One Month Today

Tennyson is now a month old, can you believe it, we sure can't. Everyone said while in the NICU it would feel like an eternity however when you look back later it will seem like a blink of an eye. I know it's been hectic and crazy for us but I truly don't feel as if Tennyson has been gracing us with his presence for an entire month. It must sound strange but the time sure has flown.

He is doing wonderfully, he's weighing in at 4lbs. 8.3 ounces and is now 17 1/4 inches long so he is growing quite quickly. He's on 1/2 liter of oxygen at 23% and satting wonderfully. This morning during kangaroo care, we didn't get below 98 so that was wonderful therefore maybe he will be turned down again soon. They are not however going to remove the oxygen again until after his feedings are up and running. He needs to be receiving feeds by mouth (not NG tube) his eight times per day. Many times in preemies with learning to suck, swallow and breathe many struggle with the breathing portion and in desatting so they are planning on leaving it on until his feeds are successful all day so basically until right before we go home.

He's so precious and such a good boy, we are truly so blessed to be his parents. He hasn't made hardly any noise in this first month however is starting to find his voice which the nurses attribute to increasing lung function so it's strange to say it but hearing him cry is so wonderful, it's almost like music to your ears. They say fussing means getting ready to go home. Though we have a couple weeks left, we're really excited to see how he grows these next few weeks.

Hollie McDowell reminded me or informed me the other day of the following... "In a sense, it's easier to deal with the NICU when you're baby is really sick and needing machines to do most of the work for them. When they're really sick, the thought of bringing your baby home doesn't even cross your mind. The only thing on your mind is Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus, Thank you for keeping my baby alive. Then as your baby starts to get better you start thinking about how good they're doing. You start dreaming about taking them home. You start wondering how long it will be. The huge gains their making don't seem to be coming quick enough and the tiny set backs seem to linger on as you wait and wait and wait."

Travis and I were discussing these thoughts from her email as Friday night I was crying as we left the hospital and headed back to Oronogo (ironically called our vacation home since we're only there two nights a week)...Tennyson is now doing so well and his progress is now measured in the ounces he gains, the bowel movements he has and the amount of oxygen he's on. These may sound like many things to many of you however when we were intially worried about all his body systems being unable to function this doesn't seem like so many worries and I just want to be able to hold him so badly, all day long and can't wait until that's a reality. Now that he's doing so much better it is becoming so much harder to leave him there. Many parents it seems find it easier when they're babies get to this point to stay away from the NICU because it's so hard to leave and leave him now...strange how the tables have turned.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to sound whiney, we're just so blessed and so thankful for all the progress he has and continues to make, it is amazing to watch the reactions of the hospital staff as they are calling Tennyson as we do so often a miracle. No one expected him to do nearly as well as he has and he just keeps progressing and we know it's only because the Lord has our precious one (who is actually His precious one, given to us for a short period of time) in His arms, holding Him constantly to His chest in comfort that he continues to do so well.

Again our hearts are yours in thanks for your time and commitment to prayer for our family.

Justified by Jehovah-
Traivs, Lindsay and Tennyson Myers