On the Home Front

We praise God for bringing our little William home after only 25 days in the hospital! Jack and Ben have really enjoyed cooing over him, even if they're still trying to figure out boundaries. William is a little overwhelmed by the new noises and sensory inputs, but he did very well last night. He has made it clear that he's no longer interested in breastfeeding, but he's taking milk and formula by bottle very well and is already outgrowing some of his preemie clothes.

We wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has provided meals, child care, house cleaning, gifts, and other support. We couldn't have gotten to this point without you and your prayers. God has truly blessed us through our friends and family, and our hearts are filled to overflowing with gratitude for the love we've been shown these past few months. (But please forgive me if it takes a while to write all the thank you notes!) :)

We're Home!!

William did very well with his eating for the past two days and is up to 5 lb. 8 oz., so his docs decided to send him home today with NO monitor! We're exhausted and looking forward to a week of settling in at home with our three boys. Praise God! I will post pics and more information tomorrow.

In the Home Stretch!

It's been more than a week since my last update, so here's the latest news and a week's worth of photos. Check out William's long, fuzzy hair, Jack and Ben playing in the SNOW yesterday morning, and a new shot of William without his feeding tube!

I (Dawn) was sick with some unknown bug and could not visit the hospital on Monday or Tuesday--makes for a very grumpy mommy, but at least I got some chores done around the house. Also had more trouble with my incision, but a quick trip to the doctor helped tremendously.

I think William really missed me while I was gone, because as soon as I returned to the NICU on Wednesday, he finally decided that it was time to eat! He started finishing bottles, then very quickly worked his way up to 8 bottles a day--and today, the nurse removed his feeding tube (praise God!). He's also doing pretty well with breast feeding, so that's encouraging. He regained weight, surpassing his birth weight, and now weighs around 5 lbs. 4 oz.

The best news is that William's pediatrician has started talking about sending us home, saying that Will could leave the hospital as early as Wednesday or Thursday! So that means that the next few days will be full of all the things that "normal" babies go through before heading home--hearing test, circumcision (ouch!), car seat check, etc. Bryant and I have completed our infant CPR refresher course and will be re-trained on how to use the apnea monitor that William will probably need at home. So these are all very positive steps in the right direction. Now we just need to finish getting everything ready at home!

Thanks for your continued prayers. Please pray that our whole family will stay healthy and that nothing will prevent us from bringing Will home this week.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been a busy few days in the Adkins household. We were thrilled that Ben's antibiotics kicked in quickly, so our whole family was able to go see William on Thanksgiving Day. We showed Ben where he spent his first two months of life, and the boys were very well behaved as they met their little brother. They really enjoyed "petting" Will's fuzzy hair! Jack kept saying, "Oh Mommy, I really love my baby brother William." And the biggest miracle was that we got a decent family photo with everyone looking at the camera at the same time!

By Friday afternoon, I (Dawn) started to feel sick, so I went to an after-hours clinic this morning to get tested for strep. So far the test is negative, so I'm just waiting this out to see if I have strep, a cold, or something else. Please pray for quick healing so that I can get back to the NICU to see William. They won't let me in the door if I have any cold/flu symptoms.

William has gained some more weight this week and is up to around 4 lb. 14 oz. He's still not eating well but will occasionally take an ounce or more by mouth. We found out today that one of our favorite doctors from Ben's stint in the NICU will now be overseeing William's care, so that's reassuring. Other than that, there's not much new to report.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support. Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving! I know we had plenty to be thankful for. Blessings to you all.

"You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." --Psalm 118:28-29

A Few Pictures and Little News

William worked hard today on feeding and has gained a little weight. We practiced breast feeding during two of his tube feeds, and he did really well with the first try. He worked with the occupational therapist on bottle feeding and once again he took about 17 cc's out of 47 total. He still mostly wants to snuggle and sleep.

Ben has strep throat, so please pray that:

1. His antibiotic kicks in quickly so that he can meet William tomorrow. (Our pediatrician says that he shouldn't be contagious after 24 hours on an antibiotic.)

2. Pray that none of us catch strep from Ben and that we don't carry any germs to William.

Everything else is pretty much the same!

No News is Good News

Really don't have much to report. William still hovers around the same weight--4 lbs. 9 or 10 oz. We're still working on bottle feeding, and once he gets the hang of it, we get to go home. We try bottle feeds four times a day and have gotten him to take up to 30 cc's by mouth. Many times he won't take any at all. His current total intake is 47 cc's eight times a day, so most of his nutrition is still through his ng tube.

One great development yesterday...I was able to pump milk for William while holding him, and he woke up and got very hungry from just the smell of milk. We couldn't feed him right away because of the strict NICU feeding schedule, but he stayed awake and cranky until his next feeding. Unfortunately, he wasn't at all happy with the bottle and ended up taking most of that meal through his ng tube. But this is a great sign that he loves Mommy above all others and may have a good shot at breast feeding. I'll never make enough milk to totally fulfill his daily requirements, so he'll still have to learn to take a bottle. But it would be awesome to be able to get rid of the breast pump entirely and just breast feed like a "normal" mom, supplementing with formula or donor milk.

Prayer Requests:

--Ben had a fever yesterday and was up for much of the night. Please pray that he will get well quickly, that none of us will catch his illness, and that William will be protected from illness or infection.

--We just found out that healthy children will be allowed into the NICU on Thanksgiving Day to meet their siblings. Please pray that all of us will be completely healthy on Thursday so that Jack and Ben can meet William!

--Praise God for His continued provision for child care and rides to the hospital. I've stopped most of my pain meds so that I can start driving myself, so please pray that my pain will not get out of control as I continue to heal well.

--Praise God for my wonderfully supportive friends from my MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers) who threw me a sweet baby shower yesterday and continue to provide meals, child care, and constant prayers.

"God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!" --Psalm 66:19-20

Same old, same old

William had a good day today. Bryant and I spent the morning at the hospital, and I worked with an occupational therapist to help Will learn to bottle feed. The good news is that he seems to have an effective suck--no real oral motor problems. He's just too sleepy to care about eating at this point.

Talked to his night nurse, and he's gained a little weight--up to 2095 grams or almost 4 lb. 10 oz. He's had only one major apnea episode today, so that's great news! Forgot to take pictures today of him in his cute preemie clothes, so I will try to post some pictures tomorrow.