Way to go Grandpa Bob!!!

Oh my gosh, I'm so excited!!!! Grandpa Bob held me for the first time today. No one thought it would ever happen, but I knew he'd eventually come around. My Nurse Sarah told mommy that Grandpa Bob seems timid around me. Mommy talked to Grandpa Bob on the phone today and told him that he should really hold me. I heard Grandpa Bob tell mommy that he shouldn't hold me because I would break....doesn't he know that I'm a tough little guy????

So with mommy, the best nursing student in the whole world Addy, and Grandma Domo cheering him on, Grandpa Bob finally held me. Just to make him feel better I held on really tight to his finger with both my hands so that he wouldn't get scared and run away:) And I tried to hold really still so he wouldn't worry. I did a good job and I loved being held by Grandpa Bob. I even sucked on my binkie a little while later for him:):):)

Bring on the food!

Hi everyone, I know I know, I'm not writing as often. I've been a busy little boy:)

I continue to be on the nasal canula, and I am continuing to be absolutely adorable for my grandma and grandpas. Daddy says I'm boring these days because I just sit around and do my baby thing. What he really means is that since I'm doing so well, he doesn't feel obligated to stand post at my bedside anymore.

Daddy held me today for my lunch time feeding. I love it when daddy holds me. I told daddy that grandma Orr held me this morning for breakfast. Mommy told me this early morning that grandma Domo was going to come and hold me around 3pm...but then grandma Domo said that she was going to make grandpa Bob hold me. He hasn't held me yet and mommy told the nurse to talk him into it. The nurse said that grandpa Bob seems "timid" around me. I think he's just scared that I'm too heavy for him to lift:)

So now I'm just waiting until grandma Domo and grandpa Bob come...then I will know which one is going to hold me.

I bet you all want to know how heavy I am.....*drum rolls* I weigh 5 lbs. 5 ozs.!!! Woohoo....I'm a chunky monkey!:)

I think I told you that I graduated to the largest size of pacifier. That size matches the size of nipple that will be on my bottles when I get to eat through my mouth. I've been sucking lots on the pacifier because the doctors want me to show them that I am ready to eat through my mouth. Mommy says I'm ready to try....but the doctors are worried I won't swallow, suck, and breathe at the same time....Mommy keeps telling them I'm much better at the multi-tasking thing than I used to be, but they don't believe her.

If I could talk I would tell my doctors that my mommy is right...I am better at doing more than one thing at once.....give me a chance, come on...please!!!!

Good Vibrations!!!

Now that's what I'm talking about! I've got some good vibrations going on:) It's Sunday evening and I'm sitting here in my little vibrating chair hanging out with mommy and daddy. Soon, my Nurse Julie (I've never had her before) is going to weigh me, and measure all my body parts. I really hope I'm taller than 16 inches this week.

I got a new sign on the outside of my room door. It says,....are you ready for this??? It says, "Today is the day, Zander weighs 5 lbs on 06-25-2006!" I made it, I'm 5 whole pounds:) Not that it really matter in the whole scheme of things, but I made a goal and I stuck with it until I succeeded.

Also, I have other good news today as well. On Saturday I was allowed to stay on the Nasal Canula for 8 hours out of each 12 hour shift. Then this morning, the nurses was discussing what orders they thought my doctor #2 would write, but he surprised them all when he wrote an order stating that I am to remain on Nasal Canula as long as I can. Do you know what that means???????? It means no more yucky CPAP in my nose!!! AND, it also means I'm doing really really good.

Now, I have to warn you...I may need that CPAP thing back because I sometimes poop myself out. So far I'm doing good, but I just wanted to forewarn everyone. I'll find out in the morning when they do all my lab work and take an x-ray. All the nurses are holding their breath to see what my blood gas will be. That's the lab that measures the amount of CO2 in my lungs. If that's high then I may be put back on the CPAP, if it's low....I'm pretty sure my doctor will hug me. :) To tell you the truth, I think this vibrating chair helps me because it's kind of like a CPAP only it doesn't have to go in my nose. It definately keeps my lungs vibrating though:):) At least this thing is comfy.


Stay tuned for my newest statistics!!!

Almost there

Hi everyone, it's been a few days, but I'm still here. My doctors started weening me from the CPAP this week. That may be old news, but the NEW news is that I'm doing really good! On Monday I was allowed to be on the nasal canula for 1 hour each shift, which is a total of 2 hours out of 24 hours. I passed that test with flying colors so on Tuesday I got to be on the nasal canula for 2 hours each 12 hour shift. On Wednesday I was bumped up to TWO 2 hour periods each shift on the nasal canula. The doctors decided to give me a bit of a break on Thursday and did not increase my time on the canula....which made me upset because I like the nasal canula....it's not heavy on my face and it doesn't put pressure on my nose like the yucky CPAP does. So just to show my doctors that I know what I'm doing, I wore my nasal canula for a whole 4 hours last night....without taking it off once.

My bold effort paid off too, because today the doctors decided to have me be off the nasal canula for 6 hours each shift. I'm HALF WAY THERE!!!!!! I don't have to stay on the canula for an entire 6 hours at once, I can take breaks in between, but I figure the better I do at this nasal canula stuff, the quicker I get to be home with mommy and daddy. I sure am looking forward to that!!!

Let's see....Grandma Orr held me yesterday morning while I ate, and then Grandma Domo held me for my noon feeding. Grandma Domo was very brave because she told my Nurse Shannon that she wanted to hold me with the nasal canula on and while I ate. Up until Grandma Domo issued that request I had only been laying in bed on the canula. Well, guess what??? I did awesome and Grandma Domo held me for a really long time!

I got a bath yesterday afternoon, after mommy got home from work. Mommy and daddy's friend Gwen came and held me for a little while before my bath, so she stayed to watch me get washed up nice and shiny. I did really good with the bath, but mommy called me a stinker because when she was drying me off, I passed gas in her face. It's a good thing she loves me lots! Then I took a rest and mommy, daddy, and Gwen went and ate dinner. Mommy came back up to the hospital later and held me for my 9:30pm feeding. She kangaroo'd me while I was wearing the nasal canula and eating!! Again, I did awesome:) When mommy left, my Nurse (Tall) Lisa kept me on the nasal canula for my whole 4 hours. She told mommy this morning that I did wonderful!!!!! Mommy and daddy are anticipating a discharge date sometime at the beginning of August.....I sure hope they are right!

Grandpa Bob is in the process of finishing my closet, and my whole room is now all painted. The floor needs one more coat of Varnish, according to Grandpa Bob, and then mommy has to put the boarder up and I can move in....WOO HOO:):):) I don't have very much furniture to move in because most of it is still at Grandma Domo and Grandpa Bob's house...I'm going to have to talk to them about getting my furniture to Cedar Rapids because I want to start decorating my room as soon as I get to go home.

Will somebody please tell my doctors to let me out soon????? I have places to be and people to see!:)

No more tree house for me

I'm sorry I haven't written in awhile. There's been a whirl wind of activity around me for the past few days.

First, it was daddy's birthday on Friday the 16th and he turned another year older. Mommy brought him a cake to the hospital and then they went and ate pizza with Grandma and Grandpa Orr. After that, daddy's friend Rich came over and they kicked mommy out of the house so they could have "guy time". Mommy came and saw me so every one was happy:)

Saturday, mommy and daddy unpacked some more of the house. Then our friend Gwen came to visit the house. She visited the house quick so then all three of them came to see me because I'm more interesting than a house! Gwen held me for a little while...she's a good Zander-Holder:) When Gwen left daddy held me for some time and then he handed me off to mommy. I was held by three different people over two hours...I loved it! It rained for almost 10 minutes right after Gwen left my room.

Mommy and daddy found out a couple hours later that the 10 minute rain was a very very ugly storm. It knocked down the tree in our backyard. Actually, it only knocked down half of the tree in the backyard. But I'm sad because that was going to be my tree house tree. Daddy said so! Mommy said she would make sure I had a house to play in, even if it wasn't exactly in a tree.

The neighbors said the wind blew so hard, that the tree broke in half. One half is still in the ground, and the other half fell over and landed on the power lines. None of our neighbors for a long way down the street had power, but no one was mad at mommy and daddy. Some of the neighbors even came over to help mommy and daddy pick up some of the smaller branches. Grandpa Orr came over and he and daddy sawed some braches off the big part of the tree. Did you know that the big ole tree was rotten on the inside???? Daddy said it was very yucky!

On Sunday, it was Father's Day, but my daddy and both my grandpas worked all day cutting that tree up. Mommy and Grandma Domo helped. The neighbors had their grandchildren over for the day so they all helped too, and Will came over. Will helped mommy and daddy a lot, and his wife brought daddy some brownies....I hear they were very yummy! (I don't think daddy shared)

I got to see Grandpa Bob and Grandma Domo at the hospital after they were done with the tree. They came to see me really quick because it was late and they were tired......not to mention very sore. Grandma Orr held me on Sunday evening while Mommy, daddy, and Grandpa Orr visited with me.

I got to see Grandma Domo and Grandpa Bob today too. They came back to take the branches to the waste disposal place and to finish painting my room. They came up to see me after they were done with all that! Grandpa Bob is going to come back tomorrow and pick up some more wood, but Grandma Domo has to work....I know I will see her soon though and then she can hold me for a really long time. Mommy took a picture of me and Grandma Domo talking today. I gave Grandma Domo my best smile because she was tickling my chin.....Grandma Domo likes to tickle me:)

Mommy ended up working late tonight so Daddy stayed with me and held me for my supper time. I love it when daddy holds me!!!! Mommy came back to hold me for my after supper meal, and I made a mess all over me and mommy. My NG tube came out of my nose while my feeding was going in. Mommy was kind of scared because I was grunting and gurgling. She said it sounded like I was drowning. My Nurse Karee put a new NG tube in and I had to sit in my crib and eat. But that's okay because mommy will come back in the morning and hold me again.

I'm still only 16 inches tall, but I weigh a whole bunch. I've been eating lots so now I weigh 4 lbs 10 ozs. My goal is to get to 5 lbs by the weekend. The doctors didn't make that goal for me.....they said they are still focusing on my breathing so it doesn't matter how much I weigh....but I think I can get to 5 lbs, so I'm going to try my best to get there!!!!!:)

Oh yeah, I'm doing better at the whole breathing thing. I got to be on the nasal canula yesterday for one hour during the day and one hour during the night. Today I got to be on it for 2 hours during the day. Soon I will be on it for two hours during the night too, but I need a nap first. When I'm on the nasal canula, the nurses take me off the CPAP machine. The nasal canula is much lighter and it's very quiet. I do pretty good when I'm not on the CPAP, but I am not good enough at breathing on my own to be off it completely just yet.

So that's my news.....and if you're thinking about building a fireplace or woodburning stove, I know where you can find some wood:)

Thursday nights are fun!!!

This Thursday night one of my most favorite nurses Sandy and her friend Jean played with me, I didn't know that Thursday nights were so much fun! We took some pictures for every one to see how much fun we had in this picture I'm playing with the doggy that mommy and daddy got for me at the fair last weekend I don't know what on earth this fair thing is but if they have more doggys I'm gonna have to go and check it out when I get a little bigger. My doggy is'nt that big but for me he is huge!! I can actually sit on top of him and ride him!! as you can tell from the picture I am doing a lot better these days I can even have all the breathing stuff off of my face for a little bit at a time now thats pretty neat because all that stuff sure does get uncomfortable on my face after a while. I was really excited that Sandy got to be my nurse Thursday because she is really really nice to me and now that she taught me how to play I'm gonna see if I can talk all of my nurses into playing with me now!!

I can see the light!

My eye doctor came to see me yesterday. Mommy took some time off work to be with me during my exam. Daddy came to my last exam and both mommy and daddy were at the first eye exam. I've had three so far. That's as many as three fingers:)

The eye doctor said I was a really good boy during my exam and he didn't have to get out any of his mean tools that hold my eyes open. That's fine with me, because I don't like his mean tools! He told mommy that I have some "Mild Retinopothy Due To Prematurity". He explained it to me and mommy that I have too many tiny, tiny blood vessels in my eyes. I don't need the tiny ones and usually as premature babies get older, their eyes work to correct themselves. Hopefully I am like the usual premature babies because if my eyes get worse, then I could possibly need Laser Surgery. Mommy says that's a procedure to fix someone's eyes. That doesn't sound very fun. My eye doctor also said that he was going to visit me on a weekly basis now since I have that stuff. He used to come every two weeks to see me.

My eye doctor wears this funny thing over his head and eyes, but I don't think it helps him breathe. At least my funny mask thing helps me breathe...I think he got a bum deal! Anyway, he wears this funny thing and then shines this really bright light into my eyes. He of course holds my eyes open with his fingers because I really don't like the bright lights. But I was a really good boy....I didn't cry at all!!!

Other than that sorta-kinda bad news, I had a pretty good day. Mommy had the whole afternoon off so she held me for three different feedings. I think the nurses like when mommy and daddy spend the day with me because they don't have to watch me as closely....mommy and daddy are learning how to take care of me really good. The nurses even let mommy and daddy get me out of bed and put me back to bed....not to mention the diaper duties and bathing.

I'm getting a bath tonight. I get one of my very favorite nurses tonight because mommy asked really nicely. Nurse Sandy likes giving me baths and "playing dress-up" as daddy calls it. Nurse Sandy makes sure my bed is nice and clean....and me too...and then she picks out her favorite outfit to put on me. I think she has a crush on me:)

And I don't think she's the only nurse that likes me. Daddy was telling Nurse Holly today that I would take her to my Senior Prom. Holly said she would think about it....I think she has a lot of time to think. In the mean time, I seem to be surrounded by girls these days. I am the only boy baby in my pod....and there's 3 girl babies all around me. There's one girl baby who's smaller than me now...she was born bigger than I was, but since I'm getting chunky, I dwarf her:) I weigh 4 lbs and 1 oz. for the time being, but Nurse Sandy hasn't weighed me yet tonight so I'm sure I'll weigh more in a couple hours.

Grandma Domo and Grandpa Bob came to visit today. Grandpa Bob came yesterday too. They are fixing up my room. Grandpa Bob sanded the hard wood floor in my room yesterday while Grandma Domo stayed in Cedar Falls because she had to work. Today Grandma Domo came to see me and held me for a really long time. Then she went and painted part of the closet and my window. She only painted part of it because Grandpa Bob tore the rest of the closet down. He says it's too old fashioned for me and he can make it better. Grandpa Bob makes a lot of wood things better!!:)

Grandma Orr came to visit me too. She came while Grandma Domo was holding me so we all visited together. Then I went to sleep and all my visitors left. I love it when my grandparents come to visit me...it makes the day go faster!!!

I suppose I should get ready for my bath....I have to make sure I go potty before I get my bath...otherwise Nurse Sandy calls me a Stinker. She's pretty silly like that!

Ladies and Gentlemen......

Oh my gosh.......I weigh 4 lbs today!!!!! That's right, I weigh exactly 4 lbs. and I'm almost big and strong:) Oh yeah, I am also 16 inches tall. I might even be more than 16 inches tall now because I found out I was that tall on Sunday night, only I forgot to tell everyone.

I'm so big that now I have to wear a security bracelet around my leg so that no one steals me. If someone tried to take me, they'd only make it to the elevator before the whole hospital started alarming...okay, maybe not the whole hospital, but it would be a loud alarm!!! Mommy and daddy are trying to talk the nurses into letting me go outside for a short picnic..mommy says I'm looking a little pale and I could use some sun...the nurses just laugh. Mommy is going to ask the doctors if I can go outside and watch the fireworks on the 4th of July. Mommy and daddy are going to tell the doctors that she will hold me the entire time we are outside because she knows that the doctors want me to be held as much as possible. She's going to try to work that knowledge to my advantage.

I think my Grandma Domo and Grandpa Bob are coming to visit today. They're going to work on the floor in my bedroom for a little while today. And I just know they won't leave Cedar Rapids without seeing me....I have an addicting personality:) I'm going to smile my best smile and see what they think!

I smiled at mommy yesterday. Her and daddy have been trying to sleep at home a lot more lately, because they're trying to get everything unpacked. They still have a long way to go because it's so slow when they're not home very much. They always spend the evenings with me, no matter what! Anyway, mommy came to the hospital early in the morning to hold me for my 6:00 am feeding, she does that every day. She picked me up....the nurses let mommy and daddy pick me up now all by themselves. I sat on mommy and we got situated and then I finally opened my eyes. I was playing hide-n-seek with her before that and I really wasn't sure who picked me up.........but when I opened my eyes and saw mommy holding me, I couldn't help but smile. I smiled once and she laughed and mentioned to the nurse that maybe I had gas...just to prove her wrong I gave her my best smile a second time. Mommy melted:)

This whole baby thing is going to work out to my advantage. I know that I already have both mommy and daddy wrapped around my little finger, but I am pretty sure I have both sets of grandparents wrapped around my little finger too!!! Almost every day Grandpa and Grandma Orr come to visit me, and Grandpa Bob and Grandma Domo drive a long ways to see me too. I think it's like an hour drive, which may not seem like much to most people, but for me that's a really long time!!!! I love to see my grandpa and grandmas because they think I'm so cute! I bet I will be able to get away with anything that I want to when I am old enough to visit them. :)

Yay!!!! It's almost time for me to eat........that's my favorite part of the day. And soon I will get to eat like real people do...I'm tired of this hose in my nose, and I want it gone. I've actually taken it out all by myself several times, but I don't even try anymore because those nurses shove it back in...I know it's important for me to eat with, but I am a big boy now...I wanna eat through my mouth!!! A new developmental specialist came to see me yesterday. Daddy says "this one is all about the oral feedings." I think that means that she's going to figure out a way for me to eat through my mouth! The doctors want me off of the CPAP before that can happen, but the rumor is I should be able to eat through my mouth in 2 weeks or less....I can almost taste heaven just thinking about it!!!

I hope you all have a great day:) I know I will becuase I'm going to eat lots today!

It's not so bad

I got another bath today. I kind of like getting baths these days because the water is so warm and I really don't mind being wet. The only part that I don't like at all is the part where I have to get out of the bath tub and go back to bed. In the bath tub I'm warm, and in bed I'm warm....but that air in between the bath tub and bed is OH SO COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!:(

Right now I'm snuggled up in daddy's arms thinking about taking a nap. Daddy's thinking about taking a nap too, so I'm trying to snuggle him in my arms.....but it's hard because daddy is so big!!! Mommy and daddy went to the fair today for a short while. Mommy likes the games a whole bunch so she popped a lot of balloons and brought me a really big puppy dog. The puppy dog's leg is bigger than my whole body. Mommy was trying for the huge Curious George, but she would have been away from me all day because she would have had to pop lots more balloons. I'm pretty happy with the puppy dog:)

Speaking of size.....I don't know if I grew any inches today, but I do know that I now weigh 3 lbs. 10 oz. I'll find out how tall I am later tonight when the night nurse measures me. I've been gaining lots of weight lately because of my food. I get mommy juice sometimes and formula other times, but then the doctors add lipids and protien to both juices so that I get lots and lots of extra calories.

The doctors want me off of the CPAP by the end of next week and no later than that. They are hoping that I will be off the CPAP by the middle of this week. They turned down my CPAP to 4 today and I need to be at 3 before they will take me off. That's only one more number. I know that because mommy told me that 3=4-1. I think I need to remember that for when I'm big....it might come in handy.

Okay, I'm almost asleep and daddy's eyes are drooping so good bye for now:)

Here's a picture of me when I got my vaccinations. As you can clearly see.....I am not a happy camper! Mommy says I don't need to get any more vaccinations for a little while. I hope "a little while" means 100 years!

OUCHIE!!!!

Today my Nurse Jen was mean to me. And it wasn't only Nurse Jen, it was Nurse Kim too. See, Nurse Jen is orienting Nurse Kim to the NICU so I had two nurses today. But that doesn't make me very happy because I got really bad news today.

It appears that since tomorrow I will be 2 months old....yeah, that's the happy part....but since I'm almost 2 months old, I have to have my 2 month vaccinations. Do you know that vaccinations are SHOTS....and SHOTS HURT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here I was, having a pretty good day hanging out in the NICU and then whammie.....three shots all at once...talk about catching a little guy off guard:( Nurse Jen and Nurse Kim are usually nice, but they have got to keep those shot things away from me!!!! They didn't even give me a sticker or a sucker for being such a good boy during the whole episode. Talk about meanies!

Oh well....onto some good news. I am happy to say that I now weigh 3 lbs. and 7 ozs. :):):) Mommy says I'm getting chunky....she didn't know that tiny babies can have fat rolls, but guess what....I DO!! And the best part is that the doctors increased my feedings again today. How awesome is that????

I have to do my best and get better really quick so I can go home and live with mommy and daddy. Mommy is painting my room this weekend and daddy is going to prune ( I don't know what that means) the trees in the yard. He told me that a really big branch fell on our new deck....well, really big for me, but it didn't do any damage so everything is good. That happened on the day when the Twister was threatening to get me....Daddy chopped up the branch and cleaned up some of the little branches around the yard too.

Mommy and daddy have slept at home for two nights now. I missed them a whole bunch which is why I didn't write for a couple days. I was too busy missing mommy and daddy. They've been unpacking all of our stuff so we can relax when I get big enough to go home. Mommy came to visit me both mornings before she went to work and daddy comes to the hospital as soon as he is off work becuase he misses me soooooooo much!
He even got off work early today...he said it was because they ran out of windows to make, but I know it's really because he misses me. Daddy holds me everyday in the afternoon for one of my feedings. Mommy holds me for the evening feeding and then again in the early morning. I love to be held!

Tomorrow Grandma Domo and Grandpa Bob are coming to help paint and do house work. I asked mommy if Grandpa Bob could hold me tomorrow....she said she would see what she could do. I reminded her that Grandma Domo has gotten to hold me twice so far. Mommy said it's not a competition and they can both hold me tomorrow if I want. I told her I just wanted to be held as much as possible:)

I forgot to tell everyone that Grandma Domo came to visit me on Thursday and she brought an family friend who mommy knows really well. Her name is Becky too and she came with Grandma Domo to meet me. Like Kabele's, our family spends lots of time with Becky and her husband so I'm sure I'll see Becky lots more. Apparently, my nurse was a little upset that Grandma Domo brought an extra person with her when mommy or daddy weren't here. Mommy knew that Becky was coming, so it shouldn't have been a problem. The nurse still let Becky come in and see me....but Grandma Domo was warned. Mommy said she would make sure that she calls the nurses when people are going to come and visit, so no one gets into trouble.

I should get going....I still hurt from being poked with those shot things three times.....and then my Nurse Cindi just came in and took some blood from me so I got poked again. If I get poked one more time I'm going to cry as loud as I can....ALL NIGHT!!!!!

Its a twister!!!

Today there was a tornado warning here at the hospital, now this isn't my first rodeo as one of my favorite nurses likes to say at night. This is my second tornado warning here in the NICU, the first one was a long time ago when I was really small and still lived in the bubble they didn't move me out of my room because they said I was too sick so a nurse and daddy had to stay with me in my room while everyone else got to go out into the hall and play. Well guess what? Today during the tornado warning I got to take a trip all the way out into the hall, my nurse Jenn (she's one of my favorites) hooked me up to some portable oxygen and took my whole crib into the hall so I could play with all the big kids!! It was really fun Jenn took some pictures of me hanging out in the hall with all the cool people this picture shows me with one of my doctors Julie (don't tell the others but she is moving way up my list of favorite doctors) she took time out to hang out with me in the hall and Jenn hung out with me and even Jenn's new Nurse Kim was hanging out with me Kim is pretty neat she's been a nurse for a long time but she's kinda new to little babies like me so Jenn is showing her the ropes, I wont complain two whole nurse to take care of me is better than just one!!! Oh yeah by the way I didn't know what a tornado was so I asked my doctor and she told me it was a twister kind of like when my nurse makes the water in my bath twirl around except in the air and really big, even bigger than the NICU well I didn't see anything like that but I sure did have a good time hanging out in the hall way with all the cool people!! I gotta go now cause my mommy will be here soon and its almost time to eat so I'm gonna try to talk Jenn into letting me hold mommy while I eat :-)

Woo Hoo!

I talked my day nurse, Nurse Sarah into feeding me more than I'm supposed to get:):):)

Okay, so I didn't write anything yesterday because I was too busy missing mommy and daddy. They moved all of our stuff into our new house!:) Mommy and daddy didn't move everything by themselves, they had a whole party of people helping them.

There was My Sonya, Gwen, Matthew and Nicholas, Rich, Grandma and Grandpa Hewlitt, Emily, and then John and his children showed up to help with the really heavy stuff...it's because they have big muscles:) Janelle didn't help move because she was too busy babysitting me...plus, she needed her baby fix. Who's the baby???? I'm the baby!!! Jason was going to come help around 1pm, but daddy decided that since we were more than half done, making Jason drive all the way from his house was not a very nice thing to do....he lives a long way away. But it all worked out because Jason came over today to help daddy with the computer.

So, all mommy and daddy's stuff is at the new house...they even took all my stuff. Next weekend mommy's going to paint my room. Daddy's job was to rip up the carpet in my room and see if there really is hard wood floors....he already finished his job on Saturday. Grandma Domo is going to paint mommy and daddy's room because it's PINK!!! (Daddy looks silly in pink).

Mommy and daddy were gone from 8:00am until 4:00pm. They brought My Sonya back to the hospital to see me....I don't get to see her all the time so I have to get My Sonya fix when I can. Her mommy and sister sent presents for me with her....My Sonya's mommy is my honorary grandma because she wants a grandbaby too....pretty soon there will be enough of me to go around:)

Guess what???? I gained weight and grew some...I now weigh 3 lbs. 3 ozs! And I am 14 and 3/4 inches tall. I bet you I will weigh lots more tomorrow. Want to know why????? I bet you do:) I am going to weigh more tomorrow because my Nurse Sarah "overfed" me today. So now my Nurse Big Lisa (only cuz she's taller than Little Lisa) isn't feeding me as much as I want to eat because she has to correct the "overfeeding". I say, "Hey, if my tummy can handle it, bring it on!!!" Nobody listens to me though:(

I got a bath tonight. I couldn't complain much because...well....I was stinky! You'd think a baby laying in a crib all day wouldn't get dirty....but I was. I liked this bath...I didn't stay swaddled the entire time because the water was so warm....Nurse Big Lisa made the water move with her fingers and told me it was a whirlpool hottub. I don't know what that is, but it sure was fun. I didn't even cry during the whole bath! Daddy held my mask in place, Nurse Big Lisa help my head so I didn't drown, and mommy washed me all over. Nurse Big Lisa didn't turn me over this time when mommy was ready to wash my back...she just leaned me forward and mommy went to town getting me clean. All in all....I'd say it was a pretty positive experience.

Daddy held me after my bath....I got to eat some too....but not as much as usual:( Just let me eat what I want Nursies!!!!! While daddy held me, I dozed off and held onto his finger. He kept trying to escape my grip, but I'm too strong for him...he was stuck:)

Now, daddy is sleeping and mommy is getting ready for sleep. I'm yawning, and should be very much asleep, but I wanted to keep you all up to date. I told mommy to post a picture of our house on the website, but she couldn't get the picture thingy on here to work tonight. She said she would try tomorrow too.

Good night!!!!!!! And thanks again to the wonderfully awesome friends that helped mommy and daddy move...mommy and daddy think it was actually a good time despite the moving part. Oh yeah, Congratulations to John because he is now a Deacon:)

You light up my life!

Now that I am doing so well on CPAP and am a big boy (read my previous post) I apparently get certain privledges that I didn't have before. For instance, while it is still recommended that I receive Kangaroo Care, I am also allowed to be held in the conventional way during my feedings. Also, when being held previously, mommy and daddy were the only two who were granted access to little ole me. BUT!!!!!! I got to be held by both my grandmas:):):):):)

Grandma Domo (Hewlitt) held me for almost two full hours on Friday when she and Grandpa Bob came to visit me. She started holding me when it was time for me to be fed, and then she just kept holding me:)

Grandma Orr held me for my second feeding of the day on Saturday. I was kind of naughty after a little while and forgot to breathe so I had to go back to bed, but my Nurse Lisa promised that I could try again another day.

I love being held by my grandmas!!! And I can't wait until I get to be held by my grandpas!!!!!

Who's a big boy?

On Friday afternoon mommy called my Nurse Lisa to check on me (while she was at work) and Nurse Lisa said, "Do you want a surprise, or do you want the good news now?" Mommy said she wanted to know right then...so Nurse Lisa told her I was in a big boy bed.

See, my most recent nurses had decided to turn off my Giraffe Bed, so that my body heat was no longer regulated by the bed. I had to do all the work myself, with a little help from my blankets. I did such a great job that Nurse Lisa told my Doctor #2 that I needed a crib.....a real NICU crib:) My doctor #2 obviously listened because he wrote an order for a crib and I've been sleeping in it since, and my temperature has been great!!!:)

It's new and interesting

I learned yesterday that if I throw a fit, I can get what I want!:) That is a really great thing!! I've been hanging out in my escape-pod bed since Tuesday with this CPAP thing on my nose and my party hat on my head. I've been doing really good, I'm told, staying off the ventilator.

I started out the day, Wednesday, doing my usual sleeping-breathing-eating-breathing-sleeping routine. Then, much to my surprise, daddy showed up to spend the day with me. He said that his work sent him home because the line he supervises was broken down. Whatever the reason, I didn't complain because now I get to have daddy with me all day.

In the afternoon, I showed daddy and the respiratory therapist my new trick....I can turn my head almost all the way over, even with the CPAP on my nose. I say almost because the CPAP prong thing always stops me half way. Daddy got mad at me when he kept finding me with my face buried in the pillow because I was trying to turn it. He says that I can't breathe when I do that, so I need to stop...it's kind of fun making daddy nervous:)

Eventually mommy came home and then I had them both with me. Jason and Tammy, good family friends, came to visit me and they said I was big!!!!:) I'd rather be big than little! They stayed for almost an hour and a half becuase they had to take turns seeing me. Jason and Tammy have two little boys, James and Kyle. They got to ride a real elephant a couple weeks ago at some place called a circus...I'm going to ask mommy and daddy to take me to one of those circus things too...then I can ride an elephant! Anyway, James and Kyle are young and little (not as little as me though) so the nurses won't let them visit me. They waited in the waiting room with Jason while Tammy visited me, then Tammy switched with Jason so he could see me. Jason is the computer guru who makes it possible for me to write on here while I'm in the hospital. Tammy is really pregnant now. She's going to have a baby sometime in the next 6 weeks...then I'll have another little friend:) Mommy and daddy think Jason and Tammy and the boys are awesome!!!!

After they left, it was just me and my mommy and daddy. My nurse talked about me getting a bath but said it wouldn't be until later in the evening. Well, I started throwing a fit about 10:00 pm. I flailed my arms and kicked my legs really hard. I tried to cry my loudest cry, but it's still not very loud:( Mommy heard me, though, and she came to hold my hand and try to figure out what was wrong. Here's a secret: Nothing was wrong, I just didn't want a bath:) Anyway, one of my favorite nurses came in. Her name is Lisa and she is one of my very best favorite nurses, but I haven't had her be my nurse in over a month, so I was very excited to see her. As excited as I was, I still did not want a bath! So she came in and mommy explained that I was throwing a fit. Nurse Lisa tried to re-position me, but no position was good enough for me, so finally she told mommy to sit down because I was coming out of my escape-pod.

Do you know that mommy held me in a completely different way last night????? I wasn't naked, and I didn't have to lay on her. I was still in my jammies and wrapped in a blanket and she held me in her arms so I could look right up at her. It was really comfortable!!! I loved being held by mommy, and I got to eat at the same time. Nurse Lisa started my food going through my NG tube while I was being held and I was in complete heaven. I did so good that Lisa told mommy she could never stop holding me. Mommy said she was okay with never letting me go, but she would need a doctor's excuse for work:)

After I was put back in my bed I slept really good. Then this morning I was awake when daddy left for work. About an hour later, I was still awake when daddy came back from work. This work thing seems pretty easy, I'm seeing lots of daddy lately and I love it! He told me and Nurse Lisa that his window-making line was still broken so he was going to stay with me until 8am. (daddy goes to work at 4:30am).

Well, my Nurse Lisa told daddy to sit down because he was going to hold me. Daddy argued with Nurse Lisa because I made him so nervous on Tuesday evening, but Nurse Lisa was not taking "no" for an answer. Daddy sat down and held me, just like mommy did last night!!! And I got to eat again. Nurse Lisa explained to mommy and daddy that they should hold me for as many feedings as they can because I'm more calm then. Mommy asked why no other nurses let them hold me like this, but my Nurse Lisa didn't know. She said she would pass on the message to all the nurses though! I'm so excited to be able to hold mommy and daddy when I want to:) I think that means I'm becoming a bigger little boy!!!!!