Snuggly days

We spend all our days snuggled up on the couch watching movies or reading books. It is lovely! I haven't taken him out except to the doctor. Him is still just too small ! I love being a mommy so much.

Best snuggle buddy ever!

I like this grandpa guy.

Grandma Julie gave him his first cowboy belt. Grandpa Aaron also got to meet him for the first time. 

Oh mom stop taking pictures!

Home home home home home!

We love being home!! 

Meeting Aunt Katie for the first time!

Coming home!!!

Today is the day! It has finally come! Dusty came home from the hospital today! I am so happy.  I love having him home.  I am pretty nervous about tonight and how he will sleep.  I don't think I will be able to stop watching him long enough to sleep.  I kind of miss all the monitors at the NICU.  I never had to worry that there was a problem.  Grandma and Grandpa came down to bring us home. Grandma with her ouchy foot rode in the back with him.  I love having him home. The best part is he will be home for his own baby shower on Saturday.  He is so amazing!

Getting so big!

So far he is doing great with the feedings. there are some concern that he isn't producing enough urine.  But they are still just waiting to see. The best thing is I have moved back into the room with him!! We are staying upstairs and I get to cuddle him and feed him all day long. It is awesome! I love it! Hopefully we will get to go home tomorrow. They have decided to supplement his nursing with a bottle and see if that brings his urine output up to where it should be. If it does we will be home tomorrow!!! I can't believe it!

Dusty made me a valentine. So sweet!

Valentines Day!!

Today has been a big day around here!  When I came in to see Dusty today he didn't have his feeding tube in! They believe he is ready to go and take all his feedings by mouth! I can't believe it!  I love his nurse Shanna. She has been great.  They told me there were some things he needed to do to get ready, but if he can take all his feedings and have enough wet diapers then he will probably get to go home by Wednesday! So soon! I can't handle it!  His grandma Julie and uncles Keaton and Broson came back to visit today.  He is so dang handsome!

Handsome Valentine outfit from Mommy

Rocking the mohawk!

He passed the car seat test with flying colors!

Uncle Bronson

Uncle Keaton

I did it!!

Today Dusty ate all of his breakfast! It is like all of the sudden today he woke up and decided he is a real baby.  He has been doing awesome! I love my little stinker! Soon he will be able to come home. I can't wait and am terrified all at the same time!

Grandma and grandpa come to visit!

Grandma and Grandpa Mike and CJ came back to visit us today! We were so happy to see them.  I told the NICU I was going to go have a nap and would be back by his next feeding.  I ended up sleeping right through it for five hrs!! I have never felt so guilty!

I love this little stinker!

Wax on wax off!

NNP Becky made us a hat. It is adorable!

More visitors

Today Dusty was visited by his grandma Julie and his Uncle Keaton. Today he weighs 5lbs 5 oz.  He is growing like a weed!  He still doesn't want to eat though. He is just too tired.

Sooooo tired.....

His cord fell off. He has the cutest belly button!

Look at that belly!!

Uncle Jake came to visit!!

Dusty is so handsome! His favorite Uncle (he hasn't met Uncle Adam yet) came to visit him.  He was so excited!  He gained two oz in one day.  He now weights 5lbs 4oz.  He is trying so hard to get big so he can come home with his mommy!

Hi him is waving!

Hmmmm........

I am a mom!!!

Here is his birthday story:

After the bleeding episode I took it easy and it seemed to resolve itself.  I went back to work carefully on Monday and had another appointment scheduled for Wednesday morning.  I went to work tuesday swing.  Nothing was out of the ordinary. I got off at ten and headed home. I was pretty tired and crashed pretty hard. I woke up at 1am just not feeling right. I realized I was having minor contractions. I figured they were just braxton-hicks and tried very hard to go back to sleep until my early morning appt because i didnt; want to be silly and over react.

Finally I couldn't go back to sleep. I decided to get up and watch TV and hopefully doze back off on the couch.  When I stood up I felt a trickle down my leg. I went to the bathroom and continued to feel fluid leaking. I thought maybe it was my water breaking. Once again I didn't want to be silly and overreact so I slowly got dressed and gathered a cell phone charger and a book because I figured they would just monitor me for a couple hours just in case and then send me home so i wanted something to do.

I drove myself to the hospital , I didn't want to wake up my parents because I didn;t want them to worry about nothing.  I would just tell them about it in the morning and feel foolish for being silly.  I was having contractions this whole time and was vaguely aware that they hurt and were pretty close together but I was trying to ignore them. 

When I got to Labor and delivery the nurse was pretty casual and seemed to thing I was just having pre-labor/practice contractions like I did. When I changed into a gown in the bathroom I felt two huge gushes and ite was pretty hard to deny that was my water breaking.  The contractions really picked up then. IThe funny thing is the monitor wasn't picking them up so the nurse didn't realize how close and intense they were.  I was telling them i was havingt hem but they didn't really take me seriously. 

When the test came back positive for amniotic fluid the nurse called my doctor and decided to check me. I was four cm and 90% effaced.   Baby in +1 station.  All the sudden the nurse got it! I was in active labor beginning to transition. They sure started moving fast then. Before I knew it I was swallowing all sorts of things, getting an IV for steroids and antibiotics and an ambulance had been called.  The meds they gave me were supposed to stop the labor.  It worked for about 20 mins and then started up just as strongly. 

Since he was & weeks early he needed a NICU and the nearest one from Cedar is 45 minutes away in St. George.  I decided maybe it was a good time to call my parents.  LOL. They were pretty shocked and hurried into the hospital.  They weren't there very long berfore the ambulance got there. the doctor came in and did a quick ultrasound just to make sure he was still head down.  They gave me steroids to help his lungs and antibiotics as well as several meds to try and stop the labor.  The ambulance (with my coworkers) arrived and we left quickly. It was pretty painful and bumpy. The contractions were strong and fast. But it seemed to be a short trip and when I got here they gave me another dose to stop the labor.

The plan was to keep me pregnant for as long as possible. 24 hours minimum to get the second steriod dose in. At a week they were going to just let me go or induce me and have him here.  He had other ideas.

Once again the machines weren't picking up my contrations. So I don't think many of the nurses were taking me seriously. Plus I didn't realize I was progressing so fast so I was trying to be as calm as possible and breath through them.  But I didn't really let myself get worked up because I thought I was in for the long haul.  Finally after telling the nurse I was feeling a lot of pressure she had the doctor come check me again. He went all quiet and said I was almost eight cm and baby was in zero station.  Just like at Valley View things all of the sudden started happening. The NICU people came up to talk to me, all the equipment came out and suddenly more people were there.  This was only 9:00am. Barely nine hours from when I felt the first contraction.

The nurse estimated it would only be an hour or so until I was fully dialated.  30 mins later I felt tons of pressure and was fully ready to go. Pushing without pain meds was excruciating. There was a small piece of cervix stuck around his head and everytime i pushed against that I had a ahardt iem pushing through it. I lost my focus for a few minutes. I yelled at my dad too. I felt bad later, don't worry. Just 30 mins of pushing and the doctor decided to numb a nerve to help me get him through that painful cervix bit. Well he numbed one side and started the other and all the sudden never mind! Big contraction, two big pushes and his head was out. I didn't even realize it was until the doctor said he was suctioning out his airway. Then a small push, his shoulders came out and the rest of him rushed out. It was such an overwhelming rush of relief, euphoria and endorphins.  The doctor held him low and stimulated him.  He was so tiny, and yet so strong. He screamed at the beginning.

He was there only for a minute and then whisked away. My dad went with him and  soon I heard that he was 5lbs 2oz.  That is pretty big for his age.  Usually they are around 3-3 1/2 lbs at 33 weeks.  Still he looked so tiny.  They brought him back for a short minute and then he was taken away to the NICU to be stabilized.  All the sudden the side of my butt the doctor had numbed finally went numb. LOL better late than never. 

As soon as they allowed me I got into a wheel chair and got to go meet him.  He is amazing!  I plan to keep blogging his NICU journey but for now I am tired and need to rest.  I will add more to the story tomorrow.

Back to birthweight!

Dusty is back up to where he started. He is doing so good. Today was not a good day feeding.  He just didn't want to wake up and try.  Oh well baby, you just keep growing big and soon you will be home. Luckily he didn't have to go back under the lights. They were concerned he might have to. That would be really really sad.  No more long all day snuggles!

Trying so hard to be awake!

Visitors!

Today I had a lot of visitors. Dusty loved it!  First grandma Julie came to visit. Then grandma CJ and Uncle Jake.  We like to see them.  Dusty weighs 5lbs 1oz today.  Only one more oz to go until he is back up to birth weight. That will probably be tomorrow!

Cheese!!!

I never knew my whole world could fit in such a small package!

We start em out young and we start em out right!

Back to cedar

I had to make a trip back to Cedar today. I missed my baby so much!  I was having a rough time and my dad and Cory gave me a blessing. I feel so much better. Now I am back with my baby boy.  Dusty weights 5lbs even tonight! I love him!

Oh Brother!!

I succeeded in pulling out my feeding tube. Look at my handsome face all unobstructed!

Rocking the mohawk!

Dusty has so much hair the nurses all love to style it for him.  I love it! Today my mom finally got to hold Dusty.  She has had a rough time with this surgery.  She is in a lot of pain.  He weighs 4lbs 15oz today.

Glow worm

Today is a hard day.  Dusty had to go back under the lights. That means I only get to hold him twice a day for 30 mins.  It is so hard.  I love him so much.  He is still trying to learn how to eat.  He weights 4lbs 14 oz today.

My caterpillar is a glow worm again.

No more isolette!

Dusty got to move to an open air crib  today.  He is doing so good. He has stopped loosing weight and now weighs 4lbs 13oz.  I got to change his diaper for the first time today.  Man am I going to look back and laugh that I was ever excited to change his diaper.

Big boy in a crib!

Dusty's first boots from Uncle Colton.

No more tubes!!

Dusty got his oxygen off today!! I am so excited!  He also got his IV out.  He weights 4lbs 12 oz.  He got to come out from under the lights! Yay! We had a long snuggle and he got to try breastfeeding.  He showed interest but just didn't wake up enough.  My mom had surgery today on her foot. She is really hurting. I hope she gets better soon.

Can't really tell because he is sucking his thumb but no more oxygen!

All dressed up in clothes like a real boy!

Sweet baby boy!

Dusty is doing well.  He is already off CPAP and just on high flow O2.  He is still in the isolete and will be for a while.  He is also on the bililights because of jaundice.  He weights 4lbs 15oz today. 

 Dusty the glow worm.

Being awake is hard.

Loveing my tummy time.

Holding hands.  I got to hold him for 30mins today. It couldn't be any longer because they wanted to keep him on the lights.  I can't wait until I can just pick him up whenever.

Happy Birthday!!

Introducing:

Dustin Michael Gibbs

Still puffy and bruised. Little stinker surprised us by going into labor at one this morning. He was born at 10:13am. 5lbs 2
oz. For seven weeks early he is pretty big.

He has my toes!

He is on CPAP oxygen right now.

He has feeding tubes in his mouth and an IV in his had.