Things I'm Thankful For , Part 1

On September 4th, Andrew Ryan Palmer entered the world. Although eleven weeks of drama has persued and permeated every level of our lives, our "Manly King" opened my eyes to the capacity I could have for love and compassion. He was born seventeen days early, and although Nik and I weren't "ready" for him, we wouldn't have had him any other way. Today, besides going to the doctor to find out that his eyesight was fine, he started watching me. He stared at me when I was eating dinner, and he continued through playtime. It's almost as though he is as intrigued with me as I am with him.

Words could not express how thankful I am for him and his health!

It's Like Being in London at Night!

Even though it wasn't completely done, I took Drew in his room to see his star ceiling (phase 1). He was laying in bed stirring around, unable to sleep, so I picked him up and brought him into his room. The ceiling went up on Sunday afternoon, and I wrapped up most of the major work on Sunday night, but I have more that I want to do to it. I put off going into the room with Drew (See my last post) because of fear of him not being able to see it, or even acknowledging it. My fears quickly subsided as his mouth dropped and stayed wide open. After a few minutes of barely blinking, I moved toward the door, and his little body twisted around me, trying to see each of the stars until we moved around the corner. I'm sure he saw it. Now I just want the Doctor to confirm it at our appointment on Monday. We feel he is making progress, and nothing would make us happier than to find out that everything is fine.

PS - It's not quite done, but I am super excited to see Drew's room coming along. The bulk of the star ceiling is up and London looks good enough to fly into! Michael Gray put hours of work into making Drew's room a special place for him. You're the Man Mikey!

Hiccup

Nik and I checked into ER last night with Drew. He has High Risk Jaundice and is testing higher than our pediatrician would like to see. We checked in about 11:00 last night, and they got us into a room, and Drew under the photo-lights about 1:00am. If you follow the link above, you can read about jaundice, the liver, and bilirubin. On the scale that is used for the blood test for jaundice, a doctor would like to see a number under 11 to feel confident that a newborn's liver will begin to operate and destroy the bilirubins in his system. They begin to get concerned at about 17 and by 20 they begin treatment. Drew tested at a 19.7 yesterday, and because he was born 2 1/2 weeks early, he needs special UV treatment to reduce the bili in his system. After spending last night under the lights, Drew's number came down to 15 when he was tested this morning. With progress like that, they thought we would be going home this afternoon... but it wasn't to be. Drew tested at 14.2, which is below the 11 the doctor would like to see to comfortably release him. That being said, Nik, Drew, and I will be spending another night in the hospital, and what's worse about the whole process is having to put our little guy under the UV "tanning bed", where we're not able to hold him except to feed him. We are praying that tomorrow morning the test will come back favorably.
Thank you to everyone who has called, texted, visited, and most importantly prayed as we go through this trial. We are confident that this will be over soon, and our Sweet Pea will be healthy.

Last Date

It seems like only yesterday, we were excited about being 30 days away, and how it would be an eternity before Drew arrives. Now it feels like we're full-steam ahead toward September 20th, and it doesn't look like we're slowing down. Nik and I went out this afternoon to a movie, dinner, and then shopping for "hospital stuff." We reminisced about our eight years of marriage and how we wouldn't have wanted children any sooner (they would have cramped our style). Now we're staring down the last few days before the Drew-man graces us with his presence and changes our lives forever! We were both a little sad to think that this could be our last pre-baby date. We enjoyed the time out and went to see the movie Hancock and ate appetizers at Friday's.Note: Drew likes Jalepeno Poppers!
Tomorrow we go to the doctor to see how things are progressing, and if we have any better idea of when Drew will be here. Until then, I check the camera batteries once a week; make sure the house is clean... and then remember about a million things that I really should have done before Drew comes home. Just thinking of all those projects is making me tired.

Belly Bud-don

As Nikki enters Week 26 of pregnancy, we have noticed that her belly button has formed an area that is perfect for an earbud. Therefore, I feel this is God letting me know that Drew is ready for some good tunes. So here is the first list of songs that I want to play for Drew, while still in the womb.

BABY JAMS I :
1. No Such Thing -- John Mayer
2. Savior King -- Hillsong United
3. You & Me -- Lifehouse
4. Divine Romance -- Phil Wickham
5. Message In a Bottle -- Police
6. Where the Streets Have No Name -- U2
7. Little Wonders -- Rob Thomas
8. 100 Years -- 5 for Fighting
9. Desperado -- The Eagles
10. So Much To Say -- Dave Matthews Band

PS -- I want my child well-educated on music that rocks... I would love suggestions for Baby Jams II.