Growing Good!

So many new things in these past couple of days for our little guy, Lewis!!!  He seems to be growing so fast, I'm so excited!! He's now 3 lbs. 8.5 oz, big enough that they will start to try and wean him off heat, so he can learn to keep his own temperature.  That means I can start putting little onesies, hats and socks on him, either tomorrow or the day after!!  I had a blast shopping at Babies R Us today :) I can't wait to play dress up with my little man!

We're also feeding him one bottle a day, teaching him to suck, swallow, breath.  He did ok on his first try, getting 5 ccs, great on his second try, getting 15 and REALLY great on his third try, getting 20! But then I tried to feed him again this morning and he simply wasn't interested :)  I could barely get him to open his mouth! Oh well, the nurses say this is normal for preemies.  Thank the Lord they are able to feed him with a feeding tube through his nose!

The Doctors would like to start taking his oxygen levels down, but everytime they do he has a little spell and we have to bring it back up :)  Guess that'll come a little later!

I kangarood with him tonight and besides one apnea spell of turning blue and almost giving me a heart attack he did very well and slept like a little angel :)  I LOVE getting to kangaroo with him!  Besides feeding him once a day it's the only time I can hold my little son, so it's very special.
He still has a long way to go, but he's making good time and I'm so glad that we're able to stay so close to him and visit everyday!

Here's a few pictures from when I feed him yesterday and from tonight!  Hope y'all enjoy them!

 Giving a wink to Annie :)

 I love feeding my little Bean Burrito :)

 Here he is tonight!

 He's not very happy at this moment :) he HATES getting his temp taken and his diaper changed, and one thing I can say for my little guy is that he has a big set of lungs!LOL! He's the loudest child in the NICU!

Now if only he'd use his lungs to breath all the time, instead of screaming with them :)

I  do love watching him move around and make noise though.  Then I know everything is alright, and he's growing good!

Y'all have a peaceful night!

Bethany

A day with Daddy!!

 What a happy day for Lewis!! He got another bottle, but this time Danny got to feed it to him!!!  Lewis did such a good job for his second try, and drank a whole 15 cc's! That's half his feeding!  Little bit is now weighing 3 lbs. 7 oz.  Tomorrow I get to try and feed him a bottle! I can't wait!

 The Nurse showed Danny the best way to feed preemie babies.  Since they reflux really bad you have to sit them up, and hold under their chins.  

I love his little eyebrows here :) He already has so much personality!

*LOVE*

 His feet are getting so chubby!

 Look at his double chin!!!

 Lewis' neighbor at the Hospital, Gunner, and our Neighbor at the RM House, Annie!!!

She's been so encouraging and fun!  We are SO excited for her that she'll be going home this week!!!!

Three cheers for Gunner! You've finally made it!!

Have a blessed day!

Danny, Bethany and Lewis

Sweet Visitors

We have been so blessed by all the sweet visitors that have come to show their support and love!  I think Lewis is the most visited baby in the NICU :)  It will be such a treat when I can finally let all his loved ones and friends hold him!

He loves his WubbaNubbe :)

A sweet, sweet friend gave our little Lewis a Lamby WubbaNubba :) I had never heard or seen such a thing, but Lewis took to it like fish in water! He just loves it, even though it's almost as big as he his!LOL!

Learning to bottle feed!

Hello my dear friends and family!

Today was a very big day for my little son Lewis! He tried taking his very first bottle! He is 31 weeks, 4 days gestational age, 18 days old, still supposed to be tucked away safely inside me, and here he is trying to eat out of a bottle! His Mommy is SO proud of him :)
I kangarood with him earlier today, and he is just so ready to get life started! He must have pulled out his nasal cannula every minute or so, and the little guy hates being covered with blankets. He wants to be a big boy and be with his Daddy so much :) I know the Lord has so many wonderful things in store for our Lewis, he is my little miracle baby, my kitten and little bean burrito.  I am just so happy to be the mother of this little guy, I just want to squeeze and kiss him!  For now I'll just have to be happy with holding him once a day, and watching as he grows big and strong!

Here he is with Nurse Mandi! She is so good to him :)  He's all wrapped up in Danny's fav. blanket with the little foxes on it :) I love being able to use my own blankets with him! It helps me feel connected with him, and like I'm helping to take care of him

                                              Aww, he's not quite sure if he likes it or not :)

It just melts my heart when he looks at me like that, he's so sweet, so tiny!

 That was a lot of hard work for such a little guy, it plain tuckered him out :)
He only drank 5 ccs, but it was a good first run!  I can't wait to see how he does tomorrow!

Praising the Lord,
Bethany

First Few Days