Lengthy first post

Hello all friends and family -

While I think this will mostly be a project for Joe (he's had a little blogging experience in the past), I wanted to start getting photos of Graham up for everyone to see. The overall update is that he is doing extremely well, which we are thrilled by every day. He got moved last week from the NICU to the level 2 Special Care Nursery because he was so stable, which was awesome. He has a whole little area all to himself back there, and lots of nurses who just dote on him (because he is clearly the smartest, most handsome little boy ever). He is off all IV's (although he did get a little phlebitis at his IV site on his right foot, and is now on Keflex for a week - but it has already gone way down from the initial swelling) and is just on tube feeds of breastmilk plus a few additives. He did have to do some phototherapy for jaundice, but the lights have gone back off today (which is good because he hates the lights).

As I think I wrote in my first email, he's doing really well respiratory-wise - he never had to have oxygen or a ventilator, and no apnea at all as of yet. So really, it's just a matter of getting him growing and feeding. He's started breastfeeding a few minutes at a time, and the lactation consultant says he'll just get stronger and better. The next step is to start bottle feeds of breast milk, although we don't know yet when that will happen.

Joe and I are doing well, if still really exhausted and fragile. I, unfortunately, was doing fine recovery-wise until I got put down by a bout of mastitis yesterday. Sigh. So I am actually just resting in bed today while Joe visits with Graham and the South Shore gets hit by a nasty little snowstorm. I really hate not seeing my beautiful little boy, but I know I need to rest up. Joe has been amazing through everything - becoming the absolute administrator for our little family, not a role to which he is accustomed but one in which he is succeeding beyond measure. Joe's job has been relatively flexible, allowing him to telecommute, although still having the expectations of a 40-hr week is pretty stressful. I'm just trying to get used to breast-pumping 8-10 times a day!

Tomorrow we have our family meeting with the social workers, developmental folks and so on. Hopefully we'll have a better guess about how long Graham will be in the hospital after that, although I've yet to see a neonatologist actually commit to even a guess at a discharge date.

Lastly, here's the place to go for even more pictures of our little man: http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahsp/GrahamSpencerWelsh

And Joe will probably be doing the lion's share of the posting from here on out, which means more funny, more photos, and more poop jokes. Huzzah!

Love,
Sarah/Spence/SSW/Graham's mom!