We Made It Through the Night!

Apparently, Zander doesn't like his bassinet that we got for him. He can't lay in it for two minutes without crying. And it's not the uncomfortable whimper sort of cry either. No, it's the "get me the HECK out of here RIGHT NOW!!! sort of crying. He definitely prefers to be held... not that that's any sort of surprise. Sarah and I traded off shifts throughout the night. I would hold him for three hours, then change him and feed him, and then Sarah would take a turn. By 8:30 this morning, I just wrapped him up in his baby strait jacket, strapped him into his swing that we bought the other day, and he fell right asleep... Why on earth didn't I think of that last night!?!?!? Actually, I did, but I decided against it because of reasons that make no sense to me now. Sleep deprivation will do that to you sometimes.

He makes lots of noises... He was really quiet in the hospital! I'm beginning to wonder if they switched babies just before we took him home... He's definitely not the same baby we met three weeks ago! He's now 4.5 lbs, and is eating like crazy! He can chug like no baby I've ever seen!

Now... a Little Bit of Business...

To Our Family, and those concerned,

    We are very excited for everyone to meet our little guy! There are just a few things we want to address:

    Zander will be coming home tomorrow morning, but he will need about a week to adjust to his new home and new routine. We ask that anyone living nearby wait a week before coming to see him. Please, no more than 2-3 visitors at a time. Those family members visiting from out of town may come visit him, but please wait at least a few days, and let us know well in advance when you plan to visit.

    If you have been sick within the last week, hold off coming to visit until you are better.

The most important issue is children. Please, no children. Zander doesn’t have a strong enough immune system to be around children, and he can get sick very easily. There are several viruses out right now that are very dangerous for babies. RSV season has been extended because of the number of continuing cases. The doctor didn’t specify how long he needs to stay away from children, but the papers we received from the hospital suggest that his immune system will be ready in about 6 weeks. For now, please don’t bring your kids when you come to see him. If you do, they will be forced to stand out in the rain. If it's not raining that day, they will be forced to stand under our balcony while I pour pitchers of water on them. If you love your children, you will not bring them to our home until we give the "all clear."

Thank you for your understanding,
    --Lance and Sarah Miller

It's Like Christmas Eve!!!

We've been out and about this evening, getting those few things we still needed before Zander comes home. We got a cute little swing that rotates 90° so he can either swing side to side, or forward and backward. Here's a link to it on Target.com

He passed his car seat test with flying colors. So far, he's been a very mellow and content baby (just like we asked). We're so excited and nervous about bringing him home. I'm especially nervous about driving with him in the car. We'll see how that goes...

We would like to thank everyone for their prayers. Zander appreciates it too.

Just about ready!

He's finished every one of his bottles for the last 24 hours. We brought in his car seat for them to make sure he can handle a new environment. If he passes, which I'm sure he will, he can come home as early as tomorrow night. We will bring him home Saturday morning though, just to be safe.

As you can see from the super cute picture, he has no tubes or anything but monitors connected to him. We are so excited to bring him home!

We're starting the discharge process right now, so we can just come on Saturday and get him. We have to sign papers and watch a CPR video, and all that fun stuff.

Two More Days?

Zander has taken a bottle feeding all night, meaning he ate from a bottle 5 feedings in a row! If he continues to eat an entire bottle every 3 hours, for 48 hours, he can come home!

We're rooting for him!

Sleepy little guy

Zander was sleeping soundly the whole time I was there today. He was able to have two bottle feedings in a row! They're going to try to keep him at every other feeding by bottle for a while. Once he learns to eat properly, he can come home!

Here are some cute sleeping pictures.

Almost... there...

Zander's oxygen has been removed! Now, all he has is the feeding tube. Today, he finished a whole bottle! That's great progress from yesterday!
I heard him cry for the very first time today. I've uploaded a video, for those who want to see and hear.
Sarah bottle fed him today, and he fell asleep part way through. The last half had to be tube fed.
He's getting cuter every day, especially now that he doesn't have the tube across his face. There's still a tube down his nose, but it's much smaller than the oxygen tube.