Feb 5th - Day 13 in the NICU

On Super Bowl Sunday, Will was ready to feast! He took the whole bottle twice! What a big boy!

Will also had another bath... he does really well with swaddle baths and really enjoys when we pour water on his little belly. Once he's able to take real baths, I have a feeling he's going to love them! (Sorry these iPhone photos are a little blurry)

So alert after his bath:

A sweet moment with Mama:

Melt my heart!!

I can't believe how quickly time is passing -- hard to believe my maternity leave is already a quarter over! :( We're grateful for the continued health and development, but we're sure anxious to get him home! We can't wait for Big Brother to meet his Little Brother! Thanks again for all the support, y'all!

Love,
Abby, Andy, John, Will, and Wayne-Dog :)

Feb 4th - Day 12 in the NICU

On Saturday, Will took a whole bottle once! That's all 52cc by bottle! Way to go, kiddo!! We're so proud of you! That's 1 full bottle down, 7 to go (to make all 8 feedings in one day)! ;)

Snugglin' with Gramma after all that hard work eating:

And hangin' out with Dada:

Love,
Abby, Andy, John, Will, and Wayne-Dog :)

Feb 3rd - Day 11 in the NICU

On Friday, Will maxed out at only 30cc with his eating, but overall he is still doing very well! When Dr. Sparks rounded this morning, he told us Will's heart murmur is getting louder, meaning it is most likely closing (he used the analogy of kinking a garden hose - how the sound of the water running through it gets louder). So that's good news (must be why Will is smiling)! ;)

Dr. Sparks also informed us that it was his last day -- he would be off for a week beginning tomorrow and Dr. Carroll would be taking over care for Will. We feel so blessed that Dr. Sparks happened to be the neonatologist on call the morning Will was born -- we couldn't have had a better doctor care for our little guy! He has fantastic bedside manner, and we are so appreciative that he took the time to explain everything to us! He will be missed!

"What? You're leaving me, Dr. Sparks??"

Also on Friday, Will passed his carseat challenge with flying colors (they strapped him into his carseat and made sure he could keep his vitals up for a full hour).

The carseat challenge is a requirement for all NICU babies before they can be discharged. Speaking of discharge, Dr. Sparks gave us the impression that we can be hopeful for discharge early next week -- the primary hold up is his eating. Will must be able to take a full 52cc by bottle (or breastfeed) for all 8 feedings/day. So keep up the good work, kiddo! We can't wait to get you home!

Oh, and seeeee... told you Kristie (our favorite nurse) fixed up Will's bed the next day -- back to Wreck 'em Tech sheets! :)

Love,
Abby, Andy, John, Will, and Wayne-Dog :)

Feb 2nd - Day 10 in the NICU

Thursday, Feb 2nd was another Bath Day! This time Andy got to join...

Will on his silly Valentine sheets -- after each bath (every 3 days), the nurse would clean his bed and change his sheets. Luckily our favorite nurse (Kristie) would change them to something less girly the next day, even without a bath! :) Yes, we're vain like that! ;)

Will also took up to 40cc through the bottle -- way to go, Little Guy! Here's Dada feeding him the rest:


We are so proud of him! And we are still so grateful for everyone's continued prayers and support -- Thank you!

Love,
Abby, Andy, John, Will, and Wayne-Dog :)

Feb 1st - Day 9 in the NICU

On Day 9, Will's big event was that he began bottle feeding! Horray! The first time, he only took 12cc of the 52cc he eats at each feeding (every 3 hours)... but it was still an exciting milestone!

The rest of his "meal" is given through his NG tube.

Passed out with a full belly:

This one is sweet - how he's looking up at his nurse (Cindy, one of our favorites) when she's burping him:

When Will was getting burped, Andy snapped this photo - it's my absolute favorite!

Love,
Abby, Andy, John, Will, and Wayne-Dog :)

Jan 31st - Day 8 in the NICU

Happy 1-Week-Birthday to our little boy!

On Tuesday the 31st, Will finally got to breath room air only!! What a big step for our little man! He looked sooooooo good with less tubes!! What a handsome fella!


He also proved that he was eating better, so they upped his volume back up to 40cc, then up to 52cc! Here's Dada feeding Will:

Holding Mama's finger:

Our Little Red Raider with his Guns Up!

Way to go, Bud! Keep on growing so we can bring you home!

Love,
Abby, Andy, John, Will, and Wayne-Dog :)

Jan 30th - Day 7 in the NICU

On Monday the 30th, Will had a relatively uneventful day after the BIG weekend he had! We did get his first report card, though! (Every Monday they take measurements in the NICU and send a note home with Mom and Dad.) I'd say he gets an A+!

Our sweet boy!

Unfortunately, Will did develop some eating issues and they had to switch him from pumped breastmilk to Similac Sensitive formula. :( They also backed down from 40cc at each feeding to 20cc to give his belly a break. Hopefully his digestive issues will clear up quickly!

Despite this set-back, we are still just so grateful for the great big steps Will took over the weekend! Can't wait till we get to bring him home!

Holding on to his paci for dear life:

All decked out with his Texas Tech blanket and sheets:

Yaaaawwwnnn! Streeeeeeeetch!

Also on Sunday, Gramma got to hold Will for the first time! Until now, we could only hold him once a day, so it was limited to Mama and Dada. But on Sunday he was doing well enough to be held more often - so Gramma finally got to snuggle her newest grandson:

Love,
Abby, Andy, John, Will, and Wayne-Dog :)