Almost there

We are almost at the end... Boy can Edward ever eat!!! He sure did get good at that in a hurry...
As we say out goodbyes to the NICU, we are just amazed as to how wonderful these people are!! And how dedicated there were to Edward and William... From Dr. T who spent quiet a few sleepless nights with Both our boys to Dr. Lipsky who was there when both our boys were born and when William passed, to our Primary nurses Kim and Vanessa and all the other nurses and RTs that took care of both Edward and William Thank you, we will never begin to be able to repay you so just know that we are truly blessed to have had you care for Edward and William and don't worry we will be back to visit!!! That we promise...

The End is in sight!!!!!

Sorry about no blog yesterday, we were busy preparing for Edward's arrival. That is right!!! Edward will be headed home soon!!!! Estimated departure date from the NICU / arrival date at home is set for Friday December 2nd... In just 2 short days!!! We are so excited..My principal is allowing me to take off throats two weeks of school before our winter break... So I will leave on the 1st and go back on the 3rd of January!!! I get a whole month to bond and spend time with my little buddy and my loving wife!!! I am so excited!!!!
Stay tuned for updates as the day approaches and look for picture that might of the big moment !!!! We hope

Edward continues on the path home

Good news, The head doctor at the NICU thinks Edward might be home Very soon!!! I don't want to give away the predicted date just in case it does not happen, but stay tuned to this blog for breaking news!!!!
He had his I love mommy outfit on today that his primary nurse Kim put on him. As the end draws closer, it is going to be a sad:( and happy day ;) when we finally leave the NICU.. We have made several life longs friends and meet some great people that we will never forget... Thanks again to everyone who made this journey a little easier.... And we will always remember William for the strength that he showed us and for all he did for us... Thanks

Edward continues to improve

Well Edward continues to improve and get stronger, the doctor is trying to lower Edward's oxygen needs so he is still at 1/4 of a liter but instead of 100% he is down to 60%, if we can get to 21% it would be huge!!! It would mean Edward doesn't need oxygen anymore! So there is a small chance a very small chance that Edward might be off oxygen before he comes home. But only time will tell . Edward has started to wear his Xmas attire, trying to get the word out to Santa Claus

Off to the overflow we go

Well today Edward had a change of scenery, Edward was moved to the "overflow NICU nursery", today!!! This is actually really exciting and sad, it is exciting because it means we are VERY VERY close to going home and it is sad because we no longer get to see all the people in the main NICU unit... We had to say a quick goodbye today as we were moved over to overflow, the NICU is getting busy again and they had to make room for more critical babies!
We are so close ... The finish line is right in front of us. We can almost touch it!!! It is up to Edward to cross it!!!! Go little buddy go!!!!
Edward has finished all his bottles so far today!!! If he can keep this up for another day or 2 we are home!!!

We are very Thankful

We celebrate this Thanksgiving day by being very thankful for Edward, William and the time we had together, and all our family and friends that have been so supportive through this roller coaster NICU experience...

Edward turns 100

Well Edward turned 100 days old today!!! Way to go little buddy. He continues to improve on his nipple feeding and we hope to have him home in a few weeks, we hope but a lot could still happen!!
We are also sad today as we remember William who passed 90 days ago!! We love you William and of course Edward too!

Edward continues on the path home

Well Edward continues to do well, today he was moved up to 100% nipple feeding so know we just have wait for him to be able to eat all his feeds and in the mean time hope his breathing say ok .. If this all happens then he is OUT of there... We don't expect him to be home for another week or 2 put we can see the light and it is getting closer...
Edward is now 6 lbs 4 oz!!!! Go Edward go!!!
Oh and I took another shout at bottle feeding and he took the whole Boyle in under 20 minutes!!! Way to go...little buddy...

Go Edward

Well Edward is another week older.. He turned 14 weeks today... And drum roll please..... He is now 6 pounds!!!! Way to go little buddy! All the nurses think it is just a matter of time before he comes home! And boy we are very excited but we know a lot can happen between now and then!!!
Edward took another walk today and was he ever alert , he sure does love all the attention he gets during his walks....

Edward takes another stroll

Well we took Edward for another stroll in the NiCU today and he loved all the attention. All the nurses came out to say hi and we even let Edward look out the door into the real world!!! What fun , it makes us forget all about the NICU for awhile.
Edward's weight is up to 5 lbs 14 oz we are closing in on six pounds quietly. Edward also took his entire bottle twice today at feeding time! We are so proud of our little one and can't wait to have him home!!

Edward takes a walk

Melissa and I had the great honor of taking Edward for his first walk around the NICU today.. What fun!!! It made us forget all about everything for awhile. We also said goodbye to Dr. Lipsky today as she will not return to the NICU until December 12th and we hope to be home by then!!! Thanks again for everything..
What great day!!! Can't wait till tomorrow so we can go walking again we hope... Goodnight to everyone... Thank you all your continued support we couldn't do this without you!!!

All is well

Sorry forgot to blog yesterday . Everything is fine, Edward continues to grow big and strong... We hope to take Edward for a walk his his stroller later today , so watch for pictures of that later.... Melissa is on the greeting committee for the NICU, her and another mom talk to and greet all the new moms which is nice for the newbies to have someone to turn to if they have questions. Wish we had that in the early days of Edward and William .
Below is a picture of Dr. Lipsky (who we both really like and Hayley a wonderful nighttime nurse we have when Venessa is not working...

Edward continues

Edward continues on the path home , we talked to the doctor tonight and she said she thinks Edward will be home in about 3-4 weeks which would be right around Melissa's due date . She also said she got the honor of down grading Edward from critical to intensive care or as she put it, just any other baby in the NICU. Everyone is starting to see the end is near and people are starting to get a little sad, that have seen Edward grow from the size of my hand to the size of an average new born baby.. We will never ever be able to thank them for all they have done, but we will remember to visit often and tell Edward someday of all the men and women who help him and his brother William (may he rest in peace) through the early days and months of there lives..
Thank You!!!

Edwards continues to improve

Well Edward continues to improve today Melissa would have been 37 weeks pregnant ... Edward had is oxygen turned down to 1/4 of a liter at 100% which is what he will be going home on so the O2 requirement is good again, unless we go backwards. Edward continues to improve on his nipple feedings but it will just take time . Remember was not due with the boys until December 7th so we still have about 3 more weeks until we hit that date.

3 months old

Well Edward turned 3 months today!!! He continues to improve and was moved up to 75% nipple feeds, which is getting us close to 100% he needs to be on. We are still about 3 weeks away from leaving but we are getting close... Nothing else big to report tonight, Edward weighed in at 2490 grams... We are so close to 2500 grams and another cake for the NICU. We are just taking it day by day... Go Edward Go!!!

Another week old (13 weeks)

Well Edward is another week old today, and these days are so hard on us, we are happy he is doing so well ( on 1/2 liter of oxygen and is probably going to 100% bottle feeds tomorrow or Wednesday, so we are getting closer) however we are also sad because we should have 2 boys, William and Edward.... Like Melissa told me tonight, we just have to love Edward and always remember his big brother who I truly believed gave up himself ( went into the birthing canal to block it do his little brother could have more time to develop) That is what keeps us going the love I know that had for each other. I hope in years to come Edward will understand how much his brother loved him and how much his brother did for him.

Go Edward go

So Edward is up to 2/3 nipple feeds(breast or bottle) and 1/3 OB tube. He is doing so well with the bottle, for example today he took 46 ML in 15 minutes!!! Way to go little buddy. We can definitely see light at the end of the tunnel, I just hope we make it there... The only sad part about leaving the NICU is saying goodbye to all the friends and incredible people that we have meant, I can truly say the NICU experience has made us stronger and we have meant so very talented and incredible people that we will NEVER forget!!!!
The pictures below are of Edward's 2 Primary nurse, Kim and Vanessa, BIG thanks to both of them for taking such good care of Edward vet the last 3 months!!! Also thanks to Dr. T, Dr. Libsky and the whole NICU team at the AV Hospital....

Baby Shower Today

Well Edward is doing great and today was his baby shower. Oh boy did we ever have great friends and family. We got so much nice stuff. Thank you again to Natalie, Hank, Linda and Luke Barber for hosting the baby shower. We are so graceful and thankful. Thank you to everyone who came or sent in gifts.. We can't wait til Edward comes home and everyone gets to meet him... Please check the video page on edwardday.com to view the video about Edward I made for the baby shower..

Thanks to everyone again.

Love
Greg, Melissa and Edward Day

Edward Continues

Edward continues to grow and get big and stronger each day. He is doing so well.  Melissa continue to read him a story every night. We sure do love him. Tonight's put him at 5lbs 6 oz!!! Way to go!
Tomorrow is the baby shower, and tomorrow night I will post a very special video about Edward tomorrow night, so stay tuned for that..

Edward continues down the right path

Edward continues down the right path.., Go little buddy go!!! Nothing really big today, he did pass another test, his hearing test !!! So I guess he can hear all the nice things we say to him!!
So glad to be off tomorrow so I can be there for all of his feeds!!!
This coming Tuesday marks his 3 Month Birthday!!! Boy where has all the time gone!

Edward continues down right track

Well first the ultra sound was fine... No blood!!!
Second his weight tonight put him at 5 lbs 3 oz!!!
Edward continues to improve on his daily feeding!!! Go Edward go!!!

Enjoying the Edward

Edward continues to improve daily however he still has not pooped!!! I wish he would just go already!!! Edward weighs in tonight at 5lbs 2 oz, he weight gains won't be as dramatic anymore, since he is using a lot of energy during his 4 nipple feeding.
Edward has another ultrasound tomorrow so we are keeping our fingers crossed!!!!

So sorry for all the typos I am very tired!

Edward will you poop already

Edward continues to well in his nipple feeding but know has decided to not poop so much, they said they are not too worried since his stomach still feels fine, it is just one of those things babies go through. There is on thing that Edward is really good at other than eating and that is FRATING, does his frats ever smell! I thinks he gets that from his mom, some of you know what I am talking about !
Anyway nothing else new to report, Edward had a small weight gain of 3 grams today, but again nothing really too worry about, he is know the size of a small new born and he still is only 35 weeks and 5 days old... (The only big thing going on for him this week is another head ultrasound on Wednesday to check for blood, so we will be praying and hoping for the best)

Oh and one last thing (as Steve Jobs would say) the nurse weight Edward before and after his 8pm breast feeding and he weight 41 grams heavier do he is getting almost his full allocation of food he would get by the OV tube! Way to go little buddy!!! We love you so much!!!

Edward can sure eat

Edward sure does like to eat, for example to night he spent 30 minutes breast feeding, which by the way he is really getting good at, and still was hungry so he took 15 ml more of breast milk that I got to feed him!!!
Edward is also sure getting big fast, his weight tonight put him just over 2400 grams or about 5.2 pounds, he is actually the size of a small newborn baby now, it is hard to believe that is was just over 1 pound or 600 grams when he was born almost 12 weeks ago. Edward continues to improve daily on his oxygen or has Melissa puts it, Edward's breathing is a lot like her pumping , they are both working on it..
We sure do love Edward a lot and can't wait to have him home with us, which we think is only about 5-6 weeks away we hope, we can start to see light at the end of the tunnel!!! I hope the light doesn't go away this time!

Edward continues on the right path

Well Edward continues to improve. His flow rate is down to 2 liters a minute and his % is down to 35. He continues to do really feel on his 4 nipple feelings he gets a day . No weight tonight well so well have to wait til tomorrow for that.
Edward also had a 2 special visitors today, Auntie Natalie who came to see him then attended his discharge class and his grandmother Campbell, he sure does love his grandmother, he sure does love it when she visits.

Edward gets a chair

Well Melissa was asked today by the doctor and nurse if he had a bouncer chair yet, and well no but she ran out to target and got hime one and he LOVES IT... He just loves being out of the crib and being able to see everything and everyone and it is getting him ready for the "Car seat test".
Edward continues to go well on the breast feeding. He is on nipple feeding 4 times a day, at 8am and pm and at 2 am and pm. so he is at 1/2 of his feeding being nipple, so GO EDWARD GO...
Edward also got to meet a new mom and dad who are just joining the NICU family, it was nice for Melissa and I to help out newbie's to the NICU, it makes us feel good.

Edward gets a bath and cries

Well Edward finally cried a same cry but a cry. (If you goto the video page on Edward's web site you can see the video if this historic moment.)
Edward got a actual bath today and didn't really seem to like it and told us about it with a small cry.
Edward's lung's continue to get better, he is down to as low as 28% but still at 3 liters, oh well he continues to get better and that is the important part.
Edward's weight yesterday drop skittle and today is was up to around 2210 grams or 4 lbs 12 oz or so.... Go Edward go.
Edward goes to every other feeding being a nipple feeding tomorrow so he is 1/2 to total nipple feeding.
Edward will have his weekly visit from grandma Campbell tomorrow, and he really enjoys it when his grandmother visits....

Edward continues to fight

Edward is sure a fighter!!! He continues to beat the odds on everything.... His oxygen flow remains the same at 3 liters per minute but his actual percent of oxygen he is getting keeps going down, it was as low as 29% today and he is currently at 30% with his night nurse thinking of lowering him again to 29 or maybe even 28!!! The magic percent is 21, that is what we breath, so this tells us his lungs are SLOWLY getting better. Remember he is only 35 weeks old today, so he is still 5 weeks Dom his due date and the lungs aren't fully developed until 37 weeks anyway.
No weight tonight, the night nurse will weigh him in later tonight so you will have to wait until tomorrow for that!
Edward continues to nipple better everyday, he went from 2 nipple feeding a day to once every 3rd feeding... So that is good news.
We just hope that we continue in the right direction !!!!

Mistake in last post sorry

Weight not correct
It should read 4 lbs 12 oz sorry

Edward Edward Go Edward

Well Edward actually had a pretty good day. The doctor lower Edward down to 3 liters from 3.5 and does he ever like to poop. Every time Melissa puts a new diaper on him he goes again and does it ever stink!!!!
Edward also continues to improve on the breast feeding. He really does well the first 15 minutes but when Melissa goes to switch him he kind of loses his focus and just wants to sleep... Oh well he will get better with time.
Edward's weight tonight puts him at 2164 grams or 5lbs 12 oz... Go Edward Go!!!!