8 am

It’s hard to believe that a week ago today Lex was born. We already can’t imagine life without him. We visited him for his 8 am feeding today and he was really tired. It’s so much work for him to just finish a bottle…but he’s a real trooper. When he stopped eating for us, the nurse came over and worked her magic on him and he finally finished the whole thing. Every little bit counts for him, especially when it’s breast milk.

Lex has a rash on his bottom right now (possible yeast infection) and it’s being treated with ointment. Today the nurse put him on his stomach and left his diaper off around his bum to “air it out.” So there’s our son, laying in his incubator, covered in blankets with only his bare bottom sticking out. (totally a good blackmail picture for later in life, but we refrained from taking the shot)

11 am

At his 11 am feeding the nurse ended up putting a feeding tube down his nose. He was still full and exhausted from the 8 am feeding and couldn’t bring himself to eat. The doctors and nurses warned us earlier in the week that he would probably need one at some point. It was much more traumatic for us than for him because he cried when the nurse put it in and he doesn’t ever cry. Hopefully it will allow him to get some rest.

8 pm

Lex gained more weight today and is now up to 3 lbs 13 oz. He has proven over the last 7 days that he is the one in charge. From his early delivery to his accelerated progress through the NICU, he calls the shots. This afternoon he reiterated that fact by pulling out his new feeding tube (which was taped to his cheek) and finishing all his bottles instead.