2 months old - 8lbs 12oz

It’s been quite a busy and interesting week or so around our household. Madi and I both got sick almost a week ago and have been fighting that off while trying to keep our distance and keep Nicholas safe from getting sick. Unfortunately, we lost that battle this morning when Nicholas woke up around 3:30am with a 101.3 temperature. For those that don’t know, this is so not good for a baby at his age. We had to get him right into the ER and it basically automatically means he will have blood drawn and a spinal tap. That’s exactly what it entailed! It was an awful experience for all of us. Nicholas does not have very good veins at all so it took 5 different nurses and doctors to finally get just .6mL of blood which was JUST enough to do blood cultures. He had at least 10 different pokes throughout his body trying to find a good vein. It also took them two attempts at the spinal tap. Ugh!! So far they don’t see any kind of bacterial infections, which is GREAT news! He got a dose of antibiotics and was released to go home as long as we brought him back tomorrow for a follow-up which we have scheduled. Over the last week or so we’ve had Dave’s mom come visit, my mom come visit, and now Dave’s mom is back to help out with all of us (except Dave!) being sick and trying to care for Nicholas at the same time. Thank you to everyone who was there fervently praying, its truly been a God sent to have friends and family like all of you! We are disinfecting our house and getting healthy now. We are hoping to be back on our feet and good to go by the time my sister, Andrea, and her fiancé, Tory, get here on Saturday. We are so excited for their visit for a few days! An update on Nicholas’s growth…He is now 8lbs 12oz and will be 2 months old on Thursday (29 Oct 09)!!!! What a Champion!!

7 Weeks Old!!

Nicholas's Schedule Due Date!! 7lbs 4oz!!

Well, today is the day I should have been heading to the hospital for our scheduled C-section. His actual due date was Oct 22nd, but today is the day he would have been born. Instead he is almost 7 weeks old and weighs 7lbs 4oz!!! Less than 10 days after weighing in at 6lbs 4oz he has gained an entire pound! Nicholas has been such a great baby overall. We are still feeding every three-four hours which is making for some tired parents, but how can you resist spending time with such a cutie! It’s worth it right now and I haven’t lost my mind just yet. =o) Family will start coming in for visits now and we are very much looking forward to those. Dave’s mom comes in for this weekend and my mom will be here all next week. Then we are looking forward to more visits through November. Nicholas is now in newborn sized diapers, no more preemie and has outgrown a few of the preemie sized clothes too. He’s having a lot more wake periods and just loves to watch and listen to his big sister. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers over these last few months, its been amazing to see God work in our lives and especially our children’s lives!

6lbs 4 oz!!!!!!!!

Nicholas has hit the 6 Pound mark!!! He is now 6lbs 4oz and the doctor is VERY happy with his weight gain and how he’s looking. We couldn’t be more happy with how he is doing. We have little scares here and there, but the pediatrician on base is absolutely awesome and I even have his home number so on Sunday afternoon when we had an episode of inconsolable crying and craziness I could just call to see if everything was okay. Now to just get him past the two month mark when he can start getting his shots and then through this flu season with no issues and we’ll be in the clear. Madi is loving her job as a big sister and now takes care of herself in many areas. For example, just now she was laying on the floor on top of her new diaper telling me she needed a new diaper on. While I was sitting here typing this she took off her old diaper, sat on her potty, threw away her wet diaper, got a new one, and put it on the floor and laid on it. Hmmm…maybe I’m not doing enough as a mom for her anymore that she thinks she has to do it all herself. Ha ha!

Madi's First Haircut

It is so nice to be home! Although I’m really missing those nurses who took care of Nicky when I wanted to just sleep. I’m beginning to miss those stretches of more than 2 hours of sleep, but it won’t last forever…maybe just another year of this?? Ha! No way, maybe just a few more weeks or a month before Nicky can sleep more than 3-4 hours at a time. He had quite a fussy night last night. Cried pretty hard when he was awake and had trouble settling. I’m hoping it was just some aches and pains from growing or some tummy gas. We’ll see how he does during the day today before calling the doctor about it. In the back of my head I keep hoping that he doesn’t end up with colic, but I’m believing this to not be true. =o) Madi got her first haircut this past week. It was a Mommy-Daughter evening out. I tried to talk up the haircut experience the whole way there (30 minutes in the car here). We got there and she just kind of checked things out while we waited for our turn. She did great! She even told the hairdresser when she was “All Done” and started to take off her smock. That was when she was getting her bangs cut. We were able to keep her there, making faces at herself and us in the mirror and holding different things like the spray bottle and comb. She was a trooper. So afterwards Mommy and Madi had dinner and ice cream then headed back home to be with the boys and show off her new haircut. Aunt Ree Ree (my sister Carrie) came up to visit on Saturday and got to see Nicholas for the first time out of the hospital. She lives down in Fargo now. She moved there a little less than a year after Madi was born and its been wonderful for me to have my sister so close and able to experience so many things with us. We are looking forward to more family visits this month!!

5lbs 7oz!!!

Well, Happy October!! Can you believe its already here? We sure can’t especially since it seems like yesterday I was heading into the hospital hoping the nurses and doctors were just going to stop my amniotic fluid leak and two hours later Nicholas was here. Wow! The past five weeks have been quite a whirlwind for us and, surprisingly, we are surviving, learning, loving, laughing, crying (mostly just me and Madi) and overall just cherishing our moments together as a family of four. Thankfully, after just a few days of loving (and tough) discipline I think I have a little more control over my little girl and she and I are learning how to work together again. She’s quite a little angel when she has some control and understanding of what’s going on. This has all been quite a change for her over the last 5 weeks. She was going to daycare (we called it school for her) every day with other adults and LOTS of other two year olds and then spending evenings and weekends with Mom and Dad with all of their attention. Then…”POOF” Mommy was gone for three weeks, there was this cool new baby doll that moved and looked around, and Dad was taking care of everything at home and with Madi. Then Mommy and Nicky come home and a new person is in charge and around most of the time (that would be big tough Mommy!). =o) But we are all adjusting better and starting to get on a consistent schedule so that things aren’t so fluid for Madi. Madi started with a runny nose on Saturday and by Monday Nicholas was stuffy, sneezing, and coughing. I made an appointment to take him in to make sure all would be okay with him. He weighed 5lbs 7oz at this appointment and the dr said he would be just fine and gave me some signs to watch for, but overall he’s doing AWESOME! Madi and Nicky’s Omi (my stepmom) suggested some pictures to take of Nicholas to give everyone a better idea of his size. I should have done this sooner because he’s gained almost 2 pounds since his birth, but its still pretty cool to see. That’s what the pictures above are….Nicholas with a typical teaspoon and with a ten dollar bill. These pictures will be so much fun to show him later when he’s towering over me. =o) Thank you all for your prayers! I’m so glad you all are enjoying this site and able to keep up with us. I wish we could get out to visit all of you, but by next summer he’ll be “almost” running around and we’ll be back to our traveling and camping!

One Month Old and 5lbs 5.5oz!!!

Today Nicholas is One Month Old!! Woo Hoo! What a long way we’ve come, but on the other hand…..HE SHOULD STILL BE INSIDE ME! LOL! He is technically 36.5 weeks gestation, but has become a big part of the world outside and is adjusting well. We’ve hit a point right now though where he’s got a stuffy nose, little cough, and sneezing, so I’m a little nervous about that. I’m taking him in to see the doctor just to be safe. Madi has a runny nose and most of you know how difficult it is to keep a 2 year old away from her little brother who she absolutely loves to death. On another GREAT note: Nicholas was weighed yesterday and is now 5lbs 5.5oz!!! How exciting! I didn’t expect it to be that high, but he’s gained 11oz in just 6 days. Go buddy Go!! On the Mommy side of things I feel I’ve lost some control of Madi. Boy has she hit the Terrible Twos. On top of that she’s been used to being at daycare every day and not being under the rules of her home 24/7. She also didn’t have mom around for three weeks while I was in the hospital so she’s forgotten that I’m not a pushover. We are butting heads right now, but trying to do all of the discipline in as much love as possible. There are many tears these days followed by hugs and I Love Yous as we discuss why we can’t act certain ways and why listening to mom and dad is the right thing to do. Somehow her vocabulary consists of ‘No’ as the answer to every question or demand by mom or dad. Dave and I are so sick of hearing No we could scream (but we’re not just yet…he he). We are slowly teaching her that responses are Yes Mommy or Yes Daddy. She doesn’t get what she wants until we hear these responses. Fun times in the Parenting World. I’m beginning to see where the What Comes Around Goes Around phrase came from. Sorry Mom and Dad!!! If I had known then what I know now I would have made life much easier for you guys. Love you!!! Or maybe I was the good kid and it was Dave…..thanks a lot Dave!! He he!! I’m sure it was both of us.

4 Weeks Old

Not really a whole ton to report. Things are beginning to pick up here as Dave goes back to doing some farm work and I learn how to juggle both kids. Aye Aye Aye…there have been some fun times as I learn to schedule things just right (HA, that’s a joke with a toddler and an infant) so that I don’t run into a bind. For example, the other day I got Madi up from her nap and put her in a high chair to color while I fed Nicholas. This worked great. I put Nicholas down for a nap, got Madi down and decided to pump real quick while Madi played. In the middle of pumping Madi locked herself in the bathroom, started crying, then started going #2 and got scared. I had to get up from pumping, try to find the key to unlock the bathroom (realizing 5 mins later I could just go through our bedroom in the other door) and got Madi out completely terrified with a diaper full and ready to be changed. Pumping didn’t get finished.... More stories to come as I figure all this out…LOL! Nicholas will be 1 month old tomorrow! How time is flying already. I guess when you spent three weeks of that time in the hospital it will fly by now that you are home. Nicholas got his first real bath yesterday at home. He actually loved it! I was really happy about that. He seems so relaxed and enjoyed just laying in the water. The weather here has hit FALL!! I would almost say it might be winter really soon. It was just VERY windy, wet, and cold yesterday. We really aren’t ready for cold weather yet, but I don’t think we have a choice. Winter here we come!! The good news is by the end of winter we will be able to go out and about as a normal family with Nicholas. Yeah!

He's Gaining!!! 4lbs 10oz!!

Well, I definitely have less time to keep up with the blog since leaving the hospital. It’s been wonderful being home. It’s also been very busy getting things situated at home and ready for baby and Mommy to be home for good now. Dave has taken off the next month and we’ve been tackling room by room here at the house. Nicholas had his first doctor appointment outside the hospital with our Pediatrician and he now weighs 4lbs 10oz!!! That’s a 4oz gain since leaving the hospital and in just 4 days!! Nicholas still easily fits into preemie clothes and diapers so he still seems so tiny to us. We’ve had fun taking pictures of him next to different things around the house especially baby dolls and other toys just to have a memory of how tiny he is. We just know one day he’ll be a very big Follmuth boy and it’ll be hard to remember how little he was. Madi is still loving her little brother. He’s the first thing she asks about when she wakes up and is sure to give him a kiss and tell him “Jesus bless you Nee-Kee” at the end of each day. She is a wonderful big sister and we haven’t had to deal with any jealousy yet. She’d actually prefer to take over Nicholas and do everything he needs. She is right at his side for diaper changes and holds the bottle during some of his feedings. If he cries or is fussing she is quick to tell him “It’s okay, It’s okay” and make a “shhh-shhh” sound to comfort him. So all is well here in North Dakota! We’ll continue to keep the updates coming as we have them.

The Follmuth Family of Four Finally Together!!!

It’s been a few days since I’ve had a chance to update all of you on where we are. Those that are on Facebook too know what’s been going on. Friday, Sept 18th Dave and I happily took our little boy home. We were so happy to be packing our stuff up and heading home after three weeks in the hospital for Nicholas and Mommy. Home has been wonderful! Madi is so excited about her little brother. Dave and I both thought there might be some issues with her being jealous, but she hasn’t had any problems with that at all. She just wants to help, hold, and love on her little brother Nicky. The first night wasn’t too successful as far as Mommy getting much sleep, but once we got the swing out Nicholas had a much better second night. Last night wasn’t great, but we’ll have good and bad nights. I definitely remember that! Dave has off for the next month so that’s helping with getting things situated around the house and helping me to teach Madi what she can and can’t do. She doesn’t quite understand that Nicholas is not as tough as her baby dolls even though he is the same size. So, life is getting back to “normal” at least with all of us being home, but its definitely a change having two kids and one that is so tiny and fragile. We look forward to when he’s outside of the window of getting sick. It’s a lot to worry about, but we just trust that the Lord is protecting our little boy and helping us to do the best we can for him.

Day 20 - Nicholas Moves In With Mom!!

So today started out pretty fast and furious with feedings for Nicholas and going through all the discharge steps with the NICU. I woke up this morning thinking I would have him in my room after the morning feeding, but one thing after another led to him not getting to my new room at the hospital until 2pm. But finally I had my little boy all to myself in my room where I could watch him when I wanted, hold him when I wanted and just get to know him more and more. Unfortunately it didn’t go as smooth as I had planned in my head. In the first three hours he had three very runny dirty diapers and lots of gas. Probably something I ate that was causing that. He couldn’t keep his temperature in the normal range so we couldn’t do a both again tonight which is the third night in a row he hadn’t had one. So I wrapped him in more blankets and the nurse added a warm pack to his Halo to help warm him up some so hopefully that will improve. I breastfed Nicholas all day (tonight will be the first night he will have to have formula, not enough reserves for his bottle feedings) and then his first bottle feeding for the day was quite scary. He was very hungry and just started gulping it down and forgot to breathe. I took the bottle out of his mouth as quick as possible to get him to breathe. He turned blue around his mouth, I blew air in his face and slowly, but surely he started to breathe again on his own. Good think Dave and I had Infant CPR training this week. I was going through the steps in my head ready to that if necessary. Thankfully it didn’t come to that, but it was pretty much the final sign I needed to say I’m not quite ready to take him home yet. The nurse took him for the next feeding and he was close to doing the same thing again so she is going to switch out the nipple to a slower flowing one and see if that helps. So hopefully the overnight feedings will go a little smoother. I’m quite tired today with so much going on and a bit of stress here and there, so I’m looking forward to heading off to bed now. I have some pictures to post from the day today, but I will get those out later tonight or tomorrow. Just too tired right now and he’ll be up in an hour to eat again anyways. =o) Thank you all again for all your thoughts, prayers, and the wonderful things that so many of you are doing for us! We greatly appreciate it all!

Day 19

And things continue to move fast and furious! When I went down to the NICU this morning for Nicholas’s feeding the nurse asked me if I was ready to “room-in” with him. This means that they unhook him from all the machines and send him down to my room for a 24 hour trial period where I get to do everything with him and nurses and doctors are close by if I have any problems or questions. I have been so ready to have Nicholas with me all the time and anxiously told them “Yes.” I’m so ready to be home and I think Nicholas is getting to the point too. I got the car seat to the technician in the evening and they put Nicholas in it for a few hours to observe how he does and he passed with flying colors. I’ve been running all day today just to get everything done between getting clothes washed (Thanks Lindsey!) to having a friend (Thanks Melissa!) bring me the car seat from home to running errands and accomplishing eye appts so that there is less to do once I am home. I am still having problems with keeping up my milk production with Nicholas’s feedings. I’m getting just about an ounce each time and he’s eating 2 oz at a feeding. We still haven’t had to go to full formula feedings, but we are pretty close. The next step after trying the Fenugreek is to possibly go on a prescription medication to help out. I would literally try anything! Nicholas is also gaining over 20 grams a day over the last two days. He is now at 4lbs 4.8oz!! If everything goes well with our “room-in” session tomorrow and tomorrow night then we could be taking Nicholas home by Friday!

Day 18

Well things are beginning to move much faster now. Our car seat arrived today so tomorrow I’ll make a trip home at some point to get that and bring it back to the hospital. The NICU nurses will inspect it and get it set up for Nicholas. Then they put him in it and see how he does as far as his breathing and heart rate to make sure that riding in an infant car seat is safe for him. The doctor said today that Nicholas is not gaining weight at the rate they would like to see him gaining. So they have taken away one breastfeeding session and will increase the bottle feedings with the additional calories in it to help him gain weight a little faster. Then they decided that we should do “on demand” feeding which means that when he wakes up and is hungry they call me and I come feed him. If this is one hour or four hours it doesn’t matter. At first I thought that would be a great idea and its supposed to help my milk to come in more. Well after the day was over I was pooped and stressed. I don’t do well without a schedule and my kids have to be on a schedule or they will have one frazzled Mama!! So my plan is to talk to the nurses and see if we can’t do somewhat of a schedule. I’ll also try feeding him longer to make sure he gets plenty so the chances of me going back in an hour are slim. So the first feeding I tried that on lasted about an hour. Holy cow!! This is going to be one time consuming child. Hopefully that gets better as he gets older. =o)

Day 17

Some good and not so great news today…We’ll start with the good news. Nicholas is out of his isolette and in a big boy bed now!! He moved to his open air bed around 6:30 this evening. He’s been eating well with breastfeeding and some bottle feeding. He’s also been maintaining his temperature pretty well so they decided it was time to move him up. Some other good news is they’ve decided to just let him sleep and wake up on his own when he’s hungry. I was happy about this decision because I think he’ll sleep longer than 2.5 hours between feedings. So after the 2pm feeding they let him sleep (not exceeding four hours between feedings) and he pretty much went 4 hours. So we fed him at 6pm and then he was ready to eat again at 9:30. Not too bad! This will be kind of fun to do now just to see what our schedule might be like at home. If after 24 hours he’s really sporadic with the times I’ll probably ask if we can stick to a schedule because I’m a huge believer in that fact that a mom can put her baby on a schedule if you stick with it and I like having a schedule (mostly because then I know when I can sleep…a little selfish, I know). Madi also had a great day with her baby brother. She gets so excited to go to the NICU and visit him. She tells all the nurses when we get in there where Nee-Kee is and that he is hers. She is very proud of her little brother and she was able to give him some kisses and hugs today which made her much happier. It’s absolutely driving her nuts that she can’t hold him. I don’t blame her though. =o) So there were definitely lots of good news today, but also an important area that needs specific prayer. Nicholas’s heart rate was increased again today reaching 220 at times. When the doctor came around I asked him what his thoughts were on this. He said they really hadn’t said anything about it yet because they are still monitoring it and trying to figure out what it could be. I guess there are a few different issues that could be happening, to include the possibility that its just something he will grow out of. I’m liking the latter “issue.” The doctor told me the three possibilities and also described them and for the life of me I couldn’t reiterate what he said. With all the other steps that Nicholas is reaching we could possibly be home by the end of this week, but I don’t want to go home until I know what’s going on with his heart. So hopefully we can get an answer soon…and my faith stands on the fact that this is all nothing and he will grow out of it. If you would, please pray for this to be absolutely nothing and that all “issues” are ruled out and he can come home completely healthy with a very strong heart…a strong heart for the Lord!!

Day 16 - 13 Sep 09 (a little late)

I’m a little late getting this entry in. Day 16 (13 Sep) was a busy day with me going home during the day to spend time with Dave and Madi and get things done around the house preparing for Nicholas’s arrival in possible the next week! Nicholas made it to the Halo (thick swaddler) and was actually too hot in his isolette so by the end of this day his isolette was down to 29 degrees Celsius and it has to be 28 before he gets moved. I told one of the nurses that I didn’t want to miss his “graduation” from the isolette so there is a note on Nicholas’s bed saying that Mom needs to be present for the move because she wants to capture the moment. =o) In the evening Nicholas’s heart rate got really high again. It was up in the 180s to 220. Dave and I were pretty worried about this, but again (like last week) he was perfectly calm and even sleeping. This seemed to start around 5pm or so and by the time I went down for the 11pm feeding his heart rate was normal again. They’ve let the doctor know and he’ll be taking a look at him in the morning to determine if Nicholas might have something going on with his heart or not. We’re praying, of course, for nothing at all. He’s just doing so well, I can’t imagine there being anything wrong at all. Nicholas has also done awesome with feeding over the last 24 hours. They took out his nose tube for feeding. Well, Nicholas actually kept pulling on it and they HAD to take it out, but they thought they would see how he did with feeding and they aren’t going to put another one in unless he doesn’t finish a feeding and needs it to be fed. So far he still has NO nose tube! Yeah!!! He’s feeding like a champion! So the goal for Monday is for him to be in an open air bed. I’m actually getting nervous that his car seat won’t get here before he goes home…but that’s good because it means we will hopefully have less than a week left of this.

2 Weeks Old!!

Wow! I can’t believe it’s been 2 weeks already. We have come such a long way and we are definitely ready to get home soon. I’m really missing Dave and Madi. It’s just not the same getting to see them for a few hours a week and then having to say good-bye to each other. I went home for a few hours last night and it just felt weird to be leaving my own home at 9:30 at night knowing I wasn’t going to be returning to sleep there. We have had enough of having to say good-bye every time we get together and also having to plan our visits with each other. Nicholas is doing great!! They have officially started the weaning process from the isolette to an open air bed/crib. The first step is to put on a onesie and lower the temperature in the isolette to see how he handles that. If he does well with that then we put a sleeper on him and lower the temperature again. If he does well with that the final step is to put him in a Halo (thick fleece swaddler) and lower the temperature in the isolette to room temperature. Once he adjusts to that then he will be moved to the open air bed. The nurses say it will probably take about 24-36 hours for this process. Dave and I have an infant CPR class we have to take tomorrow night so I’m hoping that we both can be there for Nicholas’s graduation from the isolette!!

Day 14 - Big Decisions

Today was just another typical day here at the hospital except that the nurses are letting me be more and more independent with Nicholas now. This afternoon I gave him another bath, only on my own this time. I am now able to do just about everything for him like taking his temperature, getting him in and out of his isolette, changing his diaper, swaddling him, holding him, breastfeeding, etc. The only thing I don’t do for him is do his assessments they do at every feeding time where they listen to his heart, lungs, and stomach. He is continuing to do great. We’ve had 6 successful breastfeeding sessions in a row until this evening, but he’s been quite busy today with bottle feedings and a bath. Its amazing how just those simple tasks really wear him out. Dave and I went to a follow-up doctor appointment today. We knew Dr. Trottier was probably going to talk to us about the possibility of having more kids so I was looking forward to what he might say, but was a little scared of what he might say too. He was very sincere and knew it wasn’t something that was going to be easy to hear. He hasn’t had to tell too many people that they would be best off not trying to get pregnant anymore. Between me having a blood disorder which causes my blood to over-clot, the placenta growing into my uterine wall in this pregnancy, scar tissue and other issues with my uterus, and the fact that with each pregnancy it looks like my uterus is adhering more and more into my bowels….it would not be in our best interest for my own health for us to get pregnant again. Dr. Trottier doesn’t suggest any permanent birth control procedures, but that we should really consider that Madison and Nicholas will be our only children. How do we feel about this? It’s a whirlwind for us right now. Dave and I have always talked about having four kids. We even have all the names picked out. But when all is said and done…its not OUR plan its God’s plan. Dave and I want nothing more than to follow God’s plan for our lives as individuals and as a married couple and family. If this is where God has asked us to be then we are happy as a family of four. We can’t really ask for much more as we have one girl and one boy and they are both happy and healthy! Thank you Lord for that! We may discuss adoption in the future, but for now we are enjoying every moment with our son and daughter and the future will take care of itself. I have my ups and downs with this decision, but I always come back to the fact that God is in control, He doesn’t give you more than you can handle, and it’s all about Him. We are not put on this Earth to be remembered for all that we can succeed at, accomplish, and do. We are put here to prepare for Eternity by following the life that God has planned for us to the best of our ability as we prepare to spend Eternity with Him in Heaven. In the meantime I am simply enjoying each and every moment with each of my children and my husband as I am truly blessed to have each of them in my life.

Day 13 - 4lbs!!!

Nicholas has hit the 4lb mark!!! Last night before giving him his bath we weighed him and he was 4lbs .6oz. I was so excited! He has gained 3oz in just 3 days. So he’s eating well and gaining weight. The nurse practitioner has agreed to let me add one more breastfeeding session a day so we are up to 5 out of 8 feedings. It seems that Nicholas is getting enough when we do the breastfeeding, but it take two pumping sessions for me to get one feeding for him. This will also hopefully help my milk to increase or pumping just might not be for me. Nicholas’s heart rate continues to be great remaining steady in the 130s and 140s! No more issues with his heart. I am still hoping to see them move him to an open air bed soon. They were thinking maybe sometime this week, but we are already through Thursday and he’s still in his isolette. I’m not sure why they haven’t moved him yet, it may be because of his temperature. I plan to ask the doctor tomorrow if I remember. Nicholas is becoming a lot more active now with being awake a little bit after feedings and really looking around and trying to focus on things. He listens to me just talking to him and many times I get smiles and smirks out of him. He just seems to be a very happy and content baby and is starting to act a little more like a newborn and doesn’t just eat and sleep.

Day 12

Well, he’s done way better than expected with breastfeeding today. Out of the three sessions so far he’s fully completed two of them and one was close to finishing. Thankfully I am still making enough milk to feed him, but I’m not making to much extra right now and hoping that it goes back up again. I was at 40-50 mL per pumping and now I’m just about at 15-20 mL. I’m pumping every 2-3 hrs and breastfeeding too so sleep is really lacking, but it’ll get better I’m sure and it’ll be worth the effort if I can stick with it. The landmarks that Nicholas has made today include reaching 3lbs 15oz!!! And he’s consistently gaining weight at .5-1 oz per day. He lost his umbilical cord stump also today and I was actually there for it. Yeah!! It’s so nice to know I’m not missing too much with him being here at the hospital. I am thankfully still here at the hospital, but had to move rooms today. I was in the Pediatrics area, but they had an influx of patients over night and this morning (4 rooms were full yesterday and now almost all 16 are full) and they had to have me move back to the OB area. I’ll move every day if I have to in order to be able to stay here with Nicholas. I told them I’d even move to a different floor if they needed me too. =o) It is actually benefitting us that we live out at the Air Force Base because I live further away than most of the other moms here so I get first dibs on an open room if there aren’t enough open for all of us. I thought maybe it would have to do with the amount of time we’ve been here, but they determine who stays by the amount of time they have to travel to get here. So, all in all, another very successful day. Tonight I get to go down and give Nicholas a bath for the first time. He’s had other baths, but this is the first one that I get to give him so I’m really looking forward to that. Thank you all again for thinking of us and praying for our family and most importantly for Nicholas.

Day 11

Today has been another really good day! Nicholas has been pretty successful at breastfeeding…he’s been able to go 10-15 mins before pooping out and having to be supplemented with the rest of the feeding through his feeding tube in his nose. The doctor has decided he is ready for the additional supplement (called Human Milk Fortifier) to be added to his feedings between the four breastfeeding sessions. This means that he gets a bottle of breastmilk with a supplement that contains additional calories for calcium, phosphorous, iron, and other nutrients that he missed out on getting the last 8 weeks he would have been in the womb. These will help his bones and muscles to form correctly. Bottle feeding will wear him out just like the breastfeeding so it might be a few days of him getting used to this. I spoke with the nurse practitioner today and she said that Nicholas is a “Champion”! Who’d have thought his name would be an true example of who he is so early in his life. Nicholas means Victorious and that he is!! She said that he is doing very well and that he may be moved to an open air crib as early as this week! That would be wonderful and I’m looking forward to him graduating from the isolette into an open air crib where he’ll also get to start wearing clothes. How fun!! And all this means is that we are closer and closer to getting home as Nicholas accomplishes each of these steps. Thank you for keeping him in your prayers!!