1st Halloween!!

I couldn't resist dressing little Gabe up for Halloween! I went to Build A Bear to pick out a costume and ended up with this ...






GO COLTS!!

Full Feedings!!

Gabe was increased to full feedings today! He is able to breastfeed 6 times and then gets 2 fortified bottles for extra calories! He loves to eat!! If he tolerates his feedings, his NNP thinks he will be able to go home on Monday ... my birthday!!!!


Love his little feet!



NO MORE NG TUBE!!!!!!!!

35 Weeks Adjusted!!

Gabe is 35 weeks adjusted today! We are going to full feedings tomorrow!! Yeah!!!

More Progress!!

Well, last night, Gabe weighed in at a whopping 4lbs 3oz!! He nippled 2 full bottles last night and they placed him in an open crib!!! Today, his NNP increased him to 5 times a day for breast/bottle feedings!! He breastfed 3 times in a row today and did great!! They will offer him 2 bottles again tonight. Keep up the great work, buddy!


Wide awake and ready to eat!

Gabe's crib

2 Weeks Old!

Gabe is 2 weeks old today! He is now back up to his birth weight! His NNP continues to increase the number of feedings he can do by breast or bottle because he is doing so well!! We breastfeed twice during the day while I'm there and they offer 2 bottles to him at night! He takes them like a champ! Way to go, Gabe!! He continues to amaze us daily with his progress! We can't wait for him to come home!!


Snuggling with daddy!



I LOVE his feet!!

Great Progress!

This morning, Gabe had another successful breastfeeding session! The NNP was so impressed, she wrote an order to breastfeed twice a day!! The second session was just as great! What a good boy!! Before we left this evening for home, our NNP came by and talked to us about her plans for Gabe tomorrow ... we are going up to 3 times a day for breastfeeding!!!! YAY!!!




My sweet little guy!


Full Belly!

More Pics!

I just can't get enough!


9 Days Old!




10 Days Old!

34 Weeks Adjusted & Happy Anniversary to US!

Today, Gabe is 34 weeks adjusted! He continues to make progress daily! He tried breastfeeding for the first time today and loved it! (What a great anniversary present to your mommy and daddy :) ) He did so well, hopefully they will let him make more attempts tomorrow! We are just blown away by his strength and we are so proud of him! He is now up to 3 lbs 10 oz, gaining slowly!

Adam and I also celebrated our 4th Wedding Anniversary today! I spent the day at the hospital with our little man while Adam worked. On our way home, we stopped by Cracker Barrel for dinner (I know, so romantic! But we love it!) We watched The Proposal and crashed afterwards! Happy Anniversary, Babe! I love you!!

Gabe's First Day to Wear Clothes!!

Gabe's umbilical line was taken out last night and he was increased to his full feeding amount of 31 mL every 3 hrs! Yeah big boy!! We were finally able to dress him in clothes today, now that his line is out and his bilirubin went down! He looked so adorable! The preemie onesies that his Auntie Shelly & Auntie Erin bought him fit perfectly, as well as his little preemie pants from his Auntie Kerri! Thanks girls!!

One Week Old!

I failed to mention that Gabriel was 1 week old yesterday! Wow, this week has gone by quickly! He has made a lot of progress since last Sunday!


Mama is still a little ghostly ... hopefully I don't scare Gabe : )


Loves his papa!


Such a sweetie!!

Update

Gabe continues to do well, we are so proud of him!! He is off of his NC and tolerating his feedings!! As of yesterday, he is up to 22 mL of 24 cal BM!! You go Gabe!! They are going to keep increasing him up to his full feeding volume and remove his umbilical line, maybe today or tomorrow ... we are hoping they won't have to place a PICC line! His bilirubin went up again, so for the last 2 days his has been under the bili light. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to hold him since Thursday, so we are hoping for good news when we get to the hospital today! He continues to amaze us everyday! The meaning of his name, Gabriel, is "God is my strength". Suites him well, don't you think?! We love you baby boy!!!

Go IU!!

4 Days old and already supporting the Hoosiers!

Our Little Miracle

As most of you know, our little man came early!
And the story begins ...

Saturday afternoon was our family baby shower, which was amazing!!! I felt great. My family was in town from Colorado and California so we were just spending the weekend hanging out. I woke up early Sunday morning around 3:00, not able to fall back asleep, so I got up and did some of Gabe's laundry. I noticed I was having menstrual like cramps on and off, but didn't think much of it. I finally laid back down for a couple hours of sleep and woke up around 9:00, still having cramps. We got dressed and went to my mom and dad's house for breakfast, and as I was sitting at the table the cramps became a little more uncomfortable. I went to lay down on the bed and as I did so, my sister and sister-in-law were counting silently how far apart the "cramps" were coming. At that point they were coming every 2 to 3 minutes. My sister-in-law finally convinced me to call the doctor and of course she requested for me to go to triage to be monitored. We chose to go ahead to Methodist because my doctor was there seeing a patient. We arrived at the hospital around 12:00 and went to triage. They put me on the monitor and sure enough the "cramps" were contractions. The midwife checked me and I was already 4 cm! The quickly admitted me and started a bolus of Magnesium sulfate to try to stop my labor. Around 1:30, the nurse checked me by request of my doctor and I was 5 1/2 cm! At that point, my doctor was on her way in. She arrived around 2:30, checked me, I was 8 cm, she broke my water, and I quickly dilated to 10 cm!! NO TIME FOR PAIN RELIEF!! I pushed for about 20 minutes and .....

Gabriel Wetherbee Johnson was born on
10/11/09 at 3:14 pm
3 lbs 14 oz, 17 1/4 in

He was 32 weeks and 3 days, so of course he had to go to the NICU. We were able to hold him briefly before they whisked him away. I remember how warm his cheek felt against mine ... so amazing!



After the delivery, I only required one tiny stitch, which at that point we thought was great! Well ... I continued to bleed and pass grapefruit sized clots. The nurse called my doctor, who was already on her way home, and she had the resident check me. WOW, I will have to say that was worse than delivering Gabe. The nurse told me to find a "happy place" before the resident came in. The resident couldn't find the source of my bleeding, so she told my nurse to call my doctor if I continued to do so. Well, I did, very heavily. Enough so that my doctor came back in to the hospital to take me to the OR for a DNC. By the time my doctor made it back to the hospital I had lost a LOT of blood. I remember feeling very weak and tired as everyone was urgently trying to get me back to the OR. By the time they wheeled me from my labor room to the OR, I had lost almost double what I lost previously. I was back in the OR for about 1hr and 15 min and thankfully made it out ok! What a scary experience! I have recovered very well, only a little sore : ). The day was such a whirlwind, I'm sure I left out some details, but you get the idea!

Gabriel was put on CPAP, but was quickly weaned to a NC at 6:00 the next morning! He is doing very well. They started feedings on Tuesday of 4 mL of my breast milk every 3 hours. Today, they increased him to 9 mL and he is tolerating it great! He is still under one bank of lights for his bilirubin, but his level is coming down quickly, so hopefully he will be out from under that tomorrow! We have been able to snuggle with him and be involved in his care. Our experience has really been wonderful at Methodist. Here are some pics and videos to enjoy : )















We want to thank all of our family and friends for being so supportive during this series of events! We couldn't have made it through with out you! Although we have a long road ahead, we feel so blessed to have our sweet baby here with us and are looking forward to watching him grow!