May 29, 2013:

RJ seems to be enjoying being free from his NG tube. Yesterday I jumped the gun a lil and took off his oxygen tubing too!! He slept fantastic last night in between feedings!! We also gave him a bath right before bed, so I think a combo of a free face and warm bath totally relaxed him. :) Last night before RJ's bath, Robert was holding his lil naked body. He's so adorable with no clothes on:) RJ was using his hand to feel Robert's chest hair. It was adorable. Robert was helping me feed RJ as some point last evening, and said RJ actually had tears in his eyes from getting frustrated. That's a first. He's quite the impatient child when it comes to getting his food when he wants it. He doesn't seem to remember that it's a process to warm up his milk and sometimes the nipple so it meets his standards. Silly boy. It's been wonderful not having to lug the extra cord or oxygen tank around in the past 24 hrs. I can't wait till the apnea monitor is off as well. We aren't going to know what to do with a "tube/cord free baby"!! RJ is up around the 7 lb mark now. I have a feeling he's going to have a long torso and be a skinny lil guy.

This weekend my mom and lil sister were a big help. Mom and I were able to get errands done while Emily stayed in the truck w/ RJ to keep an eye on him and feed him at times. It was perfect. Mom helped me get our front flower beds/trees looking spiffy again and helped keep up w/ the laundry. We also organized RJ's clothes and had to bag up all the preemie outfits. He's outgrown them!! We moved the newborn clothes into position for use. We were on a mission to find a few more pants this weekend and it was such a difficult task. We finally accomplished our goal and now he's set till the next phase of growth happens. :)

Oh I wanted to mention that the other day Robert was holding RJ and caught a photo of him actually smiling with his eyes open!! RJ's been smiling in his sleep for quite some time, even at the NICU, but now when he was awake. I have yet to see it in person. :)

Tomorrow we head to the Peds Clinic for RJ's 4 month shots and check up. Then Friday we see Peds Surgery about his pooping. He seemed to be doing great there for a lil while and now it's been almost 4 days since he's pooped. We had a big spit up yesterday, so I'm thinking he's stopped up again. Oh mercy. I will be glad when he's fully functioning in that department and we don't have to stick those applicators up his lil butt anymore.

I just finished feeding the lil guy about an hr ago and I am hearing much grunting from his bassinet across the room. Every once in awhile I'll see arms stretching. I've talked to a few other mother's who have boys, and it seems they grunt way more than girls. Boys are noisy from the get go.

Welp, I'll have to update you all on our visits sometime this weekend. Thanks again for all the prayers, support, and love!! We couldn't do it without them!!