Happy One Week Birthday, Kale!

I realized I didn't put the picture of Kale's baptism the other day. Pastor Perry Fruhling from St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids came all the way down to Des Moines to baptize little Kale. We appreciated it so much!

Little guy is getting rolled over on his side now so he can get equal pressure on the sides of his head as well. I don't think he likes it too much...

Cutie pie....he's a little hairy right now, but that's ok, we don't care! They say he may open his eyes in the next week or so.

Hanging out with his mom :) The top of the incubator was lifted up for his changings so I snuck in and got a pic! My little nugget, so precious!

Kale had a pretty good 'One week birthday'! Weight today was 1 lb. 10 oz, back up to his birth weight!! The doctors increased his feedings today to 2 mls every 4 hours, up from every 6 hours. The little guy is doing great with his feedings, we're just waiting on him to have his first bowel movement so they can make sure his digestive system is working correctly.

Today his blood gases read pretty well, but his oxygen was a bit more stubborn. He gives the nurses a hard time...let's just say he keeps them pretty busy with alarms going off just about every 5 minutes. His heart rate was fairly consistent today as well, with a few dips earlier in the morning. The Dr. didn't say there were any changes in his lung x-rays, which is a good thing. Generally no news is good news with that.

The Occupational Therapist came in today and observed us interacting with him. Initially in the first few weeks until he is bigger she will probably just observe how he moves and reacts to our touches. She was pleased with how he did. He naturally calms himself by bringing his hands and arms in midline, and she said this is a sign that he knows how to self soothe, which is good. He also reacts to the touches by pushing back and acknowledges our touch. When we swab out his mouth he loves it, he sucks on the swab and often sucks on the tubes in his mouth.

I got to do his first diaper change of the day, along with temp check, mouth swab and monitor switch. I love doing the care sessions because it's a great chance to interact with him, touch him and just be close with him. I can't wait to give him a kiss for the first time! That little guy is going to be so embarrassed when he goes to Prom and I ask if I can hop in the pictures as his second date...poor guy :) Derc came to the hospital around noon today and got to do his 4pm cares. Derc changed the diaper all by himself!! For those of you who have heard of his reaction to the thought of diaper changes (before we had Kale), you would understand this is a huge deal! He did a great job and Kale loved his Dad's touch. His oxygen numbers went way up which is fairly unusual.

That's about all to report today, another stable day and one more for the books. Kale continues to impress us with how strong he is and how much he is fighting for his life. By the time he leaves the NICU his little body will have gone through more than either of us have in our entire lives. We're so grateful he is still holding strong and continue to ask that you keep him in your prayers. We thank God many times a day for his continued improvements!