36 Weeks (17P Injections)*

This is our last injection! I had contractions 10 minutes apart all day. It started in my back by the afternoon they were also on my lower abdomen. When B got home at 5pm he gave me my injection by 9pm the contractions had subsided!  So we will see what happens next Wednesday and Thursday. Most of the women in the studies delivered with in a week of stopping the injections. All the glory goes to God for keeping this baby healthy!

Baby Update:

Bed Rest Update:

Sunday: B and J headed off to Sandals Church. While I watch online! Still thankful for LiveStream! We had a relaxing day! Well, I always have a relaxing day these days! But the boys did too! Bobby's Grandparents came over for a visit. Then B took a nap! In the evening, I sat on the porch and enjoyed watching Jeremy play baseball! Not gonna lie, this kid has some talent! And each time he made it over the fence he came to get a kiss from Mommy! So precious!

Monday: We got to meet a friend's precious 2 week old baby! Jeremy wasn't as accepting as he was Friday, when another baby was here to visit. He asked Bobby to take the baby so that he could sit with me! Then he snuggles (middle of the day) for quite a while to make sure he was keeping his mommy! But after he went down for his nap, I snuggled for about an hour with Landon! I just loved it! The biggest news of today is (you are sworn to secrecy not tell my doctor) . . . We went to the movies!! I KNOW!! Before you judge, hear me out! We had a super great deal (2 tickets, extra large popcorn, 2 large drink, large candy for $17!!! Right??) that was going to expire if we didn't use it AND the chairs are super comfy and I could put the arm rests up and lay down. Which I did for most of the movie. We went on a double date with our friends, Jake and Lauren! It was nice to get out! I was super exhausted after. I came home, laid down and was out! I didn't even brush my teeth (yuck) or wash my face (gasp). But it was the best night sleep I have had in a while! It felt so good!

Tuesday:  My mom is here today. I have a doctor's appointment! I got to get out 2 days in a row! Whoop-whoop!  The doctor is happy we got another week down! He says I can start to get up and around, slowly at 37 weeks. 

Wednesday: My dear friend Danielle S came over to help out today! B was teaching a class and got home just in time for small group. This was the day I had contractions! Thankful they subsided! And I spelt wonderfully! 2 nights this week?? What a treat when you are nine months pregnant!!

Thursday: Jackie was here to babysit! Not much to report! I listened to the kids play outside. Jackie brought 1/2 off Starbucks when she came home from picking Sierra up! I have a few contractions here and there. But nothing consistent or worth worrying about. 

Friday: Bobby waas home! He took J to MM then went to Costco. While he was at Costco, my friend Sara came for a visit. he daughter is 6 weeks younger then J. They are betrothed, but don't know it yet. 

Saturday: I had tickets to go to a Women's Gathering at church but since I am still on bed rest, I couldn't go! But all my family and friends were there! I got so many texts and pictures! Bobby was also there because he was helping out! What a sweet guy, huh? Sierra was here babysitting me! We had such a fun morning! We watched a movie and did crafts! I absolutely loved the time with her! And of course, I forgot to take a picture! Arg!

Time for measurements! 
Tummy: 40"       growing 7.5 inches since 6 weeks.
Hips: 40"            growing 3 inches since 6 weeks
Chest: 39"          growing 4.5 inches since 6 weeks.

At this point, I keep wondering if you will get another post with another week of updates!!
If I am still in this bed, you will!
If not, there will be a baby post! 

Dirt is My Favorite Color*

Jeremy in ALL that is boy! We have taken him to see trains, he goes to the fire station all the time, and we went to the air museum. Last week B took him to see Grandpa's blade (tractor) on the job site! AND he got to dive it! SO cool for a little boy! The video is at the bottom.

35 Weeks (17P Injections)*

These past few weeks have been uneventful with injection update! Which is a good thing! I would say the Progesterone hormone is working since I didn't make it to 35 weeks with Jeremy! Praising God each day we are further from 34 weeks and closer to 40 weeks! 

Baby Update:

Odd numbered week means we will be referring to baby as Eli! He is approximately 18 inches long and 5 1/4 pounds. The size of a honeydew melon, although I think my tummy looks a little larger then a honeydew! His kidneys are fully developed and liver can process most waste, although his first bowl movement (called meconium) won't be processed until after he's born (hopefully). There are health issues if it's released while in the womb. I am now carrying more baby then amniotic fluid! Ia hve been feelig like the baby wants to escape through my belly button! He pushes so hard up against it! Bobby had his hand on my tummy and he calmed down. As SOON as he took it off, pushing again! They played this game for a few minutes! I am getting anxious to meet this baby and know if we have an Eli or Capri growing! 

Bed Rest Update:

J got so many cool things for his birthday! Including some sweet art things that we can do in bed! This finger paint only shows up on the special paper. So that means no stains on the bed if little mini hands wonder! Which they definitely did. . . a few times! 

Here's the adventures of a bed rest Mama in a nutshell:

Sunday: B and J headed off to church, while i stayed home and watched it online. I love our church! We are talking about honoring those above us: employers, pastors, people in office. This week the church staff (unbenonst to Matt) honored him. They surprised him on stage and honored he and his family! It was so sweet! Check them out! Sandals Church

Monday: Bobby worked so my mom was here to stay with us! She got to take J to Musical Munchkins! He LOVES this class. There is a post here about it! My mom enjoyed it so much! 

Tuesday: My day to get out!! Yay!! Doctor Appointment: I need to express how much i like our doctor! Dr. Oshiro. He is the chief of Labor & Delivery for Loma Linda University! His personality is great! He is always calm and making jokes with us! Anyway. . . I go in the week so excited that I only have two more weeks on bed rest. Between 36 and 40 weeks is full term, right? NO! He says 39 weeks is when I am released! Remember that I am not on strict bed rest, per last week's appointment, but I am house bound and need to keep my mobility limited. So, all in all, I have 5 more weeks of limited mobility, house arrest. BUT, OF COURSE, if that's what it takes to keep the baby healthy, that's what I will do. My back has begun hurting a lot (mid back, not low back as in back labor).

Wednesday: My mom went back up to Big Bear because Bobby was home! Since, I got the "ok" to go to the chiropractor yesterday: We got another outing! 2 days in a row, WHOA! But, I still had back pain in the evening! *sigh* Just comes with the territory, I guess! We also had SmaG! Jackie watch Jeremy overnight for us!

Thursday: Bobby was off to work. Jackie dropped J off with Danielle to sped the morning. They didn't get here until about 12:30pm. Which meant I had the morning to myself. (With someone on call, of course, in case I went into labor). It was so nice to have some alone time. I have been surrounded by people everyday for weeks now. Don't get me wrong, I am a people person and am SO thankful for the all the help we are receiving but it was nice to have a mellow morning with just me and God! I did miss the morning snuggles with J though! Danielle got here to fed the boys lunch and put them down for their naps. We had a rough day! J was not very well behaved for her in the morning and then Drew was not doing well in the afternoon. I had such a struggle sitting here not being able to offer help. Bed time couldn't come soon enough for those boys! We made it though the evening and I am so thankful for her heart to serve us!  

Friday: Bobby was home for 4 days! YEAH! J is so much calmer and relaxed when B is home. They went to Musical Munchkins in the morning. Then we had some friends come visit with their 3 weeks old daughter! So sweet! I got to snuggle with her and J did pretty well. There was one point where he asked me to give her back to her Daddy! After lunch and nap, B and J headed off to the church to help with an event. Then after bedtime, B headed to a friend's house for some guy time, reloading ammo. It was nice for him to have a break away from work or home.  While he was a gone a friend came over to babysit J and I! I haven't seen Christina in a while and we watched a few SVUs.  

Saturday: B got a little "him" time today, too. He went to the Men's Breakfast at church and shopped around a hardware store he's been wanting to go into. J was with Jackie for the morning. Today I was feeling a little lonely. But the kind that only B could comfort. I just wanted him to sit with me and talk or watch a movie or something where we spent time together. But then I was feeling selfish because he is doing an incredible job of keeping our house in order AND supporting us financially! And I am whining about "time" spent with me. I had a  rough morning! Thankful that I have the alone time to spend  with God for him to calm me! I explained all this to B and he spent the evening (when J went to bed) with me (catching up on The Walking Dead!). And we went to get ice cream tonight! What a treat!! 

Week by week are getting though this! We are on week 3 of bed rest. . . I love to have my window to the back yard open all day! I am notcing all the different sounds birds make, listening to J pay outside and hear his vocabulary grow significantly each day, at night, I hear the frogs croaking, Although it has been trying at times, I am thinking about the positive things each day to keep me going. 

The Highest Honor*

Jeremy Noah Martens

 after being "Noah ______ Martens" for our entire pregnancy 
& 12 hours after birth!

4 weeks old
4/23/201 9:04am
5 lbs 12oz, 18.5 inches long

What's in a name? Parents have 9 months (10 really with a pregnancy being 40 weeks) to decide on the perfect fit for their child. That wasn't enough time for us!
Throughout my pregnancy we called him "Noah." The doctor called him Noah while I was pushing, "Come on, Noah." "I can see Noah's hair." "Welcome to the world, Noah." While I was laboring we had heard that Noah was the number one baby name in 2010! We didn't like the sound of that but we didn't have the patience to think of another name at that point! When we got to the NICU they asked what his name was, we said, "Noah." They printed labels for the bottles I was pumping. But it didn't feel right. He just didn't look like a Noah. The parents with a baby in the bed next to us said, "Ours is Noah, too!" Uf! That makes our decision, we need to change it.

We talked about it on the way back to our room to eat and get some rest. "Jeremy" had been on our list for many reasons.

• Bobby has a Marine brother that died while they were serving in Iraq together. We have always wanted to name one of our sons after him. Jeremy Bohlman's story here. Our little guy is a fighter, just like Bohlman!  I know that is a creepy picture below of Jeremy but Bobby said Bohlman would do the same thing. His nickname was "Crazy Eyes" on their platoon! 

Jeremy L. Bohlman, "Crazy Eyes"
June 7, 2004

Jeremy Bohlman's nickname was "Crazy eyes"
Bobby said it was so triply to see our Jeremy do the SAME thing!

• There are bible verses outside each room at Loma Linda Hospital. Our is from Jeremiah 17:14, "Heal me O Lord, and I shall be healed." Could that be any more fitting?? That was pretty clear God had big plans for Jeremy!

• It's the #1 baby name for 2010! That's too common for us! 
• We couldn't find a middle name for Noah that has a nice ring to it. 

Now, 2 years later we can't even imagine calling him Noah! Jeremy is incredibly fitting for our precious son!

To Find out or Not to. . .*

If you don't have children, do you want to find out the gender?

If you have children, did you find out? 

Was it something you talked with your husband/wife about before getting pregnant?

B and I had a long dating relationship (4 years) so it gave us plenty of time to talk about EVERYTHING we could think of, or so we thought! We play different scenarios over and talk about how we would handle them. Even scenarios that would NEVER, really happen. Such as the scenes in the Saw movies.

We did NOT, however, talk about finding out the gender of our babies! So it came as quite a shock to both of us when we were 3 months pregnant (2 weeks from the ultrasound that we find out or not), at a family event, we hear each other saying the complete opposite! We were talking to separate people who asked if we were finding out the sex (odd that it was within ear shot of each other):
Me: Of course, we are finding out.
B: No, we are going to keep it a surprise.

We turned around with a look of AWE at each other! How could this have been something we had not talked about. Of ALL things! Well, we better get talking!

We were at a roadblock and neither of us wanted to budge!
B's reasons:

1. There are not many true surprises in life. The doctor saying, "It's a . . . ." is a true surprise and kind of a thrill. 
2. There's no need to know. Our nursery is gender neutral, so all the future babies can be in there. As are, all the baby supplies: play pen, crib, bouncer, swing, etc. 

My Reasons:

1. I'm OCD, ahem, a planner. I like to know what's coming.
2. I can't picture our future. If we will have a little boy or girl running around,  calling their name, fun projects we will do. 
3. Imagine the baby moving and already have a name.
4. I don't like to say "it." or when other people say "it."

It seemed the only fair way to handle the situation was to not find out. Somebody had to give. I would eventually (on birth day) get my way. And if we found out at the ultrasound Bobby would not get the surprise he was anticipating. So, I went to that ultrasound understanding I would be waiting a few months (5 to be exact) to know if we were having a boy or girl.

While the doctor was doing his thing, searching around, measuring, he asked if we want to know. I said, "No we want it to be a surprise." He looked at Bobby for confirmation, he said, "Let's find out!"
I was so shocked!! "Are you sure?" He said, "Yes."
Note: We were convinced we were having a girl. We didn't care either way but just had a feeling.

I know this picture is not great BUT I tried to laminate the original. . . Big mistake!
The two "blobs" at the top are his feet,
follow legs down,
HELLO!

It's a BOY!

I didn't care boy or girl but just knowing was so nice! And I was so in love with my husband for "allowing" me to find out! He says the look on my face was priceless!

However, I have to admit, I was so sure my "feeling" was right that I was a little disappointed when the doctor said "boy." I got over it quickly and was elated to be having a boy! It didn't take long before I began to  picture our little boy mowing the lawn with his Daddy!

14 months

Now we are on pregnancy #2! And guess what. . . We are not finding out! This time it's for REAL! I am 35 weeks and we don't know if we are having a boy or girl! Most of the pregnancy has been a lot easier them I thought, not knowing. I had a peace about me that I didn't expect. I prayed about it a lot. 

We have names picked out: 

Eli Robert for a boy  

Capri Renee for a girl. 

We switch off and on each week to avoid the "it" phrase: 

Odd weeks -  Eli/he/him/boy 

Even weeks - Capri/she/her/girl. 

The further along I get, the harder it is to wonder. I have 5 weeks (prayerfully) left and am getting anxious. I've been getting frustrated lately, for the reasons I listed above. I can't picture if Jeremy will be a doting, protective big brother to a little sister or have a companion to rough house with in a little brother. Although, both of those roles are not limited to the stereotypical box I just put them in! 

I have felt an emotional disconnect from this pregnancy that I didn't have while pregnant with Jeremy. I have a few thoughts on why this is:

• It's my second pregnancy. I am not as "hyped up" because I have felt it before. But I was just as excited when I saw the positive sign as when I did with J. 
• I am treasuring the time I have left with only Jeremy. He will not longer be an only child. So I am indulging in him more. Maybe that's causing me to push feelings aside for this one because their time will come. 
• I don't want to get too anxious for fear of delivering early. J came at 34 weeks. I am one week past! Praise the Lord! 
• Since I can't picture what the family will look like with an added boy or girl, I can't connect emotionally with the baby.  I can't picture the baby moving around or picture what I think the baby will look like. 

People always ask, "So do you have a feeling of what your having." Remember my "feeling" that Jeremy was a girl and the disappointment I felt when they said, "boy?" I do NOT want that in the delivery room! So, I am not making any guesses, trying to "feel," or listening to any dreams. (I have had 2). I am praying for patience and resting in the fact that boy or girl we will have a happy little family that was made perfectly by God. 

Taking a Look Back: Jeremy's NICU Stay (Part 2)

This story is broken up into a few different blog. This is the fourth.

Find the first three here:

Taking a Look Back: Jeremy's Pregnancy

Taking a Look Back: Jeremy's Bed Rest and Labor

Taking a Look Back: Jeremy's NICU Stay (Part 1)

We are on Day 8. This is the day of our baby shower:

5/1/10, 8 days old: Today is your baby shower. Daddy and Mommy are feeling so blessed by the love everybody around us is showing! You got so many cool things! We came to see you at 8pm today. Mommy called every three hours (after each feeding) to see how you were doing! You didn't eat very much because you got circumcised today and were very sleepy after. Allison was here all day with you. Matt and Tammy came to visit you, too! Tammy held you for awhile. Matt prayed over you. We are so thankful for them in our lives. You only nursed for about 10 minutes. But we can tell you are getting stronger each day!

5/2/10, 9 days old: Mommy had a rough morning at church, missing you. I have such a hard time when I am away. I was crying in the bathroom. Summer Christopher came in and hugged me! I really needed that! I just want to take you home! I need to allow God to be in control and be ok that I am not.  Mommy got here at 12pm today to nurse and you DID! You have taken 4 bottles all on your own and then nursed! I am so proud of you! We got plenty of skin-to-skin today! It's amazing how God made our bodies so perfectly. My milk stays up and is increased when we get lots of STS! GiGi came to visit. Daddy came to being me dinner and visit with you! We had to go to a class to learn how to take care of you when we get home. We both thought it was LAME! Hehe! We are so anxious to take you home and show you your room, even though you will be sleeping in our room for a few months! We

came back to see you after the class. Arlene had already given you a bath. You smelled so good!

5/3/10, 10 days old: We had a great report on your eating today! In 24 hours, they have only gavaged 42cc. That's less then 1 feeding. When I got here you had just finished ALL of your bottle and were wide awake. We played with the toy Allison gave you. At one point I changed you and got ready to do STS but you were acting like you ere hungry, so I tried to nurse you . . . and you ate for about 15 minutes! This is the first time you have shown an interest in eating!! I was so encouraged! We had some sweet STS time for 1.5 hours. You slept so peacefully while I sang and read to you. I tried to wake you for your next feeding but you were konked out! So I let you sleep and pumped. Brandy (your nurse today) says she can tell I nurse you when she tries to give you the bottle. I love that! They suggested I bring in a different bottle that breastfed babies tend to like more. So I will tomorrow.

Left: Your little nose cracks me up! It's lopsided because you came out sunny side up!
Right: I know this is a little creepy! But it remiss Daddy of his friend Jeremy Bohlman (whom you were named after).
His nick name was Crazy Eyes because he did this with his eyes!

5/4/10, 11 days old: You are getting better and better at eating! You drank the entire contents of 3 bottles last night! I took stats today to show how well you are doing:
You have to eat 56cc at each feeding!
12pm: Nursed 46cc, Gavaged  10cc
3pm:   Nursed 36cc, Gavaged  20cc
6pm:   Nursed 14cc, Gavaged  42cc
As the day wore on, nursing wore you out. You are a little fighter though! The Nurse Practitioner told me if you drink 90% of your feedings in the next 24 hours you can have your NG tube out and eat what you want the next few days and see how your weight goes. That's one step closer to coming home! Daddy is on his way to eat dinner with me and see you. I can't wait to tell him the good news. We fall more and more in love with you each day! You are so precious!

I love all these expressions! I can still see them today!
You looks like a little frog on the middle one!

5/5/10, 12 days old: Mommy only stayed a few hours today. I am really sleepy. During the night when you are awake eating, I am awake pumping. You took your NG out 3 times today so the NP said we can leave it out because you are doing so well eating on your own!! You drank all your bottles throughout the night and even cried for MORE!! This is music to Mommy's ears!! Thank you, Jesus! Can you believe I didn't take any pictures this day? Oy!

5/6/10, 13 days old: You are still gaining weight and eating on your own! They are saying they may discharge you Saturday or Sunday (today is Thursday!). I am so excited! Just in time for Mother's Day! How sweet! Daddy sat STS with you today while Mommy read a book to you both. The pictures are priceless. We got all the things we needed for your room today with the gift cards from your baby shower! You are such a lucky little man!

Precious

5/7/10, 14 days old: YOU ARE COMING HOME TODAY!! I called to check in on you at 9am, as I do every morning and Sharon (your nurse today) told me the good news!! Mommy and Auntie are deep cleaning the house this morning! Daddy is on his way home from work. We to to the hospital and Sharon had everything ready in bags ready to go! Mommy had to sign a few papers and off we went! You had about 7 nurses come to say goodbye to you! They all say you are SO cute! You  are still tiny, weighing in at albs, and need to keep gaining weight. You also have times where you stop breathing. It scares us but that will go away as your lungs develop.

Top: Buckling you in!
Bottom Left: Sierra meets you for the first time!
Bottom Right: Ready to go! Look how small you are in that car seat! 5lbs 1oz!

See his progress from the first year:
Taking a Look Back: Jeremy's First Year

Taking a Look Back: Jeremy's NICU Stay (Week 1)*

This story is broken up into four different sections. This is the third.
Find the first two here:
Taking a Look Back: Jeremy's Pregnancy
Taking a Look Back: Jeremy's Bed Rest and Labor


We left off with Jeremy (then named Noah) being born at 34 weeks. He was not breathing and had an infection. We didn't know any of this. We didn't get an update until an hour after I delivered. I lost it! I was so upset that I didn't know how he was doing or where he was. Bobby kept reassuring me that we were at thee BEST hospital in the nation to care for a pre-mature baby and they were doing everything they could to save his life. These journal enrties are written to Jeremy. For simplicity I didn't change the words.
10am: An hour after delivery a NICU doctor came in to tell us you was in the next room over. Once the e[pidural wore off and I could get out of bed into the wheelchair, we could go see you! I jumped up! They were amazed, so soon after delivery and epidural, I could get out of bed! But I was determined to see my baby! The doctor said you weren't breathing on your own and would need to stay in the NICU for a few days.

The first time I got to hold you.
2 hours old

At 5 pounds 14 ounces, you was so tiny! You felt so light in my arms! We were only able to see you for a few minutes.  It was so hard to put you down. The team needed to get you to the NICU unit to stabilize your breathing and get antibiotics for the infection you got while I was laboring. They said we could come to the NICU at 12pm to visit for as long as we wanted. They are now saying you will be in the hospital until your due date: 6/2/10. That is 6 weeks! 

They moved us to a recovery room. I was crying at one point telling B, "We didn't get to see him for long enough. I wouldn't even recognize him." A lactation consultant came in to talk with me about the importance of breastfeeding. (See this post.) They wanted me to start pumping right away. The sooner I started the more of a jump start I would get on producing milk. Since you were not with me I needed to pump every 3 hours for 20 minutes each time. 

12pm: We got to see you! Mommy got all misty again! You had a nasal canula with a small amount of oxygen. Which means you were breathing on your own and just needed a little help! This was great news! You also had a feeding tube. They wanted me to bring anything I pumped! Even when it was only drops. They will try to start feeding you in 12 hours. 

At this point we had been up for 28 hours and needed to get some sleep. The nurses sent us back to our room to eat and take a nap. We went back to see you at 8pm, well fed and rested! 

The teal and white blanket was given to us by someone in the hospital that makes them!
How sweet of her! 

At this point we had decided the name "Noah" did fit you. We had Jeremy in the list of names we wanted and were debating if you were a "Jeremy." As we walked back to our room this was the Bible verse outside our door: 

Ok, God! Thanks for the clarity!
Jeremy Noah Martens

4/24/10, 1 day old: The first time gave you a bath, sponge bath because your umbilical cord was still attached! It was a bit tricky, We needed to remove all the monitors, set the bed up to be water-proof. You cried quite a bit! You are off the oxygen today! Thank you, Jesus! Yo hare still not interested in eating. I keep pumping so you have a stock when you are ready. You needed a spinal tap to check for further infection, your billi-ru numbers were high which meant you were slightly jaundice, so you needed to be under the UV lights. You got to meet Grandpa, Grandma, and Auntie! 

Bath Time.
The after bath snuggles are still my favorite time of the day!

4/25/10, 2 days old: Mommy has to go home today. I come to feed you every 3 hours. You are not interested in nursing. You are too tired. The nurses tell us nursing for you is like us running a marathon. Your little body is too busy trying to mature that it doesn't have the energy to nurse. But keep trying so you feel the comfort. We usually feed you through the feeding tube. Daddy wishes he could have one! This process is called "Gavaging." Mommy get to have some skin-to-skin (STS) time with you! Your jaundice is doing better today so they let you off the belli lights for a little bit. STS helps with milk production too! Daddy read to us while I snuggled with you! After your bath we head home at 10pm. Mommy cries the whole way home. Daddy takes me over to see Matt and Tammy. They comfort me by praying for us. We get home, unpack, pump and get in bed by 1:30am! It was a long emotional day! We came home to the fireplace FULL of gifts from the ladies at the preschool! There was a huge diaper cake on the table from Auntie Sherri and Auntie Sock! We were overwhelmed by the kindness and love shown to us.

4/26/10, 3 days old: Visiting hours start at 12pm. I can stay until 6pm. They do a shift change and I can come back at 8pm and stay throughout the night, but we can't sleep there. We usually get there at 12pm for your feeding and stay until your 9pm feeding,  head home, pump at 12am and sleep. Same routine the next day. Today your Bilirubin is much higher and you have to be under the lights a much as possible. We only take you off to try to nurse and keep the UV pad under you. You have to stay on your antibiotics for 7 more days. They are growing cultures from your spinal tap to make sure the infection hasn't spread. You nursed for 7 minutes today and you were wide awake! I love every minutes of it! WE have decided while you are in the hospital, Daddy will work his regular shifts and come to the hospital on his days off. Daddy will be with me tomorrow! I want to take you home and snuggle with you but I know this is the best place for you right now.

The glow under you are the Belli-Rubin lights.

4/27/10, 4 days old: Your infection is so much better today! They discontinued your antibiotics! your Bili test is still high so you have to be on lights all day. They are above and below you. Daddy made little labels for your goggles: I can still see you, I make these look cool, I'm still checking you out. All the nurses were cracking up! You did a little better eating today. They upped your feeding does from 32cc or 44cc. We only have to gavage (feed through the tube) a few cc each feeding. Mommy is still pumping but not enough, so we have a prescription for donated milk until I start to produce more. Your nurse today is Allison. She is the girlfriend of a firefighter Daddy works with! She will be your nurse everyday she is working. We are getting to know her and love that you are so well taken care of. His mom also works in the NICU and she will take care of you when she is working! Daddy spent the day with us. He fed you while Mommy pumped. You were too sleepy to nurse today. He also gave you a bath today! He changed you for the first time and you pooped ALL over everything! Your bedding, monitors, wires, all of it! Hehe! We brought you outfits to wear, blankets from home that smell like us, toys and books. We left a little early today, 6:30pm. We love you so much! We are have so many people praying for you to get better and come home!

All eyes!

He just melts my heart!

4/28/10, 5 days old: Your Bilirubin is lower today but you still have to be under the lights. So I didn't get to snuggle with you. I sat by your bed and read to you. They started giving you a daily multivitamin. You were very sleepy today but you nursed for quite a while. It made me so happy! Daddy is working today but asks for lots of pictures all day! I am going to spend some time with Sierra tomorrow morning, so I will be coming in the afternoon with Daddy. I watched the videos we need to take you home: Baby CPR, Shaken Baby, and Carseat Safety. We will being your car seat in for the test. You have to be in it for 90 minutes and continue breathing. You are down from your birth weight. You weighed 5lb 1oz, today.

Left: Our favorite picture of you! That's a washcloth coving your entire body!
Top Right: Grandma came to visit!
Bottom Right: Love those eyes!

4/29/10, 6 days old: No more UV lights! Yea! They are adding HMF to your bottles. It's a supplement to help fatten you up! Ha! You are not gaining enough weight. But you are getting better eating each day. We got some skin-to-skin time today. Mommy loves that time! I took a little nap with you! Shhh, we aren't supposed to sleep in the NICU. They wanted you to take a carseat test. They check the specs on your carseat and put you in it for 90 minutes to make sure you don't stop breathing. If you do, we have to get a new carseat that allows you to lay down during a car ride. You passed the test today! Pastor Jim Gilbreth, from the Grove, came to visit you today and pray over you!

4/30/10, 7 days old: YOU are so cute! I'm pretty sure you are the cutest baby in the whole hospital! GiGi came to visit you again today! She got to hold you for about an hour. You drank 3 bottles in a row all on your own last night! Mommy is now pumping enough for you to eat!! When I got here today, you nursed for 15 minutes! I was elated! Then you layed on Daddy's chest while we all took a little family nap! The nurse let us and even took a picture! Tata came to see you too! He brought Daddy and Mommy dinner, Cuca's! YUM! You got your Hep B shot today and we had to sign consent for you to be circumcised. We don't want to be here for that!  Tomorrow is your baby shower. Allison will be here with you and while you get circumcised. We will come visit you in the evening! Happy one week old birthday!

I love that bottom right picture!
"Don't put me down Daddy!"

The next week in the NICU can be found here:

Taking a Look Back: Jeremy's NICU Stay (Week 2)

Taking a Look Back: Jeremy's First Year