Bottles

Mac is now getting bottle-fed once a shift, so basically, he is getting 2 bottles a day. The rest of his feeds are through his feeding tube. I got to give him a bottle yesterday. Each time they give us a little more responsibility with him, he actually feels like he is more of my baby!! It's hard to think that he is 3 weeks old already. He doesn't seem that old, probably because he has never been out of the hospital. I am soooo ready to get him home.

3 pounds, 8 ounces!!!!

We've finally gained a pound!! I just called to check in with Mac's night nurse, and she said he weighed 3 pounds, 8 ounces!! We are so excited!! In just 3 weeks, he has gained a pound and is a very healthy baby boy! He only had 1 heartrate deceleration, and that was when I was there. His body corrected it on its on. As soon as it went down, it came right back up. They don't even chart that as a heartrate deceleration. He is also less one wire today. They discontinued his pulse ox, so that is off his foot.

I got to spend a little over 2 hours with him today, just Momma and Mac. He actually stayed awake with me today, so I really enjoyed him. After he went to sleep, I just layed there and admired the gorgeous child in my arms. I can't wait to get him home!!

More Weight

Mac is up up to 3 pounds, 6 ounces!!!! Yeah!! We are putting on weight every day. Grammy, Gramps, Emma, and I got to go see him last night for a little while. They had just given him a bath and he had gotten cold, so we didn't get to hold him, but he was so cute wrapped up in all his blankets. I just talked to the nurse and she said he did have a couple of heartrate decelerations last night (this is normal with a preemie). They also rechecked his creatin level this morning and he did not need blood again. That is a blessing!!!

Please keep praying for Mac, and also please pray for my brother, Randy, and his wife and daughter, Irene and Mikayla. Randy knew that his unit was going to Iraq, but he was supposed to stay behind a do a job at Ft. Benning. They told him on Friday that he is also being deployed and is leaving in 2 weeks. Unfortunately, he will not get to come home and see Mac before he goes. We had plans to take Mac to Georgia this summer to see his Uncle Ra-Ra for the first time. Please keep them in your prayers.

Good test results

Mac's test results came back good. He did not need another transfusion this morning. His nurse today, Kathi, absolutely loves him. She said she lotioned him up good and played with him a little. She said he was adorable. I am not going to get to see him today, so she said she would give him love from his Mommy.

Today is the first day I am getting to drive. I took Emma to daycare and got my hair cut. My blood pressure, for the most part, is back down to normal. Thank goodness. I haven't needed my medicine since Saturday, so we are hoping that this is for good.

A Little Pick-Me Up

Today was another pretty good day. Mac did receive a blood transfusion this morning due to a minor kidney problem. Apparently something that he was supposed to be producing was a little low, so they went ahead and gave him some blood before it got serious. They will check again tomorrow to see if the level is better. He also got a bolus (one time extra dose) of caffeine. This is due to a couple of heartbeat decelerations that he has had. This, also, was a precaution to help keep the decelerations from coming more often. Other than that, it was a good day. Randall and I went down and got to cuddle him for about an hour and a half.

Mac's weight is up again...he now weighs 3 pounds, 4 ounces. He also took about half a bottle last night from his nurse. She said since he received blood this morning, she wasn't going to try to night because he needed to rest. Keep up the prayers...they are working!!!

A Bottle

Guess what? Mac actually drank a bottle today. The nurse decided she would try it out, and she said he did great. He drank most of a 30 mL bottle. She said towards the end, he got a little stressed, heartrate and pulse oxygen started to fall, so she put him back in the bed and he went right to sleep!!! She said he may not do this again for a couple of weeks because it takes a lot of energy on his part, but he did it once!!!

During our visit, he was pretty tired and stressed, so we only kept him out of his bed for about 30 minutes. Emma got to hold him again, so she was in Heaven!! The little outfit we put on him today totally swallowed him, but he still looked so cute.

Thank all of you for the prayers...I know they are being answered because Randall and I have a beautiful, healthy son who was born 11 weeks early...with basically no health problems!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! He definitely is a "Gentle Savior." Thank you, Rhonda, for the wonderful song at church this morning. It helped Randall and I feel more at peace with what is going on. You truly are a great friend!!!

The Big Sister...and a milestone

Emma absolutely loves her little brother, her "Macker" as she calls him, and she finally got to hold him Friday night. She was just beside herself. At home, she'll tell us, "I am the BIG SISTER." She keeps saying she wants to bring him home and play with him.

We have reached a milestone today. Mac weighs 3 pounds, 1 ounce (1390 grams). We are very excited about this. Randall and I went and spent all afternoon today (at least until they ran us off.) We got to hold him and keep him out of his isolette for about 3 1/2 hours. He seems to really love this time out, and of course, so do we. The nurse finally told us that we probably needed to put him up and let him rest. As soon as we put him back and changed his diaper, he was asleep good. Randall likes it because Mac interacts with him when he has him out, and he always sleeps when I have him. He says that is because he likes his Daddy more...that's all I need is ANOTHER Daddy's child!!! Like Emma isn't enough. I think he needs to be a Momma's boy.

No Billi-light!!!

Mac's billirubin level has gone down, so as of right now, he will not have to go back under the light. His level was 7.3 on Tuesday, and they had said the light would be back on if he got up to 8. His level this morning was 6.7, which is better. This could be from the fact that he has been having some major poopy diapers (as Emma calls them). Wednesday night he had one that went all down his leg.

He didn't gain much weight from Tuesday to Thursday. He only gained 10 grams, which still means 2 pounds, 14 ounces. At least he put on a little.

Mac, here is a picture of your house and your room. We can't wait until you are here to enjoy them. We have a spot reserved for you as the "little man of the house."

Diapers

Your booty is SOOOO small. This is a newborn diaper, then a diaper like you are wearing. The diapers you are wearing are still a little big for you, and even the preemie clothes we have bought are a little big.

Momma and Daddy

Momma and Daddy are getting to hold you a little more now, and you seem to really like being out of your isolette. All the nurses absolutely love to take care of you, and they say you always sleep really good after being out of your bed for a little while.

We've made it to one week!!

Mac keeps growing by the day. They weigh him every other day, and today is the first day they haven't upped his food intake. They did up the calorie intake, however. This means they add breastmilk fortifier to his milk so he is getting more calories. He is getting 25 mL of breastmilk every 3 hours, and they add 24 calories to it. He is looking more like a real baby everyday. When he was born, he was so small that he looked more like a baby doll. He likes to smile now, and even has a little Elvis lip going on. Grammy got to hold him for the first time last night, and I think she thoroughly enjoyed it.

Mac is here

Mac Patton Martin has arrived. He was born on Saturday, February 3, 2007 at 9:21 am. He weighed 2 pounds, 8 ounces, and was 15 1/2 inches long. He is doing well and gaining weight daily. He is now up to 2 pounds, 14 ounces. They will weigh him again tonight, so maybe he will break 3 pounds. They are going to have to test him tomorrow for his bilirubin level and he may have to go back under the billi-light as he is still a little jaundiced. He looks good, though. I got to change his clothes for the first time yesterday. I am always afraid that I will break him. I am learning everything, though, from how to work his isolette to how to unhook his leads and feeding tube. He is definitely a little miracle. Emma absolutely loves him. She told her daddy immediately after Mac was born, "I can't touch him, but God touched him." Isn't that amazing?