Nixon is HOME!!

Today was the best day ever!! Nixon spent the night in the hospital with his parents hooked up to a monitor so they could be tested on how well they will do with him home. At first they just wanted him to use the monitor for a month but now they have suggested he use if for 2 months. He was given the car seat test where he sits in his car seat for 90 minutes with his monitors on to check his vital signs. He passed so he was allowed to come home. We are so glad to have him home and he is doing really well. He eats and sleeps and just looks around. He is still pretty spitty but that is normal with the acid reflux that he has. He takes medicine every day for that to help with the spitting stuff. He is doing really well and mom and dad are sooooo glad to have him home. Sid flew in today and so we will spend the next few days helping them in any way we can. Check Kandis's blog to see updated photos and her point of view! Kandis is doing great and feeling better every day. Nic needs to get some sleep so he can get back to work and school rested and ready to go!! We are so grateful for a wonderful new grandson and love to see what good parents Nic and Kandis are becoming.

Todays update

Nixon had his sensor removed at about 2 am so he was finally comfortable for awhile. It was a 12 hour test so we are glad that is over. Kandis was released from the hospital at about 8:30pm so she came home took a shower and changed into normal clothes. The hospital suggested that she stay in one of the complimentary rooms reserved for ICU patients parents and especially since she is nursing they could just walk down the hall and wake her up. We jumped at the chance to use those rooms so Nic and Kandis spent the night at the hospital last night and will do so again tonight. The Pediatrician came in and read the results and said it was inconclusive enough to not say that reflux is the cause of the problem. Soooo they said they want them to be trained on the monitor and learn baby CPR before going home and they will send Nixon home some time tomorrow with a monitor for a month. Also he will be taking some kind of medication for acid reflux for a month just to be sure that he will be OK. They have classes today at noon and again at 6:30pm and then will be sleeping next to him with the monitor attached for a minimum of 8 hours so they know they are confident with the set up to take him home. They will be required to sleep in the same room with him at night for a month so if you know how small their rooms are that will be fun!! We just hope all goes as scheduled today and he continues to get better. He has maintained his weight and counts so that is in his favor. He just gets cuter and cuter and when he gets home I will post some more pictures with out all the stuff on him. He is a real chow hound but what do you expect if you didn't get any food for the first 24 hours of your life!! Thanks again for all of your support and prayers in their behalf. We feel all of your love and appreciate it.

Nixon update

Nixon has continued to get better each hour and we are so grateful for that. He has been moved to the less serious side of the NICU (there is a high risk side that he was in and a lower risk side) so we are excited about that. He will undergo some more tests this morning. They are going to put a tube through his nose and into his stomach to measure the acid in his stomach and determine if he has a acid reflux problem that is causing the issue. If so we will treat him for acid reflux and see if he breathes better. He only had a couple of "episodes" yesterday morning and did great all afternoon without any problems. We gave him his first bath around 10:30pm and he was quite upset about that!! Kandis nursed him after that and he settled back down. His levels looked good but they continued to watch him through the night in the high risk side of the NICU. This morning, like I said they moved him to the lower risk side and have continued with the antibiotics. Kandis continues to nurse him every 3 hours and this morning they gave him some formula to supplement her lack of milk at this point. He kept that down without throwing everything back up so that is another really good sign. He is so cute with his long dark hair and we still don't really know who he looks like. He still has that squishy face from being born! I think he tends to favor the Kelly side!! His nose is a little flared from the breathing tubes and problems. He is so chunky and looks like a giant next to the tiny preemies in the other beds. They all think he is adorable. The nurses just love him and say he is such a good baby. He is strong and holds and moves his head to look at his mommy and daddy, much to their delight. Kandis and Nic are doing really well with all of this knowing that he is in the best NICU unit in the State of Utah. They life flight babies here for care so we are just glad we were delivering Nixon at this hospital. Kandis will be released tonight to come home and take a shower in her own place! We will be going back and forth to the hospital to feed Nixon every 3 hours but that is OK. That is why I am here to help I guess!! My job is to keep Nic and Kandis fed and rested so they can help Nixon get better. We are optimistic that Nixon will be home by the end of the week if the tests results are favorable. If Nixon can go through a day without an episode of not breathing that will be just GREAT!! Thanks for all of your prayers and concerns. We love you all and hope to have baby and parents in one place soon!!! I hope this helps you all know what is happening with everything. It is hard to explain all the details of everything when the doctors are just puzzled by his condition.

Nixon pictures

Kandis and Nixon looking at each other!! He really loves to look at his mommy. Look at all those muscles on his arms. He is really a chunky monkey.

All bundled up!! Nic can really get him swaddled up. He likes to be like this.

Isn't he so cute. He is still hooked up to everything but at least we can hold him now.

This is what he looked like for the first hour of his life. It was hard to see him like this but he really is doing much better now. We are hoping to bring him home in a couple of days. Kandis will be released Wednesday afternoon so we will be coming back and forth to feed and be with Nixon during the day.

Today has been a better day for little Nixon. He has been in the NICU unit all day and will probably be there a couple of more days. They had run many tests today to find out why Nixon stops breathing after crying or getting upset. He has done much better this afternoon and has not had any more episodes most of the afternoon. He has nursed a couple of times and has done really well with latching on. He had a echo cardiogram today and a spinal tap to test the fluid for any signs of blood. He was started on antibiotics for 48 hours and they just have him hooked up on monitors to see what the level of oxygen is when he gets upset. They have not even given him a bath yet because they don't want to stress him out to much.

Nixon Scott Bennion has arrived

Well, after a long day of labor for Kandis starting at 5:30am with a phone call from the hospital asking if she could get there at 6:15!! Nixon Scott Bennion arrived at 11:38pm weighing in at a whopping 8 pounds 5 ounces and 20 inches long!! He is a real chunky boy. He was having some breathing problems so they took him to ICU to be put and monitored on oxygen. He looked good and was looking calmly around while hooked up to everything. Kandis was sad that she could not hold her baby but they let her go into the ICU before putting her into her room for the night. Nic expects Nixon to be out soon and in the well baby nursery by a couple of hours. The nurses seemed to think that would happen. Everyone was shocked at the size of Kanids's baby. She was really all baby!! She did great during the labor and pushed for about 1 1/2 hours. She has a new respect for me now!! Especially since I had my kids natural. She asked me how I ever had 6 kids!! (hee hee hee). Nixon has lots of hair!! I am on Nics computer and can not down load pictures at this point but will try and do that tomorrow afternoon when I go to the hospital again. Since Nixon was in the ICU they will probably want him to stay 2 days in the hospital before going home. I will keep you posted.

No Baby Yet!!

Well, I have been in Utah for a week and still no baby. Kandis is scheduled to be induced tomorrow (Monday) if she does not go into labor herself today!! She looks good and feels good but the baby just seems to not want to come yet! I guess she is taking after her mom on this one. We are to call the hospital tomorrow at 6:00am and then they will tell us what time we are to show up for the induction. The room is ready and waiting and we can hardly wait to hold Nixon in our arms. We will post pictures when he arrives and let you all know how it is going.