Friday, March 23

Hooray, hooray-
Collin is two weeks old &
made poo #2 today!

This morning, Collin's Mom had the distinct honor of changing her first poopy diaper! (She said it was "gross", lol) The doctors also increased his food intake to 2 mL. (We sense a "theme" here.) He was a little needy this morning and didn't want his Mom to put him down. He finally fell into a deep sleep, as newborns do.

His parents both look great and are doing so well. Parenthood really becomes them both. Grandma M and Auntie S are praying the rosary every day and enjoying spending time with Collin's Mom and Dad and Collin, too. We will have picture updates later this evening!

Thursday, March 22

Update: Today Collin gave us a little scare...he has not had a real bowel movement since he's been receiving food via the g-tube; this afternoon he threw up instead. His Mom and Dad were there at the time and had the nurse call in a doctor. The doctor (a specialist in the care of newborns) was not concerned but will bring it up with the surgeon in the morning. She indicated that they may decrease his food intake until he digests it properly. (The doctors usually do their "rounds" around 9 a.m., we should know something then.) Hopefully soon, Collin will make poo number two!

Since Collin had a busy day freaking his parents and grandparents out, we laid off the picture taking for one day. Instead, we purchased fundraising booties to benefit the March of Dimes and photographed them in a cute shape. These will hang over the entrance of the NICU.

Not much news to relate, Collin continues to get just 1 mL an hour of the feeding through his g-tube. The reason it is such a small amount is they don't want to overwhelm his tiny intestines with too much fluid. They are taking it slow and cautiously, which is a good thing, we think. The pediatric surgeon and the neonatologist meet every morning to decide the next step; maybe today they'll up his intake!

Please continue sending your prayers and healing thoughts. Not only do they help Baby Collin, but are such an encouragement to our entire family, near and far.

Wednesday, March 21

Tuesday, March 20

Today the feeding has begun! They are giving Collin small amounts of his mother's milk, which has been stored carefully this past 10 or 11 days. The nutrients in the colostrum (which is the early milk) are the best for Collin's fragile intestines. We are all praying that he absorbs everything he needs, and doesn't move it out of his system too quickly.

God bless Baby Collin and the life sustaining qualities of his mother's milk.

Monday, March 19

Wooo hooo, he made poo!

We can honestly say that we have never before celebrated a baby making a poo, and we don't feel any embarassment about wanting to shout this from the rooftops! We were told that it could take a few weeks after surgery for this to occur, so that it has happened in less than a week and a half is wonderful. Please, continue your prayers. God is great and He answers them!

Tomorrow (hopefully) they will begin to give him the feeding bag via what they call a gastrostomy tube or "g-tube". This is an important step in Collin's recovery. We need his intestine to be able to absorb more nutrition through the g-tube rather than the TPN and the sooner the better. We'll keep you posted!

Update: Collin made the teeniest, tiniest little poo tonight, and boy, does he work hard at it! Collin's Grandma and Grandpa V left early this morning, we're sure they left their hearts here with our gorgeous grandbaby. Grandma M and Great Auntie S (Dad's Mom and her sister) came in today. We're sure that Grandma M and Auntie S are as impressed with him as are the rest of us! For your viewing pleasure, a few snapshots from Baby Collin's Big Day of First Poo!

Sunday, March 18

Thank you to everyone for all of your prayers for Collin and interest in his well being. We can use all the hope that we can get our hands on. Collin is the best thing to ever happen to Erin and I. His strength is making us better people and more caring and thankful parents. He is truly an inspiration (and how beautiful).

With Love and Thanks,

Matt and Erin (Mom and Dad)

Saturday, March 17 St. Patrick's Day

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.