Friday, 14 October 2011
I was born! Came out at 9:01:21 a.m. I made a cry which my parents were glad to hear since it meant my lungs were strong enough to cry on my own. Weighed 2 lb. 13 oz., 14.5 inches long/tall. Mom and Dad got to take a quick look at me then I went to the NICU and got in an incubator. Was breathing on CPAP immediately after birth, but I was struggling a lot so they intubated me pretty quickly and now I’m breathing a lot easier.
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Weight 2 lb. 10 oz. Just sleeping as much as possible today - yesterday was a busy day! Still on the ventilator. Mom was able to come down in a wheelchair to visit me. This evening my billirubin levels were high (meaning I looked jaundiced) so they put me under a blue light that will help break it down. Kind of looks like I’m in a tanning bed - they even put some hip fabric sunglasses on me to protect my eyes.
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Weight 2 lb. 10 oz. Grandma and Grandpa K showed up this morning to visit. Grandma was reading me a lot of books. Mom got to change my diaper and take my temperature.
Monday, 17 October 2011
Weight 2 lb. 11 oz. They took out the venal part of my umbilical line today and put in an IV instead. It’s on my left arm, and there’s a splint that keeps me from moving my arm and hand - I don’t like this, it’s hard to grasp things now.
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Weight 2 lb. 10 oz. Dad changed my diaper this afternoon. Mommy went home from the hospital this evening after visiting me one more time. I’m still on the ventilator and with the blue light. Hopefully done with that tomorrow.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Weight 2 lb. 11 oz. Got my billirubin down, and I’m off the blue light today. They have a blanket over my incubator so I can get some rest. I opened my eyes a little bit briefly then went back to sleep. Nothing big done to me today, and I’m resting very nicely. In fact perhaps a bit too nicely - they were going to put a PICC line into me but since I seemed lethargic and took awhile to recover from an apneic episode they decided to hold off on that and took some blood to the lab. It turned out my white blood cell count was a little high so they’re running some cultures and have started me on a 48-hour course of antibiotics in the meantime. My feeding cycles are up to 4 ccs which is good - I’m doing some digesting.
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Weight 2 lb. 18.6 oz. Looked a little jaundiced so back on the blue light and got my cool sunglasses and elastic headband back on. My IV was moved from my left hand to my right foot - now there’s a splint on my foot but I’m glad to be able to use my hand to grab things again - I’ll pull that feeding tube out eventually! Also they took out the remaining arterial umbilical line - I was not too happy about this procedure and put up a fuss, which the doctor was happy to see after I had been sleepy all yesterday. I needed my oxygen upped a little bit during this procedure since I was freaking out. Dad was there to hold my hands and feet and I showed how strong I was by being able to push them away to try to get at the lines they were pulling out. It was stressful but finally they finished the procedure and I was able to rest a bit. They changed my diaper which was full of meconium (black stuff, mainly amniotic fluid) and as soon as the new one was on I pooped another batch of the same so they changed me again right away. This is a good sign for my digestion. Also I’m digesting some food - now up to 5ccs per feeding and when they went to give me my 2:30pm feeding I had less than 1 cc from the last feeding left in my stomach. Whether I just needed rest or the antibiotics are doing their job, the doctor said I’m doing a lot better today than yesterday. After all the excitement they dropped me back down to 21% oxygen and I’ve been doing okay with that. They said if I have a good night and stay stable mom and dad might be able to hold me tomorrow.
Friday, 21 October 2011
Weight 2 lb. 10.7 oz. Still under the blue light but enjoying not having my umbilical lines in any more. I was sleeping well but was still feisty when they tried to do anything to me. My diapers were getting so full and leaking all over that they moved me to the next larger diaper size, even though they look HUGE on me. Guess I’ll have to grow into them. Tonight I was able to sleep on my stomach a little bit and curled my arms around a rolled up blanket. Nurse Cathie said that will help my shoulders and hips to develop right as well.
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Weight 2 lb. 11 oz. Busy day. I’m off the blue light now and between that and having my umbilical lines out a couple days ago now I can be swaddled - and I’m very comfy with this, though I like having one arm out to put next to my face while I sleep. My IV came out today as well now that they’ve put in a PICC line - which was an ordeal as they put it in then had to X-ray me three times to get the placement right. But it’s in correctly now and it’s a central line. All that work hurt a bit so they have me on a little bit of pain medications now. Dad and Grandma K came to visit and talked to me a little bit but they didn’t want to take me out of the incubator since I was exhausted from the whole process of getting the line put in. I’m still doing well on my ventilator and will probably be back on CPAP sometime soon. And my digestion continues to improve - up to 6ml per feeding, and I’ve had a small poop after each feeding today! A little excitement tonight as I was moved from Nursery A to Nursery C, which is bigger and now I’m in the same room as Rory.
Sunday, 23 October 2011
Weight 2 lb. 11 oz. again. They upped my feedings to 8 ml per feeding and I’ve been digesting with a lot of poops - two this afternoon so that each of my parents could deal with one during a diaper change (I squirmed around and made it difficult for Mom but she somehow got a fresh diaper on me anyway). I also no longer get caffeine in my IV, they put it right into my food now. They lowered my ventilator settings another notch and I’m still breathing pretty well, although with occasional bouts of apnea (Dr. Green says I like to “ride the ventilator” - I say, why not take a break and let the machine do the work for me?). If progress continues well I might go back onto CPAP sometime soon. My parents and Grandma K came to visit today, and found me swaddled up and sleeping like a baby (get it?). Since I’ve been doing so well I was allowed to come out of the incubator and have some skin-to-skin time with Mom for about an hour - it was great, I fell right asleep (as I think Mom wanted to as well!). Mom hummed for me while I was sleeping which was a pleasant sonic change from the usual beeps and crying in the nursery (I wonder if when I go home I’ll have to have loud noise around to sleep!). Mom says now that she’s been able to see our faces Rory and I look more alike than she thought we did before. I think probably it was hard to tell when I had tape all over my face and both Rory and I had our faces covered to protect our eyes from the blue light.
Oh, and the pathology on our placentas came back and it looks like mine was starting to get an infection which is probably why Mom went into labor so early. But they can’t put all the blame on me - Dr. Green said that it looked like Rory’s placenta hadn’t been attached to a very large area of the uterus (mine was apparently taking up more of the room) so that would’ve caused us to be born pretty soon anyway.
Monday, 24 October 2011
Weight 2 lb. 11 oz. Started a blood transfusion today - since they keep taking blood out of me to test and my body’s not producing it fast enough, they need to put some more in (which apparently is common and totally normal). My blood type is A positive like my mom’s, however they won’t let her donate because she was just pregnant, and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa K all are type B negative so none of them can donate for me either. The IV’s going into my right foot which they have back in a split, which i’m not thrilled about. But I’m being good and for once not trying to pull all my tubes out. Even though I can’t be wrapped up while the transfusion’s going in, they did find a way to partially swaddle my lower body with just my right leg out so that’s at least better than nothing. I’m still doing real well breathing on the lower ventilator settings and was sleeping soundly most of today. Mom, Dad, and Grandma K all came to visit this afternoon; I briefly got the hiccups, which was the first time Grandma K had seen that and she thought it was funny.
Enjoying having the blanket over my incubator to keep it nice and dark while I sleep. Unfortunately, just as I was getting good at eating they’re stopping that for awhile - the nurse says they can’t feed me while doing the blood transfusion, and I’m getting some medicine after that to close the hole in my heart and can’t eat then either. Hopefully after that I’ll be back to eating soon, until then I’ll my nutrients will have to come though the IV lines.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Weight 3 lb.(!) - I don’t think I actually put on 5 oz. in the last 24 hours, so I suspect the nurses hadn’t been updating my board the past couple days. Nice and comfy today with my transfusion done and no phototherapy - I’m neatly swaddled and sleeping well (they have a blanket over my incubator to keep it dark for me), and doing better with my breathing although I still have a few apneic episodes. Mom, Dad, and Grandma K came by to visit in the afternoon after Mom’s doctor appointment but didn’t bother me too much since I was sleeping soundly. I did start crying at one point and Mom comforted me and calmed me down - it’ll be nice to be off the ventilator, hopefully soon if I can get my blood gases back to where they’re supposed to be, so that people can hear me when I cry instead of having to wait for someone to see my face to tell I’m crying.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
3 lb. 3 oz. Growing fine. Big news today: I’m off the ventilator and back on CPAP again, and doing great with it! It’s a little annoying that I’ll have to stay on my back for the first three days of CPAP since I liked trying some different positions (and actually slept best on my side or stomach) but I guess it’s worth finally getting that tube out that I kept pulling at.
The only times I set off my alarms this afternoon were when something was being done to me (my oxygen saturation levels briefly went a little low) but I recovered quickly after each time. They had to put in a new IV line because both of my existing ones stopped working. I didn’t like the part where they had to put the new one in. But on the plus side taking the one out of my head made it easier to put all the CPAP headgear on (to hold the tubes and to keep my mouth somewhat shut). I was crying a little bit and was hoarse because the intubation tube had gone by my vocal cords, but the nurse said this will get better the longer it’s been out. I also started a second round of indomethacin for my patent ductus arteriosus (the hole in my heart that’s supposed to close up before I was born but didn’t since I came out too early). The first round finished and narrowed the hole somewhat (it went, according to Dr. Nystrom, from “medium-large” to “medium”) but not as much as they would have liked which is why they’re doing another round. The doctor said 80% of the time the first round is enough but when it’s not they try to do another one quickly since the medication is most effective in the first 2 weeks after birth. That’ll be done in 24 hours and then hopefully I can go back on my feedings - I’m getting enough nutrients through the iv but I want to keep my digestive tract progressing and I like getting some food!
Thursday, 27 October 2011
3 lb. 3.9 oz. Still putting on a little weight even though I haven’t been eating since I was getting a transfusion then the indomethacin, neither of which I’m allowed to eat while having. Guess my i.v. is doing its job. They put my guy (present from Grandma K) in with me today and even used him to cover me up for awhile. I’m still doing great on the CPAP with few apneic episodes and it’s good to be breathing so well on my own. Mom and Grandma K came by this afternoon and Mom got to kangaroo me for awhile which was fun, only the second time I’ve been out of the incubator. I was a little fussy at first since I don’t like moving but then I just listened to her heartbeat and fell right asleep. In the evening Dad came by and the nurse offered that he could hold me, but then the respiratory therapist pointed out that I was supposed to stay on my back for 72 hours once I had been put on CPAP, which means at least until Saturday afternoon. So technically Mom wasn’t supposed to hold me earlier but I guess the nurses screwed up. Instead of holding me, Dad took my temperature and changed my diaper, and I started crying a bit but then he gave me some boundaries and I calmed down. My oxygen levels briefly went down but I brought them back up on my own. I also opened my eyes briefly but it was pretty bright in the room so I went back to sleep as soon as I got swaddled back up.
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Weight? Dad held me today. Instead of kangaroo care they just put me in his arms which was kind of cool since we could actually look at each other, at least briefly before I went to sleep. He held me for about an hour but then I started getting cranky and couldn’t get comfortable, and started crying. A pacifier helped for a bit but I was still cranky so eventually they put me back in the bed.
Monday, 31 October 2011
3 lb. 7 oz. Had several non-stress related episodes. Just a bad day? Eating 9mls? or 12? at a time and digesting most of it.
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
3 lb. 7 oz. Slept the whole time. Tried to open eyes, but CPAP allowed only one to open. Looked like Popeye. Only one episode today. Very relaxed otherwise. Eating 12 mls at a time and doing well with the digestion. Mom and Grandma K. came to visit for about an hour.
Dad came by in the evening after work and I seemed to be sleeping soundly - though opened my left eye a crack to check on what was going on - but still desat’d a couple of times. Dad held my arm and head to calm me down but then I spit up some of my food all over my face and blanket, which caused my oxygen to go even lower. Nurse Jenny came to help and suctioned some of it off but you know me, I don’t like people messing with me, so I started crying. Dad tried the pacifier but that didn’t work, I needed to let them know I was upset! Unfortunately the spit-up was all over everything so they had to change my bedding, my blankets, and even my chin strap! Dad held me up while the nurse changed out the bedding, and I was crying the whole time. Finally after I was swaddled up again I calmed down a little bit and eventually went back to sleep but it was a stressful hour or so!
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
3 lb. 6 oz. I’m still on CPAP (no backup breaths) on 21% oxygen - doing pretty well although occasionally I still forget to breathe and need a little reminder. My digestion is doing really well so they keep giving me more food. Not much else to report today.
Thursday, 3 November 2011
3 lb. 8.8 oz. Now on the lowest CPAP settings (level 4, no backup settings) and doing very well today; Dr. Green thinks I might be able to go off CPAP sometime soon and try breathing on my own. I’m getting 12 ml of milk per feeding now and digesting just about all of it, which explains why I’m growing well - coming up on four pounds soon! I still get angry pretty quickly if things aren’t going my way but everything was pretty good today so I didn’t have to throw any temper tantrums.
Friday, 4 November 2011
3 lb. 9 oz. I’m doing well. No major changes to my settings - I’m still doing well on CPAP level 4 (lowest level) with no backup breaths. Dr. Green says if I keep it up they might try taking me off CPAP this weekend. Had a long visit from Mom, Dad, and Grandma K today, and Mom got to hold me for almost 2 hours! I was pretty ornery at first (I don’t like being moved around, even if it’s a chance to get out of the incubator for awhile) and moving around a lot, though part of that was just showing off my strength - I could move my head back and forth and push my arms out of where they tried to put them. But then I settled down and slept comfortably in kangaroo care with her for a long stretch before I got feisty again, which timed out well since Mom needed to go pump anyway. They put me back in the incubator and changed my diaper which was wet with a little bit of stool too and then I felt better but was still all riled up and couldn’t get my heartrate down below 200 for awhile which freaked out Mom and Dad but finally I settled down and went back to sleep. It was a busy afternoon! Mom and Dad think I have a short temperature but I think I’m just, as Nurse Cathie puts it, “opinionated.”
Saturday, 5 November 2011
3 lb. 11 oz. Big day - I went off CPAP this morning! Grandma K and Dad stopped by in the morning on the way to take Grandma to the airport and I was still on CPAP, but by the time Mom and Dad came back later in the day I was able to surprise them by being breathing stably on just nasal flow. My oxygen percentage is back up a little to about 23-25% from the 21% I was on with the CPAP, but it’s still a big step forward since not only am I not getting any backup breaths provided, I’m not getting any puffs or pressure of air - just a steady flow. So ALL the breathing I’m doing on my own! I also showed off my neck strength again - when Nurse Cathie put me on my stomach immediately after switching to the nasal flow (apparently this makes the breathing a little bit easier) she put my head facing one way but I didn’t like it that way so lifted my whole head up and turned it to the other side! So far today I was stable on the breathing with no major episodes (my oxygen saturation dropped a little bit a couple times but I brought it back up quickly each time), and was tolerating all my feedings with little or no residuals. So all in all I’m doing great, a very successful day!
Sunday, 6 November 2011
3 lb. 9.9 oz. Was still doing well on the high-flow nasal tubing last night and this morning, with only one minor desat episode, from which I recovered quickly. And I’m up to 16 ml per feeding (still every 3 hours) now and digesting pretty well, with only about 4 ml of residual my last couple feeds. However had quite the excitement this afternoon during Mom and Dad’s visit. Dad did my temperature and changed my diaper, which caused me to throw a minor tantrum until I was wrapped back up again. Since I had been doing well Nurse Kristina said I could be held so Dad did some kangaroo care with me. I was freaking out with being unwrapped and having them move me around, but as soon as I got laid down on Dad with a couple warm blankets over me I quieted down and got clam. Then they started my 11:30 feeding. Unfortunately I got TOO calm laying on Dad’s chest - dropped my heartrate, oxygen saturation, and respiration rate all really low (got down to ~80, 40, and 10 respectively). The nurses tried to simulate me but couldn’t get me going again so they put me back in the incubator, brought out an oxygen mask that pumped in some breaths, and kept rubbing me to try to stimulate my heart and lungs again. Finally I got my stats back up again but I was so pale that both Nurse Kaia and Nurse Kristina were worried and left me unwrapped until I started to get some color back. After I finally looked better and was stable for awhile, Kristina rewrapped me up and put me on my stomach. I was still fine - until she restarted my feeding, which immediately made me drop my stats again. This time I recovered a little easier though it still took awhile, so when she restarted again they put me on the feeding pump (slow, gives the food over 30-40 minutes) instead of the usual gravity-based feed. I seemed to handle that better and remained stable so they’re going to stick with that plan for the next couple feedings. Exciting day for everyone though - I know Mom and Dad got pretty scared!
Monday, 7 November 2011
3 lb. 11 oz. Well, a minor setback but to be expected from the episodes yesterday. After a couple more bad episodes overnight they put me back on CPAP today, 23% oxygen, setting level 5. So that’s a little disappointing but is making life a lot easier - no more major breathing incidents for me since. I still occasionally have my heartrate a bit high but that’s been an ongoing thing and I’m usually able to bring it back down okay; however the nurses did note that if I could get that under control they could give me a little more caffeine which would help with the breathing, but they can’t do it now since my heartrate is often hanging around 200 already. In any case I think it’s impressive that I went a day *without* CPAP, even if I have to be back on it for awhile now while I develop some more. Good news is that I continue to digest well, with minimal residuals even as my feedings are upped. So I should continue putting on weight.
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
3lbs 13oz. today. Mom let me sleep and relax today, although I did get a little fussy when she came by. A few minutes with some boundaries and I calmed down. I threw a fit for nurse Cathie and tried to wriggle out of my CPAP cap and tubes. She had to call the RT to fix it. I don’t like those tubes! Eating 21ml at a time now, and I keep getting bigger! Later in the day when Dad came by I showed just how particular I am when Nurse Mondell tried to lower my CPAP oxygen. I had been sleeping fine with it at 23% but the moment she lowered it to 21% I woke up and started whining, and dropped my oxygen saturation down into the 50s. She put it back to 22% (see, politicians, this is how compromise is supposed to work!) and then I calmed down and brought my levels back up. I don’t like change!
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
3 lb. 14 oz. - coming up on the four pound mark! Feedings up to 25 ml every three hours, and still doing a good job handling it all. Few episodes and no serious ones today - just an easy, boring (in a good way) day of growing and developing.
Thursday, 10 November 2011
4 lb. 2 oz. - broke the four pound barrier and continuing to grow! I’m now up to 30 ml per feeding, which Nurse Racheal says is the maximum I’ll get at this weight (feedings will go up as I grow of course). I’m handling it great, with little or no residuals each feeding. Still fussy and don’t like changes - I threw a mini-cow when Dad had to change my diaper this evening - but am doing a better job not desat-ing when I get angry. I’m hoping I can go back off CPAP soon, since even though the breathing help is good, I’m tired of having all these tubes connected to my face and keep trying to pull them off. Good news: I still have an i.v., but it’s really just giving clear fluids to keep the line open in case they need to give me any more medicine - I’m now getting ALL my nutrition through feedings.
Friday, 11 November 2011
4 lb. 3.4 oz. I’m up to 35ml per feeding and feeling less cranky - Nurse Cathie thinks it’s because now I finally have enough food in my stomach to satisfy me. If so, then keep it coming! I’m digesting well too, with mostly low residuals of about 0-2 ml per time (I had one larger one this evening after being held but Cathie thinks it’s probably because I wasn’t able to vent that whole time). Mom and Grandma and Grandpa A visited today, and Mom held me for about an hour. She gave me some milk on my pacifier (which I LOVED) and that put me right to sleep; I snuggled up to her and slept the whole time with no spells. She also changed my poopy diaper and did a good job. Dad visited this evening just after Cathie put me on my stomach and sang to me for about forty minutes. I was very stable and didn’t have any apneic or bradycardia episodes.
Saturday, 12 November 2011
4 lb. 2 oz. - lost a little bit of weight but still doing okay, I think it was the big poop I took. They’re still keeping me at 35 ml per feeding but have started fortifying the milk to give it some extra calories (22 cals/oz instead of 20 which is the breastmilk alone). When Mom and Dad showed up I was sound asleep but holding my left arm up in a first straight into the air - picked up that trick from Rory! It was a calm day overall. Dad held me for a little over an hour, and sang just about the whole time, a selection of songs mostly 60s and 70s but couldn’t remember all the words to a few of them (would get a verse or two in and then get stuck). His voice was getting hoarse by the end. I slept very comfortably the whole time; had a couple of minor desats but recovered quickly from all of them. At the end I spit up a little food through my nose which hurt and got me agitated for a bit but then Nuse Cathie cleaned it out and I was okay again. Grandpa A also got some video of Dad holding me. I tried to open my eyes for the camera but could only get the left one open, and then only briefly before I fell back asleep.
Sunday, 13 November 2011
30 days old today! Weight 4 lb. 0.9 oz. - a little lower than yesterday, marking 2 straight days I’ve lost a little bit of weight, but I’m looking a little less puffy and Nurse Kaia thinks it’s probably just losing some excess fluid weight. They’re still keeping me at 35 ml per feeding, given over an hour to make it easier on my stomach, and I haven’t been spitting up so much today. They also increased the fortification of the milk to 24 cal/oz. Big news is that they removed my PICC line today since I’m getting all my nutrition via actual FEEDINGS now and thus don’t need to regularly get things intravenously. Nurse Kristina had to tape my left hand down while she took it out so I didn’t move my arm, but Dad gave my feet some boundaries and put his hand on my head which kept me calm and I was a really good trooper through the whole removal process. I started crying a little bit while they were taking the tape off my arm since that hurt but Dad held my paci in my mouth and sucking on that made me feel better and calmed me down. More importantly, today even when I was crying or having a fit I wasn’t having major desat or bradycardia episodes so that marked a big step forward for me!
No comments:
Post a Comment