Checking out Mom and Dad

Mathew definitely prefers to be on his tummy. Almost every time they put him on his back, his vitals drop and he becomes agitated. Because he's being monitored, they can safely put him on his belly to keep him happy. So, needless to say we don't see him alert or see his face very often. The few times we do, it's a big treat! Today we got to spend about 10 minutes with him while he was on his back. His eyes were wide open and he was just checking us out the whole time. He was holding Mat's thumb and my pinky. He's got quite a grip. He would just stare at us when we talk to him. Unfortunately his stats didn't allow him to stay on his back for long, but we certainly enjoyed a little face to face time while it lasted. Isn't he just adorable?! He seems so happy when we're there. We got to spend a lot of time with him, just the two of us today. Then, he also got lots of quality Gma. and Gpa. time. My mom and dad arrived in the afternoon and were able to spend a few hours with him alone as well, while Mat and I rested. They also got a short spurt of back time enjoying Mathew's cute little face.

Tomorrow is going to be HUGE. Mathew's main line in his belly is supposed to come out first thing in the morning, which means that we will be able to hold him!! We can't wait. It's a week later than we would've liked obviously, but will be well worth the wait I know. I can't even imagine how wonderful it's going to be to hold him in my arms. We can finally begin to comfort him and bond with him in a new way.

You can tell by the video that Mathew really labors to breathe. A normal, healthy baby's respiratory rate is between 40-60 breaths per minute. Mathew tends to run well above that, even into the hundreds through the majority of the day. He uses so much energy just to breathe. As Mat explains it, he looks like he's just had a really hard workout. His chest is pumping so hard. He's receiving anywhere between 40-50% oxygen through his nose. The goal is to decrease this number and then decrease the pressure in the oxygen and for his respiratory rate to decrease and become more stable. This is just a matter of patience and time. It's going to happen according to Mathew's schedule. The doctors and nurses seem to think that us holding him might help relax him a little bit. He'll be receiving a chest x-ray first thing in the morning, so we're anxious to see that the results show and how his little lungs look.

Mathew is still receiving his feedings through the feeding tube. They won't even begin to think about feeding him through a bottle or to the breast until his respiratory rate decreases significantly. The reason being is that he is exerting so much effort just to breathe, that he can't begin to try to breathe and eat at the same time. It would take too much energy out of him and put him in danger. The good news is that he is digesting his feedings better now so they have begun slowly increasing them once again. Getting my milk to come in has been a test of patience. Not being able to have skin to skin contact with him really hinders nature. Last night I had the opportunity to pump at his bedside for the first time and what a difference it makes! It is just amazing the way the body works. When I can sit next to him and see him, smell him, etc. I have no problem. At the RMH sitting by myself it's a different story. I'm really anxious to see what holding him does. I think it will help things along even more!

Mathew is just minutes away from turning 1 week old as I am typing this. It's hard to believe what we were about to go through just a week ago today. This whole week is a bit of a blur, but we are so thankful for his progress and can't wait to see where the next week takes us!

Hopefully tomorrow we have a great picture or video to share of us holding him! :)

Just a heads up, that we will soon be making the blog password protected. We have opened the blog up to begin sharing with more and more people. We are thankful for the interest and the prayers, support, and encouragement. But, now that Mathew is actually here and we're including pictures and videos, etc. etc. we'd feel a little safer knowing that it's not open to just anybody surfing the Internet. Perhaps it's our protective parent instincts kicking in. You'd like to think that everyone in the world only has good intentions but the thought of any random person looking at the name and picture and location of my baby makes me a tad nervous. We hope that you will understand and each continue to read and share your comments with us. But just wanted to give you a heads up that in the next few days when you go to read the blog, it will ask you to create a password and then we just have to approve it. I think that's how it will work. :)