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A few big things happened today: Irene has entered into new territory... visiting her brother two days in a row! Sam felt sun on his skin for the first time ever: Sam had one of his best breastfeeding sessions to date.  He latched on, stayed awake, and really got a good amount of … [Read more...] about Day 59: November 14

Another Saturday, another full Harris-Odum family visit at Alta Bates.  It just warms my heart when Irene asks if she can go see Sam!  It also made Peter's day as it meant he would get to see his son.   And his son could see him: Here are a few other images and one video from … [Read more...] about Day 58, Novemeber 13

Another great day at the NICU with a nice long visit from Lisa Harter and a rare double parent visit! Lisa took some really cool pictures of Sam.  I am looking forward to getting my hands on the images and sharing them all with you. And now your moment of Zen: … [Read more...] about Day 56: November 11 (Happy 8th week birthday!)

Sam had his first minor setback in weeks today... and it really wasn't much of a setback.  I mentioned yesterday that they had reduced the flow on his cannula from 2 liters to 1 liter.  By this morning, Sam was back on 2 liters.  He just wasn't ready for the change.  Honestly, I am OK with it.  The … [Read more...] about Day 55: November 10

Sam is now officially 32 weeks gestational age.  I would have loved for him to reach that age still in utero... but that was just not meant to be.  It is hard for me to believe that we have come as far as we can.  I mean, 60 days ago I was admitted to the hospital and that doctors were trying to … [Read more...] about Day 54: November 9

Today we did a little experiment.  We weighed Sam before putting him on the breast, and then weighed him again after he spent 30 minutes sucking.  Well... it is now official... I have a breastfeeding baby!  We were able to see a slight gain in weight in those 30 minutes- meaning Sam is not only … [Read more...] about Day 53: November 8

Not too much to report today- except for Sam's size.  He is now 3 lbs 4.9 ozs!!  That boy is growing like a weed. He is now up to 28MLs a feed. You will notice that Sam's skin has a bit of a yellow tinge to it.  He does have an elevated billiruben, but Dr. Sandhu feels it has peaked and is now on … [Read more...] about Day 52: Novemeber 7

A lovely Saturday in the Bay Area- and an even lovelier one in the Alta Bates NICU.  First, Sam latched on and fed for a good 35 minutes.... then his big sister came to visit for 2 hours! Peter and Irene got to the NICU while Sam was out and feeding, and Irene just lit up when she saw him in my … [Read more...] about Day 51: November 6

I think one sentence says it all: SAM WEIGHS 3 LBS 1.2 OZS!! … [Read more...] about Day 50: November 5

Sam had his head and abdomen ultrasound today.  Once again, everything came back normal!  No bleeds, nothing to worry about, just good normal news.  Theresa tells me there will only be one more head ultrasound, and they will do that right around the time Sam is 37 weeks (he is currently 31 … [Read more...] about Day 49: November 4 (Happy 7 week birthday Sam!)

Sam had his first vaccinations today.  The state of California requires all babies, regardless of gestational age, to be vaccinated for pertussis by the 6th week of life.  So, poor little Sam got stuck with a needle today.  Amazingly enough, he didn't seem to notice!  Sucrose can be used in babies … [Read more...] about Day 48: November 3

It's election day, so I am hoping everyone out there has voted.  In watching the returns, I am a bit concerned about the state of politics in this country!  At least some of the crackpots running have lost (Yes, Christine O'Donnell I am talking about you!).  But I digress. I arrived at the NICU … [Read more...] about Day 47: November 2

To quote Theresa, this will be a pretty boring week for Sam... we hope.  There is very little planned for Sam.  I think they just want to let him have a week to just grow and thrive.  I believe the term used to describe Sam in the NICU is he is now a "grower and feeder".  So, these are the few … [Read more...] about Day 46: November 1

Good news!  The bad nurse was not with Sam today- one of our favorites, Gaye was!  Phew!  I was so worried that we were going to have a problem today, but Gaye to the rescue.  My favorite thing was, when I called Gaye to see how Sam was doing, she had so little to say, that we talked more about … [Read more...] about Day 45: October 31 (Happy Halloween)