Getting Settled...

Forrest has been doing really well since coming home last week. Slowly he has gotten to meet his grandparents and a few friends. Last Friday he had to go to the doctor for a weight check and his 2 month shots. In the two days that we had been gone from the NICU he had gained 2 ounces. His weight on Friday, January 22nd was 5 pounds 8 ounces. He also was 17 3/4 inches long. I can't wait to take him back on February 16th to see how much more he has gained.
He has been getting used to his new surroundings. The first few nights he slept well at night and then all of the sudden on the third night he decided he would rather be awake and crying. He seems to have some gas/colic at night from around 11pm - 1am. I talked to the doctor and she said that this is normal and not to be too concerned. I have been using some gas drops every once in awhile and that seems to help some. Then all of the sudden last night he slept well again. So he is a little bit of a mystery still. :) He does however sleep the best in his swing so we are kind of going with it for now so that Mommy and Daddy can get some sleep.
I am working to get him on some kind of schedule during the day. It seems to be working some and I know that as he gets older it will get even better.
We go back to have blood work done next Friday and then back to the doctor on February 16th for his next RSV antibody shot. Other than that he just goes for his four month check up in March.
Thanks so much for continuing to pray for our little guy. He is truly a miracle and I am in awe at how God has already worked in his little life.

He's Home!

I am very sorry that there have not been any updates in the last week. Things started to get so crazy as we got closer to bringing Forrest home. On Friday last week I started driving back and forth to the hospital for almost every feeding. He had started to really do well with nursing so it seemed like the best thing to do for him. By Sunday morning, the NICU nurses had found a room for me to board in so that all I had to do was walk from my room to the NICU to feed him. This made things so much easier for me but it meant that I really didn't leave the hospital much. By Sunday evening several of the nurses told me they thought he would be going home soon, but I tried not to get my hopes up. But when I went in to feed him on Monday at noon, they told me I could take him back to the room with me and he could board out there with me as much as I wanted. I didn't know what to say or think. It seemed so weird the very first time I pushed his little crib down the hallway of the hospital to my room. It seemed as if I was doing something wrong. He had never left the NICU. By Monday night, they had scheduled his circumcision for the next day and we were getting him ready to get his RSV Antibody shot. He was circumcised on Tuesday morning and when I went back with him to the NICU where he was monitored after that his nurse Patty said he would be going home the next day. Needless to say, we were both thrilled. We left the hospital Wednesday around noon...after lots of goodbyes to all of our favorite nurses both Tuesday night (night shift) and Wednesday morning. Forrest got dressed up for everyone in his onesie with a tie on it. By 12:30pm we were home and introducing him to the dogs. Also,Garrison got to see his brother for the first time last night and kept saying how tiny he was. :)
Forrest did well his first night now. He slept all night except when he got up everything three hours to eat, but every time he went right back to sleep. He seems to be adjusting well to his home and honestly nothing phases him. The dogs can bark, we can grind coffee and the hairdryer can be on and he just keeps sleeping...something good that came out of being in a noisy NICU for almost eight weeks.
Here are some pictures from the last two days as we left the hospital and got home. Hope you enjoy them and again, thank you for all of your prayers for little Forrest. Please continue to pray that he gains weight as he should and stays healthy now that he is home with us.

The pictures are all out of order but I hope you like them.


Samson...his new personal guard dog.

The dogs were very sweet with him...love to smell his head.

Mr. Fancy Pants getting ready to leave the hospital.

His full outfit...his shirt was made for him by Aunt Abby.

Forrest and I the night before being discharged...he's is obviously tired of pictures.

Forrest's new room...

Nana Karen comes to visit...

Daddy and Forrest right after we got home...

Daisy checking him out...both dogs love to smell his head.

Doing Much Better...

Forrest has gotten much better over the last few days. They decided that he had a viral infection in his intestines. They have been taking x-rays every day to determine whether it is getting better or not. Yesterday it started to look better so they decided that he could start feedings again today. He had 3-4 feedings today and he took 10 cc's each time. For now, we are feeding him by bottle so that they do not have to put the feeding tube back in. This has been working great so far. We are still working on the breastfeeding but not pushing it too hard right now.

He is still being watched and will continue to have x-rays daily until they are sure that everything is 100% back to normal. The good news is that since the blood transfusion his hemoglobin has been way up and is no longer a concern.

He does have a new midline (IV) in since he needs nutrition in addition to the milk he is getting. In addition, they have left the IV in his foot just in case it is needed for anything else. Our hope is that he will not need these two IV's for very long.

We have also been so fortunate with the nurses at Shawnee Mission in the NICU. They have all been so nice to us. I have had several nurses come and find me when they hear I am there just to tell me they have been thinking about us and were concerned to hear about Forrest. He definitely has a fan base with the nurses....already the ladies man. Honestly the nurses make things a lot easier and are never too busy to answer my questions or explain things to me.

Please pray that the feedings continue and that is intestines will cooperate and not flair up again. Please also pray for us as we continue to deal with our crazy schedule and me having to be up at the NICU so much. Thank you so much for all of your kind words, emails and calls. I am so sorry that I haven't been able to answer everyone, but please know that it all means so much to us.

A Bump in the Road

Forrest was doing so well yesterday. We got him to take a bottle during two consecutive feedings. We were finally feeling like the road was coming to an end, but then we got a call around 8pm last night. Forrest has an infection that seems to be in his intestines. They immediately put his case back with the neo-doctor. He received two IV's. One for antibiotics and the other for a blood transfusion. His hemoglobin got really low last night and so the transfusion was necessary for him to fight this infection properly. They have stopped all feedings and have put a tube down his throat to help him get rid of any residual in his stomach. His vitals are good. He isn't having any trouble breathing. He is more upset that he doesn't get to eat. :)
We are waiting for the blood culture to come back to let us know what kind of infection we are dealing with. So far the nurses say he could be on antibiotics anywhere from 7-14 days. They also are not speculating when feedings will start back up and when they do how slow he will have to take it.
Please pray for our little guy. He has come so far over the last six weeks. Please pray that this infection is nothing more than a quick bump in the road. Pray for peace for him because right now he is easily agitated since he is hungry. As soon as I know more I will post an update.

Six Weeks Old

What a difference six weeks makes... It has been six weeks since Forrest was born. The day he was born he weighed 2 pounds 9.3 ounces and was 14.5 inches long. Today he is almost 5 pounds and around 16.5 inches long. In some ways it seems like yesterday that David and I were in the hospital hoping he would not arrive too early, but in a lot of ways it seems like that was so long ago. It's hard to believe that we have been going back and forth between home and the NICU for the last six weeks. We have been so blessed to have had such wonderful nurses...many of whom have become great friends to me. We are very close to having our little boy home and then our lives will be a totally different kind of crazy...but I know we are both looking forward to that day.


Here is Forrest at 2 days old...


Here is Forrest today at 6 weeks old...

Big Boy Crib

Forrest is now in a "big boy" crib. Now that he can regulate his body temperature so well he has been moved to a normal infant crib at the hospital. It's basically the crib he would have been in from the beginning had he been born on time.
He is still getting fed 40 cc's every feeding and we are still working on breastfeeding. The pediatrician did call yesterday and say that she thinks he will pick up the breastfeeding all of the sudden in about 7 -10 days and then he will be ready to come home! She thinks about 2 more weeks and he will be out of there. We are so excited to get our boy home.
Here are some new pictures of him...


Taken this morning (1/7)...isn't he looking big?


Forrest in his new big boy crib


Forrest sitting on Mommy's lap...


Forrest with his new hat from Nana Carol


Forrest in his crib for the first time...

1/4/10 Update

Forrest is gaining weight like a champ. He weighed in last night at 4 pounds 8.4 ounces. He is now 4 1/2 pounds. He starting to even look a little chunky compared to what he had been. :)
He is completely off of the caffeine that they have all preemies on to help them regulate their heart rate. As the nurses say...."he gave up caffeine for New Year's". He is up to receiving 40 cc's of milk at every feeding and tolerating this really well. His hemoglobin remains slightly low but they are just going to continue to give him an iron supplement every day. He also has been moved to the lesser of the two NICU's. The one where he has been at SM Hospital is for more intensive cases and babies that need constant care. Then across the hall is the NICU where it is just babies that need some attention. We knew he would get moved eventually as he got bigger and stronger and we received the call the other day that he had been moved. :) The big news is that the neo-doctor has passed his case over to his normal pediatrician as of this morning. We are definitely starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The main thing right now is for him to figure out how to eat on his own. He is still having trouble with this which is somewhat frustrating for me. We are working with the lactation consultants and nurses to try and help him figure it out. They assure me this is normal for his gestational age and that it will come.
Thanks for checking in and I will try to have new pictures to post really soon.

Forrest's Room

My friend Kim came over today to help me finish up painting Forrest's room. David had painted the room the blue color that I picked out, but I wanted to paint some brown polka dots too. Kim had done the same thing in her little girls room so I asked her if she would help me.
It turned out really cute. Thanks Kim!