our little boy is growing up so fast

Stats: Pierce is 58 days, 5 hours, 26 minutes old
and weighs 2 lbs 9 oz

Go back, 2 weeks ago- Pierce was on the vent, I was beginning to wonder if he'd ever get off and thinking that even if he did, there was no way we'd ever be leaving the hospital near his due date (Aug.4th). Ok, flash forward to tonight- Pierce is off the vent, on 3 liters, and doing well. He has had no major issues (in fact, not even a minor one) in 2 weeks. He's now regulating his temperature fairly well and is able to wear clothes! (Although I don't think he particularly likes mommy dressing him up, but I doubt that will ever change.) It appears that he has rounded a corner and is not looking back.

Pierce is progressing so rapidly that tonight his Nurse Practicioner took me on a tour of the step-down nursery. That's right folks, I said it- the step-down nursery! The step-down (or progressive care nursery) is for the low-maintenance babies who just need to feed/grow before leaving the hospital. We never thought our child would be considered "low maintenance." In NPCN, Pierce will be given a new list of tasks. You see, up until this point, Pierce's main goal in life has been to keep breathing (and for the first 7 weeks, a machine did this for him!) and to keep his sat's high. When he moves to NPCN, he will not only do those "basics," but he will also have to regulate his own body temperature (he will move out of his nifty plastic womb and into a regular crib), learn to eat from a bottle, pass a car seat test and much, much more. Needless to say, this is a big step for lil' man. Nik and I are shocked at how fast he is progressing. I think he is in a hurry to get home. Or maybe he just wants to be like the baby on Grey's Anatomy who got out of the NICU 5 weeks early (insert sarcasm).

Since Pierce is in such a hurry, I decided it's about time to resume our preparation for his arrival. Basically, I'm picking up where I left off. 8 weeks ago, our lives came to a screaching halt. And at 23 weeks pregnant, I simply did not have much done in the way of preparation. After all, we all assumed he'd be born in August, not April. So today my mom and I started shopping for his nursery. Plans are being made. Things are being bought. Clothes washed. To be honest, it has been really hard to resume to dreaming about the future. It's dangerous to dream. This experience has demonstrated how quickly our dreams can be shattered. Call me pessimistic, but it's the reality in which I'm living.

But I'm trusting in this tonight: God has been and is so good. He has sustained us. He has sustained Pierce. And He has brought Pierce to this wonderful place tonight. He will continue working in our lives. And I know, I just know, that He has big plans for our son.

Thank you for praying for us. Please continue to pray as we look towards the future with cautious optimism.

Love,
Lindsay

PS- The talks about moving Pierce to NPCN are circulating, but he will more than likely stay in the NICU another week before they consider moving him.