Two Weeks!!

How fast a boy can grow!!

So I've been swept away by motherhood and there is no looking back! It is truly the greatest thing anyone can experience! There are so many sides to it that make it so wonderful! I thought I knew what love was, but seeing this little man that is part Kevin and part me, whom God blessed us with leaves an unbelievable feeling! NOW I KNOW WHAT LOVE IS!

So Oliver turned two weeks old on Tuesday September 20th and is growing so fast! I keep telling him he can slow down, but I do believe that he is in a hurry to come home!! He is now over 4 pounds - as of Sunday! He is actually 4 pounds 5 ounces as of his Wednesday night weighing. They also do his measurements every Sunday night and this past Sunday he had grown 3/4 of an inch up to 17 3/4" and his head is 12cm. This is what it was when he was born, but he had a large bruise on the back of his head so there was some swelling and that had gone down so his head actually had shrunk in the first week, but in his second week it grew back up to 12cm. Our son is ever so amazing and god has blessed him with an inordinate amount of strength!!

Our little man has achieved so many milestones since I last updated. Let's see.... Well he has started feeding a little out of a bottle! The first time her tried I didn't think he would do anything beyond holding the bottle in his mouth, but boy did he surprise us, yet again! It was pretty amazing as both sets of grandparents were there to share in mine and Kevin's joy of this big success! We were also blessed with one of our favorite nurses, whom pulled the curtain and let us have more than the 2 allowable guests, so that we could all witness this moment in time! Oliver knew he was on stage too! He was wide awake and his precious eyes were searching the room, gazing at both mommy and daddy and even grandma Pam and grandma Ruthie! He'd suck away fro a little bit and then get this BIG grin and smile at us, just hamming it up for everyone! Out of 10cc's he took 5, which was 5 more than I thought he would do!! So the next day He tried again in the morning and they put 20cc's in his bottle and he took 12!! WOW!! Again I was blown away! Over the past four days he has continued to try the bottle and has had some more success and some days where is uninterested! But we are on the right track - just last night he took 30 of his 42cc feeding. :) He has also started to breastfeed a little and what an amazing connection that is, what a bond we now share!! Again, he hadn't shown interest in this activity yet and I was shocked that he latched on for over 15 minutes or so!! He really is growing up so fast for as little as he is.

Let's see.... Saturday daddy got to hold his son for the first time and he is so sweet with him! Words cannot describe the love for my husband watching him father our son!! He is beyond amazing and Oliver and him are going to have endless stories and memories together as father and son. Mom had to leave them alone as I was starting to make Kevin nervous about how he was holding Oliver, he was doing just fine and I should have just kept my mouth shut. I'll learn. :)

He has several dirty diapers and even peed on one of the nurses, which was quite comical and he even smirked. He's got his father's sense of humor I can see. I never thought one could be so excited over a poopy diaper, but boy have I been on several different occasions.

Last week they took out his PICC line and he no longer has an IV, he actually only has his NG (feeding) tube and the monitor attachments. He is also no longer under the photolights or using the biliblanket. I better buy him some Nike's as he is obviously going to be walking out of the NICU. :)

Last Wednesday and Thursday were probably his two worst days thus far as he was having some episodes of apnea and dropping his heart rate - but they have him on caffeine and it seems to have stopped those completely. He has two more doses of that, one today and one tomorrow, and then the doctor is going to see how he does without it. So we are praying that he has outgrown his A's and B's.

Right now digestion is still his most pressing concern. He has been spitting up a lot and not consistently absorbing all of his feedings. He had become quite uncomfortable with the spitting up and so they had tried several different courses of action to try and relieve this and it seems they may have finally found something. He has been on tow previous medications that really didn't help but for a day, they have changed his formula - which they have been mixing with my milk as I am not making as much as he is needing at this point. That really didn't make a difference so they have decided to try a 3rd medication, which over the pat 3 days has alleviated his spitting - knock on wood!! So he is resting much more comfortably at this point and has been over the past 3 days. We are hoping and praying that when they wean him off of all his medications it has given Oliver's systems enough time to mature more and enough to handle where he is at. Everything that he is going through is common for a baby his age - he is only 34 weeks and 1 day and would still have 6 more weeks in the womb, which is when so much growing and maturing takes place, so he is doing awesome by all accounts.

Since he seems to be holding steady I am probably going to head back to work to save some days for when we get to bring uor son Oliver home! I can't say his name enough or "our son." I know it is going to be hard not to be down there as much as I have but I'll go down for the weekends and a couple of evenings a week and he is in great hands of nurses and doctors so I feel better about not being there as much as I want to be!  I'm sure I've forgotten something but I'll remember it next tiem!

Lord,
Thank you for all the blessings you have brought into our lives and the moments you have given to us! Without the strength of your love and your hands holding us this journey would be close to the impossible. You are an amazing savior and if anyones's faith has ever wavered it would be times like these where it reaffirms all that you are and all that you give to us!! Thank you for Oliver and the opportunity to be his parents and raise a one of your children, there is no greater gift than the gift of life!!

Amen