Just another day in Paradise...

God is so good to us...just when we think we can't hear anymore great news or experience anything more wonderful than where we are at this moment, He says wait children there's more in store for you and this little one.

Last night we headed over for his 5pm feeding and were able to watch him for a while but then at 8pm we were supposed to begin kangaroo care which is direct skin to skin contact between baby and a parent which is supposed to aid in many thing such as sleep time/colic, apnea, brady, O2 saturation, respiration and heart rate, body temperature, weight gain and many times leads to a shorter hospital stay. However the nursing staff had other ideas for us and we were able to bathe him for the first time. Of course since we were planning for kangaroo care we didn't have the camera as it takes place in the dark so I don't have any pictures from his first bath from mom and dad however I will get tons next time don't worry. It was an interesting process for us as we used warm water and small wipes to clean his face, especially behind his ears, his eyes, his mouth and all the rolls (by rolls I mean extra skin, we don't have any fat on us currently) under his chin. Then they added some soap to the water and we lathered him up over his arms, chest, back, diaper area, his left leg and his right leg to the knee as that's where his PICC line is located. After that we rinsed him off and then Travis held his head as it wetted his hair, soaped it up and then rinsed it. It was the most precious thing that I have experienced thus far. They then left me with him in his issolette to lather him up with lotion (isn't Johnson & Johnson's baby lotion the most wonderful scent in the world) while they sent daddy to go get him an outfit. Of course without having Tennyson with him this was a difficult task as everything was way to big for the little guy however we ended up in a onesie and he was then tucked in and asleep shortly thereafter. Once he got to sleep it was time for his breathing treatment so they did that while he was sleeping and it didn't phase him a bit.

A few changes that were made last night were his lipid levels (fat) were increased to see if we can put a little meat on those bones, his TPN levels were decreased and his food intake was increased to 8ML/HR (which roughly translates to 1/4 of an ounce). Needless to say we were extatic when we got back to the Ronald McDonald house and had a time winding down.

This morning during his 8am feeding while changing his diaper and washing out his mouth the nurse asked how things went with the kangaroo care last night. I mentioned we didn't actually start it because we gave him a bath and she wasn't overly pleased as kangaroo care has great effects on little ones so the doctor gave order this morning that we are to do kangaroo care twice daily at 8am and 8pm as long as Tennyson tolerates it alright. So this morning around 8:20 I took the first opportunity to do kangaroo care with him. I have to say nothing will ever top the moment that they handed him to me, I laid him on my chest and he was mine. Our heartrates were not one though his did slow down drastically which it's supposed to, his oxygen saturation levels increased and remained there and his respirations were great. He laid there for an hour and ten minutes then needed to be returned to his issolette but it seemed like only moments, it was wonderful. I can't wait for Travis to experienece it at 8pm this evening. It's truly wonderful.

While we were kangarooing the respiratory therapist came in and mentioned that on his chest x-ray taken this morning his diaphram was looking flat which means that they're putting more oxygen into his chest than he needs so he was turned down from 4 liters to 3 and was holding his own when I stepped out around 10. I just can't believe how the good Lord keeps blessing us. He gained .04 of an ounce and is weighing in at 3lbs. 3.7 oz and we're going to celebrate every change as the Lord is just beefing our little guy up so he can go home in a couple months.

Thank you all so much for thinking of us and praying for us, you don't know how much it means. Our little guy is fighting so hard and we're just so thankful that so many people are basking him and us in prayer, I think that's the only reason we're still making it. God is definately carrying us in His arms at this time. Going back to work was difficult but it was only for four hours yesterday afternoon. I visited with the neonatologist and set up a schedule so that I will only miss one feeding and work mornings from the hospital conference room where I have access to a telephone and the internet so that's the plan at this time, hopefully it will work out alright at the office that way.

I just want to thank so many of you for thinking of us and praying for our little guy and for your generosity. You don't know how much we appreciate it. We're just overwhelmed and awed by so many right now, thanks!

I have to run, we're getting ready to feed again which means I get to change his diaper and clean out his mouth but it's amazing how much those things mean to me every three hours...