Home Sweet Home

So now we are relaxing at home (confused? you may need to go back a little, this is the third post today. lol. We've been busy as you will see). Our boy is resting well and enjoying himself as Daddy and I wait on him hand and foot. :) He goes back to Dr. Hudgins on Tuesday, until then...this is the life.

As soon as we got home yesterday Mommy and Daddy put me to bed in my Moses Basket.

It feels so good to sleep in my own bed...

Sweet Pea

I'm awake...

And I'm clean...

And my Aunt Kelly and Uncle Nate brought me some balloons that made me smile.

Nina feeds me a bottle after I nurse on Mommy...I always fall asleep with Mommy...It's just such hard work, and so comfy...so I finish up my meal with a bottle.

Then Daddy rocked me to sleep...it's good to be home. :)

Sweetest Surprise!

So yesterday I was talking to David on the phone, seeing how the night went at the hospital (he was exhausted! :) Waking up to cath every 4hrs, feed every 3hrs and jumping at every noise little Jet makes) and he told me that Dr. Hudgins (the neurosurgeon) was there and did I have any questions. I asked if we were still on track to leave on Friday. David asks when Jet will most likely be discharged and then comes back and says "today." TODAY?! I asked (like 5 times in a row) then Dr. Hudgins comes on the phone and says "yes, we can even enroll him in a kindergarten program now if you like." Just then the mug of water I was filling up at the fridge overflowed spilling all over the kitchen floor. (I guess I got distracted. lol.)

So next thing we knew my mom and I were throwing clothes on, grabbing an outfit for Jet and driving to the hospital. My stomach hurt the whole way thinking "I can't believe it! Are we ready? I'm so glad we got the carseat installed yesterday!" lol. By the time we got to my little boy he was being worked on by the physical therapist. She showed David and some exercises to insure he won't lose his good flexibility. He is apparently one of her more "mobile" babies and has good leg strength. :) She also fit him for some splints for his feet that we put on him 2hrs on/2hrs off until our next appt. These are also to keep him flexible and keep his muscles from tightening as he grows. He looks super cute in them. They are navy with khaki velcro - the PT called him "preppie baby" lol. 

So after talking to a few more people (and getting an overwhelming load of paperwork) we packed our things, secured our little man in his carseat, and left the hospital. What a wonderful whirlwind of activity. :) Next Stop... home!

Last minute diaper change.

All dressed up to come home! :)

Mommy is taking you home!

I'm ready for my close up!

Daddy is ready for Mommy to stop taking pictures. lol.

Big Boy Room

On Wednesday morning I got a call from the NICU saying that Jet was being moved to a "big boy room" on the first floor. The neurosurgeon said he was doing well and another baby (apparently in critical shape) needed his bed. I had mixed emotions about them moving our boy. I was happy he was doing so well, and a private room was a nice thought. But it scared me to think of him all by himself with a nurse just checking in on him once in a while. So after some worried tears, I quickly sent David on to the hospital to be with Jet and prepare to stay the night with him. I finished getting ready and was just about to head to the hospital (via my chauffeur aka Mom :) ) my OB called and wanted to see me. (I've been in some pretty good pain still and was in need of more medicine). Though I was pretty sure it was because of my higher level of activity (visiting the hospital 2 times a day for hours on end) she wanted to check for infection just to be safe. It was killing me not to get to my baby right away but I went in and got checked out (I'm fine :) ). We finally got there and spent the evening holding the sweetest thing in my life. :)

Such a good eater. :)

Nina loves you!

Sweet Dreams...

Jet is One Week Old!

Yay for one-week birthdays! :) Our little fighter turned one week old today (a very special day to us - June 2nd - our 3 year anniversary! I love you sweetheart. :) We went to visit our little one - the best anniversary present we could ever have. I had another chance to nurse him (he was so sleepy though, it was hysterical to watch him just conk out despite my kissing and nudging and talking to him. He was out cold. lol.) And David and I both had some practice cathing him (it's not as hard as it seemed, but it does take a while to empty his bladder that way). He had a test done this morning to see what is going on with his bladder function. Like I mentioned previously, bladder weakness is textbook for SB but we are still praying fervently for a way to fix it so he can have more bladder control long term. 

We did receive some great news today (the blessings just keep coming :) ) Our prayers were answered and Jet's head ultrasound showed no change - no additional swelling for fluid! :) This is such a good sign and we keep praying that he will stay stable and avoid a shunt. This being the case, the doctor told us today to begin "preparing for discharge" saying that our little boy may be able to come home as soon as Friday! Now this can all change - the medical world is a fickle one we know - but we are so excited that he is doing well enough to possibly come home in the next few days! We cannot wait to have him where he belongs.

The Happy Family :)

Look at that face! 

Aunt Kay loves her nephew

Mommy and Daddy say Goodnight

Happy 3 year anniversary to the proud parents!

Good Night Angel.

Peek-a-Boo

So here are the pictures from Sunday night when our little boy opened both his eyes for the first time to look at Mommy and Daddy. It was so cute! He still had the feeding tube from that morning in but they took it out shortly after this video and he hasn't needed it since. yay! The video is too short (daddy stopped taping because he wanted to watch it live without a camera in his way) but you get the idea of how happy we were to see him so awake. :)

Hello everybody!

Here is his first modeling pose. :) Work it baby! We think he's a natural.

Below is the video. Listen to our baby talk. lol.

Saturday Sweetness

So we went back to see our boy on Saturday. Mommy couldn't sleep in so we got up there and said good morning to our baby. :)

Mommy's Little Angel

Daddy's Little Tiger

 This is what Daddy picked out for Jet to wear on Saturday. :)

It's Great To Be an Auburn Tiger!

The Penny Boys :)

So we've learned from the nurses that besides being the most popular baby in the NICU, our little Jet has quite the temper as well. :) He had us all fooled with his sleeping act (he still sleeps alot!) until the nurses started telling stories about how he has a strong pair of lungs and he uses them when he is hungry or not happy with being handled. lol. 

Here are some of his tough guy faces...

Mommy got to feed her Jet a bottle again on Saturday. This is the best thing ever. 

He opened his eyes for just a moment and it was so sweet. It was like he said "hi mommy!"

His little hand resting on my arm.

Then Mommy realized that Daddy still hadn't had a turn holding him yet so she switched places. 

So here is Daddy time. He's got Daddy wrapped around his finger too. :)

We are thrilled he is eating so well now! Yesterday morning the nurse called us to say they had put a feeding tube in his nose because he didn't finish his breakfast quota of milk. We had been warned this could happen because they want to make sure he gets the food he needs to grow and stretch out that tummy. We were a little sad because we hated to see that little tube in there but apparently he slept through them putting it in and didn't seem to care. However! - Mommy talked to him last night and told him to eat up and since then he has eaten MORE than his minimum and they have removed the tube. You show them baby boy! You don't need no silly tube! :) Last night was amazing - our little angel opened both his eyes for the first time and looked at us. David and I talked to him for a good half hour and he just stared up and listened and sucked his paci. :) He would get fussy while the nurse was changing him (and cathing him...yes they are doing that every 4 hours until they check out his bladder more closely....it's common for SB babies so we are going with the flow) but he totally got quite every time we spoke to him. It was magical. I will post a video and pictures soon of his beautiful eyes! 

But to top it all off--I got to breast feed him today (Monday...he's almost a week old now) for the first time! He did SO SO good! I'm no expert but I think we did an awesome time our first time around. lol. I was a little afraid of holding him (even though the doctor has given us the okay to put him on his back and side now..good boy!) because his staples are still there and he is still healing. But he didn't seem scared at all and screamed until they finally gave him to me to eat (he was hungry apparently. lol.) So..no pics of that one. haha. But it was wonderful. I hope to make a habit of it. ;)

So to wrap up this update... Jet is eating well... incision is healing well... can be off his tummy now sometimes... opening his eyes... the OT came by and said he was fabulous (yay! another test passed!)... is still being cathed every 4 hours...had another head ultrasound today that we will hear about tomorrow hopefully. Until then, have a good evening and say another prayer for our little one. God is certainly blessing him and us so far...so let's keep up the good prayer work. :)

Good Night Everybody...

Sent From Heaven

This post is what happens when Mommy goes home to rest...and cannot stop thinking about her little angel. :) Isn't he wonderful...