A Day of Firsts

If Claire and I had to sum today up in one word, I think that it would be "HALLELUJAH!!!!"

Today was probably one of the most overwhelming (in a good way) and positive days that we have had here. Today was a just a day of firsts for Mr. Max! Today he got his first bottle, bath, boobie, burp, and big boy bed!!

Let's start with the bed...Max graduated this evening down to the NICU 2. He was changed from the tall platform-ish bed to a crib! We have spent every day since he was born in the NICU 3, which is reserved for the babies that are the most critical cases. As they get better they get moved to NICU 2 and finally, discharged. This has put a light at the end of the tunnel for Claire and I, and has made us even more anxious to get out of here and get HOME. The NICU 2 is a lot smaller than his previous room, as well as a LOT louder. Ha Ha...This is probably a good thing because it means that the babies in there are getting better and getting ready to leave. We were just moved this evening and have not had any real experiences with people in there yet, so stay tuned.

First Bath: Our morning nurse, Tony, let Claire and I give Max a bath this afternoon, and it could NOT have come at a better time. He was getting a little "ripe" and was more than ready. Claire and I have been given permission to take a more hands on approach with him from here forward, and so we decided to change his diaper and get the water ready. It was more like a sponge bath, and he didn't enjoy it at all. He pretty much cried through the majority of it, but that's probably because he was a little cold! It was like opening a new present...because new healthy clean Max was hiding under a few layers of old sick stinky Max! After we cleaned the many layers of grime off of him and wrapped him back up with a clean diaper, he was pretty much ready to pass out for the rest of the day. That was hard work for the little man! SO cute.

First Bottle: ( Hi it's Claire now!!) So, here's where some medical update stuff comes in. Since Max is in NI2, that means Dr. Kays feels very confident that Max is over the hump. His new hurdle is feeding. That's where his first bottle comes in! We missed the first feed, and the nurse said he spit it up. The second feed I got to do, and he only spit a little bit up! Third feed, no spit up!! Fourth feed at 9pm, no spit up!! Yay Max! He was only taking 4cc, which is just about 3 sucks for a normal kid. But Max took his time getting used to the sensation of something being "behind" that nipple and swallowing rather than just a binky. He did just grrreat, and if he keeps that up, they will increase his amounts as he tolerates it. This led to the next first..the BOOBIE. Haha how embarrassing...thanks for that heading Jordan. At Max's 3pm feeding, we tried to have him latch on first. We knew I wouldn't drown him...since I DONT MAKE ANYTHING!! :) haha...it has a positive spin for ONCE. I had such a laugh over it...Max just sorta...explored and looked at me like "why are you doing this?" and "whats going on? why am I sideways down here!?" so I only tortured him for about 15 minutes before moving on to the bottle. We will continue to practice latching until he does or it's time to move forward...hopefully this may cause my hormones to kick in.

We kinda discovered (Tony the nurse discovered which I am taking undeserving credit for) that Max's problem is probably heavily some air in his tummy. So, we burp him before he eats, and that seems to help him not urp it up. Reflux is such an ugly issue with DH babies because his intestines and stomach were all tied up and misplaced, not all smooth and ready for action.

It's crazy to think that Max had to wait an entire 4 weeks to eat. Can you imagine?? I think he will be very excited about food once he figures it out! Also, I cannot DESCRIBE what I feel being able to cuddle with him now. Putting him up on my shoulder and listening to him grunt and breath just melts my heart...even just watching Jordan hold him is amazing! I am so blessed to have Jordan, and Max pulled through such a hairy situation. It's easy to get used to all this and forget where he was just two weeks ago, on life support! Well, that's my two cents! Breastfeeding is weird!

(Back to Jordan!) So yes, today was incredible and we are very happy with things. Max has been kicking butt and doing so much better every single day. We are thrilled with the progress that he has been making and look forward to every new day here until we are home. Thank you all for taking the time to read our blog and pray for our baby! We are blessed by each and every one of you!!!

(Daddy and Max...snuggle buddies...)

Jordan and Claire Griffin