My First Real Bath

We gave Hayden his first tub bath last Friday night. He really likes being in the water, which is great since he HATED the sponge bath.

I like to have the water poored over me, that's nice!

Little Mer-Hayden...

I took this photo a few weeks ago. Who do you think Hayden looks like??? Mommy, right???

Four weeks old

It is hard to believe that Hayden is already 4 weeks old, but it is true. It has been a big day, he finally fit into some of his newborn outfits AND he lost his umbilical cord. Diaper changing has become so much easier, right???

Wrong..

He has switched from the sleep, eat, little poop, repeat cycle to the sleep, eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat, GIANT poop, scream until you change me cycle. All of this of course equates to more laundry for mommy. Good thing he is so darn cute!

I like my pacifier while my bottle is being warmed up, but only if I can hold it.

Newborn outfit finally fits!

Hanging out in my bed, checking out my cool turtle mobile.

Sleeping just like my daddy...one leg out of the covers. If he had an electric blanket and a down comforter doubled over him in June, he would truly be daddy's "mini me"(Yes, he really does that).

Jason's Family Visits

Jason's mom arrived on Thur afternoon. Her boyfriend, David, was kind enough to bring her here so that she had a few extra days of baby time. Jason's sister and her husband(Stefanie & Ryan) drove up here Saturday morning with their daughter Madison. They all had to head back home after a very nice Father's Day brunch at First Watch.

Hayden decided on Thursday that he wanted to take full feedings about every 1.5 hours, I guess that 3 week growth spurt applies to preemies too?

Madison really liked to watch him, and just did not know what to think about him. Hopefully, Hayden can do some serious growing by Christmas or she might just beat up on him ;-) It was a really great visit, and we are so glad they were able to make it.

Grammy with her boyfriend David.

Hayden and Madison, too cute.

Check out cousin Madison, she is becoming such a big girl!

Some more photos

Mr. pouty face!

Guinness is still a baby too!

Check me out playing on Daddy's blanky my Great Great Grandmother Paschall made in 1977.

The Dr. visit went well, he weighed 5 lb 9 oz. She said that he looks great and the only part of him that shows any sign of preemie is his spotty skin. We don't have to go back until he is 6 weeks old!

Still gaining weight

The nurse came again Thur to check in on Hayden and he is still doing great. He gained 4.5 oz since her visit on Mon, he now weighs 4 lbs 5.5 oz. We took a quick trip to Target to get some more bottles yesterday while daddy was at work, and Hayden made all kinds of noises throughout the store. Just what I wanted him to do, draw attention to himself so that people and their germs want to gush over him. Luckily no one tried to touch him!

Well, it is off to Hayden's first Dr. visit on Friday....updates to follow.

Check out his photos from the hospital here.

Back to Birth Weight

Hayden's nurse came on Mon and checked him out. He had gained another ounce, so he is officially back to his birth weight. All of his vital signs were good, and the nurse thought he was super cute. She will be back on Thur to check up on him again, let's hope the progress continues.

Meanwhile, mommy has made at least 3 trips to the store to find the right bottle/nipple combination for Mr. particular. He is eating more than the bottles will hold that we were sent home with from the special care nursery, so finding the right bottle is imperative. We think that we have finally settled on the Avent bottles with the size 2 nipple. In typical Hayden style, the newborn nipple was just not fast enough for him because he clearly does not know his own age.

Home Sweet Home!!!

We brought Hayden home on Saturday afternoon, and so far everything has been going well. He has continued to eat like a champ and really has not been that fussy. We have been able to take turns feeding him through the night, which has made it easy for us to keep up with our sleep. I am feeling quite well considering all that my body has been through in the past week and half.

Hayden has a nurse coming to check on him at noon today, and I will be interested to see how much he weighed. He was up to 5 lbs when we brought him home on Saturday, so hopefully it is more than that now. He will get to go for his first Dr. visit this week, so that will be an adventure I am sure.

We will try to get some better pics up in the next few days!

Temperature Control....Mastered!

When we went to feed Hayden this afternoon, he had graduated to his big boy bed. His nurse turned off his isolet at 2am and he was able to maintain his temperature all day, so he is officially out of the box. Dr. Baer seems to think that he may come home on Friday/Saturday so mommy has been scrambling to get some things done around the house. He is going to have his pictures taken tomorrow, so we have to find him something cute to wear for the occasion. Daddy really wanted to buy him an argyle sweater vest this evening, but mommy would not let him.

In the past week our little cutie has mastered all of these things:
1. Breathing on his own
2. Eating like a pig
3. Maintaining his temperature
4. Methodically filling his pants
5. Spraying almost everyone that changes him, the nurses even sent home laundry for mommy to do today after one of his incidents
6. Getting really ticked off at the Physical and Occupation Therapists
7. Gaining 3 oz in the last 24 hours(Those cheeks are starting to look a little more Wilson every day)

We just could not be more proud!

Look Dad...no tube

Hayden has his feeding tube removed this morning since he is now eating between 45-55 ml at each feeding. He looks so much cuter without all of that stuff attached to him. He has continued to eat like a champ, but he is still having some trouble controlling his temperature. We are hoping that he is out of his temperature controlled environment and into a big boy crib by tomorrow, but we will have to wait and see.

Last night was bath night, so daddy got his first shot at giving him a bath. He did a very thorough job, and Hayden much appreciated the lotion after it was all done.

Dr. Baer, the pediatrician, stopped by to let me know that she very cautiously thinks he may get to go home some time this weekend. We don't want to rush him, but we sure would like to get him home.

I have been officially discharged from the hospital, but they are letting me stay in my room today so that I can be around to feed him every 3 hours. I will probably go home this evening and start to get a few things done around the house in anticipation of his homecoming, but still try to make several of his feedings for the rest of the week. I am not sure how much more hospital food I can handle ;-)

Hayden likes to eat!

Hayden has been making advances with his eating on a daily basis. This morning we started him on 20 mils of milk at each feeding. Even though that is 5 more mils than yesterday, he is not having any problems taking it down. I have been able to pump enough that he is eating only breast milk at each feeding. He is not quite strong enough to nurse just yet, but he is taking the breast milk from a bottle. We visit him in the nursery every three hours for his feedings and are able to keep him out of his bed for close to an hour. Daddy has gotten quite good at diaper changes, but mommy has better luck with the feeding and burping.

I should be discharged from the hospital on Tue morning, but we are hoping that I will get to stay in my room for a few more days so that I can continue to get his milk to him as he needs it. Daddy is going to go back to work on Wed, so that he does not use up all of his time off while Hayden is still in the hospital.

I know everyone is dying to know how long we think he will be here, but we just don't have those answers just yet. He seems to be doing quite well with his eating, but he has not made as much progression with regulating his body temperature. His nurse says that when they can set the temperature of his bed at 26 Celsius, he will be moved to a big boy crib without a heater. They did turn the temperature down just a little bit today, so let's hope he can stay warm!