Tour de NICU

Jamison has been quite the little traveler in the NICU. He's been in 3 different rooms so far! Tonight he moved into his very own room (for the time being--there are lots of twins being born right now!) and we are loving it. Though he's had some cute little roomies, we're excited for him to get some good rest and grow big with a little less going on around him.

In the past two days, Jamison has shown us how great his lungs are working by showing us how well he can cry. Haha We didn't even know he could cry like this. The little sweetie loves to be held now! He does not want to be put down and he lets us know that. He also dislikes being cold and getting his diaper changed. He is like his parents in the way that he loves his sleep and is grumpy when he doesn't get it. Here's hoping his new room setup gets him lots of good sleep! :) 

Every night we leave the NICU with our hearts full of gratitude for this baby. Sometimes it doesn't seem fair that he has to fight so hard this early in life, but we know great things are in store for him. Thank you for your constant prayers. There is no doubt he is progressing because of them.

Good Days and Better Days

The NICU life is hard. So many tears are shed everyday, the fewest being from the babies. A sweet nurse told me that we have good days and better days in the NICU. I agree. Though some days are tougher than others, these babies fight everyday harder than some do in their entire lives. They are doing amazing things each day.

Today was one of those good days. (But I know that better days are coming!) Jamison has been having a few more desats (desaturations- when the blood doesn't have enough oxygen) than they'd like, so they put back in his nasal cannula and he's receiving a little air to help. I hate to see this little boy struggle, though I feel confident he is being watched over every second of the day, and I know he will overcome this obstacle just like the last. 

Amidst the chaos, Jamison and I exchanged our very first real smile today. I got to hold him for a little bit during his feeding, and we had our daily chat like we usually do. I smiled at him and he gave me the biggest smile back! It might've just been perfect timing, but I like to think Jamison knew his mama needed a little cheering up. It melted my heart. 

Happy FOUR weeks Jamison! We couldn't love you more! Just wishing we could slow down time. This has been the fastest month of our lives. Though his birthday was one of the quickest days of my life, I love thinking about the moment we became a family of 3. We are so grateful for this little one! 5 lbs. 6 oz. tonight! 

Jamison's nurse said she wanted him to have his "Rock Star" hat for today! 

Pep Talks

Every night, we make our way back to the hospital anxiously anticipating what our little guy is up to. As soon as we have him in our arms, we give our little guy a pep talk. Our nightly ritual pretty much started the very first night he was born. I was brought down from recovery, and we got in a good chat before they wheeled me up to postpartum. Kevin's pep talks are THE BEST. They are consistently the same (which I don't think he realizes) and include how proud we are of him, what he's most excited to do with him when he's home, and (my personal favorite) telling Jamison of all the "good stuff" we've got for him at home. I love how excited Kevin is about our purchases. Haha We are just a little excited to be around this tiny babe.

Our most recent pep talks have been getting Jamison excited to eat on his own. He's been working so hard but being a preemie, he's not quite coordinated enough to get the suck, swallow, breathe reflex down. They're letting him try again once a day, and each day he gets better. I feel like I hold my breath the entire time, but he's doing just fine. He was pretty determined to arrive and I know he'll be just as determined to eat on his own. I've gotten better at not watching the numbers on his monitor all the time, too. (Major improvement for myself!)

Grandma & Grandpa Couch were here for the weekend and they gave some pretty good pep talks too. Jamison loved meeting grandpa and being snuggled by his grandparents. We even squeezed in a quick photo shoot during his weigh in one night. He was the best sport! He must be used to it because his mom is always in his face snapping pics. Thanks for coming, we love and miss you already! 

My favorite part of the day is when I'm with my little family having our nightly chat. I can't help but be so grateful. We love our growing little boy! 

Jamison is back in his "big boy bed" (the open crib). Not as comfy as his isolette, but he's doing just fine!

5

Our babe may have lost some weight last night, but tonight he broke FIVE pounds! Way to go, baby J! 

Favorite method of eating: Gavage. No effort necessary, snuggled up to mom or dad, sleep during the whole thing...Jamison lives the good life. Next week we'll work on the whole eating on his own thing. Right now, it's not his favorite and we're okay with that. We're just enjoying this tiny babe in our arms as he enjoys that food through his feeding tube. 

Grandma Nichols leaves in the morning and we are so sad. She has been so amazing to have here for the past 3 weeks and we're so grateful for all her help. We have meals for days, a clean place, a bassinet, a crib, and everything else we weren't prepared for. She has taken care of me as I recovered from delivery, a rash that took over my body for a few weeks, mastitis, and all the emotions that come with being a new mom with the added roller coaster of the NICU. We couldn't be more grateful for her. I don't know what I'm going to do without all her help here. Fastest three weeks ever! We love you, Grandma Nichols! 

Working Hard

Jamison continues to amaze us. His latest obstacle has been feeding on his own. They've been letting him bottle feed and nurse twice a day even though he's not 35 weeks because he's been rooting and showing lots of interest. It's been quite difficult for him to get the sucking and swallowing down, but he works so hard. Lately he's been having Brady's (bradycardias- when preemies have a slower than normal heart rhythm) during his bottle feeds and taking a little bit longer to come out of them. It's been scary to see. The doctors decided to give him a break for a few days and have him gavage all his feedings through his feeding tube. As his mom, it's a bit of a relief because it's been absolutely heartbreaking to watch him struggle these past few days. It's been even worse to experience the few seconds when he's having a Brady. Jamison also did a trial run of an open crib. He was having to work so hard to maintain his body temperature on his own that they decided to give his body a break and put him back in the isolette. Once again, we couldn't be more grateful for the care he is receiving. He is being watched over in so many ways.

Here is our 4 lb 14 oz babe!

Touch Time

Every three hours, Jamison has his vitals checked, diaper changed and is moved positions. This is known as "touch time" and in the beginning, this was really the only time to touch and interact with him because it burns so many calories and uses so much energy. Now, since he's a little bit bigger and able to maintain temperature better, we can touch and hold him more and it's finally start to feeling like we're parents. We are trained temperature checkers, preemie diaper changers (this is a hard one to master with all the cords going on ;) ) and bathers. Jamison's first few bath experiences were not his favorite, but last night as long as it was warm enough, he was happy. It broke my heart the first time to hear his cry because we hadn't really heard it. He grabbed for us and clutched on so tight, I will never forget it. With every "touch time" I get a little bit more confident in my ability to care for this little one. Kevin is so good with Jamison and always jumps right in. I'm definitely the more cautious one. (Surprise, surprise.) It's given us a small glimpse at what life will be like with the 3 of us, and now, I can't wait for it. 

4 lbs 11 oz! 

Growing Big

Jamison is making some great progress in the food department. He's able to nurse/bottle feed twice a day! Yay! We have loved every moment of these feedings. He is working so hard at it but just gets so exhausted. It has been so fun to hold him longer and just spend time with him. Can't get enough of those little hands in mine. I love my boys so much and just can't believe we ever lived without Jamison. This really is the good life.

Tonight's weigh in: 4 lbs. 9 oz.