Day 5

Nick had a GREAT day today. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to hear about his successes. We get so excited. We are trying to completely focus on the good days, and not worry about bad days that may come. That is so hard to do, but on days like today, we have a hard time not getting really excited when he is doing so well.

So, when we first got to the NICU this afternoon, Nick's doctor saw us, and before we even went in to see him, she told us that he was having a really good day. Coming from the doctor caring for him, that meant a lot to us.

We went in to see him, his nurse for the day went over everything with us. They did his gases, and were able to turn down the vent some. Now he is breathing mostly on his own, and just has the vent to help him out a little and make sure that he doesn't "forget" to breathe. He handled his food so well the previous day, they were able to go up to .6ccs of milk. So far so good. Everything is going well. They were pleased with his day, and so were we.

While we were there, we took a few more photos, including our first family photo.

You can really see how small Nick is compared to Bryan and I.

I also got to change Nick's diaper for the first time. That was a pretty neat feeling. Funny how such a little thing is such a big deal.

Anyway, we were so happy about all of the results today. We just told Nick to keep on doing exactly what he is doing. We are so proud of him.

Update on me: So many people have been curious about how I am doing, thought I should give an update. So, I am home now. I left the hospital Thursday. After being there for so long, I thought I would be excited to leave, but it is really hard to be so far away from Nick. We are doing well though. Bryan and I are able to go down at least once a day, if not twice. I am having some pain, but that is really to be expected. I have realized that the less I do, the better I feel. That is really hard to do. I try to take frequent breaks and rest a lot. I have started pumping to breast feed, and it is going well. I am able to supply Nick with everything he needs and that is a great feeling.

For now, all is great with us. Bryan's Aunt Meaux will be coming in next week, so that I can go to the hospital during the day while Bryan is at work. Then Bryan's mom will be in the next week. In the interim, my mom has been doing some cooking and cleaning for us. We really appreciate all the extra help.