Carter is learning to eat!

Our little man is learning to eat on his own and it is very exciting. This is the key skill he needs to learn in order to be able to go home! He has taken some entire bottles on his own and we're trying to work on breastfeeding as well, but that's a lot of work for him. Every time he takes a bottle we want to do cartwheels! Here are some pics from the past few weeks:

Carter's 1st pic, the NICU staff was in the delivery room ready to take him right away, and we were warned he might not be able to cry, so we had tears of joy when he screamed his little head off at birth!

Some cuddle time with mom during a photo therapy session for his jaundice

This has been my favorite of his poses so far, this was his afternoon nap pose on Wednesday! He makes napping look pretty darn good!

Last night (Monday), we gave Carter his bath and got him all situated in a fresh sleeper and swaddle. This is him in his post bath and bottle nappy time!

Carter's Birthday 7/7/10

Monday, July 5th was a nice, normal holiday. It was my mom's last day in town for a visit, and we headed to the Diamondbacks/Cubs game. Then we had dinner and relaxed for the evening. Just before midnight I awoke to discover that my water had broke, and Aaron moved faster than I've seen anyone move. Off to the hospital we go. We tried this magnesium to stop labor so I could get 48 hours of steroid treatments and admitted to ante partum.
But, Carter had other plans. Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning I was complaining of discomfort, but the monitors showed no contractions. When I continued to complain like a crazy person on Weds, they decided to check me and discovered I was 9 cm along. Oops! So, my birth plan and desire for an epidural was out the window and it was go time! Carter was born at 1:48 pm on 7/7, a lucky day. He weighed 4 lbs and 15 oz, which is great for being just 33 weeks along! We, of course, think he's a genius baby nd just can't wait to bring him home from the NICU. Please keep our little guy in your thoughts and prayers!