5lbs 7oz!

Our little Sidney is now 5lbs 7oz. We were told today that he'll probably be coming home next week, hopefully early in the week. He'll be coming home on oxygen, so they are ordering us all the necessary equipment. I'm feeling some anxiety about having him on oxygen at home, but he's ready to come home. He wants to be with us so badly. He holds his arms out when he sees us...wanting to be picked up and held. I want to be able to do that all the time and anytime. I think he's going to outgrow needing the nasal canulla quickly. It seems the bigger he gets, the less and less supplemental oxygen he needs. He hasn't had any brady and/or apnea episodes for a while, thankfully. Last time was a week or two ago when he had to get a blood transfusion. He's really improved since then.

Mommy goes on Maternity Leave starting next Wednesday. My plan is to stay at the NICU as much as possible, even spend the night there.

My fantastic friends here in Florida are throwing me my first baby shower on Sunday for all our friends at work. I'm really excited about it. Can't wait...it's a surprise, so that makes it even better! I'll post some pics of the shower some time on Sunday evening or Monday morning for those of you that live out of state.

A cute pic of our little buddy from tonight's visit...

Look Mommy...No More Feeding Tube!

One less thing to worry about ... Sidney had his feeding tube taken out today. He has almost all of his milestones finished.

1. Has to be at least 4lbs -- he's 5lbs 2oz today
2. Maintaining his body temp -- he's staying steady in the 98 degree range
3. Feeding from bottle or breast exclusively -- I've breastfed him all week and he's been taking a bottle like a champ (nurses' exact words, lol)
4. Breathing room air -- he's on a very low flow of oxygen still.

We're thinking it could be only 2 weeks or even possibly 1 week til he's discharged. We're getting closer and closer to him coming home! Yay! Finally we'll be able to be a real family.

Here are some cute pics of our little guy without his feeding tube. Can't wait to see what he looks like with that stinkin nasal canulla out of his nose! All in time, I guess. :) He's such a good baby.

Sidney's Bedroom at Home :)

Since Sidney is a preemie and may have to be monitored with machines and possibly still be on oxygen when he comes home, we have decided it would be best to have him in our bedroom. So thankfully we have master bedroom that is big enough for Sidney's stuff along with ours. Below are pics of the early stages of Sidney's side of the room. I still have to get his crib bedding, but you'll get the idea of how it's going to look. I hope he likes it! ;)

Bassinet and Crib area

Rocking Chair

Changing Table area

Silly Sidney Pictures

I'm taking a nap right now, but call me!



Contemplating the day...



Dad's a copycat!

Weight Update: 4lbs 10oz!

Sidney is growing fast! He's now 4lbs 10oz...I can't believe it. The nurse had to weigh him twice just to be sure. Big news...he's off of the high-flow nasal cannula and onto a low-flow one. This means that he's becoming less and less dependent on the high oxygen levels. Next step, room air!

He's getting better with feeding from a bottle. Jeremy is AWESOME with feeding him, he's got the magic touch. Me, not so much. :( I'm new to all of this, so I'll learn eventually.

Sidney got a bath tonight...but this time he was bathed in a tub! Little guy seemed to really like it. Didn't cry once, that is until we took him out of the water. He loved it. The nurse bathed him a special way...she kept him swaddled. This way he felt protected by the constraints of the blanket, but she could still wash him one body part at a time. The picture below is of his bath, it's a little dark, but it was nighttime when this was taken, so it was dark in the NICU.

4lbs 6oz! Someone's a Big Boy!

Little guy now weighs 4lbs 6oz. We're so proud of how much Sidney's accomplished in the 2 1/2 months since he was born at only 1lb 8oz.

He's off of the high-flow nasal cannula and is staying steady at 28% oxygen. He only has to get down to 21% to be able to start breathing room air. We're almost there! :)

One set back though is Sidney's bottle feeding. He's very eager to eat, but so much so that he ends up holding his breath for long periods of time and eventually passes out. It's so scary for us, especially when we are the ones giving him the bottle. Makes us blame ourselves, thinking we did something wrong to cause him to do this. The doctors have written an order to not push him with the bottle feeding, alas the feeding tube in his nose has to remain. Once he learns to pace himself better and remembers to breathe during his feeding, he'll be that much closer to coming home.

Here are some cute pictures and videos from my visit with him last night and this morning.

He's Doing Better...

As you've all seen from my last post, Sidney had to have a blood transfusion last weekend. Poor little guy was so pale. We spent literally all day Saturday and Sunday with him. He had several severe episodes of apnea and bradycardia, so much so that they had to "bag" him multiple times to revive him. He was also put on several antibiotics to fight off a virus/infection that the doctors thought he might be suffering from. Sidney was lethargic all weekend. He was very weak. Needless to say, our weekend (and Monday) was a nightmare. I don't wish this on my worst enemy. No one should have to go through this torture of not knowing what's going to happen next. Poor little man had to have an IV in each arm. He was miserable.

Over the past few days though, things have been looking up. He's more responsive, has his color back, and is breathing much better. No one's quite sure what was ailing the little guy, but I hope it doesn't come back. He seems to be recovering. Please keep him, and all the babies in the NICU, in your prayers.

More pictures to come.

Someone's in an Open Crib!!

Sidney is in an open crib now! This is big news and we're so excited. :)

Please still keep our little guy in your prayers though. He had a very rough day today. He had two bad spells today where they had to "bag" him to revive him. It's very scary when this happens. His oxygen levels as well as his heartrate drop dramatically. It's very trying on his still tiny body. The doctors will be taking blood samples in the morning to see if our little man will have to get a blood transfusion. He seemed very pale tonight when I visited him, I have a feeling that a blood transfusion will be necessary.

I love my baby more than anything...

A Bottle...wha-wha-what?!

So Jeremy went to the NICU this morning for his usual visit with the little guy only to find out that late last night the nurse decided to try feeding Sidney with a bottle. He downed his 32ml in a mere 18 minutes. Pretty good for a beginner!

Now his feeding tube has been moved from his mouth to his nose, leaving room for him to bottle and/or breast feed twice a day. As soon as the doctors feel he's ready (which hopefully will only be a few days), he can start being fed exclusively via bottle or breast. This is a big step!

Here's a cute pic of my baby that I thought I would share. It's from last week, but it's so sweet and I doctored it up a bit.

Precious (no, it's not based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire, lol) ;)

Sidney is now 3lbs 11oz. I swear he gets cuter and cuter each day. I got to spend a lot of time with my little buddy today. It was a great day.

Jeremy and I found out today that Sid has been upgraded from Level 3 to Level 2...next step, home! He still has some challenges to overcome: oxygen levels, breastfeeding, and getting to 4lbs. He's already doing quite well with staying warm on his own. Our little man has been wearing clothes for close to a week now. They've turned down the heat in the incubator substantially...and he's still staying toasty warm. I'm a proud mommy!

Someone is a Big Boy!

Sidney is finally 3 1/2 lbs! He's growing so fast now and making big improvements. It's been a slow process but our little one is doing much better with his breathing. He's down to 32% oxygen (room air is 21%) and has a flow of 1 3/4 liters in his nasal cannula. For the longest time he was at 45% oxygen and 3 liters flow. I can't be happier for my little buddy.

This has been a big week for Sidney. Not only is he up in weight, he's now wearing clothes! He's still in the incubator, but it's no longer heated. He has to work at keeping his body temperature up himself. So far he's doing it with flying colors! Hopefully this means he'll be moved from the incubator to an open crib soon!

His doctor also gave a written order that Sid is now allowed to attempt breastfeeding. He still has a gavage tube in his mouth to feed him, but we are working on getting him to attach and to suckle as best he can. It's only been three days, but I must say I'm really impressed with him. He's so eager to nurse.