Good Scores

N had a pretty good day today.  His scores were down to 2's and 3's.  He has to keep them there for 48 hours before they will start to wean him off of the meds.  

Dave gets to go and spend the day with him tomorrow and I'm headed up there after the teacher workday. :)  I love my little man.  

Smiles

Today was a much better day for the little man (and for me). Besides a 10 that he got this morning for spitting up after eating and for having a loose stool, his scores have been under 8 all day and most of them are 6 and under. :)

They are stopping one of the medicines tomorrow because he is not in danger of having seizures anymore. Once he has 48 hours of lower scores, they will start weaning him off of his other meds.

He is continuing to eat better and has gained another ounce. He's now 6 lbs. 11 oz.

This afternoon, he was so sleepy when we were there but was trying really hard to stay awake. We caught some half smiles and some dreamy smiles. 

When he is sleepy but wants to know what is going on around him, he always opens the right eye.  Always.  

I told Dave that he looks like a little monkey in the second picture.

Wish List

**This is not a ploy to get people to buy us stuff.  Rather, an answer to a question that we get a lot.**

I've had quite a few people ask us if we had a wish list of things for N or things that we don't have/would like/need.

We do have a few things we don't have and most of those things are on our registries at Target and Babies R Us.  

Because we are unsure about the length of N's hospital stay and the fact that we have lots of 0-3 months clothes already, if you wish to get us clothing, please get larger sizes so that we know that he will get a chance to wear them.  

Also, if you wish to get us something to help us out with the hospital stay, we could always use gift cards to restaurants.  Most days, we leave as soon as I get home to go the hospital, stay till 6:30 when we have to leave due to shift change, grab something to eat, and then head back after shift change.

If I think of something else, I'll let you know!  :)

Rough Day

N had a pretty rough day today. :( They decided to add a new medicine to help calm him down and prevent seizures after being very irritable and inconsolable this morning. When we've been there, he has been calm and sleeping, for the most part, but he seems to have a rough patch every morning.

I'm hoping that these rough patches become less and less extreme and less frequent. He has to start leveling out before they will start to reduce his meds.

I've been pretty upset about it all day.  I'm so thankful for N and the opportunity we have to be his parents.  I just want him home with me.  I want to hold him and love on him in the comfort of my own home.  

Even with all of this, we love him more than words can express. If I could trade places with him, I would do it in an instant.

Sunday Pics

N's Nose

I've had lots of questions about N's little nose, so I figured that I would just answer it in a blog post, since I'm sure there are more than are wondering.

N loves to sleep on his tummy in his little bed, but when he starts to wake up, he rubs his face side to side on the blankets, resulting with what I guess you could call blanket burn.  The nurses are trying to catch him when he first starts to move around and turn him over on his stomach to keep him from making it worse.

3/27 Update and Pics

He has had a pretty good day and has had some normal scores like a 10, 8, and 6.  Still waiting for those 4 scores, but we'll get there, right?  

I had been having a pretty negative day this morning.  I feel like we've been there forever and that it will be a while before N gets to go home.  Besides his medicine, he is not getting any other treatment that should keep him in the hospital.  I just want him home with us.  I hate leaving him everyday and it breaks my heart.   I just try to remind myself that the feelings I have when leaving him are tiny compared to the feelings J had when she signed the papers.

I do love my little man, though.  He was totally worth the wait!  :)

One Week Old

Sorry about not posting pictures yesterday, but we didn't even leave the hospital until after 10:30 last night and we're both pretty exhausted. We've spent pretty much every free minute we have there and we're both pretty tired.

He gained another ounce. He's now officially 6 lbs. 10 oz. :)

We are headed up there in just a little bit and we called and talked to his nurse this morning, one of the nurses that really loves him. He had some 8's and 9's throughout the night, which is what we were expecting. He seemed kind of fussy last night when we left. Hoping for some better scores today.

By the way...his poops STINK!!!!!!!!!!

Updates and more pictures coming tomorrow since we are just now leaving the NICU at 10:30!

3/25 Pics and Update

N continues to have rough moments, but he also has moments of being super calm.  His body is just having a rough time withdrawing.  He's had a 14 and 15, but had a 6 mixed in the middle of those.  It's so frustrating.  I just want him to be able to come home.  

He is eating better, which is wonderful.  He even ate a whole bottle and then a little of another one tonight.  He's an awesome burper.  

We got to hold him a lot today.  Even with his higher score, he was very calm and that is wonderful for us.  I love holding my little man. (So does his daddy.)  

Okay....here's what you've been waiting for....the pictures.  

Please Pray for N!

Today has been a rough day for N!  He was a 14 today (and remember, we want low numbers) and apparently, he just wanted to be fussy and chill with the nurses today instead of sleeping.  

Please pray for him and his little body.  I so want to bring him home, but it looks like it's going to be a while, maybe three weeks or more.  Thankfully, this isn't life threatening and it's just a rough patch he has to get through, but it breaks my heart when we leave him.  He's in good hands and they care about him and take good care of him, but I feel like I'm missing out on so much.  I want to be the one to console him and pat his back and rock him at odd hours of the night.  I want him here with us and not in a hospital 20 minutes away from home.  

Pictures from today! In most of these, he's pretty fussy, another reason for the 13 he got later tonight.  :(