Zebra makes me happy

A zebra wall decal above Weston's changing table has become one of his favorite things. He looks at it and smiles, giggles, and coos. Who would have thought?

1st Christmas

Weston @ 2 months

Some new photos of Weston - already 2 months old!

Adorable outfit for going to church to see Daddy

Daphne is very curious whenever we are doing things with Weston

Bundled up to play with Daphne outside

And of course, our new Pinky pictures

Rainforest

Weston has a wonderful rainforest themed playmat. Here are some videos of him learning to play.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the handsomest baby of all?

Rivalry Saturday

Last Saturday was the annual Gators-Seminoles football game, which in recent years has not been much fun for the Seminole nation. The Noles lost again this year. But at any rate, we have begun teaching Weston how to observe Gameday.

that's how mommy felt too... thanks for the reversible blanket grandmother!

my hat is way too big but i am still adorable

it was also Carolina-Clemson week-end, see my booties (another team with suffering fans)

Let Us Give Thanks

We've been blessed to have such good friends with whom we can spend Thanksgiving. Here below is some visual documentation.


Here we are in our Turkey Day outfit. Weston looked pretty smart.


With our good buddy, Ralph.


With Ralph and Harriet. We're hoping their good graces rub off!



Here Weston is with our friend, Christian, watching the traditional Dallas Cowboys game on Thanksgiving.




Harriet has already begun to teach Weston to be a gentleman.



What does cooking bacon at a lower temperature for less time get you? That's right, floppy bacon.

Videos!

He grows ups fast! Already he's moving around and lifting up his head. The great wobbly camera work is my own.



The "donkey sound" that Weston makes when he has his pacifier amuses and fascinates us:

Weston's Newborn Photographs

A friend referred us to a wonderful newborn photographer, who came to our house just a week after we brought Weston home. I think he was able to capture Weston's pure sweetness!

Click HERE to see the slide show.

You can also view the color images by clicking HERE.



If you are in Dallas and in need of a newborn photographer, you can find out more about him HERE. We highly recommend him; his fee is reasonable, and we love that the fee includes a CD of all the digital images.

Two Videos

Nana and Poppa were kind enough to give us a digital video recorder, complete with strenuous demands to video document Weston's every move. Here below are two videos in which we were happy to oblige...



We gotta work on the hugging thing, son.



I call this the Semaphore Jive!

Pinky

A recent tradition is that the Leacock grandchildren get a "pinky."
They are periodically photographed with "pinky" to watch how they grow.
Here's our first pinky picture:

Weston and Pinky @ 1 month

First Walk

Sleepy baby

Maternity photos

How quickly life has changed since we had pregnancy photos done. Good thing we had them done early, as we would have missed our chance!

Here's the link to the online slideshow:

http://www.tracylarsenphotographyblog.com/Stefanie/

(New web address as of 11-13-08)

Sweet baby face

Someone pointed out that we didn't have any close-ups of his face on here yet...

Here he is!

Who will he cheer for?

A little 'Nole?

Or a little Wildcat?

First Doctor's Visit

Weston Vickers went to the pediatrician for the first time yesterday. The doctor had only good things to say about him, of course.

His weight is now:

6 lb, 15 oz.

Stripes

I look good in stripes!

Aunt Ashley

Be It Ever So Humble

"Could it be that I have found my home at last? Home at last."

--Steely Dan




Here we are getting ready to leave the hospital for home. A historical car ride for sure, especially with Granddaddy's carriage blanket. Remember your roots, son.

"Home. Home, again. I like to be here when I can."

--Pink Floyd

Funny boys

Aye, To Be Sure

He's a Leacock.

Truthfully, part of me cringes slightly. He's not yet three weeks old, and already he has the brazenly, cheerfully pessimistic, delightfully skeptical look of a Leacock. I was hoping that he would have that cheerful but independent glint of his mother. But they boy looks like an old man. He's still non-verbal, but one can already detect the sarcasm. Oh well.

Almost there

When we moved to the Special Care Nursery last week, Weston was getting 2 (of 8) feeds per day by bottle or nursing. Over the week-end, he moved up to 4, then to 5, and today to 6. Tomorrow he will try ALL EIGHT. If he can do all 8 for 2 days, we will bring him home on Thursday - 3 days before his due date.

We'll let you know when we get home!

Lively Lad

Turns out our boy has got some energy! After a week in ICU under sedation, he's ready for some action. He spent an afternoon fussing every time I swaddled him. Finally I got the massage. I unwrapped him an set him in the hospital bassinet. He spent the better part of an hour doing his own thing.

Considering we hardly saw him move or make a sound for the first week of his life, it's glorious to see him with such vitality.

Finishing a bottle

Yesterday, we were "promoted" from NICU to Special Care Nursery. This is where healthy babies go until they can do everything they need to do to go home - in many cases, EAT! It's an unusual place, kind of like dorm rooms for babies. Only all the babies are on monitors which are closely watched by the nurses at the front desk. So we have more privacy and personal space with Weston and one of us can stay overnight with him.

Who knew eating could be such hard work? The doctors and nurses assure us that after all he has been through ("he was very sick" is a phrase we hear often), Weston's slow progress on the eating front is normal. He will only take a little bit and then decides sleeping would be better.

Tonight, we had a major breakthrough. Daddy fed Weston a bottle (almost 2 ounces) and he took the whole thing!




This is mommy telling Weston how proud she is of him!

Meeting Mrs. Vickers

Rob's godmother - Georgia "Pete" Vickers - was in Dallas this week visiting her daughter. We introduced her to Weston Vickers.



According to Rob, his godparents were the best godparents in the history of godparents. We know that Pete will be an important part of Weston's life as well.

Bath time

No more IV for Weston. He's living on only milk now. We had another session with the occupational therapist today. He took about half of his milk at that feeding from the bottle, but then decided he would rather sleep.

Mommy and daddy also got to help give him a "bath" tonight. This consisted of 3 adults rubbing Weston's body with soapy washcloths and then squirting water over him. All the while he screamed. But then mommy got to hold her sweet naked baby and wrap him in a warm blanket and he quieted right down.

He needs "therapy" already

Some new photos - we're wearing clothes now!

Weston is beginning to perk up. Apparently it takes a few days to sleep off the sedatives and the exhaustion of all he's been through. The nasal cannula was removed today so now he is breathing completely on his own. They were then able to move the feeding tube to his nose to help him learn to take a bottle without the tube in the way. We had a feeding session with an occupational therapist who specializes in helping babies learn to suck properly - who knew such a specialist existed? She got him to take almost all his food at that feeding from the bottle, but it is hard work for him, so we only attempt two feeds per day from the bottle. We hope he'll pick it up quickly!

God has truly blessed us with this little person.

Holding Weston - Finally!

One week after he was born, mommy and daddy finally held Weston, the first time since the delivery room. He still has a nasal cannula just to provide him with a little extra air flow, but is the same percentage oxygen as regular air, and he is breathing quite well on his own. They think this will be removed within the next couple of days. Last night, the nurses tried bottle feeding him, but he isn't so keen on that yet, which is common for babies who have been through what Weston has. He is still getting some breastmilk through his gastric tube, and the rest of his nourishment through IV. When he is able to take all his feedings orally, we will bring our little Weston home.




Weston did open his eyes a little bit for daddy, but he keeps them closed most of the time!

Seeing His Face

Quick update for now, as we are getting ready to head back to the hospital.

Yesterday was a TERRIFIC day for Weston. In the early afternoon, his chest tubes were removed, x-rays show no re-accumulation of air. Around 9pm last night, he had his breathing tube removed, so they got all the tape off his face! Just in time for Nanna and Poppa to see his sweet face before they flew back to Alabama Saturday morning. But we hope they'll come back soon to hold him and cuddle him when he's at home.

More pictures later today!