UPDATE: 4/13: Even though we are all staying safe in our homes my wife Kelly and I wanted to make Lennon's first Easter special. The Easter bunny showed up and brought our little guy a little basket filled with bunny books, binkies, dippers, and his favorite food formula! We dressed our little guy up in his bunny suit and did a mini photo shoot with him and some Easter eggs. He's so photogenic! But, of course that's just my opinion haha.
UPDATE: 4/7:After 37 days in the NICU my son is finally home!!Lennon came home on Friday and it's been a wild ride ever since.We are all adjusting to this new life.He's discovering his new environment and we are figuring how the hell to keep him alive haha. He's an absolute night owl sleeps during the day and is up at night be we are starting to work on that with him.He did have his first pediatric appointment yesterday and the Dr said he is looking great!He now weighs 5 pounds 11 oz and is strong and healthy. We are so happy to have him home and are finally a family.
UPDATE: 3/26: Happy one month to my son Lennon! It's hard to believe he came into our lives a month ago and wow what a month it has been. He started out 3.5 pounds and after our visit today he is just a hair over 5 pounds! His biggest hurdle right now is getting down the bottle and being consistent with it. At his 11am feeding he took down 42ml's (a full bottle for him) but at his 2pm feeding he took down 25ml. The drs are still very happy with his progress and think just time and maturity are the key to his eating. Really he's not even supposed to be born yet so the fact that he's taking full bottles is amazing! On a side note we can’t thank the staff in the NICU enough who are still doing an incredible job even with all this uncertainty in the world.They are the true heroes and we feel lucky to have our son in their hands.
UPDATE: 3/12: Yesterday we celebrated two weeks since our son Lennon came into this world and changed our lives forever. He hit TWO major milestones...1) He now weighs 4lbs and legally in the state of CT a child must weigh at least four pounds to ride in a car seat. 2) He is no longer in closed in his incubator! Being able to regulate his own temperature is an extreme hurdle for a NICU baby and so far so good! He was even wearing clothes yesterday and for us that was a very big deal. His bottle feeding is something we need more practice with. He took down 10 CC's during his last feeding. The drs would like to see him get to 32 CC's before he'll be able to leave. Even still, every time we see him he blows us away with his determination and he continues to inspire us to stay strong. We can’t wait to get our little man home.
UPDATE: 3/9: We had a great weekend with Lennon! We got to hold him, change him, and even started feeding him with the bottle! He's putting on weight and is almost 4 pounds. Hopefully he will be home with us in a couple of weeks.
UPDATE: 3/4: One week ago today my Son was born!! Even better my wife Kelly was released from the hospital yesterday which we are so happy to have her home! Also, we are so happy that the Dr's told us then dropped Lennon from the critical NICU to the standard NICU and are just waiting for him to put on more weight...Lots of good news to share!
UPDATE: 3/3: Yesterday was a very special day for me. I finally got to hold my son for the first time! It was such an amazing moment with him looking up at me and SMILING! Our bond is strong and I was so happy to connect with him. The Dr's say he's almost at his birth weight which is really good! He's on a great path and will hopefully be home in a couple of weeks!
UPDATE 3/2: Lennon is doing GREAT!! He's breathing on his own, holding down all his food, and is getting bigger. The doctors are really impressed with how fast he is meeting his goals. I'm so happy he's on the road to getting out of the NICU and home. It has been very difficult because we still haven't been able to hold him. Hopefully we'll be able to give our sweet boy snuggles soon.
It’s been quite a week and a half for the our family! Our sweet little guy, Lennon David, decided he couldn’t wait any longer and entered the world at 33 weeks on February 26 at 9:16am! He is very tiny at 3lbs 8oz, but mighty, of course handsome (just like his dad), is passing all the NICU milestones, and really just needs to get bigger before he can go home. We are so proud of our “miracle baby” and can’t wait introduce him to this great, big, beautiful world!
I honestly didn't know much about the NICU before my son was admitted but in just a few days I realize that this is much more common then I thought. No one likes to talk about it because honestly it's a scary situation. But, the people who have lived it know that there is a bond between the families. I have received so many messages from people who have been in the same situation and have heard some incredible stories of triumph.
This experience has been a roller coaster of emotions but the one that I hold on to the most is happiness. I'm so overjoyed that my wife and son came out of this ordeal healthy and happy. Truly, that's all that you can ask for.
We’d also like to thank all of our family, friends, and the incredible doctors, nurses, and staff at Yale New Haven. Your support has meant the world to our little family! ❤️