It's A Miracle

Samuel had an echo-cardiogram done yesterday. This was so the cardiologist could check on the heart murmur heard when Sam was first born. It is called a PDA (patent ductus arteriosus). This is a congenital heart defect very common in preemie babies. It is where the ductus arteriosus (a chamber in the heart) fails to close after birth. This can be treated with medication and/or surgery. Sam was given medication and we were told surgery was in the future if it did not close fully. Well, Sam's closed!!!!!! Thank the Lord Samuel will not have to have surgery to correct his PDA. What an answer to our prayers. :)

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Also, I just bottle fed Samuel for the 1st time this afternoon. He took about 10mL...almost 1/2 an ounce. I did not get a picture of the big event. I'll make sure to get one next time. Please pray that Samuel will continue to grow strong and be able to withstand his bottle feeding sessions.

Growing Like A Little Weed

Today Sam weighs 4 pounds 8.5 ounces and is 17.5 inches long. That is a gain of 1 pound and 1/2 an ounce and 1.5 inches from where he was at birth! He has been gaining about 1-2 ounces per day. Yesterday he got the hang of nursing. It was as if the light bulb came on and he knew exactly what to do. He bottle fed 1/2 an ounce yesterday...still trying to get the hang of the bottle. He changes more and more each day. Thank you SO much for your thoughts and prayers. God is definitely with our Little Bitty Sam Levin! :)

Wearing a preemie outfit from Aunt Jessica. It reads...I'm Just Bananas Over Mommy!

Wearing pants too!

Can you tell how big I'm getting?

All snuggled in a fresh blanket.

Daddy and Sam this morning.

Special time with Daddy this morning.

My good friend Jennifer made this hat for Samuel. Isn't it cute! :)

All snuggled up after nursing yesterday.

Bonding with Mommy.

Samuel and Mommy having special time.

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I had a shower with my class on Friday. I forgot my camera, but my room mother is going to email me some pictures from the big day. Everything was so nice. The parents put a lot of energy into making it a special day for me with my students. I received several lovely gifts....lots of clothes, blankets, and burp cloths. Several parents went in on the purchase of the stroller and jumperoo. I miss my class! :(

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My siter Kathy threw a shower for me in Nashville on Saturday. It was a small and intimate gathering. It was so nice to be with my sisters and a few friends I had not seen in a while. Again, I received lots of nice things for Samuel.

At my shower on Saturday in Nashville. Kathy was so nice to put this together for me.

My friend Rachel and I at my shower in Nashville. She has 3 boys and getting ready to pass some clothes and baby stuff to me. Yippee! :)

This cake was yummy! :)

The message in my sister Kathy's kitchen.

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Ms. Karen (Sam's favorite nurse) is feeding him a bottle on Thursday 3/26.

Sam Is Wearing Clothes!

Look at these cute pics from yesterday. Samuel is wearing clothes! They have him in an open bed now....he's not all incased in the incubator. He had a great day yesterday. He is maintaining his temperature and is now eating 40 ml every 3 hours....that's almost 1 1/2 ounces!

Today, Sam nursed again. We are still trying to get the hang of it. :) He now weighs 4lbs 2 oz.

Another Great Day

I just spent the last hour and a half with my sweet Samuel. We tried nursing again. This is a slow process, but he is doing a great job. I also pumped while holding him. All in all, it was a wonderful bonding session with my little man. Oh, and we ended our visit with a stinky diaper change. The nurses are allowing me to do more and more with Sam to become more comfortable. I almost forgot, when Nick and I got there this morning, Sam was wearing clothes! I snapped a few pics....I'll have to post them later. The nurse said they were going to try and take him out of the incubator today since Sam has made it to 4 lbs.

Great Day!

Today when I got to the hospital, I got some great news.....Samuel gained some weigh overnight and now weighs 4 pounds 1 ounce! His feedings will probably increase today. He also ate 15 ml out of the bottle yesterday afternoon...1/2 an ounce. His nurse is continuing to wean him from his oxygen. He is down to 20-25% now and only at 1/4 of a liter. This probably doesn't make sense to most of you....but it's good.

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I got to nurse Samuel today!!! It was new for both of us and the nurse said we both did great. We will try again tomorrow morning. :)

Monday Update

Samuel gained 2 ounces over the weekend! That puts him at 3 pounds 14 ounces...only 2 ounces from 4 pounds. He is eating 35ml of milk every 3 hours. Once a day the nurses will try him on the bottle. The 1st 2 days he ate 5 ml from the bottle. Yesterday, he ate 10 ml. Samuel has to eat all 8 of his daily meals from the bottle before he can come home. Keep your prayers coming....we are ready to get him home. :)

I had a very nice shower this weekend with my teacher friends. It was so great to see everyone. I opened up lots of presents for Mr. Sam. When I got home, I laid everything out in the nursery to show Nick. Then we went to the hospital to tell Sam all about his new blankets and toys and other gifts. We are so blessed to have people that care so much about us!

Midnight Milk Run

Last night when we called the NICU to check on Samuel, they said he was out of milk. I just dropped off a gallon sized freezer bag full of milk on Monday or Tuesday. Well, our little Samuel is becoming quite an eater! The nurse said she could just feed him formula until I came in today. I told Nick that I would not be able to sleep if I didn't run milk up to the hospital for Samuel. So, off I went to the hospital. :) It wasn't quite midnight, but it was close enough. I was so happy I brought the milk because Sam was wide awake when I got there. I have never seen him more alert. The nurse wrapped him up tightly and let me hold him. We just stared at each other. It was like meeting for the first time. I talked softly to him and he took in every word I said. I told him about all the nice people praying for him and how blessed we are. He is such a special little boy! :) This morning I drove myself to the hospital for a visit. It feels good to be able to come and go as I please. It was hard having to rely on others to taxi me around.

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I almost forgot.....Samuel ate out of a bottle for the first time yesterday!!! The nurse tried him for a minute or two on a regular bottle and he didn't suck hard enough to get anything out. She tried a preemie bottle and he just about choked. She said he took in about 5ml. This is a great start. The nurse will try him again around 2pm today. She said he will probably have more success today since he knows that milk comes out of that thing. :) We will see.

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***Pictures coming soon. I can't download pictures on the hospital computer. I may run to Nick's office. We have got to get a computer at our house! :)

Sweet Samuel!

As of today, Samuel weighs 3 lbs 12 oz. I'm not sure if his length has changed. He is almost 2 weeks old. Everyday he continues to amaze us. He's a strong little boy. His feedings have increased to 30ml, a full ounce. I talked to the doctor today about bottle feedings. They should start very soon. Samuel is cuter and cuter every time I see him. It is so hard to believe he is mine. Nick and I want him at home with us so bad, but we want him to stay in the NICU as long as he needs to be there. I have not been driving...I'm not supposed to for two weeks. Well my two week mark comes tomorrow. I drove to the library here in Arlington this afternoon. It was very surreal being back in the driver's seat. My little trip was only about 2 miles round trip. I will try to drive a longer distance tomorrow or Saturday. I have my 1st shower on Saturday...if I feel brave on Saturday, maybe I'll drive myself! :)

Samuel trying to pull out his nasal prongs. :)

Mommy and Samuel saying morning prayers.

Mommy, stop taking pictures of me! :)

Are you still there Mommy? Hehehe!

When It Rains It Poors

Okay, this has nothing to do with Samuel. I spent most of the day yesterday with Terminix....WE HAVE TERMITES! Holy moly, our house isn't even 5 years old. For some reason, Nick and I both thought our house was under some termite warrenty for 5 years. We were just talking this winter about getting a termite plan within the next few months. Well, houses are only under warrenty for 1 year. We're not upset....it's kind of funny...well, I guess funny is not the word. It just is what it is. I'll tell you what I told Nick.....Don't waste any of your prayers on the termite thing. Save all of the prayers for Samuel. :)

Wednesday News

I saw Samuel this morning. He looks great. They took the catheter out of his belly button. He is no longer receiving IV fluid...just milk. Today they will start fortifying his milk with extra calories so we can fatten that boy up. :) The cardiologist is not concerned at this time with the slight murmer they hear. We will wait until closer to Sam's discharge to look at this again. Thank you for your prayers and support.

xoxoxox

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It has been a couple of days since I last updated the blog. I apologize...things have been going non-stop the past few weeks. Samuel is doing great. He seems to change a bit each day. As of today, he is eating 28ml of milk every 3 hours...that's 2ml from a full ounce. That amount has been increasing each day. He is still feeding from a tube, but we expect his first bottle to come any day now. He is on nasal prongs, and he has gone down to 1/4 of a liter of oxygen. He should be completely off all breathing support by the end of the week. He does still have a slight heart murmur. We are waiting to hear from his cardiologist. This slight opening in the heart could close on it's own or need another does of indocin to close it up. Worst case scenario...surgery. Please keep praying for our sweet Samuel.

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Here are some pictures from the past couple of days. Enjoy!

Daddy holding his boy for the 1st time!

Our 1st family photo.

Little bitty feet look extra small in Daddy's hand.

Look at my size 5 wedding band on Sam's hand.

Catching some rays on his billi-blanket. (It treats jaundice.)

I'm smiling because this is my last day on c-pap!

Look how cute I look with nasal prongs. :)

Sweet sleeping boy!


Look how serious Sam looks here.

Daddy holding Samuel last night.

Laying on a blanket from Mrs. Kati. (one of Mommy's teacher friends)
The nurses had to tape his nasal prongs on because he kept pulling them out of his nose.

Saying good night to Samuel last night.

Good morning Sam! It's St. Patrick's Day. Good thing your diaper has green on it.

Look how light his hair looks here.

We Held Our Samuel

On Wednesday (March 11th) I held my sweet boy for the first time. It was AMAZING!!! Nick held Sam for the first time yesterday (March12). He continues to grow stronger with each passing day. He is on c-pap...a breathing aid that covers his nose and helps him breath. The nurse took him off of c-pap yesterday, but he struggled too much. He was put back on around 11pm last night. They just don't want Samuel to get worn out trying to get this whole breathing thing down. He will get there...I have no doubt.

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**Picture & video coming soon. My parents have dial up and I am not patient enough to wait. :)

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Samuel is 1 week old today. It's hard to believe a week has already passed. Please continue to lift our Samuel up in your daily thoughts and prayers. That is what is getting him through....his mommy and daddy too. :)

Praise God!

After my visit, my mom came and got me from the hospital. We went to Target to pick up a few items. I have been weak yesterday and today, so I rode in a wheel chair. I felt silly, but I knew I couldn't manage walking around the store. When we got back to my mom's house, I got a call from Samuel's doctor. He is being taken off the ventilator! They will also increase his milk feedings and decrease his IV feeding. He starts medicine today to correct a slight heart murmur. We should have news on his reaction to the medicine within the next day or so. Please continue to keep our little Sam in your prayers. He is a strong boy and continues to amaze us each day.

A Great Visit

Today, I got up and got ready to head to the hospital. I can't drive, so Nick dropped me off around 8am. Sam looked wonderful. His breathing has slowed down and he hasn't had to be sedated to calm him down for 2 days. He has been peeing and pooping the way he should be and taking in 10ml of milk for the past day and a half. He is a little jaundice, but not enough to take action yet. The nurse opened his incubator for my whole visit! I took pictures like a crazy woman! He smiled for me and even opened his sweet eyes for a second or two. I held his milk again for his feeding. He let out the loudest toot ever....that would compete even with his daddy! I thought he may have filled his diaper, but when the nurse checked she confirmed he was passing gas. Silly boy!

Hungry boy!

He smells so good!

Mommy loves her Samuel.

His feet are not much bigger than the ones on the blanket.

A little smile! :)

Trying to open those sweet eyes!

Holding Mommy's hand. Sweet boy!

Little bitty feet.

I pledge allegiance to the flag...Ha!