Whow...Now He's Really Impressing Mom & Dad...

We came in this evening to see our little buddy and to find out his most recent weight. Lo and behold, Sidney is packing on the grams (lol)...he's a whopping 3lbs 5oz!! Three more ounces and he'll be up to 3 1/2 lbs. I can't believe how far he's come. It's really amazing what can happen in two short months.

Daddy's Best Friend

Quick Update...

Just a quick update cause I am up WAY too late tonight.

Our little buddy is doing wonderful. He's getting bigger!! 3lbs 1oz as of yesterday. I'll post an update tomorrow as soon as I find out what he weighed tonight.

I gave Sidney a bath (well, a sponge bath) for the first time today. He reacted really well, didn't really mind at all that I was pouring lukewarm water and soap on him. Although, when I was holding him in a towel and drying him off, the little stinker pooped in the towel! LOL. He just looked up at me with a look that said, "what? I didn't do anything." :) That's my little guy.

I held him for quite a while tonight. My friend Robin accompanied me to the NICU for tonight's visit, so she and I chatted while Sid looked around for a while and then eventually fell fast asleep. His oxygen saturation was in the 90's the whole time (which is what we want). He was a dream to hold. Such a good boy. I can't wait til I can hold him all the time...in the comfort of our home.

From Our Visits Today

Daddy got to kangaroo Sidney skin-to-skin today! It wasn't for very long (Sidney was being a little feisty today), but Jeremy sure loved the little bit of time they had together this afternoon. Other than that, Sid's been doing well. He's up to 2lbs 12oz (just shy of 13oz) and has grown to over 14 inches long! His feedings are now being done differently than usual...instead of putting his food in a syringe that a machine feeds to Sidney via a tube over the course of an hour, he's being fed the entire amount by gravity. Meaning, we get to hold the syringe in the air and allow gravity to pull it down into Sid's belly. He's getting his food all at once now instead of gradually. He's doing really well and hasn't had much residuals left, just a trace of milk left in his belly by his next feeding.

He's doing a lot of things that full-term babies do. He's sneezing (triple sneezes just like Daddy), cooing, and the best yet....smiling! His whole face lights up when he smiles...along with mine and Jer's as well. :) He gets cuter and cuter by the day. Soon enough I'll be putting this little boy in "cutest baby" contests. lol

I'll be sure to post some pics tomorrow morning for you all to see. My baby is getting so big! It's so hard to imagine just how small he once was. My, he's come a long way...

Someone Learned Something New!

Of course we didn't have our camera the day Sidney learned how to do something new...he's learned to suck on a pacifier! It didn't take him long either. The nurse gave him one a few days ago to see how he'd do with it...it took to it well, but couldn't figure out how to keep it in his mouth. He didn't realize that he had to put his arm near it to keep it in place. The next day (yesterday) we walked in the NICU to find the little stinker HOLDING it with his hand. He was keeping it in place by holding it in his mouth. It was adorable to see him enjoying his pacifier, I know I loved mine when I was baby.

He's getting cuter and bigger by the day. He's up to 2lb 10oz (as of last night's weigh in). Our little guy did have to get another blood transfusion a few days ago, but it has really improved his skin color and his oxygen saturation. He's still on the nasal cannula (hasn't been dropped back down to the C-PAP or ventilator) and is doing well for such a little baby. He's still having occasional episodes of apnea and bradycardia, but he's bound to outgrow that soon. It's baby steps...and he's chugging along! :)

I think since Sidney is getting bigger, the nurses are more apt to allow us to hold him more often. We would love to hold him 24/7, but there are times when we decline the opportunity simply because we don't want to overstimulate him. Although, he seems to really like being touched now. I'm SO glad he's grown out of the picky stage. He enjoys having his hair stroked and his hand held. Jeremy hums to him when he holds him...Sid really likes it. He just falls right to sleep in his arms. It's a wonderful sight to see my two favorite guys together.

Little Sid got to meet his uncle Greg and auntie Nikki on Tuesday! I was so happy they finally got to meet him. Luckily it was on a day where Jeremy was allowed to hold Sidney outside of the incubator...so they got to see him close up.

More pictures to come...

Short Video from Today's Visit

He's Getting Handsomer and Handsomer Every Day

Jeremy got to hold our baby for over an hour this afternoon. I can't express in words how wonderful it was to see him holding his son, rocking him, and humming him to sleep. They are already best friends. Sidney really loves his dad holding him. Jeremy's got the touch. Here are some precious photos from today's events. Sidney is so silly. :)

Ok Dad, now you're getting a little too close. lol

This one makes me laugh :)

 

Oh Sidney, you are just precious :)

Experimenting with different hats

Extreme close up! :)

Some New Pictures of Sidney

Look at this cute little pompom hat the nurse put on little

Sidney's head.

My little guy takes after me -- he sleeps with his mouth open.
*smiles*

Mommy's Favorite Little Man

Time for your close-up, Sid!

This picture is a little blurry, but I just had to post it.
He's being very polite by covering his mouth when he
yawns. :) What a cutie pie!

A sleepy Sidney after a long day of Kangaroo Care yesterday

afternoon. It tuckers the little fella out. He falls right to sleep

once he's put back in the incubator.

He's So Cute :)

First off, I just want to THANK EVERYONE that has been praying and thinking about Sidney, Jeremy, and myself. We couldn't have made it this far without each and every one of your prayers and positive energy. We love you all. :)

Sidney is doing very well lately. He's still having issues here and there with apnea and bradycardia, but it's normal for preemies and their immature brains. It's not happening enough for his doctor's to be concerned, so we're feeling really relieved that he's been doing so well. I love this little boy!

Jeremy and I both have gotten the chance lately to hold Sidney outside of his incubator. On Thursday, Jeremy held a swaddled Sid for over 2 hours...how wonderful that was for him. He was so elated that he got to be close enough to eskimo kiss his little buddy. They are already best friends. :) Earlier today I was given the opportunity to "kangaroo" Sidney skin-to-skin for about 45 mins. Jeremy sat next to me as we both talked to the baby. What family moment...it was unbelievely touching to have him so close. He could hear my heartbeat and it soothed him. What a day to forget our camera! Darn! LOL.

Mommy's Back to Work :(

I was officially back to work yesterday. It's a lot harder than I had anticipated. I had gotten used to being able to visit my little miracle on a whim when I wanted to see him. Now I only am able to visit once a day, after 7:30pm when the NICU opens back up for the evening. It's so depressing...

Thankfully, Jeremy is available to go visit him during the day. Today was a difficult day for him though. Sidney was having episodes of Bradycardia and Apnea - where his heartbeat and oxygen levels drop drastically. It was especially hard on Jeremy to see his little angel be worked on - they had to "bag" Sidney (manually pump oxygen into his lungs to revive him). It's enormously trying on a parent of a micro-preemie. It's a constant struggle just to remain sane each day. But we know that we have to keep it together for him. Sidney is our world and we would give up everything just to be able to bring home our healthy baby boy.

He's Off the Ventilator and the C-PAP!

Sidney has officially been off of the ventilator for 4 days now. This is a major step. He's on just a nasal cannula now...he gets oxygen but is breathing entirely on his own. What a tough little guy. I'm so excited about his progress!

Here are some recent pics of our little man from yesterday and today...
(Note: the brown tape on his face protects his skin from the nasal cannula - his skin is really sensitive)

New News

Sidney is doing well. Sorry for the lack of posts in recent days. There have been some ups and downs this week and I just couldn't bring myself to make any posts.

He's off of the ventilator and back on the C-PAP and is breathing really well on his own (no steroids!!). The doctors were a little worried about a recent increase in his waist size, so they took him off milk and started giving him antibiotics in case there was an infection in his intestines. He was watched for three days and given 3 x-rays. Nothing was found (YES!), so he's being started back on milk again...slowly. At one time he was up to 17cc's of milk every three hours, now he's gradually getting more and more each day to get him back up to that amount. He got 5cc's at each feeding today. :)

My little boy is really making us proud...he's even allowing Jeremy to lay his hands on his butt and his head without a squirm. :) He's such a miracle and we can't express how much we really love him with all our hearts. We CAN'T WAIT til we can bring him home!! He's on our minds 24/7.

More pictures to come...

A Step Back...

After talking to one of Sid's doctors this morning, we learned that his belly grew 3cm's in a short period of time last night. This is alarming to them because it could be a sign of NEC, which is where part of the intestine dies and/or becomes perforated. This can cause serious issues in preemies. To err on the side of caution, the doctors decided to hold his feedings for two days and put him back on an IV. An x-ray was taken of his abdomen this morning and the doctors didn't notice anything that would cause them to worry. His belly was measured again and is back down to what it was before the sudden growth. Whew. He's stable now and looking really good, but please keep him in your prayers. This little guy is a fighter.