Lots of Firsts

Yesterday and today were days filled with firsts for Stephen and his Mommy. He had his first swing, his first real bath, and the first time I was able to dress him in his own clothes. And I had my first trip to a baby store as a Mommy. And it was all so amazing!!

We were told on Monday that Stephen might have his PIC line pulled this week, which would mean he would be allowed to finally wear clothes and have blankets from home. Which meant that I needed to shopping! I had purchased a few little outfits prior to Stephen's diagnosis, gotten a few as gifts, and some as hand-me-downs from my sister. But I didn't have any onesies with the snaps the whole way down the front (these work best with Stephens tubes and wires) or any that might would be big enough for Stephen. Walking into Babies'R'Us as a Mom was amazing and so much fun. It's so weird because that store used to stress me out and confuse me, but now it's awesome! I could use one of everything! And because we canceled my baby shower, I really could use one of everything :) i have a feeling I'll be making frequent trips to Babies R Us and BuyBuyBaby in the next few weeks.

Then when I got to the NICU on Tuesday, Stephen was swinging away in a little swing and loving every minute of it! It was so adorable and he LOVED it! I can tell we are going to spend lots of time in the swing.

But today might be our best day yet. Now that Stephen is off his IV fluids, the PIC was finally pulled which meant that he could get a real big boy bath! He can't get his dialysis catheter or feeding tube submerged so the bath water was very shallow, but it was definitely a real bath. Although you'll see that the poor little guy hated it! He cried and cried the whole time and so hard that he literally turned purple. When Stephen gets mad, he gets really mad!! You'll see from the pics, that the poor little guy has lost a lot of his hair, but only on the top of his head. Which makes him look even more like a little old man! :) But he's still super adorable!

After his bath, I was able to dress him for the first time. It was so fun! And I picked out an outfit with elephants since his nursery theme is elephants and I couldn't resist the "I love mommy" embroidered the chest. Then we spent the whole afternoon cuddling away. Now that his PIC line is gone, we're able and allowed to pick him up and hold him without the help of the nurses and hold him in all sorts of positions without worrying about the lines being pulled or him getting an infection. It's so awesome!

We also had our first consult today with the pulminologist who will see and follow Stephen when he leaves the NICU. He was extremely pleased with Stephens lung development and thinks he's doing really well. We will have to be very careful when Stephen comes home because his lungs are still very fragile and he could easily catch a respiratory virus or cold that could send him back to the PICU. So that means we won't be going out in public very much for awhile. But I can deal with that as long as he's home and healthy! We're just really looking forward to walks with Stephen down to (in his stroller) in the Spring!

I went a little nuts posting pictures tonight, but I had trouble picking my favorites!