Doing Pretty Good

Hi all, just writing to let you know I had a pretty good night last night and a pretty good day today. I only had a couple of apnic episodes last night, but not as low as I've been known to get from time to time. My nurse Tiffany explained to mommy and me that they don't usually worry too much unless my heart rate starts to drop as well. Mommy and daddy watch that pretty closely and they know that my heart rate is pretty strong and steady these days.

Really my only issue is forgetting to breathe! Mommy says if I say that over and over again, I'll remember. I think mommy's funny! I sucked on my binkie for most of the night last night, and tonight I sucked for a little while, but then Tiffany gave me a mommy juice lollipop.....I'm the luckiest boy in the world! Mommy laughed at me a short while later because I made my first stinky....it was a pretty big smell for such a little boy! My nurse said that it smelled like 24 ozs. so it must be me. Mommy denied that it was her, and daddy wasn't around so we knew it wasn't him. I can't help that I made a stinky.....most times I just get the hiccups which bounce my little body all over the place.

Mommy sometimes worries when I get the hiccups because they do seem to wreak havoc with my little body....but the nurses all assure her that hiccups are common. Mommy just worries because she thinks the hiccups hurt my chest like they hurt hers. I'll have to tell her if they do or do not when I get old enough to talk.

Mommy talked to my cousins Miranda and Tyler, and their mommy, Maria, last night. Miranda was excited because she's doing really good in school. She was also excited to hear about me and she wanted to know how small I was and when I would go home from the hospital. Tyler told mommy that he's getting all A's in school and he has a girlfriend....but then he said that his girlfriend is starting to just become a friend. Tyler assured mommy that I will be healthy and happy by the time I was supposed to be born. Tyler is really smart for his age. He knows that I was born way too early because my due date was in July. He said he knows that I will be fine once July gets here.

Tyler and Miranda live in Arizona with their mommy and daddy. Tyler said that it's been really hot in Arizona lately and they are already swimming in the pool in their backyard. Mommy told Tyler to go swimming for me and her because it's too cold to swim outside in Iowa. Tyler said he would, because he loves to swim! Both Miranda and Tyler swim like little fishies in the swimming pool. Someday, when I get bigger, I'll visit them in Arizona and go swimming in their swimming pool....mommy says that she's going to teach me how to be a little fishie in the water too!!!

Daddy slept on the couch in my room last night and mommy slept in the chair. All three of us got really good sleep. Mommy didn't wake up until 7am!!!! That's really late for her because she's been getting up at 4am or 5am when I get my blood gases. She was pretty tired though. Mommy and daddy had a mommy/daddy date this morning when they went to church. After church they called to check on me and one of my favorite nurses, Holly, said she was babysitting me and I was doing just fine. After hearing that, mommy and daddy went to their apartment for approximately 30 minutes and then picked up some food from the store and came back to me. Our friend Emily came to visit this afternoon. She's still pregnant and thinks it's funny that I will be 4 months old before her baby is born...when in reality, I should have only been 3 weeks old when her baby is scheduled to be born. I'm growing up fast!! By the time Emily's baby is born, I'll be old enough to show her how to live outside her mommy's tummy.

Daddy went shopping this afternoon while mommy and Emily stayed with me. He got more pictures developed for mommy so she could work on my scrapbook, and he bought a mommy's day present. He was so excited that he gave it to mommy today. He said he had to give it to her early because now that I'm here, our family has to do everything early!!! Mommy got a really pretty necklace with a gold heart on it. The heart has little diamonds on it...Mommy thinks it's beautiful! Daddy said he wanted to make sure there were diamonds because I was born in April and that makes me an Aries. Daddy is a little upset that my birthstone is the diamond. He says life is going to be very expensive from now on.

It's getting late and I'm snuggled in my burrito roll becasuse Tiffany is working again. Oh yeah.....I'm getting 12-13 CCs of food every 2.5 hours now. I know it seems like the amount has gone down but it hasn't! I used to get fed 15 CCs every three hours, but I was always throwing a fit 2.5 hours after I ate, because my tummy was empty. Since I can't scream and thrash about like giant babies do, I throw a fit by making my O2 saturation go really low. Well the nurses caught on to my game, and had the doctor change my feedings to every 2.5 hours instead of 3. I haven't thrown a fit all day!!!!!:)

Tiffany measured me and I'm still only 13 inches tall. But she says that my head is bigger, which means I have more brains. Mommy said I'm really really smart for being such a little guy....she has proof in my scrapbook because the doctor printed her a copy of my brain ultrasound. Mommy was bothering Tiffany so she forgot to weigh me, but once mommy falls asleep, Tiffany will weigh me to see if I've gained any weight.

I'm pretty comfortable right now, all snuggled up on my bed. Daddy went home to sleep tonight and he just called my room to see how I'm doing before he drifts off to dream land. Mommy told him that both her and I are getting ready to do the same. Sweet dreams everyone!!!