(Click on a photo to enlarge)
May 15, 1:04 pm: So, Natalee and I were reminded this morning how inexperienced at parenting
we are! We were lamenting to each other how we have to change Simeon's clothes every time he eats, because
he gets milk ALL OVER himself. It hadn't dawned on us until today that we could just put a BIB on him!
We have about 25 bibs that were given to us, sitting in a bag not being used. We were very amused that
we have not thought once to actually use them!
We are all doing well (although still sleep deprived -- actually, I don't think that Simeon is sleep
deprived. He sleeps about 16 hours a day!)
May 13, 3:57 pm: Simeon is home! Thanks again for everyone's prayers and support. Love, Natalee and Luke
May 13, 11:22 am: Simeon has clearance to go home! We are waiting in our hospital room for him to get back from his final assessment and then we get to take him home. YAY!
May 13, 6:45 am: We survived the night, although I think that Simeon is much more rested
than Natalee and I! I look forward to the day that our son sleeps through the night without needing
to be fed.
As you can see from the first photograph below, Simeon lost his cord yesterday. It is quite strange
to hold him without any wires, tubes or umbilical cords connected to him. Last night I was wishing
he was still connected to the heart monitor, so that I could be sure he was still alright. I had
to put my ear close to his nose a few times throughout the night, just to be sure.
We gave Simeon a bath last night and weighed him at the same time. He is now exactly 5 pounds.
May 12, 11:30 pm: We are currently staying the night at the hospital with little Simeon asleep in our room! The nurses decided this morning that Simeon was OK to spend the night with us and come home with us tomorrow. We checked into the hospital late this afternoon and we will stay about 24 hours. During this time, we give Simeon his bath, food, diaper changes, vitamins, etc, and the nurses make sure we are comfortable with looking after him and that he copes well. Simeon is feeding well, but he tires very quickly. I hope that he will gain strength quickly over the next few weeks as he gains weight and gets used to surviving outside mommy's tummy.
May 11, 5:20 pm: We just got a call from the hospital to say that they would like to postpone Simeon's coming home for at least a day. Apparently he was really worn out this afternoon, and the nurses would like him to have a bit more strength before sending him home. We are a little disappointed, but we are glad that he is being taken care of.
May 11, 4:30 pm: Simeon is coming home tomorrow! We are going up to the hospital tonight at 8 pm and are staying overnight with Simeon in our room. We will then bring Simeon home with us tomorrow! He got his gavage tube out this morning and is bottle-feeding well. He is still struggling with the breastfeeding, but we'll have time to work with him on that.
May 11, 10:30 am: Simeon has done well with all bottle feeds over the page day, so he is still on track to come home this week. We will find out more specifics about when exactly this will be later today. Before he comes home, Natalee and I will stay a night at the hospital with Simeon in our room. This will give us a chance to look after him for an extended period of time while having the nurses available if necessary. As you will have noticed, the number of tubes and wires hooked up to our child has slowly decreased over the past week. They will probably remove his feeding tube today, leaving only his heart rate and respiration monitors! Natalee's parents fly back to Zambia this afternoon.
May 10, 10:25 am: We just talked to the nurse practitioner and she is very pleased with Simeon's progress. We finally have a possible going-home date: she said that if he continues to do well, he may be able to come home as soon as Wednesday or Thursday!! VERY EXCITING (and a little scary). He is now going to be bottle fed all his meals, provided he doesn't get too tired in doing so. Thanks everyone for your prayers and support.
May 9, 11:55 pm: Today the Miller family all celebrated Mother's Day at our house. Natalee's
parents are here until Tuesday, and then they will be returning to Zambia. They have been invaluable
to us during this time.
Simeon continues to make great progress. He is still in his open crib and maintaining his temperature
well. I have posted a photo below of him in his crib, being watched over by his guardian croc. He
is now up to 6 bottle feedings a day and 2 gavage feedings. He still struggles with breastfeeding,
so we will just need to be patient with him about this. We still do not know when he will be able
to go home.
It was interesting today that Natalee and I got quite upset and scared when Simeon set off his
heart monitor warning alarm (sounds when his heart rate drops). A few days ago he would set off
alarms regularly, so that they became less upsetting. Now that it has been a couple of days since
we last heard an alarm, it was pretty upsetting when the heart monitor alarm went off. Rest assured,
his heart rate went immediately back up to normal.
May 9, 1:08 am: Saturday was a busy day, as Natalee and I had a baby shower in the afternoon
here at our house. We were very thankful for the girls in our minichurch who organized this and made
us feel so loved.
Simeon was taken out of his isolette and put in a crib this morning. He has maintained his temperature
well all day without any additional assistance, which is very good news. He is also now being bottle
fed at 4 feedings and gavage fed at the other 4 feedings each day. Before he goes home, he will need
to be able to be bottle-fed for all 8 feedings a day. He will also need to start gaining weight -- he
was down to 4 lb 15 oz on Friday. Happy Mother's Day everyone!
May 8, 7:15 am: So, I forgot to mention yesterday how my son decided to baptize his mother as she was trying to change his diaper! I was so proud of him (and secretly pleased that it hadn't been my turn to change him). At 5:30 am, Simeon was much the same as last night: still in his isolette, digesting well (he is up to 50 ml of milk every three hours, up from 7 ml on Wednesday) but not quite able to breastfeed yet. I'm sure he is a little tired of having a tube stuck down his nose. Please be praying that he will get the hang of this whole eating thing soon.
May 8, 12:15 am: Simeon got his IV out today... yesterday... um ... Friday! It seems like
weeks have past since this little one was born, and we can't keep track of what the day is! Anyway, he
has been digesting his food so well that the nurses have removed his IV. He is still in his little
greenhouse, and we took a few pictures for you to see. The blanket over the top is to make it darker
and let him sleep. Simeon is still learning how to suck, so he can't breastfeed properly yet. We will
continue to gavage feed (through his nose tube) until he is able to suck properly.
I just noticed that I have the same shirt on in too many of these photos -- I'll be sure to wear a
different shirt tomorrow... um... today.
