Getting Big

Drew has been home for more than a week and he is doing awesome! Today Drew had his second check-up with his pediatrician. Drew's doctor said that Drew is doing as good as anyone could hope for a baby born at his gestation. He is gaining weight pretty quickly now. He came home weighing around 6 pounds 7 ounces and now he weighs 7 pounds 5 ounces. Drew is loving his new home, but he still requires us to follow the schedule that he was on at the NICU:) Drew also misses his nurses and we are looking forward to seeing them soon so that they can see how big he is getting. Drew has an eye check-up scheduled next week, we are praying hard that the ROP has subsided. It has been a lot of fun to spend so much time with him, better than we could have ever imagined.

Home Sweet Home

There aren't words to describe what we have experienced today. The emotions were much stronger than either one of us anticipated. It was extremely difficult to say goodbye to our wonderful nurses. They have given us the greatest gift and we have become very close to them. It is impossible for us to express the gratitude and appreciation that we have for every nurse, doctor and specialist that cared for Drew. Our primary nurses especially devoted so much time and love to give Drew the best possible chance at life, we already miss our nurses and we will always cherish the time that we were able to share with them. At the hospital there is a long hall that leads to the NICU which we have walked countless times. After Daddy saw Drew for the first time he walked out of the NICU and sat down on the bench in that hall and cried for twenty minutes. Early on in Drew's life each time we walked down that hall on our way to visit Drew we never knew what to expect or what new challenges we might learn of upon entering the NICU. After our visits with Drew we would walk together just Mommy and Daddy every night 119 times down that hall leaving Drew behind and we would wonder when and if our little boy would ever leave the hospital with us. As we walked out of the NICU doors and into that hall with Drew it hit us that we were really taking our little miracle home. We felt nervous and excited but mostly amazed at what had taken place at the NICU during the past four months. No matter how many times we talked about Drew coming home it never quite seemed real until that moment when we were walking out with him. We weren't prepared for the range of emotions that came upon us, it was almost bitter sweet. Drew slept in the car all the way home, but the second we pulled into the garage and stopped the car he woke up and Mommy and Daddy just smiled. We showed Drew around the house and most importantly we gave him a tour of his new room. He has seemed a little surprised and out of his environment but as each minute passes he is getting more and more comfortable with his new place. Drew has made sure that we keep the same schedule that he was on at the NICU. He starts getting fussy about every three hours and then demandingly cries for his bottle:) We love our new life with Drew at home, our house now has bottles and diapers and baby stuff everywhere. This is one of the greatest days of our marriage. This experience has been a roller coaster of emotions and a great builder of our faith, we have developed a great appreciation for life and for the miracles that God grants his children. It is hard to imagine how we were able to get through the difficult days during Drew's stay at the NICU (fortunately most of the days were good days). We have spent a lot of time looking at pictures and remembering how little and fragile he was. As we reflect on this experience we have come to the conclusion that nobody could endure such an experience alone. We felt uplifted by each other, our family, nurses and friends. We felt strengthened by God and we believe that he placed wonderful people at our sides to carry us through these four months. God sends his children to help one another and to carry each other through trials. We hope to become the type of people some day that God can send to help one of his children in need. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your love and prayers, and thank you to the IMC NICU for the miracle of life.

Coming Home!!!

Drew is coming home today!!! He has been off of oxygen now for almost three days. Last night Drew had to pass his car seat test which required him to sit in his car seat for an hour and a half without any heart or breathing problems. He did pretty good, he just got a little bored then fussy and then he went to sleep. We spent last night with drew in our own little hotel type room without any monitors. It was wonderful to spend all night with our son, Daddy got a little sleep but Mommy stayed awake for most of the night keeping watch and cuddling with our little guy:) We are excited to become real parents, this has been an incredible experience. We cannot express our gratitude enough to God and to those who cared for Drew, what a miracle he is.

No Oxygen!

Drew is getting so big! Drew now weighs about five pounds 12 ounces and he is getting some pretty chubby cheeks. He took a huge step today, Drew was off of oxygen when we walked into the NICU today around 3:oo pm and he was still off of oxygen when we left at 10:00 pm!! We were so excited for him, he looks so grown up without his nasal cannula. We hope that he can last through the night without his oxygen but we are so proud of our little guy for how long he has lasted on his own, this was a nice surprise today. Drew usually likes to pull on his tubes and yank the prongs out of his nose and because he didn't have his nasal cannula in we had to find him a new toy to play with today. We went home and got him his Denver Bronco crib mobile. Drew spent about ten minutes staring at the little horses going around and then decided that it was time to try and grab them. He had so much fun reaching and hitting the horses and Drew would kind of get a proud look on his face each he was able to touch one. We are so amazed at how far he has come and we know that he still has some challenges ahead but we have been extremely blessed to watch his miraculous progress. Drew is so precious to us and we are privileged to be his parents.

Patience

Drew had his eye check-up on Wednesday and they are slowly continuing to get better. There are still some areas that need to mature before he can come home. Drew's doctors believe that it could take as little as one more week but as long as three more weeks until his eyes will be mature enough to come home. We appreciate the wonderful care that Drew is receiving, it has been absolutely miraculous what they have done for our son. We have been looking at a lot of pictures of Drew's first month of life and they almost seem unreal. It is hard to believe that our little boy who now weighs over five and half pounds was once only one pound four ounces! When we think of the countless hours dedicated by nurses and doctors and the number of people who have cared or prayed for Drew, we are extremely humbled and grateful. We try to spend as much time as possible with our son, it is so much fun to play with him and watch him in his swing. Drew loves to eat and play, he gets fussy when he is awake in his crib and demands to either be held or placed in his swing:) We love him so much.