Saturday 7/25 4:30am

Hi everyone :) It's just about 4:30am on Saturday and I wanted to share some updates on Owen and I...

• Owen continues to do wonderfully. His weight this morning was 6lbs & 2.5 oz, so he's down 2.5oz from birth but the neonatologist has reassured us that this is fine. He's doing so much better with his feedings now that we're using the slow flow nipple & burping him more frequently during the feeding - he's been eating about every 3hrs and taking between 25mL-35mL. His stools have transitioned from meconium to more of a seedy appearance, and I've lost count of how many wet diapers he has had...but we know all his plumbing works well! His CCN nurse rechecked a transcutaneous bilirubin level and it was normal at 7.4, which is just a tiny increase from what it was 24hrs ago. He also had his newborn screening test done earlier this AM since he's over 48hrs old now - this is a test that every newborn has done to screen for certain metabolic & genetic conditions.
• Yesterday afternoon, one of the hospital chaplains came by to visit and offered to perform a blessing on Owen. It was such a beautiful moment, the three of us surrounded Owen, held hands and the chaplain said such a heart-warming prayer for Owen, Cory and I. I wish we would have recorded it, but I'll remember that moment forever :)
  
• Today, he'll have his circumcision done, so we'll give him some Tylenol before & after the procedure and lots of love & cuddling. He also needs to have his hearing screen repeated - and if he doesn't pass this one, we've been reassured that not only does it happen frequently but that we'll do some further testing as an outpatient down the road. And the last thing that will get done today will be his car seat study - this is where his CCN nurse will put Owen in his car seat, strap him in and then monitor his vitals for a certain period of time just to make sure that the car seat doesn't impair his breathing or circulation.
• I'm doing well :) I continue to need my pains meds about ever 4-5hrs, but I'm up and about frequently during the day. I love going for walks up & down the hallways, sitting in the rocking chair in our room and just standing & swaying to loosen up my stiff hip muscles. I had a nice long shower yesterday and an amazing massage therapy session (which is provided by the hospital at no charge!). I've been tolerating a "light" diet well, nothing super sugary, no fatty meats or greasy foods. So far my favorites have been a toasted bagel with peanut butter, bananas, angel food cake, turkey sandwiches and ice cold lemonade! I'm going potty without any problems and my bleeding is lighter than a period - which is very reassuring. And what's most exciting is that I'm passing gas without any pain or problems! (Sorry if that's TMI, but it's a huge milestone after abdominal surgery).
• My momma is coming back down to Indy this morning to stay overnight with us - I'm so excited for her to get to spend some more time with her new grand-baby, and I'm very happy to be getting time with my momma too :)
• Since Owen and I are doing so well, we're totally up for visitors today - so if you're reading this and would like to stop by to meet little Owen, just give us a call before heading over to the hospital :)

I had Owen in the room with me for about an hour this morning to do one of his feedings and once he was done & we were cuddling, I just had such an overwhelming feeling of contentness and sheer bliss. Owen is such a miracle to Cory and I. Holding him makes the pain from all of our miscarriages just melt away because he's here now and he is perfect. I cannot believe how blessed I am to have my Cory Louis, the big guy, and now Owen Christopher, the little guy. These two boys just complete me so fully and it's hard to find all the right words to explain the overflowing emotions I feel. God truly is good and he answers our prayers - but he does it in his own perfect time...and while this has been such a hard faith issue for me, just looking at Owen has renewed my faith in his "plan" for us and I know that we'll be okay.