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.