Pool Day!

Andrew went swimming today! We headed to the pool on this Memorial Day weekend but his first trip he just slept the whole time. Today, he got in with Daddy. He didn't love it, but he didn't hate it either. I know it will get better the more we go!

Fun With Andrew

So it's been a month since my last post and boy life and Andrew have changed! We continue to be very busy - just in a very different way. Andrew has grown and fattened up immensely. We head to the doctor this week for his 2 month check up and will report soon how he's changed.

We traveled to Kansas for Annie's graduation and Des Moines for Kristin's graduation. And we got to see the whole family!

Just in the last week Andrew has been more alert, started cooing and started smiling to us. What a fun time!!

Andrew is only waking up one time a night and has settled into somewhat of a schedule. We hope to have him sleeping through the night and a schedule perfected by the time I go back to work. We are just having a great time getting to know our little boy and figuring out how this whole parenting thing works.

Here are some updated photos of our little man!

Bath Time!!!

Andrew had his first real bath today! And we managed to not spill to much water and cooperate enough to get one clean baby. Andrew did some business of his own - leaving a little present for us in the baby tub! He's definitely gaining weight, as we had to pull rolls aside to ensure we got everything clean!

Growing a Larger Greek!

Andrew is growing!!! We went to the doctor yesterday and he gained almost a pound in 1 week! It looks like the feeding plan is working. It has been a challenge since I feel like all I am doing is feeding him but we can't complain about something that is working. We thought that Andrew was gaining as we saw more rolls and his cheeks plumped up but didn't think it would be as much as it was. He now weighs 7 lbs 9 oz!

We also hit another milestone this week as well! Andrew started sleeping in his own room! I had a hard time with it but Pete was insistent as Andrew is super vocal and we needed to get some real sleep. The funny thing is he is still sleeping in his car seat - just in his crib! He just likes it that way and who are we to argue with the big guy : )

Here are some new photos and a video as well to show how active he is!

Trying to Put on the Pounds

Andrew is having some issues gaining weight - probably the only time in his life! We went to the doctor last week just to have him weighed and he was only 6 lbs 6 oz. He should have been at the very least 6 lbs 8 oz. Everything looks fine with him; the doctor is just thinking he's not eating enough on the breast. So the course of action is to nurse, then pump, and then feed him a bottle of what was pumped. We think he's already gained weight by this method but we will know for sure on Friday when we take him in to get weighed again!

We headed home for a day trip. It was great because we got to see the family, but the reason for the trip was not positive. My friend's dad passed away from cancer so we were home to attend his funeral. It was a great service and reminded us just how lucky we are to have our faith, our family and our health. Here are some new photos - Sophia was pretty interested in Andrew but only jealous when Papa G had him!

No one likes that Billy Rubin guy

This was the theme for the rest of the hospital stay - as we tried to make like of Andrew's jaundice and body temperature control. Billy Rubin is actually billirubin - the stuff that passes through the liver and is gotten rid of through bowel movements. So we were feeding Andrew as much as we could and hoping to see that Billy Rubin guy as much as possible in his diaper!

Our stay in the hospital was complicated a bit more as Cole, Andrew's only Stopulos cousin, came down with chicken pox - only the day after he had given lots of kisses to Andrew. Our doctor was confident that Andrew would be fine and would not get it, but the hospital had to take procautions as to not infect other patients. Therefore, we were moved to a controlled room so that our air would not be shared with other patients. So far, Andrew has not gotten the chicken pox. Unfortunately, his Aunt EE (Ellie) was not so lucky and she came down with them soon after Cole did, since she didn't have them as a child.

After moving Andrew was able to regulate his body temperature and the jaundice was dramatically reduced. We spent Easter Sunday in the hospital but were discharged that night!

The following Tuesday we had a follow up with Dr. Omar, our peditrician and everything looked good, including some blood work.

All is staring to go very well for our little man!!

So This is What Being a Parent Is Like

I am writing this blog from a hospital room. Only a week after Andrew and I were discharged from Trinity, we are now in the NICU at Genesis.

Andrew was very lethargic and was not waking up to eat on his normal schedule. Pete decided to take his temperature and it was 92.5 degrees. We couldn't believe it and found another thermometer to take his temperature with the same results. We immediately called his pediatrician and they had us go to the emergency room.

Andrew's temperature there was 93 degrees and his heartrate was a low 70 bpm. He was immediately hooked up to every piece of equipment they had - blood was drawn, fluid was given, the pediatric specialist was called down to oversee by Dr. Omar, our pediatrician. He was moved up to the NICU for further tests. At that time we were told it could be anything from a small infection to meningitis.

They did a spinal tap on him to rule out the meningitis and fortunately that came back clean!! They started antibiotics immediately following to cancel out any infection. Further tests came back good, ruling out any other infection. The doctor believes this was a case of hypothermia - with his age, size and being early at only 37 weeks, he has a more difficult time regulating his body temperature. He is also pretty jaundice - rating high on the bilirubin scale.

They will keep him at least 48 hours. He is under a lamp to help with the jaundice and a heated bed to help regulate his body temperature. Pete and I spent our first night in a family room here at the hospital. I was able to get up with him to breastfeed and we were both able to hold him some (but want to keep him under the lamps as much as possible).

He is doing much better and the doctor believes we will be able to be discharged on Sunday evening. His first Easter will be spent in a hospital but he's here with us getting better and that's all that matters.

I write this all very calmly now, but I was scared to death. I never thought I could care for something so much and worry so much. I had to fight so many tears and try to stay strong for our baby boy - something Pete is so much better at! We are so thankful that we are blessed with great doctors who knew what to do and that the Lord was watching over our little man and our family!!

Here are a few photos from the hosptial: