture of him while we snuggle because I can’t see him.

He’s my little snugglebug.  I can only imagine how spoiled he’s going to be when he gets home!

After seeing him naked for a week, it’s really nice to see him in clothes.   They moved his feeding tube to his nose (that would drive me nuts) so that it won’t get in the way as he takes his bottles…that’s considered another development.

Macy is trying to be more like her parents everyday. Today she had her sunglasses on when she went outside. When she came inside she tried to put them on her head like mommy. Her first attempt was hillarious because she had hair going everywhere. My camera was too slow, so we had to recreate…not the same effect, but you get the idea.

Doug laid down on the floor and pretended to be sleeping to play with Macy. Usually Macy gets grumpy when he does that, but today she was very sweet and started putting daddy to bed. She got the blanket and put on him. Then she got some books to read him a story. It was very sweet and another reminder that our little girl is growing up fast!

This is a picture that I took on Monday when Steven was still under the bili lights. It just cracks me up to see him with his sunglasses and pacifier…he’s just chillin and getting his tan!

Mom noticed that I have little sprouts coming up from my tulip and daffodill bulbs. It gives me hope that spring is on it’s way!!!

Steven is one week old today! He’s out from under the bili lights finally so he doesn’t have to wear his sunglasses anymore and we can see his sweet face. I forgot to ask how much he weighs today, but I think he might be back up to his birth weight already. His lumbar puncture came back negative for any kind of infection in his brain. His ultrasound of his brain looked good. His nurse practitioner said that there is a part of one side that’s slightly bigger than the other part of the other side, but that it’s completely normal and fin. He’ll have another ultrasound before he’s discharged. He’s gone from eating 4ml every 3 hours to 8ml every 3 hours. He’s taking one of his feedings a day with a bottle and the rest are through his feeding tube. Overall he’s doing great!