My way of thanking everyone---

Dear Heavenly Father,

I can never thank you enough for putting people in my life that have been so supportive and kind. Thank you so much for my family, friends, coworkers, students, and people that I don't even know that have prayed for my sweet baby boy. I praise you for allowing us to conceive this baby and I ask your forgiveness for ever doubting your plan for why he was born so early. I now know that it was the best thing for him due to the pretzel-shaped knot in his umbilical cord. Thank you, Jesus, for not allwing that to tighten and for allowing us to meet him early. Lord, I ask that you please bless the lives of my family, friends, coworkers, students, and anyone that has offered up a prayer for Tanner. Bless their families and watch over them. I know Tanner's progress is completely in Your Hands and I am so thankful that you have blessed Tobin and I with him. Please continue to help him improve and make him healthy and strong. I love you Lord and thank you for being my Savior, teacher, counselor, and friend through out this whole experience. Amen.


Well, being postpartum is quite the emotional rollercoaster, but I think I can see through some tears well enough to update my blog now. Kodi~I can never thank you enough for being such a great friend and keeping everyone "in the know" on Tanner and his experience in the NICU. That was truly a relief for me not to feel obligated even though I wanted everyone to know what was going on. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.

Tanner got his 2nd developmental bath today and he seemed to enjoy that. He is up to 5 lbs now. He has not proven that he can take his whole feeding of 40 mL, so the gavage tube will stay taped to his face and leading down to the stomach through the nose. He sucks on the tiny little bottle really well and then tires out! The gavage tube is the only way to get the remainder down so he gets the nourishment. He is also temp-regulating and has done well with the incubator warmer turned off. He has a short-sleeved onsie AND a long-sleeved gown on, plus two blankets, socks, and a hat! He did get to move to an open crib today and that looks so much less invasive. He will stay on the heart monitor as long as he is in the NICU because that is their policy for all babies.

I met with a lactation consultant yesterday and that went very well. She showed me a totally different way to hold him while he nurses. It is a football hold where he is mostly under my arm and around the side of my body. He took 14 mL directly from the tap yesterday! LOL!!! They know how much because they weighed him before and after he breastfed!!! haha It turns out that my lactation consultant goes to my church! He did pee all over her outfit while she changed his diaper! She was very kind about it and said that her clothing was washable. :)

The neonatologist looked over him today and was pleased with his progress. She even said that he is a little bit ahead of what she might expect for his gestational age, but he is acting mostly like what a 33 weeker should act like. She did feel that he is developing "thrush" and it has made his lil' bum very red and there is white stuff (yeast) in his mouth. I have mentioned it repeatedly over the last few visits, but the nurses would wipe it out and call it milk mouth. Now, it is the beginning stage of thrush, so he will be treated with an anti-fungal and so will I since he is breastfeeding some. I am told that this is all normal and expected.

THANKS again for keeping up with my family and for all of the loving comments. I'm sorry that I haven't replied to many of them, but please know that I have read and been blessed by all of them. You guys have been wonderfully supportive and it has truly touched our hearts.

I am going to include some recent pics of our little man. :0)

His nurse, Gretchen