Slideshow - Levi is 10 weeks!

Levi is 10 weeks old!

Levi is now ten weeks old! Gestationally, this puts him at 34 weeks. He now weighs 4 lbs and 8.3 ounces. This past Thursday, he took his first bottle. I called the hospital at 4:00 pm to check on him and his nurse informed me that he would be taking his first bottle at 5:00. My mom got to our house with groceries at 4:30 and I told her that I wanted to get up there to see if I could feed him so off I raced and made it just in time. He did so well with it that they decided to increase him to two bottles the following day. This feeding was a little harder for him. He was sucking so hard on the bottle that he forgot to breathe and they had to increase his oxygen a little. For now they are still doing two bottles a day until both feedings are easy for him. Before he is discharged from the hospital, he must be taking all eight feedings perfectly. This past week he has experienced quite a few changes. They moved him out of his isollette into a bassinet. There are lots of babies in the NICU right now (lots of families who would appreciate your prayers as well). They also switched him to the unheated nasal canula. This is a good thing since it is one more step closer to room air; however, it is not as comfortable for him. In addition, they took away his daily dose of caffiene. His Nana and Papa were able to come from AZ to visit with all of us for a week. They had to return home on the 4th. Levi was very sad to see them go (as were the rest of us). As a result of all of these changes, he had to be bumped back up to two liters on his nasal canula and had even gotten up to 50% on his oxygen. They did an X-ray and a CBC to check for any infections to see what was going on. They both came back fine so they decided to change out his tubing on his nasal canula and immediately he went back down to 30%. The nurse thought that the connection must not have been very good on the tubing. Needless to say, we were relieved to see that that was all he needed. When we arrived to see him last night, we saw that he had just had a bath and was nice and clean. His hair was so soft and stuck straight out in some places. He was really working hard to get his milk out of his bottle for us but when we turned it upright we saw that he wasn't really getting much out of it. The nurse tried a different flow on the bottle nipple. He started high satting (he liked it better) but was still only able to get 13 cc of the 36 that we were feeding him. After 30 minutes of sucking it really burns up all the calories that he received from the feeding so we decided to let him rest after 15 minutes of eating and give the remainder to him via his tube using gravity. Levi is so adorable. He has the best sense of humor and is so well behaved for the nurses. Continue to pray for him to grow out of his "desatting" and that his feedings increase as they are supposed to so that he can come home soon.

Slideshow - Levi is 9 weeks!

Levi is 9 weeks old!

Levi is now nine weeks old! It is amazing how you can love someone so much. Yesterday when I went to visit him, he was looking at his hands as if for the first time. (In my heart, I believe he waited for this to take place until his mamma was around to witness this miraculous moment). He moved them all around in slow motion with a look of awe upon his face. Tonight, I got to kangaroo him again. While I did, he had so much to say. Anytime that my husband would say something funny, he would chime in with his sweet little voice as loud as he could at just the right time. Then he smiled his first smile for us. It was such a perfect moment. This too was a praise report for us because their was a chance that his "voice box" could have been damaged during his PDA ligation and he would have lost his voice. His weight is 3 lbs 14 ounces and he is currently still on one liter of oxygen ranging any where from 30-32%. It will not be long until they try his first bottle on him.

Levi is 2 months old!

Levi turned two months old today. Can you believe it has already been two months? Time truly has gone by so quickly for us. Wow, I used to think that two months was a huge milestone before with my older children; with Levi, I truly see it as being an immense accomplishment. Nurses count the age of NICU babies in days because each day they are still here is something to be noted. I really believe that each of us should learn something from that simple fact in our own lives. Every day we are here is truly a gift from above. None of us should take tomorrow for granted as none of us are promised a tomorrow. Take each day at a time and live it as if it were your last! Levi is once again stable enough to be out of the Intensive Care Nursery. He was moved to Special Care two days ago. He is eating 30cc/3 hours and no longer has an IV (Yeah!!!). We know that we made the right decision to have surgery on our son. Before the surgery, he was on 6 liters of vapotherm (a step or two below the ventilator) and is now only having to have 1 liter. His oxygen level is set at 24-28% with 21% being what the rest of us breath. He is doing so well and getting bigger everyday. He now weighs 3 lbs and 13.7 oz. Unfortunately, I have not got to see him in 6 days due to the cold that I had. I wanted to wait until I was 150% over it before going to visit. Today is the day. I feel great and can not wait to see my beautiful baby!

Levi is 8 weeks old!

Levi is 8 weeks old!

This is Levi's 1st Christmas. He currently weighs 3 lbs and 9 oz. His brother colored him a stocking that said "Baby's 1st Christmas" and his sister colored him a star ornament that has his name on it and with an angel sitting on it. Both of them are decorating his isolette as well as the Christmas card that many of you received from us with all three of their pictures on it. This Christmas is very special to us. We have so much to be thankful for. We are surrounded with wonderful friends and family who have shown nothing but love to us. Words can not begin to describe how thankful we are for the excellent meals they have prepared, endless dishes that they have washed, piles of clothes they have cleaned, not to mention the exceptional care that they have provided for our beautiful children - even when they have been fever stricken and full of tummy aches. We love each and everyone of you and are sorry that you have had to deal with us when we were not "handling things" so well. I am sad to say that I did not actually get to visit with Levi today since I woke up with a sore throat this morning. Justin and I did get to have a very special visit with him last night though. Merry Christmas everyone.

Levi had his surgery

Levi had his PDA ligated on Thursday, December 20th at 10:30 a.m. The surgery went perfectly - Thank you Lord! In addition to recovering from surgery, Levi was expected to "take his first eye exam" this Friday morning at 7:00 a.m. This too he passed with flying colors. Oxygen, while often necessary for premature babies, can be damaging to the undeveloped eye. They dilated his eyes and proceeded to check them for Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). If found, stage V is the worst and stage I is the most mild. As of this morning, Levi is said to have stage zero. (Again, another reason we give the Lord glory and praise). Continue to pray that he gets plenty of rest and recovers quickly and fully from his ligation.

Slideshow - Levi is 7 weeks old!

Levi is 7 weeks old!

Today, Levi Thomas turns 7 weeks old! He is such a blessing and miracle. Last night when we were visiting with him, we learned that a cardiologist recommended that we go ahead and have a PDA in his heart ligated. In term babies, this usually closes itself off close to birth if not shortly after. They have already given him three doses of a medicine to close it off without surgery. While these doses did help to close it for a time, it has gradually gotten back to it's original size. They are confident that doing this procedure will facilitate breathing and allow Levi to get on a smaller amount of Oxygen. Currently he is on vapotherm at 6 Liters and ranges between 25-40% oxygen. Please stand in faith with us that Levi will be protected during this procedure and will recover quickly from it. They will have to put him back into the NICU and put him on a ventilator after his procedure (This past Thursday they moved him up to Special Care Nursery since he has been so stable). We know that God is in control and that he is giving Levi's doctors and nurses complete supernatural wisdom and understanding in regards to his care. His care providers have truly prepared us for the rollercoaster that one rides in the NICU. Levi's brain ultrasound that he had most recently came back great. His vision test had been rescheduled for this coming Friday but that may change with the scheduling of this procedure. Currently his feeds are at 9cc/hour. Levi is still receiving his caffiene to help with bradycardia and a diaretic, aldatazide, to help get fluid off of his lungs to make breathing easier. His last weight was 3 lbs and 2 oz (This is what my father weighed 53 years ago when he was born 3 months early himself). God Bless each and everyone of you!

Slideshow - Levi is 6 weeks old!

Levi is six weeks old!

Our little warrior is now 2lbs and 14.5 oz and he measures approx. 40cm in length. Levi is still on vapotherm (Hooray!!!). He is currently on 4 liters and is staying anywhere from 30-40% right now. They check his blood gasses frequently and they have been great. His feedings have increased to 8.2 cc/hr. In addition to the Human Milk Fortifier, he is also receiving Neosure, Similac's version of preemie formula, in his breastmilk. This puts him at 27 calories/25cc vs. the 20 calories/25cc that he would be receiving on breastmilk alone. He has graduated to a larger diaper and got to wear clothes for the very first time yesterday for his 6 week "birthday". He was so alert and just begging the nurses to love on him that they let him come out of his isolette to take some snapshots with him. Last night when we went to visit, I got to kangaroo him for one and a half hours. I can not fully put this experience into words. He is absolutely amazing. I am convinced that there is no other experience on this earth that will ever compare to holding him to my chest - I do not feel worthy of partaking in such an event. We are sad to say that Levi will be saying goodbye to three of his nurses this week. They are travelers that will never be forgotten. (Thanks for all you do ladies - we know that where ever you go next, they are going to love having you around). Levi said to tell all of you hello for him. He said that he is truly experiencing the fruits of all of your prayers - keep them up.