March 11, 2013:

It's been a fun and busy past couple days with family in town. Friday night I got to take my mom in to see RJ for the first time and help give him a bath. Robert's parents were also there and got to see him as well. Sabbath I got to hold the lil guy again for 2.5hrs!! It was wonderful. My mom was there most of the time and got to soak up more grandson time. Once they get him out and he gets settled on my chest, he typically has his eyes open for 5-10 min and then falls asleep. I asked my mom to read RJ a bible story and he kept his eyes open off and on throughout the whole story. He didn't want to miss anything. Finally his eyes got heavy and he fell asleep. It was adorable. The grandparents had fun switching places seeing RJ throughout the weekend. The mom's in particular wanted to stuff him in their purses and sneak out with him. :)
Saturday night some of our friends put on a baby shower for RJ. It was fun to have this special celebration for RJ and see lots of smiling faces. He made out quite well in the bath department. It's one of my most favorite things to do for him, so I can't wait to bring him home and use all the fun towels, bath chair, etc. Thank  you so much to everyone who came and for all the effort of those who hosted the shower!!
Yesterday was major house organization day. We started the process for moving furniture around to make an actual baby room. Robert's mom got paint supplies to start that project, while my mom helped me sort through and organize all the baby gifts. Robert took his dad to see RJ one more time before he flew home and then the men used their muscles to help rearrange our house. :) Sunday evening we went to the hospital to give RJ a bath and I had Robert's mom help this time. I love seeing his fuzzy hair after it's all clean and dry.
Today during rounds they didn't make many changes. They decreased his feeds to give 30mls over 30min. So far he's been tolerating the progression to true bolus feeds that don't have to be given on a pump. His chest x-ray looked more hazy today, so they later talked about increasing his diuretics since he's not even on the full dosage currently. I hope they do b/c it's supposed to help with all the secretions he's been having. Last night during his bath and each time I kangaroo, they have to suction his mouth and breathing tube multiple times. I've been getting frustrated that his lungs don't seem to be progressing anywhere. I keep getting the answer that it's just going to take time and he needs to feed and grow. I hate not having any control. RJ is due for his next eye exam which should have already happened a few hours ago. Last time he didn't appreciate it very much. I'm hoping he tolerates it better this time. To end on a positive note, I got to hold RJ for 3 hrs today!!! It was the longest time yet. I would have stayed longer, but it was time for his diaper change. I was able to coax an extra 30 min from the nurses, b/c I didn't want to let him go. :) Oh dear, I almost forgot to mention that we weighed RJ last night and he doubled his birth weight!! He's 3 lb 8 oz!!!
Thanks for all your continued prayers and support. I'm needing positive vibes sent my way. :)