Toby Robert Conger

Toby has been growing steadily over the last week. Last Sunday he weighed 2 lbs., 7.2 oz. and now he’s at 2 lbs., 9.2 oz. I know that 2 ounces doesn’t seem like a lot, but in the preemie world, it’s fantastic.

The neonatologist also increased his feedings from 23 mL to 24 mL every 3 hours. For those who are “math challenged” as I am, the nurses tell me that 30 mL is equal to 1 ounce!

We haven’t seen Toby for 2 whole days due to being out of town at my first Baby Shower (beautifully given by Mark’s side of the family), so when the NICU nurse asked if I wanted some “snuggle time” with Toby, I jumped at the chance. Doesn’t Mark take beautiful photos!

Toby is now 2 lbs., 8.8 oz. and still 14.5 inches long. Even though his length has not changed since birth, Toby’s head circumference is growing at about 1/2 cm per week which is right on track per his neonatologist.

As many of you know, Mark’s mom Lucy had a stroke last Christmas. She has been recovering in an assisted living facility in Aberdeen since April and today we brought her to Tupelo to see her FIRST grandson, Toby!

When Lucy finally got to see Toby, all she could say was, “He’s so tiny.” Her expressions during her visit with Toby were priceless. She has waited almost 10 years for a grandchild and now he was finally here – even though it was earlier than expected!

Some of the local church ladies knitted hats for all of the NICU babies, including Toby. Too bad he slept through the photo session.

There’s nothing sweeter in life than holding your baby for the first time! And when you get to show off your bundle of joy to his godparents, it’s even sweeter.

We arrived at the NICU to find that Toby had been moved from NICU #1 to NICU #2. The difference between these two NICU’s is that new babies and the sicker ones all stay in NICU #1. When the babies start getting better, they get moved to NICU #2 and that is where Toby had been moved.

The nurse also told us that Toby is now a whopping 2 pounds, 5.5 ounces and his feedings have been increased from 20 mL to 22 mL every 3 hours.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying – keep it coming because it’s working!

Colleen’s mom visited Toby today and spent time just marveling at her newest grandson. Colleen’s brother has 2 sons of his own so Toby makes the 3rd grandson for her.

Toby is still holding at 2 lbs., 4 oz. but as his feedings increase (which today they went from 19 mL to 20 mL), we’re expecting his weight to slowly increase too. The neonatologist tells us that it’s a slow process for preemies to gain weight, but over time, Toby will start packing on the pounds.

There’s been a lot of activity today. Toby moved into a brand new bed called an Isolette/Incubator (see the above picture.) The nurse tells us that it’s a step up from my OmniBed (the bed Toby’s been in since he was born 2 weeks ago.)

The nurse also informed us that Toby’s feedings have been increased yet again from 18 mL per feeding (every 3 hours) to 19 mL. He’s still holding his weight at 2 lbs. 4 oz., but has gained back the 10 grams he lost yesterday. Also, the doctor is trying to wean Toby off of the VapoTherm. This causes his breathing to be a bit more labored, but that’s expected because he was born so early.

Well, the Tobymeister is lovin’ Mommy’s milk so much they bumped him to 14ml per 3 hour feeding. As a comparison, he was at 12ml for the past day or two and at 4ml per feeding at birth. As a result of this increase his IV fluid has been reduced accordingly. Lastly, the CPAP “scuba” gear has been exchanged for a gadget called a “VapoTherm” which provides less breathing support (meaning he doesn’t need as much.)

Various tests such as XRays and blood tests still occur regularly especially after changes to fluid and air. It’s this level of attention to detail that brings up our confidence in the NICU staff and procedures.

The picture is from today. He’s on his tummy most of the time for better breathing. They tell us that preemies breathe better in this position.