8 weeks old today!

May 24, 2009

It has been an exciting yet tiring week. Sam is so precious! Jeff and I have enjoyed having him at home with us and watching him grow each day. Sam is still small but he thinks he is a real big boy. You certainly wouldn't think he was a preemie hearing his cry at 2 am. :) We are still working on getting on a regular schedule. Sam thinks that you are suppose to stay awake at night and sleep all day. I've always been a "night-owl" but now I think I would enjoy a night of sleep. Every second of each sleepless night is worth it! We are still working hard on the feeding issue. We are trying to get Sam to eat more at each feeding and he is doing some better. He is eating between 55 and 65 ccs at each bottle feeding. We tried a different bottle tonight and he seemed to do a little better. We are very proud of Sam and how he has adjusted to everything and continued to grow a little each day. We go back to the dr. next Monday. We will see how much he has grown. Please continue to pray for Sam. Pray that Sam's eyes and blood vessels will continue to grow properly and that his appetite will get larger (along with his weight). I know that I've not done a good job updating the blog daily - it's been a little busy around here. :) I will try to put pics up on a regular basis but will probably only post information once a week. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We've come a long way and praise God each day for the little miracle He's blessed us with and we are trusting that He will continue to bless and protect Sam as he grows older.

May 18, 2009

Sam had his first drs visit in Dothan today. The dr called him a "thriving preemie"! Yipee, we didn't lose weight our first week home. Sam now weighs 4 lbs 7 oz. The dr did say that we need to feed Sam more at each feeding every 3 hours. This is going to be a task. Sam does this thing we like to call sleeping when we try to get him to take a bottle. :) He doesn't sleep the entire time, but he falls asleep mid-way through the bottle. You wouldn't imagine the things we do to try to wake him up. From feet rubbing/tickling to a cold wet wash cloth on his face. Sometimes he sleeps most of the way through the bottle feeding and then wakes up acting hungry at the end of the bottle feeding. I think it was easier feeding Sam in the NICU when you have nurses around that could 'fix' mostly anything including a screaming child. I also had my school baby shower today. It was wonderful getting to see everyone after so long. It is an humbling experience to have friends and co-workers that go the extra mile for you in times of need. I got so many wonderful and much needed things. Thanks so much Highlands!

May 14, 2009

We had a long, but good day today. Sam's eye appointment was today. We had to travel to Montgomery and back - Sam was ready to get out of his car seat! :) They put drops in his eyes to dilate them and then we waited on the doctor for a little while. When the doctor came in he put these metal clamps on his eyes to hold his eyelids wide open. He said he was looking at the vessels behind his eyes. They are checking to see if the vessels are growing correctly toward the retina. The doctor said today that everything is looking good!!! We do have to go back in 3 weeks for another check-up. It was music to my ears to hear that everything is looking good. :) We are praying that Sam's eyes will continue to grow properly and that we will be getting good news again in 3 weeks. Thank you for remembering us today. God has continued to show his love and power. He has used so many things and people to confirm that He takes care of His children. It has been mind-boggling to see how our friends and family have been so unselfish and made many sacrifices to help in so many ways. Thank you to all who have gone the extra mile to show your love and concern for us, we are very grateful.

May 12, 2009

It has been wonderful having our little precious baby at home. We can go look at him or hold him whenever we get ready. I know that sounds silly, but there were so many things that new parents take for granted sometimes. It was an interesting first night. My mama stayed to help because my exhaustion hit me once we got home. Sam grunts a lot. It is funny to think about not knowing what kind of noises he makes at night because we've never spent the night with Sam. His grunts are rather loud but he is alseep. Obviously, his grunting keeps me awake checking on him. :) I was sleeping really good and all of the sudden I heard a very loud cry in the monitor. It startled me because it was the first time I've ever been awakened by my baby's cry. It was a joy to be able to get up and go see Sam in his room getting his diaper changed. Sam has done very well adjusting to a lot of changes in the past couple of days. Of course Jeff and I are also adjusting with him! We are still praying for Sam's little tummy to digest his milk and that he will be able to drink enough milk at each feeding to continue to gain weight. We are also praying that his eye exam will go well Thursday. The doctor is watching his eyes very closely for any signs of problems. If there is a problem, there's a very small window of time to perform a surgery that will correct them. We are praying that everything is developing properly, but if not we are praying that it will be caught early enough fix. (even though surgery on his eyes would be a bit scary for me) We are giving God the glory for all He has done!!

May 11, 2009

I would like to start by apologizing for the late posting on Sam's progress. I know that this is the only way some of you can keep up with us. Well, I have offically experienced Mother's Day. It was the best thing in the world to be able to hold him and see his little eyes looking at me so sweetly. It was like he was telling me "I love you mama". It was amazing to feel what it's like to love something so much. And I again I'm reminded of how much God loves me to give His son to die a cruel death for someone so unworthy. It is overwhelming. Sam had a good day. I wish I could remember all of the detials from the past two days to share with you. What I can tell you is that after 41 days of Sam being in the NICU, this is a Mother's Day I will never forget. I have learned so much about myself, my family and friends, and the faithfulness and power of our GOD! I've seen a change in me and I believe a lot of other people have been touched through this time. Sam is a living testimony of a loving God that not only hears but answers our prayers in a mighty way. With all of that said - I would like to tell you thank you for your prayers and thoughts and countless words of encouragement. Know that we have felt each cry lifted on our behalf. Today - Monday, May 11, 2009 - I was so thrilled as I buckled my son into the car seat for the first time and brought him home to Dothan. It has been a little scary but wonderful. Jeff and I are beside ourselves. We still have a ways to go, but this was a huge step that we have been waiting for. We did come home with some orders like returning to Montgomery Thursday to see the eye doctor again and things like - not going out for a while, not having a lot of visitors, and stay away from other children. Sam is still very small and we have been told to take extra precaution with even the simplest things. We're ok with this because we don't want to be back in the NICU. It was a little sad leaving today. We've made so many friendships with the staff of the NICU. They have been a blessing to us and Sam. Some of the nurses loved Sam as if he were their own. This made things so much easier when I had to leave each time. We are certainly going to miss so many of the wonderful people there. We plan on visiting! :) Please continue to pray for us as we begin our lives as a family at home now. I still have some butterflies about some things. I want Sam to continue to eat well and digest his food. He needs to continue to gain weight and develop properly. We also need to get a good grade on our eye exam! :) Thank you again for your prayers and I will try to keep the blog updated with pics and info but it might not be as often now that my schedule will be a little different.

May 9, 2009

Sam passed his hearing test today!!! He also had the biggest bottle of his lifetime measuring 45ccs which is an ounce and a half. He is still acting really tired when it comes to night bottles but doing good during the day. He gained a good bit of weight today. He weighed 4 lbs 2.3 oz. Wow!! Sam is getting bigger. :) I'm still nervous about his belly and him being able to digest properly, but I keep reminding myself that God is in control. I pray daily for strength and a peace that only He can provide. The Lord has shown me so much in the past 6 weeks that I know He is much bigger than any of my fears or problems. It is so wonderful to know that He never leaves me. I pray that He will continue to have His hand on Sam's little body and supply what Sam needs for each day. And who would've thought last Mother's Day that I would be celebrating my first Mother's Day tomorrow? - certainly not me, but I'm so thankful!!

May 8, 2009

Sam weighed 3 lbs 15.1 oz tonight! He put down a lot of milk today. I'm still a little nervous about all of the milk that he is drinking and if he is really digesting all of it. Sam had some hearing tests today and he didn't pass them. This doesn't mean that he has confirmed hearing loss or problems, it just means that there were some things that weren't completely right. We are praying that God will heal his little ears and eyes since he hasn't passed that test yet either. We are excited about all God has done in the past week. Last Friday we starting back over at 2ccs and today he took 43 in one of his bottles. We pray that the Lord will continue to bless him and heal his little body as Sam continues to work hard growing and eating.

May 7, 2009

Sam moved to an open crib today! (no longer in an isolette) He has continued to maintain his temp so far. He gained 22 grams which puts his weight back up to 3 lbs 13.8 oz. The doctor increased his milk amount to 32ccs per feeding. This is very exciting and makes me very nervous all at the same time. While I know that the continuous increases means that he is doing good, I also have that thought in the back of my mind about him getting more than he can digest. (which is possibly one of the reasons we took the little trip to the other side of the NICU last week) Sam's tummy is still feeling soft and measuring about the same so that is a good sign. I'm praying extremely hard that this increase will be something that Sam is ready for this time around. I am so thrilled that everyone has been as excited about Sam's bowel movements as we are and we are hoping that he will continue with all of those dirty diapers. Our goals at this point are - digest and tolerate milk, gain weight each day, maintain temp, and continue to fill diapers with liguids and solids. :) God has answered so many prayers and I know that He knows exactly what's going on in Sam's little body. I am continuing to trust in HIM!

May 6, 2009

We had dirty diapers today! Thanks to all who wished that I would have a really big, stinky diaper to change. I did and it was not the first nasty little diaper of Sam's that I've changed. I didn't tell about the one that went everywhere because he wasn't finished when I began to change him. That is a story that needs to be told in person to get the full effect. :) Sam had a good day today. His feedings were increased to 26ccs every 3 hours. They are adding the fortifier, vitamins, and vitamin D to the milk throughtout the day to help with all sorts of things. Sam's isolette was turned off today. This means that the heat that helped him keep his temperature up was turned off to see if he could maintain his temp on his own. We will see how he does the next couple of days and he might be going to an open bed if he does well. He is taking his bottles good and his tummy has measured good today. The dr will continue to check blood work on Mondays and Thursdays to see how things are looking. Sam lost some weight today and is back to 3 lbs 13 oz. We are praying that Sam will keep up the good work with the dirty diapers but continue to gain weight each night. Of course the main thing that we are praying constantly is that Sam's little body will tolerate and digest the milk as they continue to increase the amount each day.

May 5, 2009

Sam has moved back over to the other side of the NICU! He doesn't have an IV anymore and his belly is still measuring good. He hasn't had a bowel movement since Thursday, so we are praying that he will have one soon. He is up to 20ccs of milk per feeding now and enjoying every drop. Sam weighed 3 lbs 14.4 oz tonight. He has become so alert at eating time. He just looks around, stretches, and even fusses a little bit for his bottle. It's really cute at this point, I know at 2am it might not be so sweet. :) Please pray that Sam will continue to digest his milk properly as they constantly increase the amount. Also, pray that he will be able to have regular bowel movements on his own. These are big steps for a little guy. We give God all the glory for the quick recovery Sam has made in the last 5 days! We serve an awesome God!!

May 4, 2009

Sam is getting 18ccs of milk every 3 hours now. He weighed 3 lbs 14 oz tonight. The doctor decreased his IV fluids some more and stopped the lipids. His belly is still measuring good. They will continue to check the with xrays of his abdomen. Today's xrays looked really good. We are praying that Sam will continue to tolerate his food without the residuals as they increase the amounts of milk each day. We are so thankful for what God has done in Sam's life. :)

May 3, 2009

We're getting there! Sam's doctor increased his feeding amount to 12ccs every 3 hours. His xrays are still looking good. He will have more xrays and blood work done Monday morning to check everything again. He is still on fluids, but they have been decreased again. He weighed 3 lbs 13 oz last night. That is a pretty big weight gain (4 oz). There's a good possibility that he will lose weight as the fluids are decreased, but he is not "puffy" looking and his belly is still measuring good. We rejoice for the way God has shown His power through this situation in so many ways!

May 2, 2009

Sam made a little more progress today. They have continued feeding him and increased the amount to 6ccs every 3 hours. They stopped the antibiotics which means there hasn't been any sign of infection. His IV fluids have been turned down some since his feedings were increased. Sam had clothes on today. That made me feel a lot better. They will do more xrays in the morning to check his tummy. Thank you so much for your continued prayers. We serve an awesome God!

May 1, 2009

God has continued to be faithful. We have felt the many prayers over the past 24 hours and appreciate them greatly. Sam has made a little progress today. After the doctor checked his xrays he decided to stop the suction tube and try a trial feeding to see how his intestines handled the food. They fed him 2ccs at 8 am, 11 am, and 2 pm. There were more xrays done at 3 pm to see what everything looked like. They actually looked a little better than the am xrays! The doctor decided to continue feedings the same way every 3 hours until in the morning and there will be more xrays. As of right now there is no sign of infection, praise the Lord! We are still waiting on some of the blood work results. They haven't completely ruled out NEC, but they are thinking that Sam just needed to clean his tummy out. :) He does still have an IV for fluids and antibiotics. He was much happier today when they fed him. The nurse said Sam seemed so grateful to just get 2ccs which is literally drops. He does have a feeding tube down his throat so that residuals can be checked before each feeding. So far he hasn't had any residuals. The sweetest thing to my ears today was, "Would you like for me to get him out for you to hold?" I was so excited and it felt wonderful to wrap my arms around him and cuddle up. It is funny how the simplest things provide such a comfort. The nurse let me hold the nipple of a bottle in his mouth while she dropped the 2ccs out of a syringe. Sam just smiled so big when I held him and we talked about how he was a big boy yesterday even though it was a tough day for him. His Daddy got here tonight and Sam seemed really happy to hear his voice again after 4 days of not seeing him. We serve such a powerful God that has continued to work in a mighty way. We are still praying for the test results to come back negative and for the xrays to continue to look better. We are also praying that Sam will continue to tolerate his feedings and having dirty diapers. Again, thank you for all of the prayers, calls, and comments. It is awesome to know that we have such caring friends and family that constantly lift us up to our Father. We love you all and can't wait for you to meet our precious little miracle!