Bye Bye Monitor

Well, as the title reads... we are done with the apnea monitor. After a solid 3 weeks of not even a false alarm beep the NICU doctor feels Max is ready to graduate. The thought of this used to make me so nervous but I don't even really think about the monitor anymore. My thoughts have changed from, "I hope the monitor doesn't beep" to "I hope Max doesn't wake up till 7!" He is really a very good baby and I shouldn't complain but lately he has been waking up around 6. I am NOT a morning person so I don't know where he got this from. I am hoping as he gets bigger he will enjoy sleeping in as much as I do! Max must be growing because he was a pain in the butt today. As soon as he would eat he would fuss again, I would try to play with him and he would start fussing. The only time he was happy was when he was eating. Which by the way, he has continued to do very well with. The formula is amazing and the kid is loving his veggies! He ate a whole thing (for Gdad, a "thing" is approx 1/2cup) of sweet potatoes and half an applesauce, and only half because I stopped him. What a pig! I think he would have eaten all day if I would have let him. In fact, at one point I had to give him a few ounces of apple juice because he just wanted the bottle in his mouth SO bad!

Other than keeping up with the day to day life of Max for family and friends to read, I am also doing this blog as a scrapbook for myself. I am not artistic at all so this is an easy and fun way to remember. I wish I would have known about the blog world when Max was in the NICU so I could remember all the milestones there... but I didn't. So, occasionally I'm going to post NICU pics for our enjoyment!

These are from the day of Max's baby shower. He had to get a blood transfusion this day because he had filled pages up with his apnea/bradycardia spells. *On a side note I read a few other blogs and it's funny to me when people are worried about 2 or 3 spells. It was nothing for Max to have 10-20/day. I think 6 was one of the best days we had for a while! Everyone's perspective is different.* Anyway, he got his transfusion while I was at the shower and when I got back his pants were on backwards... what did he do while I was gone...! They also gave him a diuretic (Lasix) with the blood to help get rid of extra fluid. Well, I was holding him that evening and the little man peed all over me! The transfusion was supposed to give him more energy and decrease the spells. I never did notice a difference, he was checked at least twice a week for infection and was always fine. He just liked the attention of the monitors beeping when he had one. All the girls came running... sounds like Max may have known what he was doing all along!

Before the IV... sleepy head



After... still sleepy





Pants on backwards :) ... still sleeping after the blood



And later that night, still sleeping... see? no magic bursts of energy!



Some pics of the baby shower... thanks Aunt Becki! It was awesome!







Also, thanks to Aunt Crystal, she made an amazing video for us that we played at the shower. I know it had everyone crying and it will be watched for years to come. If anyone can think of something memorable that happened in the NICU or would like to see specific pictures just let me know. Like I said, I am not artistic/creative so ideas are appreciated!