Closer to home.....

We are getting really close to baby coming home. He is taking the bottles wonderfully!!! He is eating them all of the time with us and one or two times during the nurses 12 hour shift. He takes the formula great but the breastmilk comes out a little fast and it takes him a little longer to get that down but he is doing super. We heard that he could come home within 1 1/2-2 weeks now! He is loving the nasal canula and they have it down to 1/2 liter today which is what he will come home on at 100%. This is a great thing, the oxygen will help him grow and he will be on for at least 3 months when he comes home. His VCUG test came back normal yesterday and the kidney ultrasound looked good for a preemie. He has a few calcafications in there that could but it is very rare, develop into kidney stones. If he were to get colicy this is the first thing they would look for. But the calcifications are typical for a preemie who had to rely on NVN, the nutrition he got when he couldn't eat for so long. So that is just something to keep in the back of our minds but the doctor was very positive. He is awake often now and sleeping most of the night at least 5 hours at a time just waking for feedings. So we are getting really close. In the next few days we will need to be there often and administer all bottle feedings. He will get circumcised early next week and that is about it. He is weighing 7 pounds 5 ounces now and getting chubby. We will post pictures soon. So we are in the home stretch I guess you could say and very very excited for our little miracle to see his home and meet his puppy and have a life outside of the hospital. We are very excited Dylan to have you home soon, we love you and you are definetly a miracle. God has truely blessed us!~

No More Breathing tube.....

Dylan had a great surprise yesterday, they took out his CPAP!!!!!!!! He was very excited and is doing great with the nasal canula. He is breathing very well and tonight we even get to give him his first bottle! We are thrilled about this. They will start out giving him at least 2 bottles a day and the rest they will feel him with his NG tube. They said it can take a bit for them to get use to the bottle but this is a huge step for Dylan. Since starting the nasal canula yesterday he has been so happy, sleeping all night and quietly awake during the day. We are plugging right along. They will do the kidney ultrasound tomorrow and the contrast study on Monday, we know these will go good. We are just so thrilled that he is progressing so well and continuing to be a strong little boy. We are very excited to give him his first bottle, this is definetly one of the biggest steps closer to going home. We will post pictures soon. Great job little buddy, we love you sooo much!~

7 Pounds...

Dylan has reached yet another Milestone, 7 pounds!!!!! We were very excited to hear this news last night. Dylan has been doing great. He has the beginning of a urinary tract infection that they are treating with an antibiotic even though the urine culture results arn't back 100% yet. He is eating 52 cc's of food and the nurses think that he needs more because he is waking up hungry! He is still on a CPAP of 5 and hopefully this week they will either go down to 4 or take it out! He has been a great little boy during the day and sleeping most of the night too. He is very ready to come home. And we are very ready to have him home. No word yet on when this might be but hopefully still within 2-3 weeks. They are going to do some tests to make sure that if he has a urinary infection that is has not affected the kidneys. They tenitavely plan on doing a kidney ultrasound and maybe a contrast study as well. This is new news to us so we are just taking a day at a time. But he is doing fantastic and growing so much every day. Other that this there isn't much to update because things have been so great! We just pray constantly that he continues to go potty, grow, eat all of his food, breathe good and that his lungs, tummy, eyes and everything continue to be just fine. We love you so much Dylan and thank God that you are here!~

4 Months old & Milestone...

Dylan is doing great this week. We have had a few mishaps with the nurse and it has been very frusterating. But we have come thru it and hopefully we won't have her again. Dylan was 4 months old on Monday the 15th and WOW has he grown. He is weighing in now at............ 6 pounds and 8.5 ounces!!! He is getting to be such a big little man. He has been smiling more and studying Brad and I more and just being a big boy. Last night my aunt who works at the U and who checks in on Dylan every day for us when we can't be there during the day, jigled his rattle on his mobile above him and to the right. He physically turned his away away from me and looked up at the mobile where the noise was coming from. This was great!!! We looked at each other and giggled because this was such a great sign. He had his 4 month shots the other day and since then has had a fever. Not a really high one but on the higher side of where they would like him. So I had them do a CBC (complete blood count) and CRP on him to make sure he isn't getting sick or something like that. The CRP was a little elevated today, which it can be after the shots anyway but they are doing a urine culture just to make sure all of the bases are covered. He is still on a CPAP of 6, not sure when that will be changed. It was to be maybe today but the terrible nurse we had pretty much ruined that, she was just wanting them to change all of these things on him and it was terrible. The night nurse last night said to me, why did she do all of this he didn't need any of it. I was like, thank you so much for saying that, I have been frusterated myself with all of this. So we are back to feedings like they should be, 50 cc's every 3 hours and he is doing great. So hopefully maybe Monday they will recheck his CPAP and go down to 5!! So he is doing great and growing. They are only checking his weight now 2 times per week, on Monday and Thursdays because he is growing so well. So we have hit 2 milestones, 4 months old and over 6 pounds, we couldn't ask for anything more. Each day with him is so precious and we just love him to pieces and can't wait for him to be home soon, hopefully within 3 weeks or so. We love you Dylan and keep fighting!~

Pics~

Steady sailing...

Dylan has had a great week and continues to grow and be healthy. He is weighing in at 5 pounds and 13 ounces now. Just under 6 pounds, what a milestone!!! He is eating just over 1 1/2 ounces of food and loving it very much. He is waking up about 1/2 hour before feeds wanting to know where his food is!! We gave him another bath last night and he loved it again. He really loves to kick his feet in the water. He had a follow-up eye exam yesterday and it went great! His eyes, the doctor said look even better than last time. Although in the back of our mind we have to keep praying that they continue to be great we arn't out of the complete clear yet. But we are on the right track!! He will get another chest x-ray tomorrow and hopefully they will be able to go down on his CPAP to 6. So baby is just doing great and sailing along. We continue to pray every day that he stays healthy, eating all of his food, breathing good and his eyes tummy and lungs will be just fine, and keep growing like a weed! We love you Dylan and can't wait to have you home soon~

Jan 6th, Due Date Birthday...

The 6th is a very special day for a couple of reasons. It is Dylans original due date and he shares this day with his cousin Harrisons first birthday!!! Happy birthday boys~
Baby Dylan is doing great and he is now full term!!! We celebrated his due date birthday with him and told him all about the day he was born. He is weighing now 5 pounds and 10.5 ounces, he is really getting to be a big boy!! Still on a CPAP of 8 and hopefully after his x-ray tomorrow they will be able to bring that down to a 7. He is eating 1 1/2 ounces of food, still alternating between breastmilk and preemie formula. He is getting these cute little chubby cheeks on him that we love to kiss and he loves his little chubby cheeks being massaged! He is going to get a bath today and new sheets and everything, he is getting his weekly room cleaning and will be all ready for a nice relaxing day. Still no word on when we will be able to bring him home, the doctor said last week that it would be the end of this month at least. He has not had any spells for 2 and a half days now which is wonderful. A spell being when he drops his stats and heartrate. So this is great news and the docs are very impressed with that as well. He will have another follow-up eye exam this week on the 10th and we are praying that his eyes continue to be fine! We love you little Dylan and can't wait for you to come home soon~

Happy New Year...

Happy New Year!! What will 2007 bring for you and your family? We hope 2007 brings us much health and happiness for our new little bundle of joy! Dylan is doing so good, we couldn't be happier! He has now hit another Milestone, are you ready for this??? He hit the 5 pound marker!!!!!! We are so happy with his progress and the doctors are as well. The doctor just told us this morning he is very impressed with Dylan's ability to lay on his tummy and successfully pull himself up with his arms, like a little push-up! This is amazing especially since he isn't supposed to be born for another 6 days. He is eating 42 cc's of food and hopfully by the end of today he will be at a CPAP of 8. We are waiting for the x-ray to come up and that will be the determining factor. Fussy baby, more to come later....
So we just found out that the CPAP won't be changed until Thursday, the x-ray is much better but waiting until Thursday to recheck would be better for Dylan. Daddy was able to hold him yesterday after his bath and he loved it. The bath yesterday was very relaxing for the little one. He was alert and loving the warm water, and loving the water so much and his little massage that he "pood" in the tub. It was hilarious, the nurse as well as us were laughing so hard. So after that we had to redo the bath but he loved it just as much. Mommy held baby today and he was alert and studying us and just looking around. He is getting to be a big boy, we just want him to continue to breathe good, eat all of his food, grow, and his tummy and eyes will continue to be just fine! Happy New Years little buddy. 2007 will be a great year for you, wow do we have a story to tell of what 2006 brought us, our little miracle baby!~