Just another day

Typical behavior these days: 3 boys sleeping. Dennis's first bath! Check out his chubby cheeks...:)
Thank you, Nonnie for coming to visit. (once again, chubby cheeks!)
"My new outfit is so comfy"

Some of his favorite things

Story time with Nonnie ... and with daddy
nap time
Buster
and of course... Mom.

The day has come!

We went to the 8:00am feeding like usual today and the first thing that our nurse tells us is, "Guess what? He's going home today." Music to my ears! I could hear the angels singing. Dennis just had to prove that his temperature was 97 or higher... Ryan did the honors and he passed!
He was either surprised or scared by our reactions.
We bundled him up in his own clothes and strapped him down to the all too big infant car seat and we were off... never to return- except to show our favorite nurse Bonnie how big Dennis will have gotten. We knew Dennis was small, but we had no idea how small until we put him in this enormous car seat. Compared to all the other preemies Dennis was a good size- pretty normal. Compared to other babies... tiny.
Home at last in his own crib. (Katie this is the blanket that you got him)

WE ARE SO HAPPY!!!

Welcome to my crib...

A lot of new changes happened today!

Dennis pulled his tube out of his nose for the second time. I think he is hinting something to the nurses. We are trying to nipple feed him at every meal. He has to be able to eat enough at every meal to gain weight in order to go home. I took advantage of this time to take some pictures before he got a new one.

Dennis also got a new place to stay. He no longer has the luxury of the warm, quiet condo with the view. He was able to maintain his own body temperature- so they gave him a bed with sun roof.

He will be getting a hearing test tomorrow and they asked us to bring in a car seat so they can test it.

We are so proud. Our little boy is growing up. Soon he will be learning to drive and going to prom. Things are moving along very nicely and we hope that he will be home sometime this week.

looking at the positive...

I find myself crying often for many reasons: Happy, Sad, Overwhelmed and for no reason at all.

I often get sad when I see other new mothers get to hold their baby right after birth and they get to have their baby in their hospital room in a crib next to the bed. And, then amazingly they get to bring their baby bundle home two days later. Having no idea when you will have your baby with you always is tough to accept. Dennis is one week old now-and we have seen babies come and go in the NICU.

It is easy to get depressed... so, I decided to look at the positive- which makes me cry happy tears.

Good things about having a preemie baby:
-no episiotomy
-faster birth
-time at home after to recoup
-your baby is tiny for longer
-i still can look forward to having that intimate time after birth with the next baby
-if you have anymore, let me know.


He is looking so good and is plateauing with his weight (closer to coming home).

THANK YOU, GRANDMA & GRANDPA! We love you.

Our Joy

I was initially apprehensive for the next milestone in Dennis's life: the feeding tube. It killed me to think that they were going to put a tube down his nose! But, our calm and brave Dennis took it with stride giving only a grimace and a emmm of discomfort as they put it down. Now, I am so happy that he has it! He is able to have plenty of nourishment without burning the calories to get it. I still get to feed him whenever I want, but when he is too tired to suck anymore, we fill him up so that next time he is ready and eager to suck again. And it is working!!!!

He doesn't always have a concerned look on his face- I just always capture these moments. Today, he was enjoying his meal so much and breast fed for 40 min!!!! A real record. Well... he was plastered with a huge grin and sometimes a giggle but in order to keep this blog PG rated I opted not to video it. Grandma Robyn and Grandpa Ron came to visit- it has really helped me to keep sane.

little hands

little feet

little experience

Buster was so happy to have me at home again after being gone several times in the hospital in the past month. He has started to have anxiety attacks because of all of the changes in the past couple of weeks: Betty left us, my hospital stays, his long days in the kennel, staying with friends for days at a time... He was needing some lovin's

We're Parents!

I was sent home from the hospital last time on bed rest... I began to notice that I had a crazy amount of discharge and it was really watery. Not wanting it to be my "bag o waters", I ignored it... for a week... until my mom told me to call the doctor on Labor day. I cried, then called. We went in, and sure enough... I had been leaking water since I was in the hospital last time and didn't know it. Fortunately, I had plenty o water left. Unfortunately, I was doomed to be in the hospital until I gave birth (at the time thinking it could be a month and a half). I got an IV- but didn't mind it so much this time without the "mag", and they sent me to my room.

Tuesday: I felt like I had period cramps all day- just a constant ache.

Wednesday: I woke up feeling fine. Ryan came by and did his homework. 11:00am Meanwhile, I began to feel these same cramps but in serges. (from what Summer told me- this meant I was having the baby today) Ryan continued to do his homework as I started to use hypnobirthing techniques to block out the dull pain. 1:00pm I had a couple of visitors come by and I would talk inbetween serges. After they left, I felt like my back hurt just as much as my abdomen so I had Ryan rub my lower back during serges and we continued this until transition. He was so wonderful and did everything I needed to stay focused on my hypnosis. Guess what?! It really works! I didn't feel like I was in a lot of pain until transition. 3:00pm A doctor came to check on my dilation: 3cm. They moved me to "labor and delivery". I immediately asked for a birthing ball and continued everything just the same. 7:00pm I had a couple of visitors who I would talk to inbetween serges. (somewhere inbetween 8:30 and 9:00) Nurse came in to try to adjust the monitor. (which hadn't been on the whole time because my movement on the ball and his movement prevented this). She went to get the doctor to help. I felt a huge pop and water ran everywhere. For me, this was when transition began... and ouch! They moved me to the bed so that they could monitor the baby. The doctor found out that I hadn't been checked since 3:00- so she checked me and I was 5cm dilated and almost effaced. Because I was not prepared for this stage of labor, I demanded that I get the epideral. It took so long to come... and I had 4 serges before the doctor came back that when she checked me again it was too late. I was 1+ (baby was coming)! 9:24pm Soon after, Dennis Ryan Funk was born. The most amazing experience ever! I kept saying, "I did it!"

He came out breathing so well! Everyone is impressed at his development at just 33 weeks gestation. He was 4 lbs 11 ounces and 17 inches long. This picture was taken a couple hours after birth.

DAY 1: thursday

He will impress the girls with his luscious lips!

He will stay here until he can maintain his own body temperature.

Eyes wide open!

Day 2: friday

He graduated to wearing a onsie! (one step closer to going home but a lot more steps to go) After his breakfast, he snuggled up for a nap. To prepare him for what comes next...

The "tanning bed".

Only cool dudes are allowed.

We are so blessed to have such a healthy boy. All of the nurses are impressed with his progress which makes his parents even more proud. We love him!