He's growing!

Everett is 4 weeks old now and has been home for a whole week! At his check-up with the pediatrician this week, Everett is approaching 6 pounds and has added 1 inch to his length. He is looking great and keeps adding to his chubby cheeks. Adam and I are enjoying him being at home and spending quality time as a family since Adam is off from work for 2 weeks. Everett has been getting his tummy time with his mommy and daddy and keeps eating like a champ! We welcome all those who want to visit this cute little guy as he is very fun to hang out with! =)

My sideburns keep getting longer!

We're HOME!

Everett was discharged from the hospital yesterday morning around 9:30am. He weighed 5 pounds 7 ounces on Saturday! We gladly packed up and headed out of there. He is adjusting well to being at home and really likes his new room! Everett did well in his car seat and did not make a peep during the car ride. It is so great to have us all home!

I am all clean after a bath!

Daddy does such a good job feeding me my bottle

I love stretching out my legs...look how tall I am getting!

Me and my cozy blanket from Allison

All dressed and ready to go home

The car seat isn't that bad

Count down to Sunday...

It looks like we will be able to be discharged from the hospital on Sunday as long as Everett keeps doing as well as he has. With me staying overnight in the hospital with him, I have been able to nurse him for nearly all of his meals. He is consistently gaining weight now and even gained 3 ounces in one day! We have LOVED having visitors and letting our friends meet this cute boy. Here are a few more pictures for you all:

Hanging out with my Daddy and I am starting to fit into newborn clothes! It must be because I love to eat!

Auntie Kristen is the best! She brought me and my parents all kinds of treats in the hospital! Thanks!

This is me sleeping. I like to move my hands around when I sleep. My hands end up in all kinds of positions while I sleep.

All clean after a bath and back to snoozing

In a new room...

Although we are still in the hospital, we have moved to a new room. Everett is in regular hospital room (no longer in the NICU) and we can stay with him. So, I have a bed, Adam gets a pull out chair bed, and Everett has his bassinet. Adam won't stay the night during the weekdays, but it's good to have him here when he can be. It took us a little while to get settled in, but all was better when the nurse told Adam he has a PlayStation he can use in our room.

We already had visitors (thanks Branon and Katy for bringing us dinner!) and we CAN have visitors now that we are out of the special nurseries....whoohoo! Unfortunately, we will be in the hospital until Sunday, but at least we can be with him in our own room now. Everett has been nursing great and Adam gives him a bottle a couple times a day to get some practice too. Here is a picture of him sleeping and getting ready to wake up for some dinner:

Still in the hospital...

But, still very very cute! Our little guy is doing awesome. We are still in the hospital because he is finishing a course of antibiotics. Hopefully, by next weekend, Everett can come home. In the mean time, here are a couple new pictures of our adorable son!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all your wonderful moms out there! Adam and I got to spend the morning with Everett. We were hoping he would get his tube out of his mouth today, but we didn't expect that he would remove it himself. Apparently, he was done with it and took it upon himself to take it out. Fortunately, he does not need it anymore and the doctor said he is looking great! We can start feeding him tonight (8pm) which is super because this guy is hungry!!! Check out our little video....he is so hungry he'll eat his hand (and fingers) if you let him!

We got the chance to give Everett a bath today too. He wasn't all to thrilled with the idea, but he survived and now is all clean!

How cute is he?!?!

I got to spend more time with my little man today. He is doing just awesome! His bowel functions are coming back as I got to change his first poopy diaper! Everyone at the hospital keeps telling me what a content and happy baby he is which is great as he didn't even need pain medication after the surgery! Now, he is just recovering nicely and spending time relaxing while he gets more of his strength back. Before I got to snuggle with him, we did a little photo shoot....Check out this adorable boy!!!

"It couldn't have gone better..."

....that's what the pediatric surgeon told us after he had finished Everett's surgery. Everett did awesome and it took the surgeon half of the time he had allotted because Everett was such a champ! We were told that the blockage was fixed and Everett has no other concerns. While they were doing the surgery, they were checking the rest of the digestive system to make sure all of the other parts were working okay. Fortunately, it was just the one blockage and it is all fixed now!

We were able to see and hold Everett before he went into surgery and we got to see him once he was out. We made Everett a sign for his bed that shared the meaning of his name:

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Shane - "The Lord is gracious"
"The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion." Psalm 116:5

Everett is recovering well and just taking it easy. He will be under sedation for about 48 hours while his body recooperates from it all. Adam and I are so proud of him. We are continued to be BLESSED by God's faithfulness and protection over our family. Thank you for your support, prayers, and love!

Kangaroo Care with Everett - Adam did get a turn too!

Loving on our son before surgery

Everett Shane Parken is HERE!

Our lives have beautifully changed forever as our son, Everett Shane Parken, entered this world today. He was born at 9:13am weighing 4 pounds 10 ounces and 18 inches long! My water broke around 4am, but I must have been in labor without knowing it because by the time we got to the hospital around 5:15am, I was already 8 cm dilated! It was truly a blessing as I did not feel pain until the last hour. I had some not comfortable contractions starting after 8am and then the last part of pushing for 20 minutes was the hardest, but he and I did great! No medication, great nurses, and Adam and I are just elated! Our current pics can be found here on Picasa, but we will take more as we get to see him more!

Since Everett decided to make an early appearance (35 weeks), he is being monitored at the Special Care Nursery. He is really doing just fine, but they want to make sure of that. Everett needs to be able to eat on his own and keep is oxygen levels stable and then we'll be able to take him home. There is a chance we may go home before him, but not by much (one day or so). We keep praying for him to gain his weight and eat his food! I already told him eating runs in our family, so he might as well get on it! We can't wait to introduce you to our precious boy....he is an amazing gift from God!