Levi is three months old!

We got to room in with our beautiful baby last night. We checked in at 7:00 pm on Tuesday evening (shift change) and checked out at the same time on Wednesday evening. Upon our arrival, we met a woman who gave us a very quick lesson on the monitor that he will get to come home on (primarily for our peace of mind). It alarms if his heartrate were to be too slow or fast as well as if he were to have an apnea spell. He has not had a problem in either of these departments in quite some time but it is certainly nice to know that if something were to happen we could help him out right away. They also gave us a container of oxygen for him. He has been using his oxygen only during his feedings. His doctor suggested that I try feeding him without it to see how he did. I tried this only once and immediately put it back on him since his sats started to drop. The whole evening was perfect. He has such a big boy cry now. The only time that he really fussed was while the nurse was explaining all the rules of rooming in to us. He wanted to eat and could have cared less about the rules and regs :) Basically, it was all common sense stuff but apparently they have had problems in the past and had to address them. They informed us that someone must stay in the room with him at all times - no kidding :) We also had to keep him in view of the video camara at all times. We had to dress in the restroom (apparently they just recently had a daddy roaming around the room in his undies despite the fact that all the nurses were watching the monitor) and we were also informed that the only person who was allowed to come and get him was his nurse. After we signed the contract agreeing to their terms, he was ours for the night. I couldn't believe that they were actually putting him in our care. I was a little nervous but was comforted by the fact that they would be right there if we had any questions. It was so special. In a sense, it gave me closure to the fact that I never had the opportunity to care for him in our hospital room after his birth in the same way that we had been able to with Teddy and Naomi. It made it much easier that he had designated times for his feedings/changings (unless of couse he needed to be changed in between). He ate 55cc at 8:00, 11:00, 2:00, and 5:00. A few times during the night, the nurse and respitory therapist would come peek in on him to make sure all was well. Levi seemed to love his time with us as much as we did our time with him. It was difficult to be away from Teddy and Naomi through the night but we knew they were in good hands being spoiled by their Uncle Dan and Aunt Jennifer. I even found myself enjoying the hospital food - perhaps because we didn't have to prepare it ourselves. The plan was to be able to bring Levi home the following evening (Thursday) after his eye exam. After seeing that he was still struggling a little in the whole suck - swallow - breathe department when taking a couple of his bottles, his doctor told us that she honestly felt as though we should consider letting him stay just a little longer until he mastered it. She did say that she would support us if we felt comfortable taking him home and that she felt like we would do just fine with him unlike a 15 year old girl who had no previous experience in parenting. We agreed that if there was any doubt that he was ready to be home that he needed to stay a little longer. This is certainly not to say that we weren't dissapointed. We are just thankful that his doctor was willing to speak up despite our eagerness to bring him home. It is hard for us to imagine that girls almost half my age are having babies and being faced with the same situation that we are. Teddy and Naomi responded very well to our explaining to them that we must be patient for just a little while longer. They have been so understanding of the entire situation and have at times been our strength through this ordeal. It won't be long until we are "a happy, little family" at last.

PS. He passed his carseat test with flying colors!!! (They put him in his carseat for 1.5 hours and then documented his sats every 15 minutes to determine whether or not he is capable of keeping his airway open while riding in his seat or if he must ride in a carbed).

Slideshow - Levi is 13 weeks!

Levi is 13 weeks old!

Levi is 13 weeks old! He currently weighs 5 lbs 13 oz. Yesterday they contacted us to let us know that we can room in with him and that he is close to coming home. We have so many mixed emotions. We are so excited and so anxious for his arrival. We are also wanting to make sure that we are not rushing him. They have already taken his nasal canula off except during his feedings. Even then it is only at 1/8th of a liter. I have to admit part of me is sad that we will not be seeing everyone from the NICU as often. For the past three months, we have been able to form relationships with some of the best people on earth. They truly are good hearted, hard working people who are making a difference. We love them - they have truly become part of our family. Despite the fact that we have had three months to prepare for his arrival, we still have some things we would like to accomplish around the house . . . so we'd better get going :)