4 months old!

It's hard to believe, but Luke is already 4 months old today! He might not look it just yet, but he is getting bigger. He's been eating like crazy and is doing really well. We have another follow up with his eye doctor on Monday and hopefully the news will be better this time around.
Here's a few more photos of Mr. Lucas.

Home Again

Luke's 2nd eye procedure went well. A lot less intense than the first time. We spent the night in the hospital just to be on the safe side, but we're back home and doing well. We have a follow up with the eye doctor on the 29th so he can make sure he's cleared up everything once and for all, so we'll keep our fingers crossed for that.
While in the hospital, he got weighed and we found out he's up to 5 lbs!! He's definitely starting to put on a little baby fat and his little squirrel cheeks are getting bigger.
Time is flying and we're doing well. We'll do our best to keep posting our progress at home.

A Little More Hospital Time Ahead

Today was Luke's follow up with his eye doctor and the news wasn't as good as we were hoping. His left eye looks like it's better, but the right eye needs a 2nd phase of laser treatment as it is not completely fixed. From what we're told, it will be a lot less treatment than what he had done last time, but the doctor feels it is necessary to completely repair the vessels and avoid any possible long term problems.
We'll find out a little more tomorrow, but the procedure is scheduled for Wednesday morning. With a little luck, he'll be out the same day. We'll need a few more thoughts and prayers from you all and we'll keep you posted on the results.

A Few Photos from Home

Hey everyone, here are a few quick photos as promised. We're busy here at home but doing well. Hope you all are too!

Settling In

Luke's first few days at home with us have been great. He's sleeping a lot more during the night than either of us thought he would, which has made it easier on us. He's doing all the usual baby stuff...eating, poopin', sleeping, etc. We put on his oxygen when he's eating and the heart rate and breathing monitor has given us peace of mind as well.
This morning we went to his first appointment with his pediatrician who said that he looks great considering everything he's been through. He's up to 4lbs 8oz now and continuing to grow. Before we know it, he'll be at the 5lb mark.
We've been pretty busy getting adjusted so I don't have many photos to post just yet, but I'll try to get some up in the next day or two. Thanks for being patient. ;)

One Journey Ends, Another Begins

Hey everyone! As many of you have probably already heard...LUKE IS HOME!!!!!

 

The day finally came yesterday and we were able to bring our boy home after exactly 14 weeks in the NICU. We can't believe it. We couldn't have done it without all of your love and support. It was a crazy day and Luke, who slept in the car the whole way home is doing great. (Here's a photo of him at the hospital getting ready to leave...by what else, sleeping.)

The last few days in the NICU were hectic, exciting and sad. All of the nurses there have become like family and we'll miss them all. We asked them to keep in touch and let them know they can come by and visit him and we'll bring him back there to visit as well. (Here's Luke saying goodbye to one of his nurses, Dorothy and giving her a round of applause for the great job she did.)





So now we begin our new journey as parents at HOME and the real chaos begins. We're confident that we'll do just fine and Luke will adjust quickly to his new surroundings. He is on a portable monitor and we have oxygen tanks available if he needs it. Right now we're just putting it on him when he eats, because it seems to help him.
We're going to continue to post to the blog and give updates on how he's doing here at home and try to put up more pictures, which we know everyone likes.
Thanks again for all of your support. You all are wonderful!!

Waiting for the Word

Our "Care by Parent" experience with Luke yesterday was great! It definitely helped us feel more comfortable with giving him his medicines and start learning his cues better. The monitor they had him on was a little on the fritz, which was frustrating at times, but not a huge deal. He also showed us that while he doesn't need oxygen around the clock, he still needs a little extra puff now and then to keep him from getting exhausted.
That's what we're waiting on the final word for this morning. We're supposed to be getting a call from the company that comes out and sets up the oxygen tank and monitor and we're still waiting to hear from the doctors on if Luke will be fully released today. We should know more soon and as soon as we can, we'll let everyone know.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of photo updates lately...it's been very busy and I just need to transfer the pics off of the camera so I can post them. We'll try and get them up soon.

Oh, So Close

Just a few more steps! We went in this morning not knowing if we'd be taking him home tonight, Tuesday or ???. It turned out to be "???", which means probably Wednesday.
The reason they pushed it out another day is that he's been doing better with feeding without the assistance of oxygen. What they hope is that he'll continue to show that he can eat without any oxygen and not de-sat for the next 48 hours and if so, they won't send him home with us on oxygen. We will probably still have a monitor for him, just to be safe, but it would be nice if we didn't need to worry about the oxygen tank.
He also got his "Synergis" shot today, which is a form of booster shot that helps his body fight RSV, which for most adults is just a cold, but for micro-preemies like Luke, it's a lot worse. The shot does not completely immunize him, but it helps him fight it and lessens the severity if he ever does get it.
On Tuesday, we'll be doing a 12-hour "Care by Parent", which means it's just us and Luke in a small hospital room and it's up to us to do all the work. We feel pretty confident with him already, but we feel it's a good practice run before he comes home and we can become more familiar with giving him all of the medications and vitamins he still needs to be given.
We'll let you know how it goes and if Wednesday does become the magic day.