Saturday, March 14, 2009

March 14 - 6 weeks today


Well, it's been 6 weeks since Colton joined us in this world. He is still almost 4 weeks from his original due date. The little guy ain't so little anymore. He is less than 1 ounce from the 7lbs. mark!

You might have noticed more infrequent updates. We haven't had a ton of significant news day-to-day. However, that has changed today.

Wendy spoke to the neonatologist today about how Colton seems stuck at the 6 bottles per day (remember 8 bottles is the target) and the fact that he is still gaining weight like a champ. Given Wendy's background in working with young children and the fact that, medically speaking, Colton appears to be doing well, it looks like we will target next Friday, March 20 as the day we bring him home! Of course Colton has to keep on track like he is now but we are optimistic that next weekend is the weekend we finally get him home.

Colton will still be a preemie when we get him home. He will likely come home on oxygen for his feeds. He will have an apnea monitor for when he sleeps. He will also have his NG tube (tube that you currently see in the pics going through his nostril and into his belly) to make sure he is getting the proper amount of milk and likely administer his Zantac for his reflux. We will get a crash course this week on all of this stuff at the NICU. We just took infant CPR tonight (good times on a Saturday night) so we are hopeful to never need that training in action. However, this is all stuff we believe we can handle and more importantly, the great staff at Texas Woman's believes we can handle.

We will spend most of this coming week putting the finishing touches on everything he needs before coming home. As tough as these 6 weeks have been on us, the real work begins when we get him home. I'm sure our pediatrician will get to know him very well over the next year! We are still in the cold/flu/RSV season. For those who don't know what RSV is, it's a potentially deadly infection of the lungs and breathing passages. Preemies especially are susceptible to RSV and that's why we'll have to be vigilant about limiting his exposure to others over the next month or so. RSV season generally runs from September - April.

Stay tuned for more updates on Colton and all the best to you and your family....Love, Bret, Wendy, Sydney and Colton

3 comments:

Kelly said...

Colton looks great in his pictures! I know you are SO excited about getting to take him home!!!

Looking forward to seeing a family portrait!

Pam said...

Awww...he's so precious! Looks like he's got the McKinney eyes! :)

I'm so happy that you'll soon have him home with you!

Give that boy a kiss for me!

Anonymous said...

I am so happy for all of you. It will be wonderful for Wendy to have Colton home with her. A joy for everyone but especially "mommy". Besides, work is no fun without Wendy!!!