Guess who is 4 pounds!

Forrest hit the 4 pound mark weighing in at 4 pounds .7 ounces last night. He is gaining weight so fast that it is a little hard to remember how tiny he was when he was born at 2 pounds 9.3 ounces.
He continues to do great up at the NICU. He is tolerating his feedings well and is continuing to progress in his feeding sessions with me.
He will have an eye exam sometime in the next few days with a pediatric eye doctor. They will dilate his eyes and check to make sure that his retina is progressing as it should for a preemie.
After talking to some of the nurses last night, they also seem to think he will move to a big boy crib sometime in a week or so.
His hemoglobin has come up just a little so they are continuing to give him iron and just watch him. Please continue to pray that they iron they are giving him will do the trick and he will begin producing red blood cells and that hemoglobin will come up.
Here are a couple new pictures of our boy...


Forrest with Daddy...


Forrest on Mommy's lap looking around...


Forrest saying "hi".

Update 12/27/09

Our little guy is starting to become quite the chunk. He weighed in tonight at 3 pounds 14.1 ounces. We are less than 2 ounces from 4 pounds! He also got his IV out of his head. So basically all that he has attached to him are the leads that give us his heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen level. I am continuing to do short intro. feeds with him before some of his "meals" through his feeding tube. He is up to 35 cc's for his feedings now which is over an ounce. He is tolerating all his feedings really well.
We are still waiting on his hemoglobin level. He has been getting iron every day to help him produce his own red blood cells. They will check his levels tomorrow to see if the iron is helping.
I do have a few new pictures but will have to post them tomorrow.

Update 12/24/09

Forrest continues to do well up at the NICU. He has surprised everyone with weight gain this week. As of Tuesday night he weighed 3 pounds 10 ounces. He actually is starting to fill out quite a bit. They have started to fortify his milk to add calcium and phosphorus. This is stuff he would have gotten had he still been inside of me. This also adds extra calories so I can only imagine how his weight gain will continue.
He is up to 25 cc's on his feedings. Just 5 more cc's and he will be having an ounce at each feeding. Hopefully in the next week he will no longer need the TPN's that he is getting through his IV and we can look at getting that taken out.
The only thing we are watching right now is his hemoglobin. His iron is on the low side because he is not at an age where he would normally have to be making his own red blood cells. This has made him slightly anemic. They started some Iron for him today that also is being added to his milk. Please pray that this "jumpstarts" his system and he starts to produce his own red blood cells. If it doesn't we will have to look at a possible blood transfusion for him.
Thanks for checking in on him and I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Look At Who Is Wearing Clothes...

We have had a couple milestones in the last few days. First, Forrest was able to come off the nasal room air that he had been on. They took it out 2-3 days ago and he has been doing great breathing room air on his own without the constant flow of room air being blown into his nose to remind him to breathe.
In addition, today they decided he could finally wear clothes. We had been told that he could and then they made us wait while he was having his stomach issues the last few days. Today I got to put his very first outfit on. It is a preemie outfit and fits him great. The nurse said most babies cry when they have clothes put on the very first time, but Forrest just looked up at me while I put it on him. He seems to like clothes.
We also had a first today with his feedings. He got to do some introduction to nursing today. He did great for the first time and was able to get some of his food from nursing. They are still going to give him his feedings through his feeding tube but I will continue these short nursing sessions to continue to get him used to it. The nurses were all very impressed at how well he did.
Lastly, when he was weighed two nights ago he weighed in at a whopping 3 pounds, 5.6 ounces. This is great considering they stopped his feedings for 2 days this week. The nurses are starting to call him a "chunk" now that he is gaining so much weight.
He still probably has a couple weeks to go in the NICU but all of these strides are huge to him being able to come home with David and I.

Here is a picture of him in his clothes...

New Video of Forrest

Pictures as promised...

Forrest just hanging out...


I took this so that everyone could see his size in comparison to a normal sized nasal aspirator. They have just started to use this one instead of his preemie one.


This is how he fell asleep the other day after I had held him for a few hours. He looks pretty comfy.

Update 12/17/09

I am sorry that I haven't posted in awhile. Just been busy trying to get ready for Christmas and spending as much time as I can with Forrest.
Forrest is doing very well. We had a small set back this week when his stomach became enlarged. He was pooping well and not having any residual in his stomach after feedings so they decided to do an x-ray. The x-ray showed that he had quite a bit of gas in his stomach but that it was evenly distributed so it was nothing to worry about. But as a precaution they held feedings for 24 hours. He is just starting to receive food again and they are starting him off slow and will work back up to where he had been. None of this has seemed to bother him at all other than he acted REALLY hungry last night after not getting any food all day.
They have also moved him to a normal isolette. He is still enclosed but he no longer needed the "high tech" bed. It is great because it provides more room in his pod for us when we visit. It also is a lot easier to get him in and out of.
Last check Forrest was up to 3 pounds and 3 ounces. It will probably be a couple days before we see any more weight gain since the feedings were held and are starting off so low. But overall he is doing great.
I have some new pictures that I will post tomorrow. Thanks for checking in.

Forrest Update 12/13/09

Forrest has reached the 3 pound mark! We are so excited that our little guy is gaining weight so well. He is also up to 18 cc's per feeding with the possibility of being up to 20 cc's by the end of the day. That is only 10cc's short of an ounce each feeding. He no longer has to be on lipids through his IV because he is getting enough milk to take care of that. So the only thing he is getting through his IV is a vitamin mix. So hopefully once he is done with that the IV can come out. He has been cleared to start wearing clothes. :) They have to be something with snaps so that his leads can come out the sides, but it will be weird to finally have clothes on him.
David and I went up there after church today and he was wide awake. They have moved him up a size in diapers but they are pretty big on him. He has started to show signs of trying to suck so hopefully this next week his suck reflex will really start to define itself.
Last night I was up at the hospital and go this great video of him.

New Pictures

Two weeks old today!!!

Almost to a Milestone

Last night they did Forrest's weigh in and he was 2 pounds 15 ounces. He is just one ounce shy of weighing 3 pounds! This will be a huge milestone for him.
He is doing really well right now. He is done with his round of antibiotics and is feeling a lot better. He is back under the lights for jaundice, but at this point that is no big deal. He is still having a little trouble keeping his oxygen level up so they are giving him just the slightest amount of oxygen through his nasal tubing.
He is tolerating feedings really well and will soon be up to a 1/2 ounce each feeding.
I will try and get some new pictures of him in the next day or two.

Tuesday Update 12/8

Forrest had a slight set back yesterday. He had originally had a Midline IV in his right arm that was put in on 12/2/09. They moved it on the 5th of December because they saw that it had gone bad and he had a sore where it had been. They watched the spot on his arm to be certain that it didn't cause him any trouble. Overnight Sunday night, he started having trouble maintaining oxygen and keeping his heart rate up. They also discovered the place on his arm was inflamed and bothered him to the touch. The quickly started antibiotics and put him back on some oxygen. You could tell that he did not feel good on Monday when David and I went to see him. He wasn't his normal fiesty self. But today he seems to be feeling a lot better. The doctor says that his last dose of antibiotics will be overnight tonight. They are going to keep him on oxygen for just a little while so he doesn't have to work too hard.
Other than that, he is doing well. He is up to 2 pounds 11 ounces as of last night's weigh in. He also is no longer under the lights for jaundice. His feedings are up to 1/3 of an ounce every three hours.
Here are the sweetest pictures I got of him today when I was up there. After I held him for a few hours the nurse put him back in his bed and he curled up and went right to sleep. So cute.

Hiccups

The only real thing to report today is that Forrest has surpassed his birth weight. He now weighs 2 pounds 10 ounces. This is great and shows that he is slowly gaining a little bit of weight. Other than that, they did have to move his midline catheter (IV line) from his right arm to his little head last night. The nurse who was taking care of him today said that the head is really the best place for it and that it lasts a lot longer. It is just sad to see it there. It doesn't seem to bother him though.
David and I went up this morning and after they gave Forrest to me he developed the loudest case of the hiccups for such a little guy. David got it on video. :)

One Week Old

Forrest is one week old today. It is hard to believe that a week has already gone by since he was born. I am hoping that all the weeks go by this fast until we bring him home.
He is doing great today. His feedings are up to 5 cc's every three hours and he is digesting the milk very well. He is still under the lights for jaundice but the doctor said this morning that hopefully just one more day will do the trick. The nurses have made him his own name tag that hangs on his isolette now. It has his little footprints on it.

I took a few new pictures today both times that I went up there. The first picture is him with his new hat on. Nana Carol knitted it and sent it to him from Florida. It is sooo cute on him.

Very Awake

I got to the NICU tonight around 9pm or so and Forrest was really awake. He had gotten a sponge bath. I took the opportunity to grab a few pictures of him and a quick video. It was so fun to have him actually looking at me while I was talking to him tonight.





Here is the video that I took of him tonight too.

Thursday Update

Forrest is progressing right along. He is now eating 3cc's of milk every three hours, which seems like a ton compared to the 1/2cc he started with just a few days ago. He is tolerating the feedings well. To start working on his sucking reflex as they feed him through the feeding tube they put a pacifier in his mouth with a little drop of milk on it to try and get him to associate sucking with the feeling of a full stomach. It is pretty amazing to watch. Him being able to suck will be a huge milestone. Please pray that he develops this and just amazes the doctors and nurses at how quick he catches on.
His jaundice is getting a lot better. His reading is a 4, which is really good. Basically that means probably only the rest of today and tonight under his tanning lights and he will be done. This is good because he has learned to pull his eye goggles down so he can see out. The poor nurses are constantly putting them back on his eyes.
I get to hold him every day now for several hours as part of his "kangaroo" therapy. We have great chats and I tell him about all the people that are reading about him and praying for him. David and I are so blessed to have so many people supporting us through this whole thing. We are very thankful for all of our friends and family. I am going back to the hospital later tonight and hope to get a few new pictures of him to post.

Smiley Boy

This morning I got to the hospital to spend some time with Forrest. When I got there one of the nurses got him ready for me to hold. As soon as she opened the top of the incubator and put his little hat on, he opened his eyes and started to get excited. I think he knew he was going to get to sit with Mommy. :) I grabbed this video of him...so cute.

Tuesday Visit / New Movies!!

We are excited about sharing some really good video of Forrest with everyone. Yesterday we bought one of those new FLIP video players so that we could show people better about what really goes on when we visit the little guy. There will be plenty more to come as he progresses.

Just a quick update he is now totally off his oxygen and has slowly begun regular feedings. They have placed a mid-line in his right arm. This will act as a central line for any type of care he needs and will allow them to take the cords out of his stomach very soon. All of his nurses still tell us how much of a fighter he seems, but that he is very much a sweet little boy.

Monday Morning Visit / Forrest Sings

Got back a couple hours ago from visiting Forrest and he did great through the night. According to his nurses he is doing good so far with being fed just a tiny bit every 3 hours. Sometime today they be taking out the cords in his belly button and then starting just one line through a vein in his arm. This will help them to just a have a central line to him that he will have until he comes home and his body will tolerate it a lot better....of course its just one more thing that he will attempt to pull out.

During our visit the little guy decided to sing for everyone....not sure which song he picked, but it was beautiful whatever it was!

Mom and Dad Leaving Hospital

Katie and I finally left the hospital last night, but before we did we checked on our little guy and both got a great big surprise. Mom was able to hold Forrest for the very first time and Dad was able to change a (very tiny) diaper. It was absolutely the highlight of our week!

Sunday Morning Update

We have made it to the end of a VERY long week and everyone is doing great! Katie has received her discharge papers and we will be heading back home later tonight. Unfortunately Forrest will not be coming with us, but he is in great hands right now and of course we will be up several times a day to see him.

The latest on our little peanut is that they have removed one of the tubes in his belly button and have now begun to feed him through a tube in his mouth! They are giving him 1/2 Ml every 3 hours. He no longer has his oxygen mask and is now using a little air tube that goes in his nose. Of course though he keeps pulling it out of his nose and sticking it in his mouth and sucking in the air which is actually a really good sign.

Video of the Little Peanut

On our latest visit to see the peanut I snagged some video with my phone. Its certainly not the highest quality video and of course as soon as I hit record he barely even moved...but its the best I got!

Enjoy!

Saturday Afternoon Update (2)

This afternoon our Pastor, Patrick Norris, was allowed to come into the NICU with David and I to pray over Forrest with us. It was truly an amazing moment. We got a quick picture of Patrick with Forrest.

Saturday Afternoon Update...

Forrest is doing wonderfully! He is continuing to get his "fake bake" tan....he wants to be a nice golden honey brown for winter time. By the time he leaves here he will be giving George Hamilton a run for his money!

We also got his unofficial birth certificate done today here at the hospital. They made little footprints for us on the back....I'm guessing they don't make a pair of preemie Puma's in his size...oh well.

Forrest's First Official Picture

When the nurses took off his oxygen mask for a couple minutes this morning they snapped a quick photo for us.....

Saturday Morning Update

Just checked on the little peanut....over the last couple of hours he had developed a little bit of jaundice which is very normal according to his nurse. To help with that they have put him under a blue photo lamp which basically looks like a mini tanning bed.

She said that they did take his little oxygen mask off for a bit this morning, but put it back on because he was working a little harder than he needs to right now. Other than that they said he is doing just fine!

November 27th Famous Birthdays

Just found out that our baby boy shares a birthday with several famous and semi-famous people...Here are just a few:

- Jimi Hendrix

- Bruce Lee

- Carroline Kennedy

- Robin Givens

And my personal favorite......

- Jaleel White (otherwise known as URKEL!)

First Day Pictures (Part 2)

So we just got back from another visit to the NICU with alot of great news and pictures!

The biggest news is that Forrest is no longer on a ventilator which was apparently by his own choosing. According to the nurses when they came to check on him the ventilator tube was resting beside his face because he had decided he didn't need it anymore and had pulled it out himself. The is probably our first of many signs that he will be a VERY strong willed young man! He still has an oxygen mask that blows air into his nose and mouth, but not having to use a ventilator is a HUGE step for Forrest.

All of his other vitals are where they should be and he is progressing perfectly.....

First Day Pictures

Here are a couple of pictures from Forrest's first day here! He is currently 2 lbs, 9 ounces and is 14.5 inches long. Everyone in the NICU says he is doing wonderfully and might be able to come off of his ventilator very soon. They also told us that he is a very "squirmy" little guy which is a great sign!

We will post more pictures in the coming days!