This pic is from our visit to the NICU today. So far this is our favorite pic that we've snapped of little Dean. We are now home, but Dean has to remain in the NICU for a little while longer. Before being discharged from the NICU Dean will need to be able to breath well on his own, maintatin his temperature, and have a fully developed "suck/swallow" relfex for eating. So far he's whipped the breathing and temperature requirements. He's beginning to eat well from a bottle and is getting better by the day. They have a phototherapy blanket on him now to take away the touch of jandice that he develped last night, but his bilirubin levels are low which is good. His jaundice should be gone in a day or two.

We can't wait to get him home, but we know that he's in good hands and growing strong at the NICU. Hopefully his stay won't be much longer. According to his progress so far, we hope that he will be home by the end of next weekend. Time will tell though. Until then, we are visiting him 2 to 3 times a day for his bottle feedings (right now he is on the bottle every other feeding and on a tube for the others). We are having a great time just holding him and loving on him when we get to see him. We are thankful that he's doing as great as he is. We just want him to be home with us for good. We'll keep you posted!!