and the days just keep passin' us by...

A picture of our cute little baby Keaton's growing body. As of last night he weighs 4 lbs almost 10 oz! He's huge. ;)

1 month old

Our sweet baby Keaton is doing so great! On Tuesday, September 21st Keaton had his 1 month old birthday and he weighed 4 lbs 1 oz. :) We still watch his progress daily and each day he does better and better. He has been making great progress with nursing and although he still needs just a tiny bit of oxygen we feel that it is only a matter of time until he doesn't need it anymore.

Keaton's new bed. :) He keeps his temperature up on his own now, so he now has a bed that doesn't have a warmer.

And as of last night Keaton has a new home. They have now moved Keaton to the NICU overflow in the pediatrics unit of the hospital. The NICU has tons of babies right now and since Keaton is so stable he is one of the 6 babies that are now in the NICU overflow section of the hospital. I'm not sure I really like this new area- we are really going to miss the nurses we've come to trust and love so much up in Nursery B...but, hopefully, this only means we are one step closer to having Keaton home with us.

a look through the window.. and our 1st family photo

On Friday, September 17th, my family came to Provo to visit us and Keaton and for the first time Hunter, Maddie, and Maccoy were able to see Keaton through the NICU window. It was so exciting! Hunter and Maddie I don't think even believed that Keaton was even real since they weren't able to see him, and the pictures just don't do justice to how small he is. So when we found out that the nurse would be willing to bring Keaton to a window for a couple of minutes for the kids to see him we knew Hunter and Maddie would be thrilled. And Keaton was very happy to meet his uncle Hunter, aunt Maddie, and cousin Maccoy. :)

Maccoy love, love, loved seeing Keaton. He was so happy about it. He was waving at Keaton, blowing him kisses, and talking to him through the window saying, "Baby! Baby!"

And here's Keaton's proud daddy, showing him off. :)


Then on Saturday night, September 18th, after Justin and I helped with Keaton's bath the nurse decided that we should fix Keaton's oxygen and so, while Keaton was nasal cannula, feeding tube, and sticker free, the nurse took a quick family photo for us. Our 1st photo of all three of us together. :) Doesn't he just look so tiny in Justin's arms?! I'm lovin' this picture. :)

Isn't he just precious. And can you even believe how chunky his little cheeks are getting already! Our little boy is just progressing so quickly and growing like a weed. The doctors and nurses all call him a "little show-off" because of how well he does at everything. :) Keaton now weighs 3 lbs 14 oz (he has gained over a pound since he was born!), his oxygen has been taken down to what they call a "trace" (which is hardly any oxygen), and last night they moved Keaton to a "big boy bed," (I'll have to take pictures of it) instead of his "isolette" or small enclosed bed. Last week, we chose a pediatrician for Keaton, Dr. Clayton, and on Saturday night we were able to meet him and we think he is going to be such a great doctor and we feel he will take really good care of Keaton. Dr. Clayton told us that we will soon try to take Keaton off the caffeine he has been taking, which is another exciting thing. I still get to try to nurse Keaton once everyday (everyday is different, some days he does good, some days he is sleepy or lazy about it but...) and Justin and I just love the time we get to spend with him at the hospital, although we hope time moves quickly and that Keaton grows fast and can come home with us soon. :) That's what we look forward to everyday.

3 weeks

 Keaton has made a lot of progress in the last week or so. About a week ago Keaton was moved from the NICU nursery A (where babies with more serious complications need to be) to NICU nursery B, where Keaton gets to be now because he is doing so great! So he now gets to be in what they call the "growing" nursery. Early this week I was able to start nursing Keaton which has been really special for me to be able to have that kind of bonding time with him. And he is catching on quickly with it (well, some days he does better than others :) ). Also, earlier this week Keaton's oxygen levels were turned down to a half liter, which is so great too cause each day he learns to breath better and better by himself. 

 

On Tuesday, September 14th, Keaton turned 3 weeks old (or 33 3/7 weeks) he weighed 3 lbs 8 oz and after trying to nurse him and giving him his feeding I got to help with his bath. (Justin has been sick with a cold this week- so sad! And hasn't really been able to come see Keaton. He is trying to keep his distance until he is feeling better- the last thing we want is for Keaton to get sick!) But giving Keaton his bath was way super fun and he seemed to really enjoy it. He gets to be bathed in a real tub now and he likes being in the warm water. It was great to be able to be there to wash his little body, dry it off, and dress him back up in his cute little pajamas.

Keaton loves his binky. And look, it's not even purple anymore. :)

(Thanks Heather for the super cute preemie pajamas, they fit him perfectly.)

September 10th

September 9th

Sometimes when we check Keaton's temperature he gets a little annoyed. :)

Oh, I just can't believe how stinkin' cute he is!

2 weeks old

And look who made it to 3 lbs! Yep, our little Keaton weighed 3 lbs 1 oz on September 7th, his 2 week old mark. Or, if you count his age like the doctors do, Keaton is now 32 3/7 weeks old (they still count his gestation age) and if we are lucky he will be home by the time he has made it to 40 weeks- right in time for Halloween. :) My favorite holiday.

"Watch me grow!"

September 4th-

September 5th-

My perfect little sleeping baby. I love to watch him sleep so soundly, it means he is growing and developing just like he needs too.

Doesn't this cute outfit just fit him perfectly. :)

September 6th-

He changes so much everyday. Sometimes I don't even realize how much he is changing until I am downloading the pictures from the camera. Keaton is still doing great! He grows a little everyday and is eating well and still just needs a little bit of oxygen to help his growing lungs. We love our baby boy so much!

our first bath with Keaton

Not to be confused with Keaton's first bath. Keaton had had other sponge baths before this one, this was just Justin and I's first time helping with the sponge bath.

My favorite part about bathing him was seeing how fuzzy his hair got after we shampooed it. You can't tell very well in these pictures but his hair was super fuzzy. He also looked just so cozy and warm after his little bath was over and he was all wrapped back up again in his blanket. :) 

one very peaceful little boy... and my ankles are back!

Isn't he just precious? I can't help but taking tons of pictures. :)

With how swollen I got, especially right before and right after I had Keaton, I have been very relieved these past few days to look down and see some nice skinny ankles. I hardly even recognize them as my own since it's been so long since they have looked normal!

Keaton's purple pacifier :)

our little cutie- 1 week old yesterday August 31st