I know it's blurry, but it was dark and I didn't want to bombard him with camera flashes. Still cute though, huh?

Dad, your blog is getting boring...take more pictures already! Maybe some graphs, graphs would be good.

This is what he looked like while in Ixtapa, Mexico.

Can you believe this what the little boy used to look like?

There's no place like home.

Guess who graduated from the hospital this weekend? That's right it's the reigning champion of both level II and level III infant care units...Baby Nolan! He was discharged from the hospital on Saturday, February 11th, less than 3 weeks after being born. In the doctor's own words, Nolan has "set a world record" for going home. What a "rock star". He was almost too small for the car seat though and wouldn't have been able to come home with us. He just barely made it. Finding a car seat to fit a preemie is not easy. Anyway, now Jeanine and I don't have to stay at the hospital until late at night anymore, which is nice. Now we just have to get up every 2 hours through the night. Not sure which is easier at this point... 

Yeah! Nolan passed the car seat exam, but the car seat didn't. We were borrowing an infant car seat, but it didn't meet preemie specs, so now I have to go buy a new one. It’s ok though, I’m sure the expenses will end soon.

Right?

Nolan is one step closer to coming home with his mom and dad. He has had no trouble maintaining his body temperature the last few days and has had several consecutive all-natural feedings which evidently is remarkable given his 34 week gestational age (as of yesterday). He is scheduled to do his infant car seat test this afternoon which means they are expecting him to go home soon. They told us earlier they didn’t expect this to happen until approximately 36-37 weeks; he is way ahead of schedule. They will strap him into a car seat and let him sit there for about an hour and a half to make sure he doesn’t have any bouts with apnea (forgetting to breath) or a reduced heart rate due to the sitting position. Assuming he passes that test, he will only need to prove he can take his feedings the all natural way for 24hrs straight, and they will send us packing. Uh, I think I need to go buy some diapers this weekend…

I do solemnly swear that I am the cutest baby ever...

yes, that's right, it's a zebra, got a problem with that?

hi dad

what a difference 2 weeks makes

Nolan will turn 2 weeks old tomorrow. Today, he reached the 4lb barrier AND graduated from the incubator, which means he has enough meat on his bones to maintain his body temperature. Watch out world, he’s out of the cage! This is huge, as it makes playing with him and holding him much easier for his mom and dad. He is also continuing to be a little rock star at his feedings. He keeps going and going. It’s obvious that he wants to be home with his mom and dad as quickly as possible so that his dad doesn’t have to miss anymore Kansas basketball games. Can you believe I haven’t seen one since the Missouri game? Anyway, my son kicks ass.

the lioness watches over her cub

too cool for this world

mom, dad, seriously, what the hell is going on?

MOM, DAD, What the hell is going on?

sweeeeeeeeeeeet emooooooooooootion

oh my... 

what the hell are we getting into? 

More progress...
Nolan’s bilirubin is down to an insignificant level so the doctors have halted all phototherapy and jaundice tests. His incubator temp is down to 30.9°C and will be free of the cage when he can maintain his body temp in 30.0°C. Also, he is back up to his birth weight; all babies initially lose weight then build back up and he regained that amount very quickly. It also appears he has an above average desire to be close to his main source of food (can't say I blame him for that) as he is ahead of schedule to be feeding the way he is. We'll be back home before you know it!

There's bound to be some scary moments. It was expected that there would be some amount of bleeding in Nolan's brain. This is common in preemies. The doctors take an ultrasound of the baby's brain and if there is any bleeding, a grade of 1 to 4 is assigned based on the amount and locations of the hemorrhaging. I have been told that grades 1 or 2 are insignificant; the blood will likely be reabsorbed by the body and there is a very low chance of developing neurological or physical impairments. If there is a grade 3 or 4 hemorrhage, the risk of developing problems is greatly increased.

Well, I just read the radiological report. Nolan did experience a "minimal" grade 1-2 hemorrhage. The doctors assure us that "minimal" is an excellent result; Nolan will be 100% and doesn't even require a follow up ultrasound. "Guys, really, he's fine" the doctor said in an upbeat voice. The anxiety Jeanine and I are experiencing just doesn't seem go away that quickly.

I'll take some more pictures of the little guy tonight and post them so we can all just forget this little test ever happened (at least that's what I'm going to try to do).