Official due date.....

Well....it's the official due date....September 26th.  The stork apparently didn't get the message....he came a bit early.  Despite the express delivery, all is well!  :)  Check out this cute pic.....

Colton is up to 6 lbs 12 oz! 7 lbs is just around the corner.  He is filling out great and looks awesome. Nursing and gaining wait like a champ.  He does have a little hernia surgery scheduled for the 5th but this is not uncommon in preemies and it is pretty straight forward. Otherwise, all is well.  Momma is doing well and maintaining even on limited sleep.  Daddy is the lucky one with Colton down to only one bottle feed per day--just gets to chase Connor around instead.  Here are some pics from a recent family photo session :)

We are all happy and healthy....and full of joy to be together!  Hugs to all.....

Settling In

Everyone is starting to get into the home-life routine. Lisa and I are both taking turns sharing the pain of the late night feeding schedule. Lisa is doing a great job with the very tough task of taking care of Colton during the day while Connor is at day care and I am at work. My mom (Yaya) is still here too so Lisa has some company and some help during the day. Connor is being such a good big brother and loves his little brother.

Colton is doing great. Weight is up to 5 lb 13 oz. He had another followup eye exam yesterday and his eyes are mature! No more eye exams until he's one or two years old. He also had a doctor's appointment today. He is doing awesome. The only real issue right now is that he has a little hernia that is common in premies. This will need surgery but sounds pretty minor compared to all the other possible complications he could have had up to now. Looks like a couple of trips to Billings are in our future... We consider our selves very lucky though and are so happy to all be home :)

Everyone is Home!

Colton was such a tough little guy, here we all are at home because of it! Connor is glowing and momma is getting a little more sleep now. Everyone is great!

Going Home!!!

We take him home tomorrow! Pretty much a full month before his due date. He has been doing great. Colton passed a hearing test today and will have his car seat test in the next hour. They pulled the heart and respiratory monitors yesterday then the pulse-ox today. So he is completely hardware free now. He's been nursing and taking bottles like a champ. Took a little figuring out for the bottles, but Lisa figured out what works best (mom knows best). He can drain a 50cc bottle in 15 minutes. Now let's see if either one of us sleeps tomorrow night (Lisa has not had much sleep in the last couple nights already). Will be great to have everyone home, like really home!!!

NG tube out!

Colton is up to 5 lbs 10 oz! 6 lbs is just around the corner. He has started bottle feeds and he is nursing so great that they yanked the feeding tube! Now he needs to perform or it may go back in. So far so good though. I have fed him a couple bottles already and he is doing such a good job. My mom (Yaya) is here now too and got to see him for the first time today. Lisa is pretty tired but doing a great job. We are all excited about his progress!

Here's a pic without the NG tube and his cute little hat Yaya made :)

Doing everything right....

Colton is being a good little boy and still is nursing like a champ. Up to 5 lbs 8 oz and looks huge to me after not seeing him for a week. Lisa is doing a great job of supplying him with milk and the love he needs. Today (my first day back) she will stay at the hospital so she is available to nurse him in the middle of the night feeds if he ques for it. He nursed well at the 9pm feed tonight (and earlier in the day today). Lisa and I went up at 9pm together and I held him a little after he nursed. Everyone is tired (mom most of all) and nobody has any misconceptions of that going away, but at least we are all in the same town :)

Growing...growing...growing

Things are going really well these past few days.  Colton weighed in at 5 lbs 7 ounces!  He gets a little more alert every day.

Colton got a bath this week---it is the first bath I have given him since his very first bath--kind of was a "daddy event" but I was very glad to get to do it.  He has grown SO much since his first bath! 

He has been working on the feeds and so far is up to 4 nursed feeds in a day--he just keeps getting a stronger suck and longer duration.  Once Curt gets back, I can be up at the hospital more and I am hoping to transition into a "feed on demand" situation...keeping my fingers crossed :)

What a cute little peanut! 

Connor can't wait for baby Colton to come home....he talks about him every morning and tells him goodnight before bed...it is pretty sweet.   Looking forward to a house full of boys!

Night night.....