Open Crib and Low Flow Oxygen

Well, our little Schuyler is such a big boy.  They switched out his isolate for an open crib, and moved him down to low flow oxygen.  He was so excited that he had a monster poop as dad was holding him.   Luckily it was all contained.

He has also started actually "eating" this week. lol.  He doesn't get too much on his own, but the lactation specialist/occupational therapist was very impressed by him.  He fits in with our small family well because he likes food. lol.

He did get his two month immunizations on Tuesday.  I was so proud of him.  I actually cried more than he did at first.  I cuddled him for a while, and he seemed to be fine until we went to do his cares 3 hours later.  He kicked his foot, and began to cry.  It was such a sad day.  :(  Schuyler really rarely actually cries, so when he wouldn't stop, it broke my heart a little bit.  My mom stopped by on her way home to say goodbye and noticed he was kind of whimpering.  She cuddled him until he fell back asleep.  -So glad my mom works here; she takes such good care of all of us.

Schuyler is also 2 months old today, and I am totally crying as I type this.  I can't believe how big our little boy is.  He is 5lbs 3 ounces today.  There is just too much to say and I can't find the words.  So grateful, and hopefully only one more month or less until he gets to come home.

2 Months Old Pics

Photo shoot:  One of the nurses found this little beret in his crib, and we had to do a little photo shoot.  

Bonjour

I'm not so sure about this...

Ok, I'm done.

Getting so chubby!

Big smile while cuddling with daddy.

His snake friend.

Open crib pics

Tough guy loves his big boy crib!

No more pics!

Little profile; which I love!

A Billion Pics

Well, I definatly need to do better about updating because he changes so quickly.  8 weeks today; 35 weeks tomorrow!  Our little guy is getting so big!  We did have some exciting things  happen this week, but I'm going to wait to tell you them in a different post.  These are just a few catch-up pictures and videos from the last time I blogged until July 5th.  He gained so much weight this week!  He is in newborn sized diapers and outfits.  We are just thrilled.  He is at 4lbs and 11oz.  

So blessed; heavenly father and our fellow men have been so kind to us.  

Father's Day, One Month Old, and Catch up

Well, get ready for lots of pics and videos on this one as I try to catch up.  They are not in chronological order, and the same video might be on here twice.  :)  It's amazing how Schuyler really has become our whole world even though he's not home yet.  He is done with his rounds of antibiotics, so no more IV.  They are slowly weaning him off of the oxygen, and as of yesterday he was only on 3 liters with 24 pressure.  His weight was going up pretty well until the weekend.  He lost quite a bit of weight on both Saturday and Sunday, and neither lost or gained yesterday.  As of yesterday he was back down to 2 lbs 12 oz.  He is still being feed through his feeding tube, but I have an appointment with the occupational therapist next week so we can begin the long process of teaching him to eat.  

He's been much more active lately, so I've been trying to be there more when he wakes up.  Greg and I both agree that he's starting to look like a real baby, and when we hold him, it actually feels like more than just blankets.  

He has been holding his neck up more and more, and the nurses have told me that they will lay him on his side, come back a few hours later, and he has rolled over to his back.  Yesterday, the nurse was very impressed that he started opening his mouth and sucking his tongue when it was time to start his feeding.  

Cuddling with daddy on Father's Day.  In case you can't see, his shirt says "The Walking Dad".  :)

 Schuyler loves to snuggle in daddy's neck.

"I can't help that I'm ridiculously good looking".  I love when he does the Zoolander Face.  

 First time in an outfit.  He actually fit pretty well in the preemie size.  They only had him in it for one day because he can't regulate his own body heat yet, so it was actually keeping the heat from his bed out instead of keeping him warm.  Still fun!

Awesome NICU nurses had these up on the 17th.  One month old!

Daddy singing on Father's day.

Growing and Growing

It's amazing how fast our little man grows.  He seems different everyday. Overall, he is doing really well.  He is now 2 lbs and 10 ounces, and four weeks old today!  His HERO score went way up (this means there may be an infection), and they found that he did have a UTI.  The good news is that they caught it very early, and just give him antibiotics for it.  The bad news was that they had to put an IV back in.  They tried his hand and foot first, but had to put it in his head.  :(  Then the original one went bad, so they had to poke him in his head again.  Only four more days with the IV, so I'm really praying it stays good until then.  

He has been getting more and more food, which he is tolerating pretty well.  They have to give it to him over a long period of time because he's had some re-flux. The nurses and everyone agrees that he has such a sweet/sassy personality.  We love him.  He continues to be well known for his very full diapers, and whole lots of snot.  :)  He spit up on me for the first time on Thursday, and as silly as it sounds, it made me happy.

He has been so awake and so much fun this week, so I took tons of videos and pics.  You can tell from the photo on the right what he thinks about this.  :)  I think he has also been practicing his McClain smile, as you can see on the left - no eyes.  

Smiling Boy :)

Schuyler is doing really well.  We are mostly just now waiting for him to grow, and to grow out of normal preemie things (like those darn Brady's).  He especially loves to Brady when my mom's around.  :)  He seems bigger every time we see him, and has been awake a lot more. 

He has started smiling so much this week.  It really makes my day.  One of the nurses also said that Schuyler made her day.  She was in kind of a bad mood, and then saw him smiling so much that it made her feel better - already smooth with the ladies.  ;)

They all say that he's such a sweet baby, but a bit mischievous.  The other day we were putting him back in his bed after I held him, and in five minutes he pulled his nasal cannula out three times, peed in his brand new diaper, nearly pulled out his feeding tube, and was kicking like crazy the whole time.  We all know who's in charge.   

Best part of this week - no more CPAP!  He is on a high flow nasal cannula.  Thank goodness, because that CPAP was squishing his little face, and they had to give him a sedative when he was wearing it so that he would keep it on.  

My sweet man has been awake more and more when I come visit him.  I could just watch him for hours.  

First time seeing him with the new cannula.  I love his little face!

I finally caught a smile!

 Can't believe how much he looks like Greg in this picture.  

Getting ready to give him a sponge bath.  

Daddy earned some cuddle time after changing a super nasty poop-filled diaper.  I wish I would have gotten some pics of that.  

I also finished sewing  a boppy cover.