Day 37

Today Mommy and Daddy got to the hospital and were waiting when the doctor arrived to do rounds.  We wanted to ask them about Walker's caffeine to make sure it wasn't making his reflux worse and to also ask about how much weight he is putting on.  The doctor said they typically ween babies from caffeine around 32 weeks, which Walker will be next Thursday, so that wasn't really an issue.  They also said they thought he should be gaining weight more quickly as well, so they decided to up him to 18cc every three hours, up from 16cc every three.  They are also having Mommy stop pumping about half way through and switch to new bottles so she can have the milk at the end separate.  They call this the "hind" milk and told us it is higher in fat so it will hopefully help him to be able to put on weight more quickly.  The doctors are so great about addressing our concerns and really taking time to talk things over with us and explain them, we have been so blessed to have such great people taking care of our son!

This afternoon Mommy had a shower at church and so Daddy and Papa were on babysitting duty.  On the way to the shower we stopped and got to meet Elam Thomas and see Mommy's best friend Emily.  Elam is absolutely perfect and it made my day being able to see and get to hold him!  The shower was extremely fun and it was great for Mommy to get to see all the ladies from church who she hasn't seen in over 5 weeks!  Walker got lots of great gifts and adorable outfits!

Daddy and Papa did a good job on babysitting duty and took great care of lil man all day.  Walker did well on his cannula and had one episode but he was able to self recover with no problem.  He started his 18cc feedings at 6 and has done well with those so far.  The highlight of the day for Mommy and Daddy was tonight though, we got to DRESS Walker for the first time EVER!

In the NICU they don't dress babies until they are at least 1,000 grams and tonight he was 1,010 grams which is 2lbs. 4ozs!  They are able to take his temperature probe off of him and just adjust his bed every three hours as he needs it.  We were so excited for this moment, after 36 days and not a single stitch of clothing we couldn't wait to see Walker in his very first outfit!  All of these little moments and things that would be common place with a full term baby, seem like big moments to us after waiting so long to get experience them with Walker.  After we got him dressed and covered up with his blankets, he seemed to be so happy and content and even had a smile on his face!

We know it is because of all the prayers going up for Walker that he is doing so well and growing the way that he is.  We know that God has plans for this "Little Big Guy"!

Little Big Guy!!

Cutest face ever!

Kangaroo time with Daddy!

Getting dressed for the first time EVER!

Look at that sweet boy!

All snuggled in tight!