Alex is four weeks today!! Time really flies
Since we last updated, we’ve done a lot of follow up on NICU stuff, all with positive results. He’s had some visitors, with some of the girls from work coming to visit, as well as a good number of couples we’re friends with stopping by to say hello He’s not on a schedule, especially as I try to get him off the bottle and onto the breast - that’s a challenge in and of itself. It’s going well though, at least as I type about it this morning.
Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) came to visit last Thursday through Monday, and we had a great time. They came with us to his appointment with the surgeon on Friday, and we discussed timing for his second and third surgeries. It looks like his second will be end of May/Early June ish, and his third will be July/Aug timeframe. That can all change of course, but it’s nice to have more solid timelines.

His cries are much more readable by us these days - he’s got this one that sounds like a dinosaur or a baby bird that’s his hungry one, an extremely angry don’t bathe/change me one that I like to call his Mr. Furious cry (also referred to as Constable Angryman), and a pitiful I’m sleepy one that doesn’t have a nickname that I recall. He’s really got quiet a personality.

We even got out of the house, a bonified visit out and not just stopping somewhere on our way from a dr.’s appt. We went to the garden and flower show downtown, and he did great! And by great, I mean he slept the whole time
Today we’re going out for a picnic with some other local moms of similarly aged kids. I’m trying him out in the mai tai for the first time today, so we’ll see how it goes. I’ve practiced putting him in it a few times - it’s thankfully much easier than it looks

Anyways - pictures! He really already looks so different!

http://www.turnerhq.com/gallery/v/babyturner/PatriotsDayWeekend/

Today’s really my first full day at home alone with the baby, yesterday a bunch of people from work came to visit, so that only sort of counts It was good to introduce him to people, and get to see some familiar faces as well!

Alex is doing great - he seems flipped for days and nights though, but we’ll work on that later. His feeds are awesome, he’s taking at least 2.5oz at each one, and sometimes even a little more than 3! I’m slowly increasing his amount of tummy time too - I’m not joking when I say this kid can lift his head up. Not all the time, but already sometimes. He’s strong! Rawr!

I’ve made all of his follow up doctors appointments, but I’m still working through some insurance things. Not all of his specialists are in network, but luckily he won’t have to go see a lot of them more than a few times, and we can get exceptions for them (a lot of them are the only ones in the area who do what they do). I can not say enough how thankful I am for good insurance.

He had his 2 week check up at his pediatrician the other day - it was a nice change to go to a ‘normal’ doctors appointment. He’s already up 7oz from his birth weight to 8lbs 9oz! He’ll be out of his newborn clothes before we even know it.

Our little man is 3 weeks old today - I need to take more pictures of him at home vs. him at the NICU, but here I can hold him all the time, unlike there. Here’s the most recent ones:
http://www.turnerhq.com/gallery/v/babyturner/ThreeWeeksOld/

So the last 24 hours have been filled with new experiences for all three of us. Yesterday afternoon is sort of a blur - we were on overdrive, sort of just following his feeding schedule exactly, changing diapers, and doing a lot of staring at him and holding him. Thank goodness the NICU let us do a lot of his care (non-medical anyways ;p) when we would visit. It really has made a difference.

He slept really well last night - got up twice when he was hungry, ate and generally went right back to bed. We know how lucky we are for that The dogs were REALLY fascinated with him in his bassinet - they sort of leaned over the bed trying to cover the space we intentionally put between him and them. They did really well with him.

Today was also bath day, and man - that was harrowing. When he screams and cries it breaks my heart - he really does not like baths. We have nicknamed him Mr. Furious.

He’s currently sleeping in Chris’ arms as they watch the Nascar race, after eating only half his dinner. He’s either FAMISHED or meh when it comes to eat times, but overall he eats enough, which is good.  I sense tonight will be one of much up time.

Yesterday we spent a few hours in the NICU, and got to do a lot with Alex! We bathed him for the first time, and met with one of the nurses that gave us some information on caring for him when he gets home - she was great, and really eased any concerns we had. not that caring for him will be much different than caring for any other baby, but it helps to have all of the information - like i said before, they’re extra careful in the NICU. We put on the cutest pooh pajamas, and he really had a good day - even if he did get rather furious at the bath.

oh yes - we fed him too, and i think i overfed him due to nursing and then bottle feeding, and wanting to make sure he took enough. poor thing showed us his lunch. he took his next feed like a champ though. i’m so thankful they let us do his care while we’re there, it really helps us feel involved and not like we’re just standing there watching.
Today was two weeks for our fine boy, and an exciting day. he had his MRI today, which required him to be sedated and intubated. I admit - it’s really hard to see him like that. But he was a trooper, and he’s off of it as of 8:00ish tonight and smiley happy man per his nurse. They’re saying he’ll be home tomorrow - I can’t buy that after he was intubated today and didn’t eat for over 12 hours due to it. But we’ll see - I’d LOVE if he can, but I’m a little apprehensive. If his feeds are alright though, I suppose. But really - between the MRI stuff, his PICC Line still being in when we left… I just don’t see it happening. Although that probably means Saturday.

Weee!!
And now, here’s pictures from yesterday and the day before:

http://www.turnerhq.com/gallery/v/babyturner/twelvedays/

We drove up late today, as we had an early start getting Chris’ mom to the airport. We got back and he went up to sleep - he needed it. I called the NICU to get a status on Alex - he had a great day. He had his vision test which he passed, and they started to give s a lot more information on after status and care - more signs that he’s coming home soon. His doctor sat with us and gave us a status, and all was well. He’s coming off the TPN tonight, and even though he’ll still have his PICC line in for a few more days, he’ll only be on clear liquids. One of the nurse specialists came up today as well to talk to us - more signs that he’s coming home, all talking about aftercare.
Today he spent some time in the swing - he loved it! He’s had on his clothes every day since we brought them in, even if they’re a little wonky due to one of his arms not in them. But it’s still adorable. He slept most of our visit, but we got to hold him the whole time.

I’m hoping Sunday is the day. We’ll see though - it’s when he’s ready, really. I am getting anxious though - I want my boy home. He needs his mom and dad.

It’s been a few days since I updated, so let me see where we left off. He’s doing really well, and the next milestone is eating enough per feeding. He’s still what they like to call a “pokey eater”, but every time he eats he takes a little bit more. He’s been on nothing but breastmilk, something that I am working very hard to ensure does not change.

They’re lowering his TPN/IV Fluids every day and after he’s eating enough, his PICC (Central) line can come out. I can’t wait for that. He’s got to have a few more tests, but they’ve done most of the ones we were waiting on. I have no idea when we’ll be able to take him home - it could be a week, it could be 2 days. It’s all up to him and how well he’s eating. He did awesome today though.

The attending today also mentioned that it sounded like they would do his second (and possibly the only other!!) surgery in 2 months. That’s good news, as it could be up to 5-6 from what I’d read. As long as he’s ready for it, then sooner is better!

We can’t wait to get him home. In the meantime, here’s some more pictures of our precious boy. He’s really good at making faces.
http://www.turnerhq.com/gallery/v/babyturner/ElevenDays/

Chris is laid up sick, they say he has the flu. So unfortunately he can’t visit Alex until he’s fever free for 24 hours - which he hasn’t hit yet :/ He’ll get to see him soon, but for the moment he’s less than pleased. And today my ankles swelled up like I was pregnant - it freaked me out when I first saw them, but after some research I’ve noticed it seems somewhat common. I’m keeping my feet up and my fluids high, and I’ll call the midwives on Monday am.
I got to spend a lot of time with him today, and we tried some feeding on demand. He’s a very sleepy boy when he’s with mommy and only fed about 2-4 minutes on each side. He takes EBM the rest of the time, even though he’s still on IV nutrition for the time being.

We also found out this week that one of his kidneys is enlarged, but they’re not quite sure what that might mean yet, since they’re both functioning correctly. He’s doing excellent, but they’ve got him under a microscope, so we find out things about him that we’d never have known, and might never have manifested themselves and that one or both of us might even already have.

On other positive news, he can start wearing clothes now. It’s one of the smaller milestones, but I’ll take it.
One of the attendings said that he might be able to come home ‘early next week’ - we’re hoping that remains true, but we’re trying not to count on it too much. It’d be nice if it were the case though.
We didn’t get a lot of pictures today, but we’ll post them later once we get them off the two cameras. He’s changing every day - he’s just adorable.

He is still in the NICU but is doing better every day. He is off his pain meds, out from under the light for his jaundice, and is now nursing (or trying to and taking expressed breastmilk!

We have high hopes he will be able to come home sometime next week.

http://www.turnerhq.com/gallery/v/babyturner/1WeekOld/

I know that we haven’t said much about why he’s in the NICU - we’re already very protective of him, and this is a part of it. we’re still figuring things out with it all, which is also a part of it; we’ll get there, but for now I’d rather talk about his next milestone and how he’s meeting his current ones. which, honestly, he’s doing with amazing speed!! His next one is to start eating - as you can see from the pictures in the link below he’s started doing that as of yesterday. We were so lucky to arrive just when they were starting to try for the first time, so we both got to feed him. last night he took double what he took with us, and my hope is that today he’ll take the full amount they want him to take before he goes on to the expressed breast milk. It makes pumping all that much more fulfilling.

Enough boob talk. on to pictures.

http://www.turnerhq.com/gallery/v/babyturner/FiveDaysOld/

His jaundice is SO much better, and now that he’s off the pain meds he’s got a lot more spunk.