He's a new man!

Yesterday afternoon Samuel decided to yank his feeding tube right on out of his nose. No one really could blame him but the doctors and nurses were betting on having to put it back in sometime during the night.

BUT! He showed them and has been doing great without it for 24 hours. He did lose a little weight but that is to be expected when taking all feeds on his own without the tube. (He went from 6.8 to 6.5). He also is on ad-lib feeding which means he more or less calls the shots about when he eats. There is an established goal of about 400-450MLs a day.

Hurray, Samuel!!

Disney on Ice...and superheros

Last week we took Catherine to see Disney on Ice and she loved it! The show started at 7:30 and we weren't sure that she would make it to the end but she hung in there with her glow sticks until the very end! She was very impressed with the princesses, Mickey and Minny and all of the other characters that made appearances.

No doubt that our little Cat was a little tired the next day...

But the next night we dusted off the superhero costume and saved the day a few times before our bath...

All the while, Samuel was slumbering away dreaming about opening day...

37 weeks

37 weeks?! Our little man is certainly bulking up. Samuel weighs 6.2 lbs and is 19 1/2 inches long. Each day that we go in he has gained another ounce or two; by the time you are reading this he is probably inching closer to 7 pounds.

Sam was doing great with his feedings and then kind of fell out of love with the idea. Yesterday however, (Fri, March 4th) he went for it and has had only one feeding in 24 hours via his feeding tube. As of Saturday morning, he had been 48+ hours without a brady as well. As the doctor said, "the lightbulb is starting to flicker".

Some recent photos to come...(although we realized that we just have a bunch of pics of Sam sleeping...never gets old when they are your own!!)

Samuel Lovin'

Samuel is 35 weeks old! Our little guy is quite amazing. In the past week he has managed to regulate his own body temp and is learning to eat on his own. We've had great success nursing and his eating from a bottle. We are starting off slow and nursing or giving him a bottle a few times a day. The first day he had something else in mind when he downed 36mL in just 20 minutes...1/2 the time it takes him to eat via his feeding tube! The next day when nursing him we got to hear a tiny little "burp" after eating...it was pretty cute! The Physical Therapist said that he is very strong and has the whole suck-swallow-breathe thing down pat, it just wears him out most of the time.

His episodes of bradacardias and apenia are becoming fewer and further between, which is another good sign for his upcoming discharge from the NICU. He needs to have five days of no bradys/apenias and we aren't keeping score yet but soon...
A special meeting with his sister this week was the highlight for all of us. This video is of Catherine waiting to meet her little brother:

34 weeks!

Today Sam is 34 weeks old. This is a big week: we are beginning to look for cues from Sam about his interest in eating (either via breast feeding or from a bottle). He also needs less and less help from his little heat lamp to keep warm which means he is learning to regulate his own body temp.



Sam is still having "bradys", which is when his heart rate drops and his breathing slows, but he is getting better about pulling himself out of these episodes, which is a positive indication of his maturity and lung development. He is still on caffeine to help him avoid the bradys as well. His sodium levels were also a tad low so he gets a touch of that every day as well. It's kind of like him sipping lattes, eating baked lays every afternoon while under a heat lamp. Not a bad life, actually!



We snuggle with Samuel every day; he is just so cuddly! Today we could finally see his eye lashes and they are just as long as his big sister's are but very, very blond! He also has gained his birth weight plus back and as of yesterday, was up to 4lb 4 oz! Still a little guy but filling up those thighs... This photo was taken last week while snuggling with dad...

3+1 = LOVE

Welcome, Samuel Thomas! Our little guy surprised us by showing up to the party TWO MONTHS early on January 27, 2011, 4lbs 1oz, 17 inches long with a full head of blond hair.



In the last week, Sam has gone from being quite sick to surprising the doctors and nurses with his progress. He is off a ventilator and now on a nasal cannula that provides him with some air support - they expect him to be off in a day or two. Today the nurses removed his PICC line, which was providing him with extra nutrients through an IV. He does have a feeding tube, which will remain in place for a few more weeks until he reaches gestational 34-35 weeks, when babies somehow figure out how to eat off their mommies or a bottle. This is also the time that he will suddenly realize how to maintain his body temp. No sense yet of when Sam will be home with us; we hope by the end of the month but it could be a bit longer.



The nurses and doctors at Kaiser Walnut Creek have been amazing. It was hard to leave there a few nights ago for the first time without Samuel but we were comfortable knowing that he is safe and in excellent care every minute of the day.



Catherine is doing great and is anxious to meet her baby brother. She has made him cookies and talks about how she wants to hold him and snuggle with him.



Our deepest thanks to everyone that has sent emails, notes, prayers and good vibes our way. This has been a really scary experience for us, and Scott and I feel so supported by our families and friends - and your families and friends - it's truly amazing. We are humbly grateful for your presence in our lives.

Sunday in the Leaves

Playing in leaves!

Catherine helped Scott rake up the leaves...over and over and over!

30 weeks!

The last family-of-3 trip to Yosemite!

Fun with Stickers!!

Not much to say about this one...