Since we've been home

We Made It!

Here are some pictures of our last few days in the NICU. We have learned so much about love and service over the past two months. We are so grateful for family, friends and nurses who have helped us to learn how to love. 

46 days can sure change a baby!

Pray for Poop

 This is baby Lucas. He needs your help. The boy is having some troubles with his bowel movements, i.e. they are not moving. Dr. Johnson says we need to pray for poop and if that doesn't work we may need to organize a neighborhood fast for poop. We don't want anyone to have to go without food, so lets hope the praying works.

 This is nurse Mandee. She is sent straight from heaven. On day three in the NICU Mandee asked me how I would feel about her requesting to be Luke's primary nurse. I had no idea what that meant, but I had watched her with him and with some of the other babies and I thought this could be a good thing. Boy am I glad I said yes. She takes care of Lucas for six days straight and then takes 7 days off to travel to glorious destinations; a trip to Hawaii, a week in Montana and Valentine's in Wyoming. I don't know why she ever wants to come back to Provo. She is a miracle worker with our little boy, she knows exactly what he needs to calm him down and always takes the time to watch over him so closely. We are hoping that our insurance will pay for her to come live with us for a few months when he comes home. Not only is she wonderful to Lucas but she also makes our visits to the NICU so much fun. We love Mandee and are grateful that she requested to be our primary nurse.

This is baby Lucas during the last hours of Mandee's six days on, he knows she is leaving and he is not happy about it at all!

This is Dad. Some of you may wonder what is my role when we come to the NICU. Ashley plays the role of fabulous part time mother and full time milk factory, I play whatever role is needed. I weigh the baby, fold pillows, silence alarms and change diapers. My favorite role comes right after Lucas eats, I get to hold him while he takes the rest of his feeding and try and get him to sleep, as you can see here I am getting pretty good.

Happy Birthday Lucas!

Hard to believe that Lucas is already one month old today! Hopefully within the next few weeks he will get to join us at home only a mile down the road. He has grown and changed so much over the past month so we thought it would be fun to share his progression. Please do not be too critical of the quality of the video, especially the song transition mid video, we tried really hard. We love you Lucas!

New Digs

Our apartment has needed a transformation in order to get ready for the arrival of the little fella, so in the past few weeks we got rid of a large tv (thanks Jason for the use of it for the past year) and I did another manly thing building a dresser from IKEA. We rearranged some things and found some fabric bins at target to fill with bath supplies, diapers, books and clothes for Lucas. Notice in the picture that the bike still has a spot in the apartment, thanks to Ashley's fabulous Christmas present.

This is how they determine how much he nurses, they weight him pre and post and convert into mL. His weight here is not his actual weight, though yesterday he did weight 4 pounds 8 ounces!

Lucas also had a change of scenery at the hospital, with his weight about 1800 grams he no longer needs to be in an isolette because he can regulate his body temperature on his own. This means he can now do two of the four things he needs to do before we can bring him home. He is breathing on his own and regulating his temperature, all he needs to to now is nurse or bottle feed all of his food and sit in a car seat for 90 minutes. He is eating pretty well and is almost ready to go up to three feedings a day! We still feel so blessed that he is doing so well and though we are anxious to bring him home we are patiently waiting until his health warrants him leaving the hospital. 

What a precious little boy! 

Special thanks to Natalie for sending us her "backup" camera. Our nurse was making fun of me taking so many pictures of Lucas and thought he maybe did not like his photo-op, but I just kept snapping and ending up with some fun pictures. 

Home Sweet Home (For Now)

Some of you may be wondering what does little Lucas do all day long in the NICU. During our visit today I thought I would document a few of the areas that he frequents. In general Lucas is doing fabulous, he is breathing well, got to move to the feed and grow section of the NICU, no longer has an IV and is taking his feedings pretty well. He is back up to his birth weight but because he is so small they have to progress very slowly with his feedings as to not upset his little stomach. 

 This is wear Lucas spends about 22 hours a day. It is his own personal Isolette complete with heart rate monitor, blood pressure cuff and oxygen saturation readings. He has a few small storage bins for his diapers, beanies and other various supplies. We have tried to tell him to enjoy the storage space because he may have more here than he will at home! The isolette helps block out all the noise so he can direct all of his energy to growing. They say he likes his new home and rarely cries. Mom and dad like how quiet it is in this side of the NICU, but it is pretty difficult to change diapers in an isolette!

 This is the rolling recliner that Mom and Dad get to sit in when they snuggle the baby. It is very comfortable and plus as you can see from the picture.

I love this picture of Lucas and Ashley! I think it is easier to appreciate the size of his hands and head when you see them next to Ash's petite hands. He always looks so peaceful and at home when he is with his Mom, probably due to the fact that he still should be inside of her belly! We are so grateful that he is doing so well and look forward to the day when we can take him home whenever that may be!

Pregnancy Progession

Ashley has always taken very good care of herself, this is no new information to anyone who is reading this blog. We thought it would be fun to track the progress of Ash's belly as she drew closer to delivery. We had a fabulous plan of taking pictures of her every two weeks right before we went to church so she would always look her best. The following is the progression of this little girls little belly!

Week 24: The first time we decided to take a picture, possibly due to the fact that prior to this time it was impossible to even tell that she was pregnant. I think in this picture she is pushing out a little :)

Week 26: Rest assured Ashley did not wear this to church this week, pretty sure we were running a little behind and so we took this after church when she had changed into some comfy pants.

Week 28: If you notice our tree looks far superior in week 26, this week it looks a little droopy and dead. Ash still looks fabulous and if you squint you can see that belly.

Week 30: here she is pregnant as can be. Feeling great and proud of her little belly and enjoying the Christmas season with family.

Week 32: First family picture. Lucas decided to make an early entrance on January 14th at 3 in the morning and weighing in at 3 pounds. I am convinced that the reason he chose to come early was because he knew who his mother would be and could not wait to come and be with her. As can be seen in the picture and heard in the NICU the boy has some fight, which is good, all the nurses and doctors know who Lucas is and have heard him when he is not swaddled. It was a sweet experience to hold our son for the first time and feel like a family, Ash was a little upset that when she holds him he quickly falls asleep but when I do he looks up at dad for the whole time. 

 Week 33: After 10 days in the hospital, hundreds of blood pressure checks, blood draws and semi-sleepless nights Ash got her last iv taken out this morning. More important than the hundreds of nurses and doctors were the hundreds of prayers and fasts offered on behalf of our little family. We truly feel blessed by the multitude of tender mercies that have been extended unto us by the goodness of the Lord and have felt his sweet spirit with us on so many different occasions. We look forward to taking home little Lucas in the future and are just glad we have time to purchase a car seat, throw a shower or two, prepare the apartment for his homecoming and buy a diaper or two!