Life is good

Luc's first bath (at home)

Go 'Canes

Luc is already a fan of the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team, who just won the Stanley Cup last night. He predicted their victory shortly after he was born: just look at the red outfit he asked to wear and Hurricanes logo on his head!

Going Home

Scenes from Sunday's big event...

Happy Father's Day

Homeward Bound!

Luc has impressed his parents and the doctors, and will be discharged Sunday morning, so he won't miss spending Father's Day with his daddy at home!

Here he is waving goodbye to his fellow preemies, the NICU staff, and his feeding tube. At long last, after 17 days in the NICU, our baby boy is going wireless!

Home Soon?

Luc reached 35 weeks gestational age on Wednesday, and Thursday is his 2-week birthday. He has been gaining weight at a steady clip and is now past his original birth weight.

More importantly, Luc has now mastered the art of breastfeeding and is currently working on lengthening his feeding times. On Friday we will do a "test run" with him--he will spend the day (or longer) in a private room with us and breastfeed with no supplemental feedings. This will tell us whether he is ready to have his feeding tube removed and come home. Wish him luck!

La Famille

More NICU

Luc continues to make progress in the NICU. He is increasingly alert and beginning to breastfeed. He will go home once he is able to get all his nutrition from breastfeeding. This is expected to occur in 1-3 weeks. Mom and Dad continue to spend their days and evenings with Luc, practicing breastfeeding, diaper-changing, kangaroo care, and giving the little one lots of love.

NICU Pictures

Luc has been staying at the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) at UNC Children's Hospital since his birth day. For the most part, he's healthy and doing well, except that he has not yet mastered the art of breastfeeding (hence, the feeding tube attached to his nose).

He's been off of IV fluids, heart & respiratory monitors and other interventions for a few days now because the docs are very confident about his excellent health. Mommy and Daddy are staying close to him: concentrating on "kangaroo care" (preemie babies are known to thrive better when placed skin-to-skin with Mom/Dad for a few hours each day) and patiently waiting for the "little boss" to let them know he's ready to eat!

Thanks for your emails, gifts and well wishes everyone! We really appreciate them!

Luc's Big Debut!

33 weeks... Birth Day!

We didn't post a 33 week belly picture as usual on Wednesday.

Jenn began having regular contractions at 9 AM and they just kept coming and coming! After 16 hours of labor, Baby Olive was born,
Luc Emilio Esperanza Dionne,
at 1:01 AM on June 1, 2006 at UNC Women's Hospital in Chapel Hill.

Luc is premature, at 33 weeks and 1 day gestational age, but nobody bothered to tell him. He weighs 5 lbs., 14 oz., which places him above the 90th% in weight for his gestational age. He's 18 1/4 inches tall. He is currently recovering in the Neonatal ICU (NICU) but is not expected to spend much time there as he was able to breathe unassisted from the moment he was born, and has had consistently reassuring vital signs.

This morning, Jenn and Paul went to see Luc for some kangaroo care and his first feeding. After a few tries, Luc latched on like a champion and had his first meal! The neonatologist is very optimistic about his prognosis. They have recently turned off his heater to see whether he can maintain his body temperature by himself. So far, with breathing going well, self-sufficient feeding, independent temperature regulation, and no signs of infection, Luc is likely to be discharged from the NICU by the end of the day!

Jenn is recovering well and both parents are floating in the clouds with their little baby boy who keeps acting like a full-term baby. We are truly blessed!

Stay tuned for pictures...