My little snugglebug!

Yesterday was a very big day for Hendrix.

He started out with a weigh-in at 5lbs 8.5 oz.  This was up two ounces from the day before so we were very encouraged that he is going to continue making progress with his eating.  

They also got the test results back on his Bilirubin, and it was all the way down to a 9, so they took him off the lights and graduated him to his first big boy bed!  

He is still in the NICU, but now he closely resembles what all the other babies in the nursery look like as far as care goes.  The exceptions include the heart monitor that is still connected to him (you can see it hanging out on the lower shelf of the crib there), and the way he is bundled up with four blankets and usually also a hat to stay warm.

The reason for this is simply that he has a harder time regulating his body temperature than full-term babies do.  We want to keep him plenty warm so that he doesn't burn his calories keeping himself warm - this will help him gain weight faster.

Do you see a little E.T. resemblance? 

 

This picture isn't the best quality since it was taken on my phone.....but I love it when I am able to snap him just as he is smiling!  He does alot of it when he is awake.

I think that was his last smile for a couple hours though, as he got circumcised shortly after that.  I didn't want to be there to hear him, and though I believe that the Plastibell is alot easier on little boys, my little boy happens to get worn out alot easier than most, and he was real sluggish on the recovery for most of the afternoon.  He wouldn't take his feedings very well, because it was just too much work for him to wake up and eat.  I did still get some very special snuggle times with him though as did Daddy when he got here from work.

No matter how well we get him wrapped up, he likes to kick out his little feet!

You know, my feet get really hot when I sleep at night too, and I often have to kick them out on top of the covers......I can relate to what the little man is dealing with!  I just laugh when he gets his toes all spread out like this.  What silly little feet he has!  lol

And here he is in clothes for the first time!  Like I said, it really was a BIG day for the little guy!

Now, when they weighed him again for today (they do the weigh-ins at Midnight), he was still 5 lbs. 8.5 oz.  This is good and bad at the same time.  We are very glad that he isn't losing weight.  BUT the doctor won't let us go home if he isn't gaining weight.  We (the doctor included) are all hoping that he has a fabulous day with feedings today and will just amaze us at his weigh-in tonight.  If that is the case, we should be homeward bound in the morning.   This is actually rather feasible too, since he has had time to recover from the circumcision and should be able to eat with a little more enthusiasm today.

Just to help the process along, we are actually adding some calories (in powder form) to his bottled breastmilk feedings today; and while we are trying to continue making progress by putting him to the breast, we plan to not push it too hard if it is tiring him out.  We have plenty of time to transition him from the bottle to the breast, and I am doing great with my supply of milk by pumping, so it isn't worth it to push him right now. 

In the meantime, I have just spent the last two hours alone with him in my hospital room which has felt amazing!  This is the first time he has left the NICU nursery, and while he has slept the whole time, I have loved having him with me.  They want me to bring him back so they can observe the feedings still, but I am happy with the baby steps we are making!

The nurse asked us to bring in our carseat so they can do some special preparations on it to make it safer for our little preemie.  This is definitely a good sign!  

Daddy gets off work at 12:30 today, so be it here or at home, we have the whole weekend and next week to look forward to spending quality time just the three of us!  I feel very blessed!