1 Week Birthday

It is hard to believe that at this time last week we had already welcomed our baby boy into this world. Perron is one week old today and he continues to do really well. I just called the NICU and he is 3 lbs 13.4 ozs....almost back to his birth weight! They have started introducing bottles into his daily routine and he is having a bit of trouble with them. His suck reflex is not very well developed and he usually spills more all over his washcloth then he gets in his mouth. They have told us that this is very typical for preemies of his gestational age and it is just a developmental issue that will require patience and practice. It is hard though because I know that one of the milestones he must reach in order to go home is to take all of his feeds by bottle. He also has to finish each feed within 30 minutes of starting because if he takes longer than that, he ends up burning more calories then he takes in. I talked to the Nurse Practioner last night when she was making rounds and we talked about the timeline for going home. She said that a week would be a very optimistic goal, not impossible but a little aggressive. She said it would probably be closer to 10 days. Hopefully he will continue to improve and we will get to have him home with us soon.

Perron had a very special visitor last night. His Aunt Lauren came in for Charlotte for her first visit with her nephew. Perron was very excited to see her and made sure he was at his absolute cutest. I am going to post some pictures below and you will notice one very big change....He can finally wear clothes! YAY!! I washed all of the fabulous preemie outfits that our friends and family have gotten him and I took them down to the hospital. He is wearing one of my favorite outfits that some of our best friends Katie and Scott got him. I love the monkey's and especially love the little monkey feet. They preemie clothes are still a little big on him, but he looks so cute I can barely even stand it.

We had another big milestone last night. Perron was held for the first time by someone other than mommy and daddy. I wish I could say that I was selfless and generous and volunteered to give up some of my cuddle time....but I can't. :) It was Stephen's idea. Lauren, Mom, and Dad all got to hold him for the first time and it was very special. I was excited to get to share him with everyone and they loved the opportunity to give him some squeezes. Enjoy the pictures below!