Our First Few Days at Home

Wow!! The last few days have been so amazing for me! I cannot even express how happy it has made me having both our boys together. Brody has to be the best big brother in the world!! He absolutely adores Colby! It is so cute to see Brody try to comfort Colby with his paci when he cries, pat him on his back when I'm trying to burp him, and help hold the bottle when I'm feeding him. I hope Brody continues to love him, comfort him, and protect him!! Colby is a lucky boy to have Brody for a big brother!

Colby seems to be settling in to our home very nicely. For now, we have left him on the feeding schedule that the NICU established, which is every 3 hours. This seems to work pretty well for us, because it means that I only have to pump and feed Colby once by myself (Jason went back to work yesterday)...the other times, Brody is sleeping or Jason is home to help. Colby is still eating pretty well, which I am so glad of. Nursing is pretty difficult for him, so we have just been doing bottles for now. He still gets tired and out of breath with the bottles, but it is not nearly as bad as when he is nursing. As I have said before, whatever is best for Colby is what we will do!!!

Yesterday, Colby turned 2 weeks old, and we took him for his first pediatrician visit. Fortunately, he didn't have to get any shots...not that it would be anything new for him! Dr. Hudson said he is looking good. He weighed in at 6 lb 15 oz, which is up 5 oz from birth weight. Dr. Hudson seemed very pleased with this. At first, Jason and I were kind of worried, because he left the NICU Friday weighing 7 lb 12 oz. Apparently, he had a lot more swelling in his legs than we thought. The Lasix has cleared up his swelling now, which has caused him to weigh less. His little legs are so cute!! They are super skinny...I am going to have to fatten him up!! We also had his sats checked while we were there. We are excited to report that they are still hanging in the low 90's for now!!! That was a relief...I guess I had a fear that they would have dropped since we left the NICU!

All in all, we have had a great first few days at home! I'm so glad that we are starting to get into a routine now. I know this won't last long before I have to adjust to a new routine, though. You know how it goes...as soon as you think you have it under control, something changes!

A very smart friend of ours gave us the following advice recently, and it has really helped me get through the last week or so: "Allow yourselves to celebrate the good news and the victories. Try not to put yourself in the situation of "waiting for the other shoe to drop". Love him and live in the moment!!!" Thank you Amy Barton!!! This has helped me more than you will ever know. Jason and I are both loving every second of having both our boys at home to love on and enjoy! I am leaving the future in God's hands and not worrying about it!

Colby still has two more doctors' appointments this week. On Thursday, we have to take him back to the pediatrician for his circumcision (YIKES)...Vanderbilt would not do it for some reason! Friday, we go see Dr. Liske, our cardiologist. We are eager to see what he has to say about how Colby is doing. We'll keep you posted!

Thanks again for all of your encouraging comments and emails. We truly appreciate it and look forward to reading them each day. We are so blessed to have so many friends and family members praying for our little Colby! Thank you!