May 31, Another Big Step

May 31

Today was another milestone, but mostly for Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad each got to hold Alex for the first time since his birth tonight. He seemed to love being swaddled and held. He mostly just slept with some mild squirming, but he looked happy. At least Mom and Dad loved it.

His mild respiration support with the CPAP also continued. The CPAP is the tube blowing into his nose. His light therapy continues and his food intake increased by ~20 ml of milk. The food intake will increase daily. He also continues to get some nutritional support (vitamins, minerals, lipids, protein, glucose) from an IV. He got some good growing time in with quality rest today. He had some very minor bouts of fussiness along the way, but we were glad to hear from him after his time on the respirator.

Another good day, May 30

Alex had a great day today!

He started the day:

-- on a respirator helping him breathe

-- not having ingested any food (he has an IV)

-- under a "blue light" treatment to ward off potential jaundice

He finished the day having made some great progress.

-- He is off of the respirator (picture on the right is right after the respirator was removed)

-- He had his first breast milk through his stomach

-- Mom and Dad changed his diapers a few times and he did a great job fighting them off

-- He got great moral support from Grandpa and Grandma Felton (like everyday)

-- He will still be under the blue light for a few more days to make sure jaundice does not develop. We are told this is pretty normal.

-- And, he is still getting a little bit of respiration support through a "CPAP (sp?)" that gently blows air into his nose.

We are thrilled with his progress and hope tomorrow is just as good.

Introduction

Welcome family and friends of Alex Stewart!

Alex was born May 27 at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, WA. He was born a little bit early (7 weeks) so he is getting some extra help during these first few weeks. His birth weight was 4 lbs., 12 ounces. He is currently in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Swedish. But, he plans on going home just as soon as he can.

We, John and Joanna, appreciate all the support that Alex is getting from family and friends. We have created this blog to keep people updated on his progress.