3 Weeks Old

Well our baby is 3 weeks old today and oddly enough, it seems like just yesterday that I was in the hospital. I went back to work last week and although I got a lot of questions and weird looks, I'm glad to have gone back. Work keeps my mind occupied and when Henry comes home I'll have 10 weeks with him. It will be a beautiful day when my baby is at home. I have gotten a lot of requests to take pictures of him with average sized things next to him. So I hope this satisfies everyones curiosity!

Look at all the hair he has! It's so soft and I love to play with it.

"One time I caught a fish that was this big!" Alan wanted me to put that as the caption. .



Every so often Henry makes this face and it cracks me up. He looks like he just ate something sour and he bunches his eyes up. I have yet been able to take a picture of it, but this is pretty close. We call it his stink face, and unfortunately his nick name is now "Stink".

Henry has been doing so well! I keep expecting him to have a bad day and to take a couple steps back, but our little fighter just keeps progressing. He is now up to 2 lbs 13 oz and down to 3 liters of oxygen. His PDA (the problem with his heart) hasn't gotten better, or worse. The doctors said that because he is doing so well clinically, they aren't going to do anything about it. They told us that he might even go home with a murmur and if doesn't get better, they'll address it then. But for now they just want to let him keep growing and getting stronger. Alan and I are falling more in love with our little man every day.

Blessed

Alan and I are blessed to have Henry J in our lives. We love you.

Our little guy is doing so well! He is still on oxygen, but they took him from 4 liters down to 3 liters today and he seems to be handling it just fine. When Alan was in to visit today they took all the tubes off his face to clean them, so he snapped a picture real quick to show off his beautiful face. Henry now weighs 2 lbs 11 oz, which means he is eating and digesting beautifully. They were able to take the pick line out, so that means that he is no longer needing fluids other then my milk. Thank you again for all the prayers. As you can see, they are working.

Our Big Boy

There isn't much to report on Henry, and I think we are all happy for that. The doctors and nurses think that the little valve in his heart is closing on its own and that has been his next hurdle to cross. They bumped up his oxygen to high flow, but that is still very normal for a baby his age and size. It has helped him not drop his heart and oxygen rate and they think they'll be able to take it off within a couple days. Because he is on the high flow oxygen, they had to move his feeding tube to his mouth so that is why there is a bunch of tape on his face. He now weighs a whopping 2 lbs 9 oz and I think it's going straight to his face.

Those kisses are addicting!



Our sweet boy

Daddys first time holding his baby boy. Henry was more awake then we have ever seen him and it was so fun watching them bond.

One Week Old!

Having a baby in the NICU has taught me life long lessons. One of those lessons being to set small milestones and to celebrate each one. The milestone I am celebrating today is that my son has been with us for a week today. I notice differences in him every day and just when I thought I had known the true meaning of love, my heart finds more to give. Something that Henry does that makes me laugh is whenever we put him on his back, he instantly kicks his legs out and stretches his arms. Judging from the look on his face, I don't think he even notices all the tubes and wires hooked up to him.
On April 12th, I was able to hold Henry for the first time. What an amazing experience and it reminds me of how small and fragile he really is. He kept his eyes open the entire time, and I know he knew he was in his mom's arms and was happy to be back "home".

I love you Henry J.

Eyes Wide Open

It has been a good day today. Henry was taken off the light treatment so they took off his sunglasses. Shortly after I took them off he opened up his little eyes and kept them open for quite awhile. It is so fun to see his whole face and it makes me fall in love with him even more. Unfortunately he was put back on oxygen, but it didn't come as a big shock to us.


This was right before they turned off the lights, but the sunglasses are just too cute on him.

Every day when we visit we try to read Henry a couple stories. Alan is a good story teller and we think it puts Baby J in a good mood.

We want to thank everyone for all their thoughts and prayers. We really are so blessed to have such a large support system. I know that I could not make it thru this without my family and friends, and I think the same goes for Alan. So if we haven't told you.. THANK YOU!

Coming Home

I was released from the hospital today, but had to leave Henry behind. The only thing that made me ok to leave was the fact that he has been moved into a new room and has been taken off the oxygen. The nurses told us that there is a good chance he'll be back on, but we are grateful for any little improvement. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Roberts for decorating our apartment. We love you.

This is Henry holding on to his Daddy's wedding ring.

What a proud Dad!

Henry is a little jaundice so they have him undergoing light therapy. His little "sun glasses" they put on him are they cutest dang things. Daddy says it's because his future is "so bright".

Henry holding on to Mommy's finger.

We love you Henry J and are counting down the days until we can bring you home. Love, Mom and Dad.

Henry J

It has been a very long and tiring 5 days, but our little boy Henry J joined our family April 7th, 2009 at 3:11 in the morning. He weighs 2 pounds 6 ounces and is 15 inches long. We never found an explanation as to why he delivered 3 months early, but he is doing better then we all thought he would. The doctors and nurses at the University of Utah hospital have been amazing and we are making life long friends here. Thank you all for your support, visits, prayers and phone calls. Alan and I are truly blessed and can't wait to bring our baby boy home.

Henry is hooked up to a C-PAP, which forces air into his lungs and keeps them inflated. He is breathing the same air that we are and all the nurses and doctors keep boasting about our little boy. They said there is a good chance he will be breathing on his own tomorrow.

The staff in the NICU (newborn intensive care unit) took some amazing pictures for us and put them all on a disc.

Henry has some long fingers and toes and is known as the "tall skinny kid" in the nursery. His Dad is convinced he'll be a basketball player.