See How I Have Grown

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5 Weeks

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9 Weeks

Pictures, Pictures, and more Pictures...

First Bath!!

Wes's umbilical cord fell off this week (July 2nd), so we were finally able to give him his first bath which he LOVED!!

Happy Birthday Wes, Daddy, and America!

We took Wes back to the doctor on his two week birthday to do a weight check. We were happy to see that the little man was up to 7 lbs 7 oz! I was terrified that because I did not get to start nursing right after Wes was born, that he was not going to take to it or that he wouldn't be a great nurser...guess I was wrong! He is a great eater and prefers mommy way more than the bottle! We still offer him the bottle occasionally so he will be used to it by the time mommy goes back to work.

July 3rd was Chad's 28th birthday. His family came into town to celebrate. Mommy stayed home with Wes for most of the weekend, but I think Daddy was happy to get out and celebrate with his mom, dad, brother, and good friend Bill. They went to a Reds game, Kings Island, and Chad got his butt kicked in putt putt golf as per usual. There were no fireworks for us this year, because I am pretty sure the booming and smoke are not so good for a two and a half week old! Maybe next year!

Lil Monster

We did Wes's newborn photo shoot on Saturday June 25th, one week from the day we brought him home from the hospital. Before Wes was born, we had decided to use Lil Monster Photography for our newborn pictures. It was a beautiful day, so we were excited to get some outdoor shots. Since Wes is such an alert baby, I knew he would not be one of those sleepy baby's for his pictures. I was kind of nervous as to how he would cooperate with the photographer. He ended up doing very well, but HATED being put on his belly and every time we tried, he would try to crawl away, it was so cute. He started to get cranky toward the end of the photo shoot and that is when Mommy decided enough was enough. I couldn't handle putting him through any more poses and bright flashes. Here are some of the shots from that day...













I know I am biased, but he is just the cutest darn baby I have ever laid eyes on!! LOVE HIM TO PIECES!!!!!!

HAPPY 1 WEEK BIRTHDAY BABY BOY!!

June 22nd, 2011

June 20th, 2011: First Pediatrician Appointment

I apologize for documenting day by day details. I am hoping to print this blog out one day, and I want to remember as much as possible!

Today was Wes's first pediatrician appointment. We were unable to get in with our actual doctor, so we saw another doctor in the practice, Dr. Heaton. The nurse came into the room and told us to undress Wes and take his diaper off so she could weigh him. As we were trying to weigh him, he peed EVERYWHERE! It was too funny. I guess they are used to it, because she barely blinked an eye. I cleaned him up and we tried once more. Big boy was up to 6 lbs 12 oz (6 lbs 9.8 oz at birth)! We had been giving him formula along with the breastmilk I was pumping. I was breastfeeding him every other feed, but I wanted to make sure he was gaining weight and I wanted to get rid of the bili blanket asap, so we decided to continue supplementing him until the doctor gave me the okay to strictly breastfeed. Chad and I had taken Wes back to the hospital the day before to have another bilirubin level drawn. A nurse had called me on Sunday with the results and said that the level had dropped, but the doctor at the hospital said to go ahead and leave him on the blanket until we saw our doctor. Dr. Heaton laughed when we brought Wes to his first appointment, because he did not think he needed to go onto a bili blanket in the first place. He thought the doctor's at the hospital were being cautious due to the fact that I am a NICU nurse. He said that Wes's light level was over 20 now and his bili level was below 12 (on Sunday). Dr. Heaton said we could have another lab drawn to be 100% sure that it was continuing to drop, but he said he was very confident that he did not need the blanket anymore. We decided to skip another lab draw since our poor baby had been stuck every day of his life up until this point! He also gave us the okay to stop with the supplementing and to go to strictly breastfeeding. He told me that his weight gain was great and that I could bring him in the following week to be sure he was still gaining once he was only breastfeeding.

Dr. Heaton did a head to toe assessment and said that Wes looked perfect! FINALLY some good news! As bad as it sounds, I was almost expecting something to be wrong because of the setbacks we had experienced thus far. We were so excited that for the first time since he was born, we were able to hold our son without any medical equipment attached to him!!

June 19th, 2011: HAPPY FIRST FATHER'S DAY DADDY!!

DISCHARGE DAY: JUNE 18TH 2011

NICU Day #3: June 17th, 2011

Our little boy had finally picked up on the whole eating thing! Thank goodness! Not only had he picked up on it, but he took it very seriously! If his eyes were open, he made sure we knew that he wanted food in his belly! Even though Wes started off having obstacles, we were amazed at how fast he overcame each one. Chad would laugh at me, because anytime the slightest thing went wrong, I would be hysterical over it and then an hour later Wes had figured it out. You can call me a crazy mom, I know I am and I don't think I will stop being one anytime soon...or ever!

After cleaning up, Chad and I got to the NICU and I was so happy to see that Wes had the sweetest nurse EVER! Jill is such a wonderful nurse and her smiling face is just what this mommy needed to brighten her day! Jill gave us the wonderful news that Wes's blood culture was negative, so they would be discontinuing his antibiotics and since he had been eating so well, they were discontinuing his IV fluids as well! Finally no more IVs!!! The doctor came in and told us that as long as Wes continued to eat well, that he could go home with us tomorrow (Saturday, June 18th). We were SO happy to hear such fantastic news!! The only challenge was that I was having to be discharged that day (Friday). I absolutely refused to go home without my baby, so my plan was to stay in my room until midnight and then sleep in the NICU with Wes until he was discharged. Shortly after we came up with this plan the doctor came back into the room and said "nevermind, he can come down to your room now!" I could have kissed this man on his lips! The "new" plan was to let Wes come down to our room, and as long as the mother/baby unit did not need my room for a new patient, they would let us stay in the room until Wes was discharged on Saturday!!

Jill brought Wes to us around 2:00 pm. I can't tell you how amazing it was to hold our baby without wires, machines, and IV's! Shortly after he was brought to our room, the mother baby nurse came in to do a quick assessment on him. She thought he looked jaundiced, so she took him to the nursery to draw his bilirubin level. I told the doctor's I thought he looked jaundiced in the NICU, but they did a transcutaneous bili on him and said it was fine. The mother/baby nurse said it was high, so the doctor came into our room and said they were going to start him on a bili blanket. UGH! Can't my poor baby catch a break! Even though a bili blanket is no big deal, I was just sick of my poor baby being poked and prodded!

I would have to say that day #3 in the NICU was by far the BEST day, because it was DISCHARGE day! The rest of the day was spent in our room, holding our baby, taking tons of pictures, and visiting with family and friends! The next morning, poor Wes was circumcised and given his hepatitis B vaccine. He got his hospital pictures taken, we were given a bili blanket to go, and then it was FINALLY time to take our baby home! Even though it felt like an eternity, Wes's two and a half days in the NICU were very uneventful! There is nothing worse than not being able to have your baby with you after he is born, but he was so well taken care of and now it is all a distant memory!

Chad and I cannot find words to express our extreme gratitude to the the Bethesda North SCN staff and the Good Sam nurses who took such good care of Wes. Each and every one of them are angels on this earth and they made our nightmare so much more bearable! I can now say that I know what it is like to be in a NICU parent's shoes. I empathize with these parents and I truly believe this experience will better me as a nurse to the sick babies that I care for in the NICU. Thank you all from the very bottom of our hearts!! We would especially like to thank Johnni, Miranda, and Jill! I don't know what I would have done without you guys! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU a million times over!!

NICU Day #2- June 16th, 2011

Wes continued to progress throughout the night. His breathing was much slower this morning and the doctor's decided that if his breathing remained under 60 breaths per minute, that he could take a bottle. I had been pumping since shortly after delivery, but I was only getting very small amounts at this point. They would give Wes the breastmilk I was getting via a syringe and then they would offer him a bottle of formula after. He was not too interested in the bottle the first time it was offered to him. I met with a lactation consultant that afternoon, and she decided that he was awake enough to attempt breastfeeding for the first time. Wes started off doing well, but soon fell fast asleep as most 24 hour old babies do! I tried to give him the bottle instead but he was too sleepy, all he wanted to do was snuggle with mommy! Even though a part of me wanted to work with him since I had not been able to breastfeed him right away, the rest of me just wanted to hold him in my arms and cuddle. I didn't attempt to breastfeed him every time, because I knew that expended a lot of the energy that he needed to get better. He spent the rest of the day sleeping and showing little interest in the bottle. This made mommy and daddy sad because we knew they were not going to discontinue his IV and let him leave until he was eating well.

I spent the night in tears again! My poor nurses probably thought they were going to need to call for a psych evaluation! I was extremely tired, not eating or drinking enough, and emotionally drained. I tried to sleep that night, but getting up to pump and check on my little man kept me up most of the night. When I woke up the next morning, sure enough Chad was not in the room. When he came back from his morning visit with Wes, he told me that he took all of his bottles all night for Johnni! I guess it just took his favorite nurse to whip his hiney into gear! Now all we needed was to get rid of the IV and pray that his 48 hour blood culture was negative so they could discontinue his antibiotics and let him come down to mommy and daddy's room!!