Update on Cole

As most of you can all imagine the last 3 days have been exciting, scary, overwhelming, emotional... (please feel free to enter in just about any adjective at this point...I'm sure if it exists it has been felt/experienced by either Drew or I at some point over the last couple days).  Fortunately we have a large community of support that is helping us navigate this unexpected period in our lives.  Family has dropped everything to come be with us to show their support and assist in any way possible, friends have already gone above and beyond the calls of friendship to drop off food, etc.  We are truly grateful for all the kind gestures, good thoughts and overall prayers for our family - it means the world to us knowing so many people are thinking of our Little Man (yes, even though he is Cole, he will always be Little Man to me!).

Drew and I are currently working on coming up with a schedule that will be most beneficial to Cole.  The NICU highly recommends as much "skin time" with Mom and Dad as possible in most situations. Unfortunately, due to higher than desired bilirubin counts Cole is currently being treated with light therapy. Because of this we are trying to limit our visits with Cole to 1 hour increments several times a day - we appreciate the longer he is under his light therapy, the quicker he can get better and we can go back to holding him for as long as our hearts desire. 

Last night we went to UW to have our "goodnight" visit and were very pleasantly surprised when the doctors asked us if we were okay with them removing his air tube.  While it may seem so small, even this step made my heart leap - what a wonderful thing to hear!  Every day I go into the hospital I try to ask all the questions racing through my head and do everything in my power to remember exactly what the doctors and nurses tell me.  Unfortunately, this is a foreign language to me - I don't know if it's being tired and concerned, but my brain just does not want to grasp all the lingo, etc...I have no doubt Drew will become an expert in no time though!

I do want to apologize to everyone that has written/called/texted in the last couple days.  If we aren't at the hospital I'm either pumping or running errands trying to get life organized.  I'm hopeful we'll be able to get into a routine within the next couple days and can reach out to everyone in time.  In the meantime, please just know we appreciate everything everyone has done and we will continue to provide updates via this blog as we get them.

With Aunt Kate (Mom's true hero and best friend) - 10/22/2011

10/22/2011

10/24/2011

10/24/2011

Drew is continuing to get more healthy each and every day - we are hopeful he'll be able to hold Cole within the next day or two!  I promise to take more pictures than anyone could ever want to see and post them as soon as possible. 

Love and many thanks to everyone!

Em, Drew and Cole : )