1 week old!

As of yesterday, "Little Beau Peep", as Shawn likes to call him, was one week old! He is more perfect than we could have imagined and we are amazed at how strong that little guy is.

The first couple of days in the NICU were a little rough as Beau's lungs were not inflating as they should be. Good news is that they are now, and within a week, he has moved on from the oscillator (a high frequency ventilator), to the regular ventilator, on to a BiPAP mask (which consists of tubes up his nose as opposed to the tube down his throat), and today...he is breathing on his own! When I say "on his own", he now has a CPAP mask which delivers constant air pressure into his nose to help keep the air sacs in his lungs open, but no more mechanical ventilation as of now! If he remains stable then they will start giving him some milk within the next couple of days. Hopefully that will fatten the little guy up real quick!

Speaking of, he was almost back up to his birth weight Sunday evening, weighing in at a whopping 2 lbs 15 oz! They like them (all babies) to get back up to their birth weight within the first week so he is right on target.

Beau suntans about every other day as his bilirubin score comes back low then high again. He is just getting ready for future beach trips =).

He also has a PDA which is common in preemies. It is an open blood vessel running from his pulmonary artery to his aorta. It usually closes within the first few hours of life, but many times preemies, and even some full-term babies, need a little help closing it. To treat this, they administer a round of steroids. Beau has received two rounds of steroids and the cardiologist said it is barely open, as of today. Since he is showing no other symptoms, they are going to wait a couple of days to see if it closes on it's own.

So overall, he is doing really well and continues to grow stronger and make improvements! As for Mommy, I am dying to hold him, but I have been able to his change his little diapers, help weigh him, and hold his hands, feet, etc. I'll take what I can get! Unfortunately, I was running a fever last night and cannot return to his side until 24 hours after my fever is gone. Staying away from him is so ridiculously hard, but hopefully I'll be able to go see him tomorrow. Daddy is filling in for me as we speak. On a good note, I got to play with Big Brother Reid today, with the help of my amazing mother! He continues to keep us busy and laughing all the time...perfect therapy for us.

That about sums up week one. I will do my best to keep everyone posted on Beau's progress.

As always, thank you for all of your love and support!