New......talents?

Well, let's start this blog off with a little T.M.I. - that means Too Much Information - dad, just trying to keep you young with the lingo! Nate has learned a new skill....a skill that he learned when I was at lunch thank goodness. While Nate's favorite nurse Allison was changing his diaper, he decided to "projectile poop" all over her and the floor. He shot his poo outside his crib, enough to need to call the poor janitor back up to clean the floor. This head shot picture of him shows the "caution wet floor" sign behind his head after he showed off his new skill. Everyone has a talent right! I'm sure we could sign him up for some sort of competition, huh?

You can tell his new skill really tuckered him out :)

This is a skill I hope he leaves behind at the hospital. Otherwise I'm thinking we need to put down some plastic protective gear in his bedroom!



Alright, enough with the gross new skills, I'll move on to less icky topics. Nate has been doing awesome in his crib. His temperature is nice and regulated and he's still gaining weight. He lost an ounce or two the first day out of his isolette but the nurse said this is normal because he's had to work a little harder to maintain his temperature on his own. He's now up to 4 pounds 5 ounces today. Some nurses work only every other week and they are shocked by how much he seems to be filling out. It's funny to look at a 4 pound baby and think he looks like a chubby little guy! Joe and I can definitely notice it in his face the most. His cheeks look like they are well on their way to getting filled out enough to pinch!

This is a photo of Nate in his nice new crib. He's rockin his preemie outfit but the nurses said he'll probably wear it once or twice and be too big for it already. For being such a little guy, having a 17 inch long body makes it difficult to fit in some preemie outfits. He's also showing in this picture that he has learned how to suck on a pacifier.















The doctor called us this morning and let us know that Nate's recent urine test came back and showed that the antibiotics worked and have cleared his urinary tract infection. It's nice that he has that IV out of his arm again because it was really really hard to try and put even a onesie on him without hurting that IV, and making him cranky of course. Nate had a bit of an eye infection as well but the drops are really helping with that. The doctor checked the color of his lids and they are no longer red but back to being pink like they should. He has a few more days of those drops and then he should be done with that treatment.



The picture to the left is a shot of Nate continuing to refuse to open his eyes for about the 10th time in a row when we took a picture. He knows when that flash is coming I tell ya. We must have distracted him enough in the shot below to get the eyes open!











The biggest step for Nate now is the bottle feeding. Nate had his first bottle attempt on Wednesday this past week. Let's just say there was a little bit more milk on his bib than there was that made it in his stomach. The nurse said he did awesome though. He takes in 36 cc's and he had about 9 left by the time he was tuckered out. They let them try and feed for a half an hour and whatever he doesn't finish they end up tube feeding him. The nurse said he did really great for his first try. His face was pretty hysterical the entire time. My guess is his inner monologue was something along the lines of, "Why don't you just put it in that tube in my nose that sends the milk straight to my stomach!" He seemed a bit confused and shocked as to why milk was coming out at him.



Here's Nate showing off how he's learning to bottle feed! Each time he seems to get better and better at it so we're very proud of his progress. On Friday night he took in 32 cc's, only needing to be tube fed 4. Plus, he actually swallowed a lot of the milk rather than spitting it up on the bib.. what a champ. Once he starts improving bottle feeding, they will try to have us bottle feed him twice a day, then three times, and keep increasing it until he gets stronger. During the other feeding times he still just gets the milk straight in to his feeding tube to his stomach.

Quick update on myself: Many of you kind folks have been asking how I've been doing medically....much better thank you! I had eclampsia, but the doctors are no longer worried about that and the seizures I had the night Nate was born. My blood pressure is under control and I have follow up appointments in three months to check protein levels in my urine. I recently had them checked and they were slightly elevated but not to the point of concern. My scar has healed great, and that fantastic rash is much better. Thanks for all of the kind concern!