Happy Easter Ears

Happy Easter Everyone....



Love
Dylan "The Bunny Rabbit" Davis

Who do I look like?

Do I look like Daddy?

Or do I look like Mommy?

Happy Easter

Dear Dylan fans,

Dylan's first easter weekend was fun. Dylan had lots of visitors including both Grandma and Grandpa Davis and Cutler, Aunt Michelle, Uncle Bryce and Aunt Christy, and Kate. Dylan's Daddy got to hold him Easter eve and they both fell asleep while in the rocking chair. On easter morning Mommy got to hold him for a couple hours.

The nurse thought it would be easy to help keep his body temperature up by dropping him into the top of Mommy's shirt. He looked just like a kangaroo baby. He is such a little snuggler. The easter bunny came to our house and gave Dylan all sorts of fun things. He also was spoiled by his grandparents, aunts and uncles. Thank you everyone for the nice easter presents.

Dylan continues to make progress everyday. He now weighs 2 lbs 10 ounces. What a big boy huh?

-The Daddy

5 weeks old!

We think we suprised him a bit in this pic, hence the surprise face he's sporting.

The gals at the hospital made Dylan a 1 month celebration poster. He is pulling a half grin. What a little stud!

Dylan is 5 weeks! I can't believe that we have been doing this for 5 whole weeks. My days seem to run together. One day I know we will look back and realize all we have learned through this experience. I can't wait for that day! Life is crazy, I swear we have to plan everything we do around my pumping. I think I spend more time with the pump than with people! Our deep freezer in the garage is quickly filling up with milk that I swear we're going to have to throw everything else out! Dylan has had a fairly good week. He came off the nasal cpap to a nasal cannula for 5 days and it was so fun to be able to see his face! He was bright eyed and smiley for a few days. I was glad to have some witnesses to his smiles so that people believe me! Yesterday he started to struggle with his breathing so he had to go back on the cpap. I figure we will probably do this a few more times before he is off for the duration. He is struggling with feedings which is normal. We are playing the start-stop game but we will get there eventually! For someone who loves to have a plan and schedule...I am learning to go with the flow because you can't plan anything in the NICU. Just take it as it comes! Dylan had his first eye exam today. A lot of preemies end up with eye problems...but his looked GREAT so far! The other event of the day was that I got spit up on for the first time! Maybe that seems crazy to some to be excited about, but it is so nice to experience a few normal things here and there!

Mommy getting labels for Dylan's bottles

D has grabby hands and loves to pull on his tubes...that is why his face is plastered in tape!

He looks so much like his daddy that I wonder if my genes are in there somewhere. He has Jeff's nose for sure! However, he did inherit my big lips! Some days his hair looks dark and others it looks light...but he does have white eyelashes and eyebrows so who knows how it will turn out.

My two favorite boys

Aren't my two boys absolutely darling? Dylan is 1 month old and this last week has been great!!!! Dylan's one month measurements are 2 lbs 6 oz and 14 inches long. He came off the ventilator March 6th and was placed on Nasal C-pap which is a non-invasive ventilator. He is doing well on it so far! It is so good to finally be able to hear him cry. It is so cute and little! It seems to get a little louder each day. At first if you weren't standing right next to his bed you couldn't hear it, but he seems to be learning now that it gets him some attention if he is heard! He still remains on tons of medications. He has had his fair share of IVs...many of which have been in his head. Poor little guy! The infection caused lots of cysts throughout his lungs; the doctors have said that often times the cysts heal themselves and we're hoping we don't see long term problems. Because of the cysts, he has to remain on antibiotics for 6 more weeks. His feedings are going well. They have started adding calories to my milk so that he can hopefully start growing. Jeff and I each get to hold him once a day. It is awesome. The last couple of days he has been very bright eyed and awake for mommy time and I swear I have seen him flash me a smile or two. He has very big eyes when he can keep them open.

We want to thank Aunt Judy for the very thoughtful letter. Our thoughts and prayers are also with you and your family.

Daddy's cheesy grin while holding baby Dylan


Dylan holding Mommy's finger

Mommy and Dylan's first date!

Dylan turned 3 weeks old yesterday and Mommy got to hold him outside of his bed for the first time! It is quite the process to get him out of bed with the ventilator and all the tubes and wires. I cried, laughed, smiled, gave him lots of kisses, and sang him songs. It was amazing to feel him in my arms. A dream come true! I can't believe how much we have been through in the last month. It has been a crash course into parenthood. I now understand what we put our parents through! We have definitley been blessed beyond measure. Dylan continues to make progress every day and we are so grateful to have him in our lives. He has such a sweet little spirit. When he opens his little eyes to look at me it melts my heart. I can't get enough of my little guy! The MRSA growth has been halted in both his lungs and blood, but the doctors do not know how long it will take to rid it from his little body. We still have many obstacles to overcome over the next few months. The major one for this week so far is his heart. Dylan was seen by a Cardiologist 2 days ago. The Doctors were worried that the infection had spread to his heart. This can cause growths on his heart valves which would mean probable heart surgery. His Heart looked absolutley NORMAL! A new lung problem has shown up and we pray that it will eventually resolve so that he won't have chronic lung problems. He is still being fed by a tube and making slow but sure progress with feedings. He has started losing some of the water weight that he had gained because of infection. In this process he seems to pee on everyone that takes his diaper off! Daddy loves that his aim is good! A special thanks to my wonderful husband who I love so much and could not live without. Day after day he goes to work and then comes straight to the hospital to be with me and Dylan. He works so hard and has held me together through this trial. We are so grateful for all of the prayers offered for Dylan. They are working. He continues to shock the doctors with his progress!