Been too long....

Ok, so it has been too long since we have updated this, we have just been so busy with both our little guys.  On Friday Noah was able to come off the oxygen!!!! He has been home for 8 weeks, and has been on oxygen that whole time.  It didn't really matter though, but it is so nice not having those tubes always attached to him.  He seems happier without something constantly stuck to his face.  Plus, it is MUCH easier to get out of the house without having to take the portable tanks everywhere we went (which was not very many places, just weekly doctors appointments and physical therapy).  At his last check-up, he weighed 7lbs 4.5oz and 19 1/2 inches long!! He is getting "so big" now...a long way from his 1lb 2oz start!  Wyatt is such a good big brother, he always wants to play with him and gives his hands a ton of kisses.  He can't wait until Noah is big enough to play with him.  Noah is smiling and cooing, and Wyatt loves it.  Thank you to everyone who has kept our family in your prayers!!

Before the tubes were off...7lbs 4.5oz

Big Smile

He found his tongue

Brothers

It's been a while....

So it has been a while since we have updated.  Noah is doing great at home, and is "two weeks old" now.  We don't know how much he weighs now, but he is definately growing.  There needs to be a clothing size between preemie and newborn, he is kind of in between the two. He has definately settled in and is comfortable here, although I'm sure he misses his favorite nurses :)  It is so great to have him home.  We are getting used to the night feedings of a newborn again, so a little tired, but loving it! Wyatt is, of course, the best helper.  He loves his baby brother and checks on him as soon as he wakes up in the morning.  Tonight we had our first time away from Noah, and took Wyatt to see Toy Story 3!! He loved it, it was his first movie!!  Noah stayed home with Grandma (Chrystle's mom) and did great.  We go see the doctor tomorrow to see about his oxygen and when we can expect to get rid of that.

Home sweet home

Finally, After 3 long months, Noah came home yesterday at 5lbs 1oz.  He came home on oxygen and an apnea monitor so we have tubes and cords running through the house, but thats OK because he is home!  We are so happy to all be home together as a family.  It was a little wierd to not wake up and starting our twice daily visits to the hospital, but we were plenty busy with both boys.  Noah is doing great settling into home, and his big brother Wyatt is so happy to have his little brother home.  Noah was the last thing Wyatt talked about last night, and the first thing he asked for this morning, his love for his baby brother is so sweet.  Thank you so much for your thoughts, prayers, and support through this tough time in our lives, it was hard but we have come out stonger and closer as a family. Now, on to the next phase....life at home with a "newborn"....
Noah finally home, he looks so little in his carseat

Its the final countdown....

We are so excited, Noah will be coming home Saturday!!!  Well, that is the plan as long as he doesn't throw any curve balls.  They pulled his feeding tube on Tuesday and he has been doing great with feedings.  He is still on oxygen and will come home on it, but we are just so happy that he will be HOME with us!!   We are busy, busy getting ready for Noah, but just wanted to update here, don't have any new pics to share this time.

75 days old...

Today Noah is 75 days old.  He keeps on growing, today he was 4lbs 9.9oz.  He was able to stop the caffeine that he was getting for apnea spells.  Feeding is his major objective right now.  He is taking his feedings by bottle whenever he is showing signs of wanting it (at his specific feeding times).  Some days he does great and takes most of it by bottle and other days he doesn't seem to really care much.  If he can start eating the majority of his feeds by himself they will pull out the feeding tube and let him eat what he wants, when he wants, and will (hopefully) get to go home soon after that.  He is still on nasal canula for oxygen.  There has been an attempt to give him a little push towards weaning off it. They gave him lasics to help his body rid any extra fluids, which there could be some in his lungs, in hopes that it could help him in needing less oxygen.  It did work to some extent, but he still needs the breathing help.  If he gets the feeding down, the doctors said that he could go home on oxygen, although they would prefer he went home with nothing. We just want him home, however that happens. Wyatt can't wait until Noah comes home, he asks countless times a day "Mommy/Daddy, how Noah can come home?"....so sweet!!  We just hope he is home by his due date/Joe's birthday/Father's Day, which all fall within a couple days of eachother.  We'll keep praying!!
Wyatt loving spending time with Noah

Noah in his little bouncer seat

9 weeks old!!!

Noah is 9 weeks old now!! He is (still) doing great. At his weight check tonight he was 3lbs 15.3oz!! He gained 2oz since yesterday, he is growing so fast! He length is 15.75 inches.  His feeds have increased to 39mls, and he is taking some from bottle, sometimes even the whole feeding.  He still requires oxygen, but we are hoping that as he continues to gain weight that he will grow strong enough to be able to maintain on his own.  Apnea spells are starting to become few and far between, so (fingers crossed) hopefully he will also no longer need caffeine. 

Wyatt is super, super, excited right now because he is getting a really cool backyard. He is having fun helping his Abuelito (Chrystle's Dad) and his crew with all the work.  He is also having a great time rooting on the Suns with Daddy!!

Thanks again for all your continued support and prayers!!

GO SUNS!....and Noah!!

Cute pic of Noah..who do you think he looks like?

Drinking his bottle like a big boy

Wyatt helping Abuelito out with the concrete curbing, in his cowboy hat :)

2 months old

Yesterday Noah turned 2 months old!! We can't believe it, but it has been a long 2 months for sure!! Noah is doing well. He had a blood test that showed he was low on calcuim and another level so they put him back on one of the milk fortifiers that he had been getting in the past, and he isn't quite sure he likes the taste. So, he is not eating as much from his bottles, but he is trying to get used to the taste. His milk is also being fortified with preemie formula and extra protien. He just keeps on growing... he is now 1510 grams (almost triple his birth weight!!) so now he is 3 lbs 5 oz, and 15 1/4 inches long. We are all excited for when he can come home, especially Wyatt! Wyatt is so good with Noah, he just wants to help with everything and hold his hands and talks so sweetly to him when we visit.

Noah next to a "beanie baby" for size comparison, Wide awake and SO cute!

Holding Daddy's hand

3 lbs 1oz!!!!!!!!

Noah has passed the 3 pound mark!!! He is now 3lbs 1oz.  With his weight gain he continues to improve in other areas.  He is down very low on the amount of oxygen flowing through his nasal canula, and is doing great.  The most noticable change is that he is in an open crib!!  He is no longer in the isolette.  They are keeping a close eye on him, and if he stops gaining weight (or losing) he will have to go back, because that would mean he is working too hard to maintain his temperature.  He is trying to botttle feed at some of his feedings.  It wears him out pretty quickly, but he is starting to get the hang of it. Just like they have been doing, his feedings continually increase with his weight gain....he now gets 31mls (just over an ounce).  Noah keeps on showing us what a fighter he really is, we can't wait to get him home!!

Noah's new bed...notice Wyatt hiding behind it, turning on the music for his little brother.

Just growing.....

Just a quick update....Noah is doing great!! They have increased his feeding amount again to adjust for his weight gain.  He is 2lbs 11 oz now!!!!  He just keeps on growing and we are so happy to hear/see it.  Size is so realtive, because to most people he is tiny, but to us he is getting so BIG!! He has started to try bottle and breast feeding and is doing well at learning both.  We are all so proud of him!!!

Big Steps!

We are happy to report that Noah continues to do well.  The past two days have been some big days for him.  Yesterday we were able to give him his first "real" bath.  He loved it, he really liked being in the warm water.  They were also able to get his feeding tube in through his nose rather than his mouth.  We are so excited for this because now he will be able to start practicing for real feedings not through the tube, and also makes it easier for him to use his pacifier.  Today the doctors decided to up his feedings, so he is up to 25ml at every feeding, and start weaning the pressure that is blowing the oxygen.  Tomorrow Noah will be 6 weeks old!!!!...so 34 weeks gestational age.  He just needs to keep gaining weight so he can continue to do so well.  We can't wait until he is home with us!!

Wyatt is still taking this whole thing so well.  He loves his baby brother and can't wait to get him home.  He has discovered that Crackerjax is not just a "golf place" but has an arcade as well and LOVES the motorcycle game.  We took him there yesterday, between visits with Noah, for some fun time with Mommy and Daddy.

Daddy holding Noah

Wyatt and Daddy on Wyatt's FAVORITE game

No news is good news

So not too much new to report.  In Noah's case no news is good news.  He is doing really well!! Just growing which is all we want him to do right now.  He is up to 2lbs 4oz now, only 10 more grams and he will be double his birth weight (520 grams), he is 1030grams now. We are super excited that Joe gets to "swaddle hold" Noah at our nighttime visits now, and Mommy still gets to kangaroo pretty much everyday.  We each get our special time with him each day.  Wyatt loves to be there for the swaddle hold, its seems more real to him since he can get so close to his little brother.  He is in love with his baby brother and talks to him and tells us all the time about all the things he is going to teach him. We are so blessed that Noah is doing so well, and truly appreciate all the support from family and friends!!

Our boys looking at eachother up close, Wyatt is in love with Noah :)

2 POUNDS!!!

Noah has passed the 2 lb mark!!! He now weighs 2 lbs 2 oz!!! He has gained a whole pound since he was born (actually more since he lost his water weight after birth).  He is so "big" now, we are very proud of him.  His blood and urine cultures came back negative, so he is off the antibiotics.  He is still having more breathing episodes than usual, but not as many as he had been having that caused the concern.


Noah sleeping and growing

One month old

So yesterday Noah turned 1 month old! yay!!!!! He is such a cutie. They say that the NICU experience is one step forward two steps back, we had our two steps back today.  Since yesterday Noah has had more apnea episodes but seemed to be acting normal otherwise, so they did some tests today to try to figure out the cause.  In the morning they gave him a simple blood test to check his red and white blood cell counts, which came back pretty good.  Then they gave Noah an x-ray to make sure that it wasn't something in his lungs causing him to stop breathing, and his lungs and his stomach both looked great.  They waited a while and after some more up and down with his oxygen levels they decided that it was time to do more searching and did a urine (poor guy) and blood draw.  So, we are waiting for those results which will take 24-48 hours.  They also re-did the blood test from the morning and the results came back "suspicious" so they decided to go ahead and start antibiotics in case he does have an infection somewhere. They didn't want to wait the 24-48 hours for concrete results so that if there is something it wouldnt get worse.  Long day for such a little guy.  He was supposed to get his first REAL bath today, but we'll have to wait until he is feeling better.  Please keep him in your prayers to make sure it's nothing too major and he gets through it easily.
Mommy holding Noah while the nurse gave him some clean bedding

Wearing clothes!

Noah is still doing great.  He had a little setback with his feedings, his tummy wasn't tolerating so much food so quickly, so they slowed them down until he was doing a little better.  They have started to increase his feedings again, but by .5ml every 12 hours now like they had been before.  He is still gaining weight and is up to 800 grams (1 lb 12 oz)!!  Last night Noah got to wear clothes for the first time.  He kept pulling on his nasal prongs so the nurse put a shirt on him to his hands could be free but not able to pull on his oxygen.  He seemed to really like being cuddled in the shirt (which was so big on him) and he went right to sleep!!

We had to put up some pictures of him in his shirt...and big brother Wyatt hanging out, he loves to visit Baby Noah!

3 weeks old!!!

Noah is 3 weeks old today!!!! He is doing great!!! He is up to 1lb 11oz, so he has gained 9 ounces so far.  Today they took out his IV line.  They were giving him nutrition through IV but as he has been getting more milk at his feedings they have been weaning him off the IV nutrition. He is almost to his "max feed" and is getting 13ml right now and it goes up by .5ml every nine hours.  They are also fortifying his milk, they add a powder to add calories and calcium to the milk to make it have 24 calories an ounce (normal breastmilk and formula generally have 20 calories and ounce)  He seems so happy to be having his arm free of that IV and the protective cuff that covered it.  We are very grateful to the Grandparents for keeping Wyatt entertained so that Mommy is able to go visit Noah and do our "kangaroo time" where we can hold him, and he benefits from the skin-to-skin contact. We don't know how we would juggle this without their help!!

Thanks again to everyone for all the love and support!!

BIG yawn, and his arms free from the IV!!

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter!! Noah got a couple Easter baskets with some baby goodies.  He is doing really well... They have removed his CPAP machine and just started using a nasal canula to blow air, so his face is getting a much needed break from that mask!  He seems to be doing really well with that, and is tolerating it great.  Also, since he is tolerating his feedings, they are continuously upping his feeding amount. He seemed content tonight.

Wyatt had a great Easter. Lots of goodies, and lots of fun looking for eggs.  He also got to make another trip to the driving range for being such a good boy with all of these hospital visits. Such a good boy!

Noah loves holding Daddy's hand and looking at him...so sweet.

Good Day

Today Noah had one of his better days.  His apnea episodes seemed to slow down, he had way less than he has been having.  We hope this is a new trend!  Also, he had an ultrasound of his head and  it was perfectly normal; he was at high risk for brain bleeds, as all preemies are, so another hurdle down!! After restarting his feedings yesterday he seems to be handling them much better this time, so hopefully they will be able to continue feeding him breast milk.  Daddy has to go back to work tomorrow :( So we have been trying to take advantage of the time we had and visited Noah as much as possible.

Also, on our way home tonight from visiting Noah, Wyatt got to take a quick trip to the driving range for being such a good boy this week! He hit the ball great... 20 yards IN THE AIR!!!

Noah tucked in super comfy for his nap.

One week old!!!

Noah is one week old today!!! yay!!!  He is up to 600 grams (520g at birth).  Still breathing on his own, although they have raised the amount of air the CPAP machine is blowing to help keep his airway open.  He is still having apnea episodes, but they are not as dramatic and he recovers well from them.  Also, they reintroduced feedings today, his stomach was not handling it well before.  He still gets all the nurtrition he needs through IV.  Hopefully his tummy is better able to handle it this time. Oh....big news...he pooped! haha. This is a good sign because it means things in his stomach are moving.  In preemies this early, the stomach is one of the biggest issues, so right now thats his biggest hurdle.  He seemed in high spirits today after his blood transfusion.  His wall is starting to look pretty, Aunt Kimmy dropped of a sign she made for him today.  While Wyatt went to the Railroad Park today with Grandpa, Mommy got to hold Noah for the second time....tomorrow is Daddy's turn!

That's all for now...well update again soon!
                                                                          

                                                                                  

What happened?

Baby Noah made his appearance 3 months early.   So... how did that happen?  To mak a long story (fairly) short....We found out at our 18 week appointment that he was a boy, but also that he was starting to measure small.  We were sent to specialists and had ultrasound and some other testing done as well.  Basically they didn't know why he was continually measuring small but kind of chalked it up to the placenta not working correctly and giving him what he needed.  Chrystle was monitored very closely and at 27 weeks there were beginning signs of pre-ecclampsia and she was hospitalized, most likely until Noah would be born.  While there ultrasounds revealed that Noah had basically stopped growing and it was decided he would be better off outside and he was delivered at 28 weeks exactly.

Noah was born on March 23, 2010  at 11:48 AM weighing 1 lb 2oz and 11 1/2 inches long.  He was able to breathe on his own and is only on a CPAP machine that blows air, but he is doing all the work.  For such a little guy he is doing really, really well.  Wyatt is excited to be a big brother and doesn't even seem to notice Noah's size as "not normal".

We will continue to post updates on Noah's progress, thanks to everyone for all the prayers and well wishes!!