Thursday, May 29, 2008
Thank You, NICU
One pro about NICU - it can teach a baby to sleep through anything. The con - that anything could be daytime!!!! We're still trying to get his days & nights straightened out. Slowly but surely we'll get there.
We'll be keeping that apnea monitor a while after all. He's still having his bradys. He had one last night that actually scared me. And those of you that know me, know I don't startle too easily. I had to pick him up and really get after him to make him breathe again - good grief!!
This poor child has got more gas than a jet propulsion laboratory. We are constantly giving him gas drops and burping him. He'll start screaming and about 10-15 seconds later (sometimes longer) you'll hear him expel his gas and then he's fine. I feel really bad for him.
Little Man is still thoroughly enjoying this situation. When Peanut cries - he still laughs. He also can become a one man show for Peanut's entertainment which is pretty funny. Although admittedly we have to keep a close eye on Little Man to make sure there aren't any "accidents."
There is a cute video I'm going to post, but for some stupid oddball reason it's not working in here...I'll just make it the next post.
Little Man loves to lay next to Peanut when he's in the floor and he LOVES to flash me his cheesy grin. I can't seem to get enough of this. What cuties.
We'll be keeping that apnea monitor a while after all. He's still having his bradys. He had one last night that actually scared me. And those of you that know me, know I don't startle too easily. I had to pick him up and really get after him to make him breathe again - good grief!!
This poor child has got more gas than a jet propulsion laboratory. We are constantly giving him gas drops and burping him. He'll start screaming and about 10-15 seconds later (sometimes longer) you'll hear him expel his gas and then he's fine. I feel really bad for him.
Little Man is still thoroughly enjoying this situation. When Peanut cries - he still laughs. He also can become a one man show for Peanut's entertainment which is pretty funny. Although admittedly we have to keep a close eye on Little Man to make sure there aren't any "accidents."
There is a cute video I'm going to post, but for some stupid oddball reason it's not working in here...I'll just make it the next post.
Little Man loves to lay next to Peanut when he's in the floor and he LOVES to flash me his cheesy grin. I can't seem to get enough of this. What cuties.
I take Peanut for his first doctor's visit this morning. It should be interesting to see how much he's gained since coming home. You know I'll keep you posted. ;)
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We took Peanut to the doctor today and he weighed 7lbs 14ozs...chunky monkey, lol. He's doing really well. She's putting him back on the zantac and prescribed a little stronger anti-gas medication. We're hoping it will help him sleep since he gets especially unhappy once he's laying flat (which makes night time not so much fun.)
Monday, May 26, 2008
Two Handsome Fellas
I don't know if anyone is still reading this but we will continue to use the blog. Especially since everyone knows it's here now.
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Dare I say it? Perhaps Peanut just needed a change in scenery to make things calm down. He hasn't had a Brady since Saturday afternoon! WOOHOO!!!!
He sleeps every bit as much as a newborn (as he should since he's only 37 weeks gestation). So here is a rare picture with his eyes open. He's so cute.
He's still doing great and eating like a champ. Little Man is hilarious...he laughs when Peanut cries and then goes, "Uh-Oh Baby." It's SO funny! He also takes pacifiers to him when he cries and that's really cute. We think he's now calling him baby brother by saying, "baby buh-buh". That would be great if he is since that would be putting two words together FINALLY!!!!
After 3 months of mayhem we think we FINALLY got Little Man straight on the usage of a spoon. Yes, this skill has come extremely late for Little Man but as you can imagine - it all resorts back to the feeding issues. We didn't want him independent enough where he would insist on doing it himself and then not eat. Now with things calming down and him being able to eat 99% of what we do, it's a whole new ball game. Here he is for the first time, eating his yogurt on his own with zero assistance. Go Little Man!
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Dare I say it? Perhaps Peanut just needed a change in scenery to make things calm down. He hasn't had a Brady since Saturday afternoon! WOOHOO!!!!
He sleeps every bit as much as a newborn (as he should since he's only 37 weeks gestation). So here is a rare picture with his eyes open. He's so cute.
He's still doing great and eating like a champ. Little Man is hilarious...he laughs when Peanut cries and then goes, "Uh-Oh Baby." It's SO funny! He also takes pacifiers to him when he cries and that's really cute. We think he's now calling him baby brother by saying, "baby buh-buh". That would be great if he is since that would be putting two words together FINALLY!!!!
After 3 months of mayhem we think we FINALLY got Little Man straight on the usage of a spoon. Yes, this skill has come extremely late for Little Man but as you can imagine - it all resorts back to the feeding issues. We didn't want him independent enough where he would insist on doing it himself and then not eat. Now with things calming down and him being able to eat 99% of what we do, it's a whole new ball game. Here he is for the first time, eating his yogurt on his own with zero assistance. Go Little Man!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
More info
Yes, Peanut is home on the apnea monitor. It's not really a big deal and thankfully for us, he doesn't set it off a lot. However, I know a couple of you have asked about it, how big it is and all sorts of stuff.
So he wears this 'nifty' contraption that is foam and goes around his chest and the two (large) plastic leads are attached with velcro. You can see the black & white wires here.
So he wears this 'nifty' contraption that is foam and goes around his chest and the two (large) plastic leads are attached with velcro. You can see the black & white wires here.
Here he is all bundled up for his first night at home with us, see the wires hanging out between his legs? LOL.
And here is the monitor. It's lightweight and has a shoulder strap so it's not a big deal.
We won't know the bare minimum of how long he'll be on it until we see his pediatrician next week. She will either make that one month or two. We've been told to expect him to have it anywhere from 2-6 months although it could be longer or shorter.
Our first mission is to teach this child the difference between night and day. That is one very bad thing about being in NICU - constant lights.
Oh well, at least he's home and he's doing so well. Little Man is taking it all in stride and has been so gentle. We'll see how long that lasts, lol.
BTW: He was 7lbs 3ozs and was 19 7/8" long when he was discharged. Right at 2 lbs in one month...NOT BAD!
Released from Captivity
YAY! Peanut is home!!! It all happened pretty quick really. We spent last night rooming in with Peanut so that we would have a better grip on the apnea monitor. Thankfully he only set it off twice. That thing is loud!
Little Man met his brother for the first time today and that went really well. He even wanted to hold him so we let him. Got lots of great pictures. You can find more in the online photo album.
Little Man met his brother for the first time today and that went really well. He even wanted to hold him so we let him. Got lots of great pictures. You can find more in the online photo album.
I'll take some pics of the apnea monitor tonight to satisfy the curiosity. We assume he'll be on this thing from anywhere from 2 to 6 months. Okay I've got the basics posted here so I'm off to cuddle with the boys. TTFN! :)
Friday, May 23, 2008
His sentence is almost over!
As of last night Peanut weighs 7lbs 1oz. We were supposed to get the results from the sleep study today and for a while we weren't sure we were going to have them. I heard the nurse practitioner on the phone (to the person with the results) saying, "If we don't get these results today this baby is going to have to stay here until Tuesday." ARGH! We can't have that!!
So we finally have the results. He is having apnea. We thought all along that he was only having bradycardia, but he's having both. Anyhow, it also shows that he is refluxing (no surprise - it just means he is going to go home on the meds he's already on). Here's the scary part to me: in six hours he had 32 desats but because his overall average oxygen was okay he doesn't need to go home on oxygen. Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly fine with not having more hardware to lug around but that seems like a lot of time without oxygen. The longest he went without the oxygen was 11 seconds - and that also is apparently not bad. Afterall, how long can you hold your breath?
So now we are tying up loose ends as one might say. They have ordered the apnea monitor because Hubby & I both have to learn how to use that. In fact if they get it up here by tonight we'll be spending the night up here with him. That's also a requirement - they want us to spend one night in their special rooming-in room (whatever they call it) to make sure we know what to do with the apnea monitor. He still needs to do his car seat challenge. That's where they stick him in the car seat for about an hour and make sure he doesn't start any funny business (that's what I call his brady's and desats). They also need to do the hearing screen.
I am SO excited and I really hope they can get that monitor here today so we can have him home tomorrow. After all, he's 4 weeks old today and on Sunday he'll be a month old. WOW! I can't believe it! It's also perfect timing since Hubby has a short work week coming up.
So we finally have the results. He is having apnea. We thought all along that he was only having bradycardia, but he's having both. Anyhow, it also shows that he is refluxing (no surprise - it just means he is going to go home on the meds he's already on). Here's the scary part to me: in six hours he had 32 desats but because his overall average oxygen was okay he doesn't need to go home on oxygen. Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly fine with not having more hardware to lug around but that seems like a lot of time without oxygen. The longest he went without the oxygen was 11 seconds - and that also is apparently not bad. Afterall, how long can you hold your breath?
So now we are tying up loose ends as one might say. They have ordered the apnea monitor because Hubby & I both have to learn how to use that. In fact if they get it up here by tonight we'll be spending the night up here with him. That's also a requirement - they want us to spend one night in their special rooming-in room (whatever they call it) to make sure we know what to do with the apnea monitor. He still needs to do his car seat challenge. That's where they stick him in the car seat for about an hour and make sure he doesn't start any funny business (that's what I call his brady's and desats). They also need to do the hearing screen.
I am SO excited and I really hope they can get that monitor here today so we can have him home tomorrow. After all, he's 4 weeks old today and on Sunday he'll be a month old. WOW! I can't believe it! It's also perfect timing since Hubby has a short work week coming up.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
It's been one month...
...since I went into labor. It's hard to believe we've been hanging around that hospital for that long now. Hopefully the end is in sight...
They did the sleep study! YAY! One step closer to coming home! It can take up to 48 hours to get the results but at least the test was done before the weekend! The sleep study is where they stick the pH probe into his esophagus so that they can find out how much acid is coming back up. The results should be interesting since he's on both Reglan & Zantac now. He's still having the brady's even on the meds so who knows where this is going. Oh wait...we know where it's going, it's going to mean taking him home with an apnea monitor & possibly oxygen at least for feeds. Oh well, at least we'll have him home! :)
Hopefully they'll get the results and he'll be able to come home this weekend. We're not getting our hopes up though. Well maybe we are.
They did the sleep study! YAY! One step closer to coming home! It can take up to 48 hours to get the results but at least the test was done before the weekend! The sleep study is where they stick the pH probe into his esophagus so that they can find out how much acid is coming back up. The results should be interesting since he's on both Reglan & Zantac now. He's still having the brady's even on the meds so who knows where this is going. Oh wait...we know where it's going, it's going to mean taking him home with an apnea monitor & possibly oxygen at least for feeds. Oh well, at least we'll have him home! :)
Hopefully they'll get the results and he'll be able to come home this weekend. We're not getting our hopes up though. Well maybe we are.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Little Cutie
I finally have pictures of Peanut without his feeding tube. I cannot believe we didn't have the camera on us yesterday.
We just made our nightly phone call and he weighs 6lbs 13ozs. The nurse said he'd gotten fussy so they put him in the swing and he was enjoying the heck out of that. I must admit, it makes me a bit sad that I wasn't there for his first ride, lol. They figure he's just bored and discontent because he's getting older. Shoot, who can blame him? He's been laying in the exact same place for almost 4 weeks...I'd be bored too!! :)
It appears the zantac is working as he went almost 24 hours without a Brady.
Really nothing else to report tonight. He was wearing the cutest cap today when I went back to see him. I have no idea where it came from but it's cute. It's red, white & blue stripes with the American flag on it (we assume for Memorial Day). When I opened his drawer today there was also the cutest little bib and booties in there. So cute. Enjoy the pics!
We just made our nightly phone call and he weighs 6lbs 13ozs. The nurse said he'd gotten fussy so they put him in the swing and he was enjoying the heck out of that. I must admit, it makes me a bit sad that I wasn't there for his first ride, lol. They figure he's just bored and discontent because he's getting older. Shoot, who can blame him? He's been laying in the exact same place for almost 4 weeks...I'd be bored too!! :)
It appears the zantac is working as he went almost 24 hours without a Brady.
Really nothing else to report tonight. He was wearing the cutest cap today when I went back to see him. I have no idea where it came from but it's cute. It's red, white & blue stripes with the American flag on it (we assume for Memorial Day). When I opened his drawer today there was also the cutest little bib and booties in there. So cute. Enjoy the pics!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Buh-Bye Feeding Tube
As of today, the feeding tube is gone! He's doing much better with the feedings and weighs 6lbs 10ozs. Next week they will be doing a special test to find out how bad his reflux is. They'll be putting a probe down into his esophagus (smaller than his feeding tube) and they will leave it there for 6-8 hours. This will let them know if he'll need to come home on any combination of apnea monitor, oxygen and/or medication. The reason for waiting is that he needs to be considered term (37 weeks) before they can do the test and send him home with these problems. They increased his reflux medication today on top of starting him on a new one.
He's spending more and more time awake which makes it that much harder to leave him every time. He's getting better with his head control and he's really looking around at everything now too. So cute!!
He's spending more and more time awake which makes it that much harder to leave him every time. He's getting better with his head control and he's really looking around at everything now too. So cute!!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
36 weeks today
That's right, even though Peanut is now 3 weeks old he's only 36 weeks gestation today. Still almost a month until his due date.
I have to say that we are both pleased at the progress he's made although we were both convinced early on that we'd have him home by now. He's doing pretty well with his bottle feeds even though it's exhausting for him. We have determined that until he grows out of the reflux he won't be having anymore breast milk though. After having very few bradys during the past 24 hours with nothing but formula he got a bottle with breast milk this afternoon. He had 2 brady's in the first 5 minutes. After that we just switched it to a bottle of formula.
Unfortunately the nurse he had today had never been his nurse before and thought we were nuts when we explained what was going on. Then when he had the first two bradys she was like, "would you mind if I try?" Even though she paced him, his heart rate dropped. She was stunned.
FANTASTIC NEWS: His echo came back normal!!! Neither of us were really concerned that it wouldn't but it still sucked to wait. Thankfully we didn't have to wait until Monday after all.
Hopefully some time next weekend they will be able to do the sleep study so that he can finally come home.
I have to say that we are both pleased at the progress he's made although we were both convinced early on that we'd have him home by now. He's doing pretty well with his bottle feeds even though it's exhausting for him. We have determined that until he grows out of the reflux he won't be having anymore breast milk though. After having very few bradys during the past 24 hours with nothing but formula he got a bottle with breast milk this afternoon. He had 2 brady's in the first 5 minutes. After that we just switched it to a bottle of formula.
Unfortunately the nurse he had today had never been his nurse before and thought we were nuts when we explained what was going on. Then when he had the first two bradys she was like, "would you mind if I try?" Even though she paced him, his heart rate dropped. She was stunned.
FANTASTIC NEWS: His echo came back normal!!! Neither of us were really concerned that it wouldn't but it still sucked to wait. Thankfully we didn't have to wait until Monday after all.
Hopefully some time next weekend they will be able to do the sleep study so that he can finally come home.
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