Conor Christopher: One Month

That first month of your life feels like such a blur now! This month was truly a month of survival, for all of us, but especially for you. I didn't hold you in my arms until you were 12 days old and your dada didn't hold you till day 20. We would just visit you and sit in your room and just watch you and monitor all your stats on the machines. I just remember holding you for the first time and just thinking how tiny and frail you were, just skin and bones, truly. So filled with gratitude for the medical team that cared for you this first month! You had a rough start and you were just the tiniest little micropreemie. I still can't believe this is your story!

Growing // You weigh 1.426kg, so about 3 lbs 2 oz. So you've gained 1 lb 8 oz since you were first born. Still so tiny!

Eating + Sleeping // You are eating 26 ml over 90 minutes through your feeding tube every three hours. But for the first week, they were just giving you some sugary substance, and then they started you off on 1 ml of breastmilk. And then later they began fortifying your milk with a tiny bit of formula for the extra calories. And they definitely have you on a schedule, every three hours diaper change, feeding, sleep, repeat. Your care times are at 8, 11, 2 and 5, repeat. You eat 8 times a day, which means I spend a good chunk of time pumping! And you really don't have a ton of wake times. We rarely see you with your eyes open, and your isolette was covered by a blanket to block extra light from coming in. Toward the end of the month they swaddled you for the first time!!

Wearing // You wore micropreemie diapers for the majority of the month, and ended the month in preemie diapers! And they don't have you in clothes yet. 

Loving // You love being snuggled and you love to sleep and you love your pacifier, but other than that I'm not entirely sure yet!

Loathing // Probably being poked and prodded, I know I'd hate that! And I'd hate having a feed tube stuck up through my nose. 

Milestones// So many milestones this month. You started the month on a breathing tube and ended the month on NAVA on room air. You started the month with a low biliburin count, so they had you under the lights. You had blood transfusions, lots of ultrasounds for your heart because you have a PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosis), a brain scan, which came back clear! You had milk in your feeding tube for the first time. The first few days they had you on some sugary thing. They thought you had an infection a few times and gave you antibiotics while they waited on blood test results, and turns out you never had one. In regards to touch, we started the month by just being able to place our hands on you, by cupping your head and your feet, and ended the month holding you. After 12 days, I held you for the first time. And your dad held you on day 20. And I can't forget the milestone of you meeting your brothers!! Within the month, you began regulating your own temperature, so they were able to stop heating your isolette. And we began the month weighing your diapers, and ended the month not having to do that or take your temperature prior to diaper changes! And I celebrated my first mothers day of a mother to three babes - sad to not have you with us, but I know you're getting the best care possible. And you just look so much better and so much more stable than you did a month ago. It's so wild really!

We love you so much and we praise God for your life!!

And I thought it would be fun to include Jack and Ryan's monthly milestones on each of Conor's monthly posts.

Jack by month 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12

Ryan by month 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12