Some Great Surprises

I've had a few surprises this week...both of which are fantastic. I've been looking forward to these moments for a very long time, but both came to be a bit of a surprise! The first was last Wednesday. I was heading into the hospital that evening with my mom and Andrew's nurse asked if I wanted to help her bathe him! We just happened to be there during their bath hour, so of course I jumped at the chance. It was a bit intimidating to help...even with the nurse coaching me.  He's still so incredibly tiny and fragile. It was just a sponge bath of course, and I was definitely a rookie and a bit slow. He got pretty excited and didn't like getting wet. He was trying to cry and arching his back, but being intubated you can't hear anything. We got him all cleaned up and his diaper changed and then I helped her weigh him.  It was such a sweet moment I'll treasure and luckily my mom was with me that night and snapped a few pictures.We just happened to have some good timing that night.

Trying to Calm Andrew before his bath

Helping the nurse weigh him for the night

Giving him his bath!!!

Then a few days later they put him on the CPAP. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him breathing and everything was out of his mouth. It was a first, and he was doing really well with it. They asked me if I wanted to hold him. I was in a little shock and didn't realize they'd let me so soon. I needed to leave soon. So I told them I'd come first thing the next morning. I felt like a little kid waiting for Christmas morning. It just couldn't come soon enough!!! They let me hold him in my arms (because of the CPAP mask) They bundled him all up in blankets with all his wires and IV cords and laid him in my arms. They put a bunch of warm blankets on top and with his CPAP mask and hat all I could really see of his face were his cheeks. I was okay with that. I stared at those cute little cheeks the whole time and still couldn't get enough. The biggest thing we had to worry about was him maintaining his body temperature and he did pretty good. The nurses kept checking his temperature every 15-20 minutes. He lasted for about an hour. We've waited for this day for a very long time. I just wished Stephen could have been there for these firsts. He's been out of town this last week for work. Enjoy the pictures!!!

Andrew and a very HAPPY mommy!

Here's our little guy all bundled up!