Over 5 lbs!

I've got to show off my handsome boys... ... all 3 of them.

Buster is the best dog for children. Last night we had some friends bring us dinner and stay to eat with us. They have a 6 month old little boy who thought Buster was hilarious. Buster is very excited just to have more people around. So, we are cautious about the two meeting- it could be disaster. Finally, after many sniffs we put the kid on the floor with Buster. NO PROBLEM! Buster would lick the top of his head and walk away...then come back and do it again. After a while, Buster layed down right in front of him, both on their tummies with their hands holding their bodies up, gazing into eachothers eyes- Both very content. Buster can't wait til we let him loose with Dennis. Dennis has had a hard time passing stools. He only pooped the day we brought him home (12 days ago) and then once when we made him poop with a glycerin something or other. We were so worried, especially because EVERYONE thought there was something terribly wrong. "Infants are supposed to poop at least twice a day", people would tell me. I had several nurses tell me to go to the doctor's office to get him checked out. So- we went. Our pediatritian did a thorough check: feeling way into his gut, looking in his ears, down his throat, feeling his soft spot on his head, moving his legs all around. Our little Dennis looks perfectly healthy... then where is all of the poop?? Dennis just has extra productive bowels and sucks almost everything from the milk right into his chubby cheeks. He continues to clip right along with his weight and is rarely uncomfortable. One unfortunate side effect is that he has terrible smelling gas.
He also has trouble burping... but I think this problem is more common... so we haven't been to the doctor about it. This is the process:

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