Update on Daniel

Parts of this were written by Robin and parts were written by Mike, so that's why it reads a little funny. :)

Daniel is doing really well. He is 7 days and 6 minutes old. Tomorrow will be his 34th gestational week. We are happy to report that he is now off the bilirubin lights and back to being swaddled the way he's most comfortable. Thankfully, he is also off the IV. His little veins are so tiny it was hard for the nurses to put new IVs in. (They had to move his IV every day or two.) He's still a little too young to figure out the whole nursing thing, so he has a little feeding tube that goes up his nose and down to his stomach. The nurses continue to increase his feedings and he has gained 1.6 ounces in the last week! The highlight of Robin's day is when she gets to nurse Daniel twice a day. He's not getting much food that way yet, but Daniel and Robin sure enjoy that time together.

We had a pleasant surprise on Sunday at the hospital. We went to Daniel's bed in the NICU and he wasn't there! AHHHH! It turned out they moved him to the "less intensive care area" because he was so stable. The NICU at this hospital is so big they have two completely seperate rooms. We didn't even know the other room existed, but Daniel is now in the same room with all the babies that are just waiting to go home. All of his vitals have been very stable since he was born, which we are VERY grateful for. There are a few requirement Daniel has to meet before he can come home, but he basically needs to be getting all of his food from nursing instead of the feeding tube, which means nursing 8 times a day. The staff at the hospital tell us to expect to take him home around his due date (August 26th), but that seems to be an over estimate. After talking to other parents who have had preemies about the same age, it sounds like he'll most likely come home after 3-4 weeks. So, that's 2-3 weeks from now since he's already been there a week.

We just want to thank all of you who have fasted and prayed for Daniel's behalf. We know that Heavenly Father hears and is answering them. Thank you for your strength and support and we'll bring this little guy home soon!

James is also hanging in there. Luckily Robin's Mom is staying with us this summer and has been a HUGE help. Mike's family, and many neighbors and friends have also been a huge support. (THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP!) Robin really has two highlights to her day. Holding Daniel at the hospital and then playing with James when she comes home at night.

Little Daniel loves his sleep.


Robin and Daniel LOVE this time together! His little eyes probably can't see much yet, but he knows that's his Mommy.


Mommy, Daddy, and little Daniel.


Visitors can only look through the window as these little preemies need their sleep and there's some lovely flu going around. James is very aware that something's going on and that this little baby is pretty important.