Trying To Catch Up

Happy 1 week Birthday to Madden! Mommy & Daddy love you so much!Madden has had a hard first week of life. Mike and I were so anxious to see him for his 1 week Birthday. Our day didn't exactly go as planned, but we have quickly learned to always expect the unexpected. Mike and I both attended Sneak Peek at our schools yesterday. Then, we had planned to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with Madden. Well, I ended up having to go to the emergency room. I had another allergic reaction and spent over 6 hours at the hospital. It was 10:30 by the time we got to see our baby boy. Once we got to Cooks, we had completely forgotten about the bad day we had been having. Madden is definitely our medicine! I felt like a real mommy. I got to do all of the "first time" stuff that most mommy and daddy's get to do on day 1. I took Madden's temperature, changed a wet diaper and a poopy diaper (and LOVED every minute of it!), changed his clothes a few times, cleaned his umbilical chord, weighed him, gave him a sponge bath, fed him, and burped him. The nurse was there to assist me, but it felt nice to finally be able to get involved. Madden has gained a little more weight. He's up to 6 lbs. 13 oz. His goal is to be back to his birth weight by the time he's 2 weeks old. They have changed up his eating schedule a little bit. He still has a 65 ml requirement per feeding, but they are rotating his feeding schedule. He'll alternate between taking as much of a bottle as possible and then doing only his feeding tube the next feeding. It seemed to help a little bit. At one of his feedings, he ate a full 65 ml bottle on his own. Go Madden, Go! Although that's great news, he still has to prove to everyone that he can do that independently and consistently for over 48 hours. It's going to take some time, but I'm finally starting to believe that he's going to get there. Mike and I are just taking it one day at a time. We got home at 3:30 in the morning and were absolutely exhausted. I will try to be better about updating more frequently.

Mommy's First Feed

The Two Loves Of My Life

Let's rewind back to Thursday...It felt like we just couldn't catch a break that day. Our morning started by taking Mickey to the vet. He has lost over a pound and the vet pumped some liquids into his neck. Now we have two baby boys who are having trouble with their weight. Shortly after Mike got home with Mickey, I called to check on Madden. My heart just broke as soon as the nurse told me how he was doing. She gave me his numbers from his 12:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m., and 6:00 a.m. feedings. He only ate 5 ml, 10 ml, and 15 ml. Remember, he has to eat a minimum of 65 ml per feed. Whatever he doesn't eat independently, has to be cavaged thru his feeding tube. I spent the rest of the morning crying. I've always thought of myself as a super strong individual, but the situation we are in with Madden is really testing my strength. Mike and I are both struggling, but we just have to have faith that everything will be alright. My mom came and stayed with the dogs, so that Mike and I could spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with Madden. It felt so good to get some quality time with our baby boy. Some of his numbers started to improve throughout the day. He ate 24 ml at 9:00 a.m., 40 ml at 12:00 p.m., 20 ml at 3:00 p.m., 17 ml at 6:00 p.m., and 35 ml at 9:00 p.m. Mike fed him at his 9:00 feeding and Madden burped super loud! I was so proud of Mike. He's definitely a natural daddy! This has been the worst week and the best week of our lives. We never dreamed we would be going on this journey with Madden, but we couldn't be happier that our baby boy has finally entered our world! I will do a Saturday update when we get home...it won't be until like 1:00 a.m. though, but I need to stay caught up. Thanks for all the sweet comments. They are very encouraging and uplifting. Much Love!