birth weight

Timothy reached his birth weight today! We are so proud of him for all that he is going through right now. We are looking forward to him coming home soon. He has undergone several more tests, just to make sure that they were not missing anything, and they have all come back negative. He definitely has acid reflux and now we are adjusting medication to help that heal and hopefully make it feel better so he will be more willing to eat. We also figured out today that he has a good case of thrush, a yeast infection in his mouth, that can make it painful to eat, so now that is being treated as well. Over the next couple of days he should be feeling better and we should see improvement. Now for a few pictures for your enjoyment...

Playing with a link...he likes to grab anything and hold it, including his feeding tube...

Hanging out in the bouncy chair...it keeps him upright and his food in his tummy.

Tracking a rattle with dad

After a bath, his hair curls and certain pieces stick up. :)

Eating a purple marker...not really.

The medicine for the thrush dyes the inside of his mouth bright purple.

Eating...

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers, we appreciate them so much! We are still here in NICU, hoping that something will show up as the reason for Timothy refusing to eat. He is on medication for acid reflux right now, but it doesn't seem to be helping his appetite. The doctor is changing his medication in hopes to find the right combination to ease the burning and encourage him to swallow more than just a half-ounce at every feeding.

After we try to get down as much as he can stand, Timothy usually crashes out on daddy for some extra snuggles (it also helps his tummy if we keep him upright).

Timothy is now 7 lbs, 5.5 oz. He is almost back up to his birth weight and steadily going up now that he gets most of his food through the feeding tube.

Timothy now has the upgraded crib. It has a crank at the end that allows the nurse to raise his head up much higher than the last bed he was in. This helps keeps the food down in his tummy. He looks so tiny in this crib compared to the last one he was in!

Fast asleep, wearing his new Christmas hat and cuddled up with his little friend. We have several of his toys and his bouncy chair with him so that we can play when he is awake and alert. He does really well with tracking our faces, voices, and his toys.

Update

Timothy is doing really well. Over the past few days, Timothy's eating has decreased, so the doctors have decided that a feeding tube was the best to get him enough calories. We have also been adding formula to my breast milk to make it more calorie rich. He had an upper GI test this morning that revealed moderate acid reflux, so he is now getting medicated for that. The test was a blessing because it is the first test that has revealed something that could be causing his lack of interest. The hope is that over the next couple of days, he will start to heal and be more interested in eating. It has been quite a rollercoaster ride of emotions, but Jared and I are doing well...we feel blessed that he is in such a great place and getting such great care. He has been much more aware of his surroundings, got his first real bath, and is a wonderful snuggler. We don't know if he will be home for Christmas, but are thankful that we have been so richly blessed. :)

Unexpected events...

So many things have changed. Since our last post, Timothy has been checked into the NICU at St. John's because of dehydration. We have been basically living at the hospital, helping with his feedings and doing lots of holding. He is doing so much better! The doctor has declared him healthy, but he needs to gain more weight and eat more each time every 3 hours. So we are waiting...hopefully for only a couple of more days. In the meantime here are a couple of new pictures. Once we are home and have a few minutes, we will update picasa with more pictures.

Day Three

Timothy has changed so much just in the past three days, its unbelievable. My (Jared's) Mom is in for the week to help out and I also was able to get a good night sleep at home and check in on Tigger. Timothy is more and more alert and awake. He is a wonderful bundle and absolute joy. Sarah and Timothy should be going home tomorrow, yay! Mom and Baby are doing fantastic and Dad couldn't be more impressed and overjoyed with both! Enjoy the pictures of Timothy and Mom. You also need to check out his album in Picasa and watch the videos. :)

Mom and Timothy!

What a wonderful name....pacifier....

Introducing Timothy Amos Nies

Timothy Amos Nies.

Born on 12/8/2010.

7lb. 8oz. 19 1/4 inches.

This little lion can certainly roar! (Amos 1:2)

And so it begins...

12-7-10 11:05pm - This is a most rare but wonderful experience to be able to post on my wife blog. We are all checked in here at St. John's Hospital. The room is very nice and Sarah is resting comfortably. She is all hooked up and wonders of wonders 1cm dilated! We are currently waiting for how the induction will be processed....stay tuned for further updates and pictures!

11:20pm - The nurse came in with the induction plan, Sarah will receive cervidel in hopes to get the process started. The time frame is anywhere from 2 to 12 hours, so it will be a long wait.

12-8-10 1:50am - At 1:30am a resident OB came in and gave Sarah the cervidel, still 1 cm. She said that the cervidel should get things progressing so we shall see. Sarah is trying to get some sleep and I think I will attempt to do the same. In a couple hours things are likely to get busy!

3:40am - Well after only perhaps a half hour of sleep Sarah and I are awake and have started a Charlie Brown marathon. No other news other than the constant beat of the kids heart beat, which is very soothing sound...oh and coffee, glorious coffee.

5:15am - Things are progressing along! Sarah is having more powerful contractions closer together about every three minuets. We are pretty sure that her water broke. Sarah is breathing through the contractions and is handling them very well...I am very proud of her.

5:37am - Yes, Sarah's water indeed has broken and continues to leak...its somewhat humorous...there might be some machomeum and they will keep their eye on it. Sarah's contractions are coming closer together and around six she will begin petosin.

6:22am - Sarah is having contractions every 3 minuets or so...however because the contractions are not consistently strong, the nurse started the petosin on a slow drip to see what happens with the consistency of the contractions. Things are progressing along. Baby will most likely be taken to NICU to have a deep cleaning but there is nothing overly serious.

8:30am - Charlie Brown continues as do the contractions. The petosin seems to be working and the Doctor came in and said everything looks great. The plan is not to let Sarah labor for several hours because her water has broken. We will just have to wait for the time being.

8:55am - Contractions are about a minuet apart and are getting more intense. The nurse bumped Sarah's petosin upto 5 (from 3). More waiting, breathing and coaching!

11:15am - Well after 5 hours of hard contractions Sarah made the decision to have an epidural. She is resting verrrrry comfortably right now and loving life, rather than getting enjoyment in hearing the many pops and cracks from my hand. I too am loving life. Epidural, you are fantastic.

12:50pm - It comes down to a waiting game now...Sarah has not dilated passed 1 cm as of yet. No other news to report. She is resting comfortably and able to doze, which is good. No such luck for the other half. The nurse is currently updating the doctor on what is going on. Her petosin level is at 11 and will be continued to be increased. So now we do what we have been doing since 10:30 last night...wait.

The wait is almost over...

Well, we are sitting here just waiting for the hospital to call. Tonight we are going to be induced and finally meet our little boy! Jared will be logging in and updating the blog as things progress. Keep an eye out for his messages and for pictures. :)

Plus One

No baby yet. :) Jared and I had a lovely dinner out last night and then walked a mall. We took our hospital bag, just in case, but brought it back with us. Nothing else is really happening - lots of contractions and little tweaks still. Today's plan: go shopping at the food bank, clean the bathroom and kitchen, maybe a nap, and homework for Jared. And walk...lots of walking. :)