A scale

This is the diaper that they have had Duncan in (not this actual diaper) since he was born. They just recently put him in the next size up because he has been pooping or stooling as Justin calls it. This is a Pampers preemie XS. I could just take a picture, but it really helps to see it next to something.

1 month old today

The day he was born. This is all I got to see before he was air evaced to St. Joe's

Three days after he was born

Today. You may not be able to tell in the pictures, but Duncan has grown. His cheeks are so much chubbier.

We went and spent time with Duncan today, for his 1 month Birthday!! I can't believe it has been a month. I got to change another poopy diaper. It's good that he is pooping because that means that things are working correctly and flowing. It is also good because it keeps the Bili ruben (? spelling) down. He is doing really well. A Dr. came by today and said that he was stable and that it was just a matter of figuring out the liquids for him. They are feeding him every three hours and every 12 hours they will increase the amount of milk he gets. They started giving him 2 cc's and at 5am he will get 3cc's. He will start gaining weight now.

We are so happy that he is doing so well. I thank Heavenly Father every day for the blessings he continues to pour out on Duncan. He is a special boy and Justin and I are so in love with him. We can't wait until we get to start holding him, hopefully in a few more weeks.

Duncan the Great

The front and back cover

The inside of the card

My nephew in Boston, Nicky, sent this card to Duncan a few weeks ago. I've been meaning to post it, but you know how things get. Anyway, I wanted to post it because I am going to take it to the hospital today and hang on his wall. I love all the ways he drew Duncan. There's Army Duncan, Jedi Duncan, Super Duncan, King Duncan. I hope you can read all of them, if not click on the picture and enlarge. He is a very funny and talented kid.

Blowing Bubbles

WE spent a lot of time with Duncan today. Now that I am feeling better it is getting harder to leave him. We got there just in time to change his diaper. It was an explosive mess. He hadn't been pooping, mostly because they had stopped the feedings when he got sick, and the other night his nurse Gina decided to give him some medicine to get things flowing. Ever since then he has had no problem going. I told Justin that sometimes you just need a little help to go. So I got to change the messy diaper, and it was gross because it was really hard to wipe off. Anyway, I would have taken a picture but Justin thought that was weird so I opted not to. He is doing so well right now. We are feeling so blessed right now. He is strong and breathing so much better. I like this machine that he is on. I feel it has really helped his lungs to get better, it is really gentle on them.

HIS weight has gone up and down. As of tonight he was 2lb. 4oz. They are feeding him every 3 hours now and they will probably increase the amount they feed him in the next couple of days. He continues to love being on his belly and lets the nurse know if he doesn't like what she is doing. He got so upset today. The one thing that is really hard to watch is when he is obviously crying, but you can't hear anything because of the tube down his trachea. But he has the quivery lip and the face of a crying baby, but no noise. I was worried because he had a new nurse today and she didn't really know his temperament, but it was nice that she was asking us what he prefers, how does he like to lay in the nest. Obviously they would love to keep him on his tummy, but they have to keep switching positions so his head doesn't get too flat on one side.

I love this picture. He likes to blow bubbles once in a while. This one got so big before it popped.

European Traveler

Can you see her in there? That is my niece Aubree, and on Sunday she will become an international traveler. She is going on an amazing European trip with a group called People to People. She is so excited and she should be. I was the same age just a little older when I went to Europe for the first time (only time) and it is a really great experience. She is going to Greece, Italy, Germany and one other country, but I can't remember which. I am so excited and nervous for her. I'm sure she is tired of everyone telling her to be careful and do this and don't do this, but we just all love her so much and want her to have a safe and fun trip. So Aubree my best advice is enjoy everything, make sure you are in the pictures, try different foods (shouldn't be a problem for her), don't go off without another person-even to the potty, sleep on the air plane, and just have a great time.

See you in three week!

4 weeks in the NYICU

I took this photo by sticking the camera in the hand hole(the thing by his knee at the top of picture)

I love this picture of his hair. They had just finished the brain scan and he had gel in his hair. When she wiped it up his hair looked like it had been styled. Does it look good Aunt Kassi?

I love his feet. I think because that was all I could touch when I first went to see him. (This is the foot that keeps getting pricked for blood).


Today Duncan has been in the NYICU for 4 weeks. I prayed that the time would feel like it is going by quickly and it really has.


Here is the thing about the NYICU, Duncan is in what they call a POD. There are 9 PODS in the level 3 NYICU and each one holds no more than 4 babies. Duncan is in the smallest pod and it gets crowded in there when there are 4 babies especially when each one has its own nurse. So I had to wait to go see him today until 1pm, so it would be 24 hours since I had started my medication. I got there and sat with him for a couple of hours and then had to go pump. That was a little after 4pm. When I got out of pumping at 5pm they were sterilizing lines and when they do that no one can be in there. So I had to go out for that. Well, they were also getting another baby in the pod. Justin got to there about 5:30. We went up and they said the baby that just came in wasn't stable yet and they needed us to wait. So we were fine with that. The other thing is that they kick you out at 7pm and 7am for nurse shift change, so you can't be in there either when they do that and that takes 30 minutes. By 6pm Justin went and asked what was going on, at this point Duncan's nurse came out and told us that the baby they brought in was very unstable and they were putting lines in and we probably wouldn't be able to go back for quite a while. Those who know Justin know he can't stay up late, he has chronic fatigue and it is really hard for him to be up late, so we decided we would go and so Justin didn't get to see Duncan today. He was bumbed about that. But while we were there Brooke (Duncan's primary day nurse-just means she has him whenever she works) showed us his x-ray of his lungs from this morning. His right lung wasn't doing very well, they call it white out (when you look at an x-ray of your lung it should be black to show that oxygen is getting to it). But today his lung was more black than it had been in a long time. It looked really good. He is 2lbs. 3oz. and 14 in. long. His weight will go up and down like that, but as long as he keeps putting on weight.

He had his 3rd scan of his brain today and I actually made my mom take me back to the hospital around 8pm tonight. They had the results back and he had NO bleed or sign of anything wrong. He has some fluid around the brain but we were told that is very common on preemies and it wasn't a worry. YAY!! I am so thankful to everyone for their prayers and I am so thankful to Heavenly Father who has poured so many blessings upon this special little boy. I am so thankful to Him for all He has blessed us with. I love my little guy and just know he is going to be okay and I know that he isn't out of the woods yet, but no bleeds is a tremendous blessing. Please continue to pray for him.

Just a couple of my favorites

I just really love looking at pictures of Duncan. He is so cute. The top picture is one of my favorites. He continued to have a good day. Daddy got to go and sit with him for a little bit this evening. He said that Duncan tolerated his feeding really well, so they were going to be feeding him again this evening. He is peeing the correct amount, not too much & not too little. So that is good. They had to put a new pic (? spelling) line in as the other one clogged up. I hope that they get to continue the feedings and get him the rich nutrients that he needs to grow.
I am finally starting to feel better. I hope my medicine keeps me from getting worse. I am also starting to feel better from the c-section. I am still having a little bit of pain, but this week it finally started to feel better. In another week I think it will be completely healed.

Please keep Duncan in your prayers. He still needs lots of them.