33 weeks and 4 days = 1 week and 2 days old!

Time already seems to be flying by!! We are very fortunate that things, for the most part, have been moving in a positive direction over the past 9 days. The weekend went great as well, and we were happy to arrive this morning to find Payton off of his CPAP and doing well, yahoo!! Might as well jump in to additional updates:

Evan: now 4lb3oz! Evan also practiced breastfeeding for the 1st time this morning and the lactation consultant gave him an A++. They are still so young and get very tired really quick so having him latch on and do his thing a few times before tuckering out was awesome. Dad then fed him about 5cc's from a bottle and he finished up through the NG feeding tube. Evan looks more and more like big brother Brody (not to mention identical to his brother's...with Riley still being a "mini-version").

Riley: now 3lb6oz! Riley also practiced BF'ing this am and earned himself an "A" (not as successful as Evan, but had a terrific 1st practice). He then had about 3 cc's from a bottle from Mom and finished his feeding through the NG tube. Riley and Evan are off the bili-blanket for the 2nd day now and we are optimistic that they will not have to be put back on this time (Payton also looked great and will hopefully be off tomorrow).

Payton: Payton's weight is not as accurate at this point, he is weighing in at 4lb6oz but has a lot of additional water weight right now as he looks pretty "puffy". The Drs believe that this should all pass soon as he is off of the CPAP (hooray!!!) and feedings are being increased and the IV fluids being decreased. Payton is still being watched very closely but we are happy for the progress he is making. They had to re-do some labs today to rule out possible bacteria in his blood, which they believe to have been contaminated during the long, strained process they went through to get the blood drawn. Please pray that this next draw comes back normal and no possibility of an infection.

We did get moved into a private room, but it is rather cramped and not exactly what we were expecting. As soon as Payton is stable off of his CPAP for a few days we expect to be moved from the level III NICU to a bigger room in the level II NICU.

Mom and Dad feel like the adrenaline phase has now worn off and we are hoping our bodies will adjust to our new schedule very soon so we do not feel like zombies the majority of the time! The commute to and from the hospital and trying to pump at least every 3 hours to try and get the supply to increase really takes a toll when you also want to give your oldest Son the attention he needs too! Uncle T continues to be a great support for us and Brody got some extra attention from more family over the weekend as well.

Brody came into the NICU for the 2nd time today to visit his brothers and was very excited!! He hung up a picture he drew and talked to each of them. He asks to see them everyday and we can't wait until they are home so he can do just that :)

 Uncle T holding Evan

 Daddy kangarooing Payton...CPAP free!! And Big Brother B saying hello <3

 Riley getting weighed, "horn" (IV) free!!

 Evan and Riley (with paci)

 Evan looking pretty happy now that his belly is getting filled!

This is Riley, I can really only tell because of his blanket and I know he was wearing this shirt today, we are going to be in trouble!!

 Daddy holding Payton, feeling pretty good to not have his CPAP on!!

 No, Daddy...don't put me down!!!