My boys

Life is still busy. But life is good. We are counting our blessings here instead of focusing on the trials we are experiencing. Carter came to visit again in Salt Lake and this time is in love with his brother. He wants to hold him constantly and gives his big smacking kisses. He will even try and take him out of my arms when he is ready to hold him.

This is one of my favorite pictures. 2 of my favorite boys together.
The biggest update is that Jackson was allowed to start feeding by mouth on Wednesday. Only 7 days after major surgery he was ready for some milk. They started him on 5mL every 3 hours which is 1 teaspoon. The first time it took him a few minutes to realize what was happening but once he realized there was something coming out, he chugged it right down.

The only bad part was that it was over in about 20 seconds and he wanted more. And his binkie was a poor substitute....it didn't produce milk when sucked!
Here is his milk induced coma look. He has tolerated his feeds as well as expected and so today they bumped him up to 7 mL every 3 hours just today. He is making wonderful progress and is such a happy, easy baby. The only time he cries is when they change his diaper or make him get undressed. He has the highest screech I have ever heard. And quite honestly, we love hearing it. He went several days without much movement or noise so it was refreshing to hear him cry. The nurses all love having him as their patient because he requires so little care. And rarely cries.

This is the face of a satisfied milk drinker. He is still a little baby. He weighs about 6 lbs 8 oz right now. Up 4 oz in 10 days. We hope that he can start putting on more weight with his new feeds. **Did you notice he no longer has any tubes in his nose or mouth? I was so excited to see that last tube gone.

Carter loves the playroom on the next floor. Which is great for us since we will be spending a lot of time at the hospital.

The same day he started eating, he also realized that he could open his eyes and be awake. It's so fun to see. After he eats he is usually awake for 10-20 minutes. He likes to look around and has even started to follow our voices with his eyes.
He gets to be dressed each day....minus his right arm. To many wires to fit into a sleeve for now.

He gets the open mouth sleeping from his mother I'm afraid to admit.

We celebrated Neil's 29th birthday here in Salt Lake together. Carter got to pick out his daddy's present all by himself. He picked M & m's and a rootbeer.

We are officially living in salt lake now. We rented an apartment today on a month to month basis and are in the process of finding a daycare for Carter. Somewhere he can go for a few hours a day while I am at the hospital and Neil is at work. Daycare prices are a bit higher than in Logan. I was spoiled at the Sports Academy paying 25 cents an hour! It is so weird to think that just last week we were living ordinary, boring lives and now we live in SLC with a new life.

We are still amazed at how wonderful people are and how helpful everyone is. Thank you to all who have called, texted or offered help in anyway. I hope to have the opportunity to help someone like people have helped us. We miss Logan a lot but are looking at the bright side here in Salt Lake!