Another Great Day

I started the morning off quite early again and did some laundry, ate some breakfast and then went to CVS to get some photos printed. Afterwards I went into Boston to see Jennifer and Kaleb. When I arrived Jennifer was down in the NICU so I waited in her room. When she returned I found out that she had been holding Kaleb for the last hour. I was happy to see her so overjoyed and happy. I helped her with some breast pumping and right before noon we went down to see Kaleb for his noon time diaper change. We watched him a little bit and then Jennifer changed his diaper, he had a little meconium and as she wiped his butt he decided to add another slimy blob of blackness. The nurse then came over and asked if I would like to have some "Kangaroo Time" with him. I hesitated a bit, but then realized I couldn't pass up the opportunity. So I took off my shirt and the nurse placed Kaleb down on my chest. It was one of the most amazing experiences ever. To have his warm little body snuggled up on my chest was just the greatest thing ever. He slept there for an hour. Once the hour was over he had to go back into the isolette. We returned again for his four o'clock feeding and he was wide awake. We stood there for about five minutes just watching him stare back at us. He was so cute looking out at us and taking in the big blurry world in front of him. Since he was awake, the nurse let Jennifer hold him for an hour or so.

The bottom line is that he is doing really well. Hopefully in the next few days they will remove his IV as he gets more of his calories from Jennifer's breast milk and less from the sugar water. Are fingers are crossed for this event because it is a huge step for him. Once he gets stable without the IV the possibility of him moving to Mount Auburn hospital increases and current estimates have him moving there next weekend. It will be so nice having him closer and on this side of the Charles River. We did get a teeny bit of bad but expected news today, he will have to go under a bright lamp over the next few days because he might be developing jaundice. Apparently this is very common for preemies and the only real drawback is that he won't be able to spend as much time outside his little greenhouse. It should only last a couple of days, but it will be difficult given his recent adventures outside of his house.

Tomorrow, I have to go over and pick up Jennifer in the morning because she is getting discharged. It will be hard leaving the hospital without Kaleb, but we have talked about it and are trying to prepare for the dreaded moment. We are also not looking forward to leaving our newly created routine of seeing Kaleb by riding and elevator and instead having to take the T or drive all the way to Boston. I am sure it will take a bit of getting used to, but we will no doubt get into a comfortable new routine that will keep us sane in these difficult times. I think we are both confident that he is in good hands and will make it out of the NICU sooner than later, but it is still so hard to not have him with us all the time and visiting is great, but no substitute for having him with us. Thankfully the nurses at Brigham & Women's have been fantastic and allow us to participate as much as possible with Kaleb's daily activity.

Day Three Photos