Day 7

Today has been another good day. Nicholas is now breastfeeding three times a day and we had good success 2 out of 3 times. He likes to just fall asleep when Mommy’s holding him and Mommy has to get a little tougher when we need to force him to wake up. I just love seeing him sleep and want him to get as much rest as possible, but I’m sure the nurses here know more than me. Actually, I KNOW they do. I couldn’t ask for a better group of ladies to be taking care of our baby boy. They are truly a God sent to our family and many others!! I got to work more with the OT today and I have a program that I can do with Nicholas once a day all by myself. I’m slowly beginning to do many of the things he needs by myself now. I am feeding him three times out of the eight times a day he eats. I do his temperature, change his diapers (he’s got good output there, ugh!), I’m able hook up his lines backup when needed, and I can turn him over and place him back in the isolette when he’s out. Some of these things may sound so minor, but with a baby as small as Nicholas they are each very important steps to him being able to go home one day. Things here at the hospital are beginning to flow much better with mine and Nicholas’s schedules. I’m finding more time in my day to be able to have visitors. I’m also trying to find times during the day that I can even leave here and visit with people or run some errands. Even go out to eat. I’m not able to drive for another 4 weeks or more so I may be looking for some friends who have to run errands of their own to take me along with them once in a while. =o) Nicholas dropped some weight overnight. He’s now at 3lbs 9oz, down from 3lbs 11oz yesterday. So they are going to do one more day of giving him lipids (fats) and his vitamins before taking out his venous line. He’s still WAY ahead of the power curve in his development and abilities so this isn’t discouraging to us in any way. Madi got to visit her little brother today and she is just in love with him. She came to my hospital room first and I have a picture of Nicholas on my computer’s background. She climbed up on the bed and leaned over to the computer screen and gave him a kiss. A perfect picture moment that I missed this time, but will hopefully catch later. She then took her hand and gently tickled the picture of her baby brother. She loves her little “Bee-Bee Nee-Kee”. We then took her down to the NICU to visit with him and she was SO good. She was quiet and gentle and told all the nurses she was seeing her “Bee-Bee Nee-Kee”. She wanted to hold him and give him his paci, but was very understanding that she could only look at him through the arm holes and through the plastic. She told him she loved him and said “Jesus Bless You”. Just the sweetest moments in two parents’ lives. So overall today was a great day. I have received more information from some of the nurses about what life will be like when we get home and there’s a lot to prepare for there. If anyone reading this had a premature baby between 32 and 36 weeks gestation please shoot me an email with how old your baby was at birth, weight, and time in NICU if you are willing to tell me all this. I have a lot of questions for you about life after leaving the NICU, especially those living in North Dakota because of our harsh winters and that’s what I’m going to have to deal with. I’m in my gathering mode of getting all the information I can about how life might be different for us just so I’m prepared. I can’t thank all of you enough for your continued prayers over Nicholas’s healing and growing.