The Nitty Gritty

I can't believe how much William has grown!  I watched a slideshow of all his pictures tonight and was amazed by how much he has changed.  We love our little guy and are so thankful we have him. He is beginning to be much more alert and makes the most hilarious noises when he sleeps.  When dad plays with him he likes to coo a little bit.  I can't wait to see him in his halloween costume tomorrow! Teeny tiny William getting a bath on his first day of life. William one month later honoring the Phillies in his baseball outfit Will had some visitors on his one month birthday! We were sad we didn't get pictures when Great Grandma and Grandpa Orme came to visit a couple of weeks ago, SO when Great Grandma and Grandpa Bickmore stopped by to visit Will I made sure to get a picture. Will was hungry (that's why he's fussy in the photo) so I hurried and snapped this before I fed him. WE LOVE WILLIAM

Steve Colbert expresses how we feel about this socialism garbage.

Did you know at least 140,000 people in the Salt Lake county have already voted?  I was very impressed with the line tonight when I early voted.  It's never been that long when I've voted in the past. Perhaps it's because this year is a presidential election.  I love early voting because: 1. I don't have to stand in an extremely long line next Tuesday. 2. It's comforting to know I've cast my vote in case something comes up on election day and I can't make it to the polls. I encourage anyone that hates long lines or feels rushed on election day to vote early!  You have until Thursday Oct. 30th. Also, I've become completely inspired by Barack Obama these past several weeks.  In a nut shell- his optimism (his platform sums it up), ideas (tax breaks for the middle class), morals (exceptional father and husband), abilities (uniting America and bringing hope), and cute family (LOVE Michelle and the girls!) are what I want representing America. I hope he wins!...

Here are some fun pictures and videos of William. We love him so much.  Sleeping at the park like a vagrant.  (The trick is to cuddle up with the other vagrants.) Chillin' with Grandma Grandma comes to visit Will everyday while Mommy rests. Hangin' with the padres at the park Pumping Iron (plastic) like it's my job

Congrats to the Smith Crew for their new baby boy, Christian Robert. He was born today at 10:55 weighing 6 lbs 10 oz. William is thrilled to have a cousin so close to his age!

My friend Kristin gave Will the cutest rainforest bouncer seat. Yesterday I buckled Will in it while I took a shower.  He loved it!  Later I put him in it again and shot this sweet video.    

We checked Will's weight on Friday and he weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces which means he gained 12 ounces in one week!  We were all amazed including the pediatrician.  She said typically newborns gain about half an ounce a day.  So our tiny super guy exceeded all our expectations.  Here is another cute video. 

Here are two awesome videos that show just how much william has grown in the last two weeks.  Enjoy. In the video with the stroller notice how I correct Lesley about just how long it has been since we've been outside. 

When I was a young tyke growing up in the Bickmore home I used to do chores for my siblings or my parents on the sly. I would leave little notes on their raggedly folded laundry or lightly cleaned toilet signed by the house elf. You might think I am just stealing this idea from Harry Potter but my siblings will back me up on this I predate J.K. on this one. My mom will say that it was sweet, and Sophia will say that it was creepy, but I say it was just creativity put to good use. It didn't help that I had pointy ears, curly hair, and almond eyes. I still enjoy doing a secret act of kindness every now and then but the house elf hasn't received credit for any of them since the third grade. But it looks like the house elf is back in the Bickmore house. Look at this picture. Check out those ears.  So if you find your socks all folded and set at the end of your bed or your bed made really badly, it wasn't me it was the new house elf.  (I know I am a dork but this is what being a...

Grandpa Garrett's birthday is today, Oct. 12. He and Grandma Garrett came to visit us last night since we can't go to his family birthday party tonight (The doctor said not to take William to family parties or crowded places for 8 weeks). We named our son after his grandpas.  My dad is William and Isaac's dad is Steven.  His Grandpa Garrett had a brush with death nine months ago so we're happy he's still around to meet his grandson.  I know William is blessed with that same will to survive.  Here are some photos from last night.

View Album Get your own So we gave Will his first sponge bath last night and he HATED it!  Check out these mad faces.  His arms and legs were flailing all over the place.  That's why some of the pics are blurry.  Despite all the torture, it sure was nice to have a clean sweet smelling baby at the end.  

It is almost 1:55 pm which means William will be one week and one day old today!  He is so much fun.  Here are some of mom's favorite things about Will: 1. He loves his hands!  He is constantly touching his face or holding my fingers.  I'm sure those fingers will be playing an instrument someday. 2. I love those "states of alertness" when he is wide awake, but not crying.  When he's in this state, I hold him in the rocker and talk to him and sing to him.  He responds with lots of smiles and yesterday he actually winked!  It was awesome!  My son is so talented.   3. I love choosing what he is going to wear with so many adorable outfits to select from.  I especially love his 8:30 pm feeding when I put on his pajamas.  Baby pjs are the cutest! 4. I love taking care of the little things for him.  Yesterday I filed his long fingernails and I must admit, for a first time baby manicure, I did a darn good job. Today he is getting his first sponge bath when dad comes home....

"Have I died and gone to heaven?" "Nope. It's just home." And there is no place like it. We took Will from the hospital to his first pediatric appointment and all the nurses fell in love with him. He passed everything with flying colors. The doctor checked him out from head to toe and confirmed what we have been telling you all.... that he is perfect.  He is sleeping in his crib right now and he is doing just fine. The first picture is a great picture of Will after he had eaten his first meal at home and he was so content just to be held and hang out with mom and dad. Dad sang him a song with his ukulele and mom cried and we were just so doggone happy that you wouldn't believe it.  William weighs 5 pounds and 11 ounces now. He ate 53 ccs tonight.  Thank you everybody for the calls and comments.

William gets to come home tomorrow!!  He had to pass his car seat test which means he had to sit in his car seat for 2 hours with no complications.  He passed with flying colors and so we get to bring him home at noon tomorrow.  We are ecstatic and can't wait to have him home with us.  Here are some photos of his last evening in the NICU.  His grandparents, Aunt Sophie and cousin Deacon came to see him.   Lesley and Will The twinners! Grandma Lisa and Will Grandpa John and Will Grandparents Garrett and Will

Isaac and I left the hospital last night.  William is still there deciding if he wants to come home or not.  I think he does because he is not in his isolette anymore and is eating like a champ.  My mom and sister came and cleaned our apartment and picked up some items at the store for us.  It was soooooo nice to come home to a clean place and not have to worry about going to the store.  Families are the best!  We love Will so much and we've watched his photos in a slideshow three times this morning.  

So much has happened in the last day. So yesterday at 8:30 we went down to feed William and Grandpa Garret was there, which is awesome because that is who he is named after, and William had made a birthday card for his mommy. Here it is. Isn't that amazing. Such a crafty little boy. If you look carefully at this picture that was taken last night around 7:00 he has both a tube up his little nose and an IV in his head. Now look at this picture taken this morning at 10:00.  He is both IV and NG tube free. We had another genius nurse last night whose name was Norma. We showed up at 8:00 last night and his NG tube was gone. When we asked why they took it out she said he took it out. She said that she might have to put another tube in but he started horfing it down like a champ he did 45 ccs last night, followed by two 50cc bottles. It is almost as if he said to himself, "These people are serious about me eating so lets get this thing out of my nose and get down to business." W...

So here is the deal. William has been eating more and more every time we feed him. The problem is that the doctors want him to eat more. 40 ccs every time precisely. He just ate 30 ccs the last time we fed him. If he can eat 40 ccs every time it will give him the calories/energy to maintain his temperature and his blood sugar without any aides like the Isolette (sounds like a torture device from a victorian horror story but really is a baby incubator. I guess Isolette is an improvement on Incubator but it really isn't as bad as it sounds), or the IV. So in order to help him eat the 40 ccs the doctors decided that it would be best to give him an NG tube. Which basically goes up your nose and strait to your stomach and bypasses the middle men, aka the lips, gums, and tongue. That doesn't mean that he only eats through his nose but whenever he doesn't finish the regimented serving size he takes it up the nose. (Again not as bad as it sounds) He is the best thing that has ever ...

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I love this video of our little man.  I love our William so much and Isaac is the cutest dad.  This film was taken while Isaac burped him in the isolette.  The update on Will's health:  We need to get him off the IV so the plan is alternate breast and bottle with feedings and get him to do a full feeding with each one.  I want him to really be his father's son and pig out so he can come home.  Enjoy this video--it shows his handsome face which I think looks exactly like Isaac's.

Here are some pictures of the boy. William is doing really well. The doctor told me today that he was sure that he was going to be ok. He probably has an infection so he has to be on antibiotics for seven days but not all of those days have to be in the hospital and already one down. Enjoy the pics.