The diet is simple. First of all stop eating. Make sure your starting weight is 1 pound 4 ounces. Then live off of IV fluids for a month. Don’t get out of bed – if necessary defecate on yourself. After a month take 1 ounce of human breast milk every 3 hours. Continue to defecate on yourself. After 81 days if you start out at 20 ounces of body weight, you will end up at 4 pounds. I know the diet works because that is what happened to my son. He is now 4 pounds and celebrated by defecating on himself. If my calculations are correct (I’m an accountant – so they are correct), that’s doubling his body weight in a month. For those of you who know my parents, they left the country for part of last month. If any of you remember the day that they returned, that was the day Jordan hit 2 pounds. We thought he was so big.
It was a red letter day yesterday. Normally at 4 pounds, this NICU takes babies out of the isolette and puts them into cribs. However, Jordan’s doctor believes in letting babies stay in the isolette until they take all of their feeds by bottle. It’s quiet and darker in there which she believes helps growth. I can't argue with her reasoning. If there is one thing this doctor knows, it’s how to fatten Jordan up. He is big enough that they keep his isolette at 82 degrees – 3 degrees cooler than I keep my house, about 10 degrees colder than the high temperature outside yesterday, and a full 20 degrees colder than my younger sister keeps her house.
His ROP has remained unchanged yesterday. He had an appointment with the physical therapist, but no one knows how he did. The therapist apparently writes poorly (Who handwrites in 2007?), and only told the doctor the results. I don’t need to bother the doctor to know how he is though. Yesterday we put him on his back in one of his snugglies. There’s a picture of him in a snugglie below on Sept 7th and he is outgrowing it. Anyway, we put him in a bigger one on his back. He starts flailing and kicking and fussing. We get the point and turn him on his belly. He starts kicking harder and fussing more. Then he turns his head over, kicks his legs out of the snugglie, and stretches his arms straight out to the side. Then he goes to sleep. I think his muscles work fine.
Back when we got on the roller coaster, the mama Ali would see other mamas and get a little jealous. They would come in and take their babies out and tend to the babies. We had to ask permission to touch his feet – and get told no half the time. Now, the situation has reversed. We went in yesterday and picked up the baby and tended to the baby on our own. Except for getting the bottle, we didn’t need the nurse at all. We held him, we fed him, we decided when to put him back, we put him back, we made his bed, we cleaned up after he defecated on himself. Tonight we will do it again. We’ll do it every night for the next month, then he’ll probably be big enough to stand up and defecate on himself.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
OK, now my kid sucks too much.
First up is the breathing. He has pretty much stopped swinging as much as before. When he eats and stools he needs a little extra oxygen, but otherwise he’s fine at the current level, so they turned him down from 3 liters an hour down to 2. He has been on it for a good 12 hours by now, so we know he can handle it at least in the short term. Other than that, the breathing is fine.
Jordan actually feeds too well right now. He sucks, and sucks, and sucks, and swallows, and sucks, and so on. If you notice the pattern, he sucks really well, and swallows good too.
Sometimes he sucks so much, he doesn’t breathe. He doesn’t totally stop, but we actually have to pull the bottle out and let him catch his breath. They even have to give him a special nipple. The preemie nipple would give him so much milk, he would keep sucking until the milk when down the wrong tube. They have to give him a low flow nipple, but they only have it for regular infant size. There aren’t a whole lot of kids under 4 pounds who suck too much. He is so vigorous that they have already upped him to 2 bottles per day.
I met my new favorite nurse last night. Generally speaking, the doctors say the treatment will be X, and the nurses do X until the orders change. Last night the nurse decided to go above and beyond the call of duty. Jordan’s feeds are at 33ml. He gets 2 bottles per day and the other 6 are through the tube. If you had a toddler who was eating broccoli and the kid wanted seconds, do you deny him more broccoli? Well last night, the nurse put 50 ml in the bottle just to see when he would stop. He made it up to 38ml! His fourth bottle ever and he can get up to 38ml. He isn’t yet 4 pounds and he’s up to 1.25 ounces per feed. If not for that thing he did to his mother, he would have gained another couple of ounces yesterday.
This is a family blog, so I won’t go into too much detail. However, I will say this about diapers (Stop reading if you don’t like reading about poop). When you are a regular person, you see bowel movements on a regular basis – as a noun. When you’re the parent of an infant, you see bowel movements on a regular basis – as a verb. And I do mean SEE it as it happens. Also, when you’re a parent of an infant you use words like poop and bowel movements. Those of you who know me have never heard me use the term bowel movement before July 9th.
Jordan actually feeds too well right now. He sucks, and sucks, and sucks, and swallows, and sucks, and so on. If you notice the pattern, he sucks really well, and swallows good too.
Sometimes he sucks so much, he doesn’t breathe. He doesn’t totally stop, but we actually have to pull the bottle out and let him catch his breath. They even have to give him a special nipple. The preemie nipple would give him so much milk, he would keep sucking until the milk when down the wrong tube. They have to give him a low flow nipple, but they only have it for regular infant size. There aren’t a whole lot of kids under 4 pounds who suck too much. He is so vigorous that they have already upped him to 2 bottles per day.
I met my new favorite nurse last night. Generally speaking, the doctors say the treatment will be X, and the nurses do X until the orders change. Last night the nurse decided to go above and beyond the call of duty. Jordan’s feeds are at 33ml. He gets 2 bottles per day and the other 6 are through the tube. If you had a toddler who was eating broccoli and the kid wanted seconds, do you deny him more broccoli? Well last night, the nurse put 50 ml in the bottle just to see when he would stop. He made it up to 38ml! His fourth bottle ever and he can get up to 38ml. He isn’t yet 4 pounds and he’s up to 1.25 ounces per feed. If not for that thing he did to his mother, he would have gained another couple of ounces yesterday.
This is a family blog, so I won’t go into too much detail. However, I will say this about diapers (Stop reading if you don’t like reading about poop). When you are a regular person, you see bowel movements on a regular basis – as a noun. When you’re the parent of an infant, you see bowel movements on a regular basis – as a verb. And I do mean SEE it as it happens. Also, when you’re a parent of an infant you use words like poop and bowel movements. Those of you who know me have never heard me use the term bowel movement before July 9th.
Monday, September 24, 2007
There are no words
This has been such a trying time, something I could have never imagined / and never thought of. To me the worst would have been trying to get pregnant and not succeding or having a miscarriage. And then my whole life changed on June 29. And so many things happened. I saw strength and support in so many, I felt love from so many. Love and support that has not stopped that I have been amazed/ truly amazed. I have faith and I always have. I used to go to church and have not in a long time, but I still have faith that Someone is watching over me and guiding my life. I had no idea that I would be a micro preemie mom or have a baby in the NICU that I didn't hold until he was a month old, and until recently still felt odd having to ask the nurses if I could hold him and more often than not was told "no, today isn't a good day". Can you imagine? I know some of you can and for all of the above... There are no words, to say how much you all mean to me. Starting with Big Ali, he has shown courage and compassion that still carries us through the good and bad days, my parents showed me and are showing me still what being a parent really means. My other family, friends, blog friends, NICU parents and people who pray for us that we don't even know (can you imagine that). There are no words that fully say how much I thank you all for everything you have done, said and prayed. My family is so blessed and my son is a mircale that I could have never imagened.
Big Ali has said, we now look a few days in the future and we do, but I am still afraid of the roller coaster. Because we are still on the ride. We could go down at any time and that really scares me. But, we have had such a great last 2 weeks that I am happy and I try to stay prayed up and live in this happy moment. BTW, we just learned that he has done two of his personal best things today. We feed him his bottle, for our first time and he took the whole thing, 33ml or more than one ounce. AND... he now weighs 1725 grams, 3 pounds 13 ounces. We are so happy.
So this now ends my first blog entry, and I may do more so thanks to all that voted and thanks to all that read Jordan's Journey. I hope that what Big Ali has done with this will be an inspiration to other micro preemie parents like the ones we have met on their blogs and our fellow NICU parents from our hospital.
There just are no words...
Big Ali has said, we now look a few days in the future and we do, but I am still afraid of the roller coaster. Because we are still on the ride. We could go down at any time and that really scares me. But, we have had such a great last 2 weeks that I am happy and I try to stay prayed up and live in this happy moment. BTW, we just learned that he has done two of his personal best things today. We feed him his bottle, for our first time and he took the whole thing, 33ml or more than one ounce. AND... he now weighs 1725 grams, 3 pounds 13 ounces. We are so happy.
So this now ends my first blog entry, and I may do more so thanks to all that voted and thanks to all that read Jordan's Journey. I hope that what Big Ali has done with this will be an inspiration to other micro preemie parents like the ones we have met on their blogs and our fellow NICU parents from our hospital.
There just are no words...
Bottling Baby Boy
I guess I need to start off by explaining the whole ROP thing. As mentioned he currently has level 2. Level 5 is the worst level – irreversible blindness. Right now he has bad vision – even worse than regular newborns. It’s likely that when he looks at people he only sees silhouettes. However, they won’t do anything about it right now. Frequently, level 2 fixes itself, but if it doesn’t then there is the option of glasses or laser surgery. Right now, they will do nothing. If it starts to get worse, then they will treat.
The registries are now up and running! We have registered at Target under the mother’s and baby’s names. We have also registered at Babies R Us with the mother’s name, but used Jordan Joseph as the baby’s name. Anyone who is unable to visit either store in person my visit the websites and make purchases online. His due date is Nov 3rd which is only 6 weeks away. Obviously we don’t know yet when he is coming home, but it could be a little early, or it could be really late. It depends on how he progresses on his stuff. No one is required to get him anything, but I do have one request. Don’t get him something from the registry and call it a combination Birthday and Christmas gift. If you can only get him one gift, that’s fine. No kid in history appreciates a gift that’s both birthday and Christmas – they just think that they were robbed of a gift.
Jordan really sucks now. In fact, they fed him his first bottle over the weekend. There are 30 ml in a fluid ounce – a full feed for him. He took 17 ml yesterday. That’s most of the bottle. Then he started getting tired. He is still working on coordinating the sucking, breathing, and swallowing all at once. He needs to be able to take the entire bottle, and then do it 7 more times a day. And then do it for several days. On top of that, as he grows they put more stuff in the bottle. I know all of you are asking how long that will take – it depends. Some kids take to it very easily. Any of you who have been checking the blogs on the left know that some kids never get there and get sent home with special equipment. Jordan is at the beginning of a long road that will take more than a month for him to finish, but he will let us know when he is ready.
Do you ever watch Deal or No Deal? It’s a game show on TV where they fly you to LA for an all expense paid 2 day vacation and they put you on a game show where you are guaranteed to win money. The thing is you win anywhere from a penny to a million dollars. I find it funny when the people who win the penny act as if they lost the game. I would love to have someone pay me a penny to take a 2 day all expense paid vacation in LA. It’s all about relativity. Yes you did win a penny, but you COULD have won a million dollars. I felt like that this weekend. Jordan drank from a bottle for the first time. He did drink half a bottle – which was great for his first attempt. However, he COULD have finished the whole thing off. He gained an ounce over the weekend, but he COULD have gained 3 or 4 ounces. I am so very proud of how far he has come since birth, and how well he has done this month, but I don’t win my million until I drive him home. My heart says they need to hurry up and feed him more, but my mind says slow down and appreciate the full nights sleep as long as I can.
The registries are now up and running! We have registered at Target under the mother’s and baby’s names. We have also registered at Babies R Us with the mother’s name, but used Jordan Joseph as the baby’s name. Anyone who is unable to visit either store in person my visit the websites and make purchases online. His due date is Nov 3rd which is only 6 weeks away. Obviously we don’t know yet when he is coming home, but it could be a little early, or it could be really late. It depends on how he progresses on his stuff. No one is required to get him anything, but I do have one request. Don’t get him something from the registry and call it a combination Birthday and Christmas gift. If you can only get him one gift, that’s fine. No kid in history appreciates a gift that’s both birthday and Christmas – they just think that they were robbed of a gift.
Jordan really sucks now. In fact, they fed him his first bottle over the weekend. There are 30 ml in a fluid ounce – a full feed for him. He took 17 ml yesterday. That’s most of the bottle. Then he started getting tired. He is still working on coordinating the sucking, breathing, and swallowing all at once. He needs to be able to take the entire bottle, and then do it 7 more times a day. And then do it for several days. On top of that, as he grows they put more stuff in the bottle. I know all of you are asking how long that will take – it depends. Some kids take to it very easily. Any of you who have been checking the blogs on the left know that some kids never get there and get sent home with special equipment. Jordan is at the beginning of a long road that will take more than a month for him to finish, but he will let us know when he is ready.
Do you ever watch Deal or No Deal? It’s a game show on TV where they fly you to LA for an all expense paid 2 day vacation and they put you on a game show where you are guaranteed to win money. The thing is you win anywhere from a penny to a million dollars. I find it funny when the people who win the penny act as if they lost the game. I would love to have someone pay me a penny to take a 2 day all expense paid vacation in LA. It’s all about relativity. Yes you did win a penny, but you COULD have won a million dollars. I felt like that this weekend. Jordan drank from a bottle for the first time. He did drink half a bottle – which was great for his first attempt. However, he COULD have finished the whole thing off. He gained an ounce over the weekend, but he COULD have gained 3 or 4 ounces. I am so very proud of how far he has come since birth, and how well he has done this month, but I don’t win my million until I drive him home. My heart says they need to hurry up and feed him more, but my mind says slow down and appreciate the full nights sleep as long as I can.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Doctor's Orders
What a great couple of days. We have had a good week. First of all, he’s up to 3 lbs 7 oz! Also, he’s starting to become my kid. A couple of days ago, I was changing the diaper and the nurse asked if I wanted to hold him. I said yes, but I didn’t move. Then I grabbed the sensors and wires and stuff, and I picked him up. That was the first time the nurses ever let one of us do that. In the past, picking him up was done by the nurses who then handed him to one of us. Now, as long as I have the nurses permission, I get to pick him up and hold him as I wish! In a few weeks, I won’t even have to ask permission.
There are two types of nurses taking care of Jordan. The first type says ‘Jordan is doing well today, why don’t you hold him?’. The other type of nurse says “Jordan is doing well today, let’s not hold him and risk changing that.’. You know which one I prefer. Anyway, the doctor settled the matter, and we didn’t even ask. The doctor wrote an order than Jordan is to have kangaroo care every day that mom & dad come. She believes that he is big enough that the benefits outweigh any risks at this point. There is even a sign up in his room in case of a disagreement. Gone are the days when the highlight of my week is changing a dirty diaper.
Jordan still has stage 2 ROP, which means it isn’t changing – no worse, no better. He is on less oxygen, so I hope the worst risk has passed. He has also stopped swinging on the oxygen. He can go half a day or more now without desatting or setting off alarms. In fact, we left the hospital at 8 last night when the nurse weighed him. We called at 11 and she hadn’t checked on him since other than to change feeding. No alarms or anything! He also had a meeting this week with two therapists. They asked him to tell them about his childhood. Then, they checked his muscles and reflexes to see how he was doing physically. Just as with everything else, he is a preemie, but normal for a preemie. His trunk is a little weak because he spent so little time in the fetal position, but his back is unusually strong from all of the beatings I give him with the hammer. Just kidding about the back, but he’s fine for when he was born.
Finally, there’s the clothing. We dress him up now. The preemie clothes say that they are for babies up to 5 pounds. He is swimming in them. Rather than take off the cannula to pull on a shirt, we can fit his entire trunk through the hole for the head. I’d get something for his right size online, but how do you shop for clothes for someone who has gained 15% of his body weight since Sunday? He’ll out grow the stuff he has now by the end of October.
There are two types of nurses taking care of Jordan. The first type says ‘Jordan is doing well today, why don’t you hold him?’. The other type of nurse says “Jordan is doing well today, let’s not hold him and risk changing that.’. You know which one I prefer. Anyway, the doctor settled the matter, and we didn’t even ask. The doctor wrote an order than Jordan is to have kangaroo care every day that mom & dad come. She believes that he is big enough that the benefits outweigh any risks at this point. There is even a sign up in his room in case of a disagreement. Gone are the days when the highlight of my week is changing a dirty diaper.
Jordan still has stage 2 ROP, which means it isn’t changing – no worse, no better. He is on less oxygen, so I hope the worst risk has passed. He has also stopped swinging on the oxygen. He can go half a day or more now without desatting or setting off alarms. In fact, we left the hospital at 8 last night when the nurse weighed him. We called at 11 and she hadn’t checked on him since other than to change feeding. No alarms or anything! He also had a meeting this week with two therapists. They asked him to tell them about his childhood. Then, they checked his muscles and reflexes to see how he was doing physically. Just as with everything else, he is a preemie, but normal for a preemie. His trunk is a little weak because he spent so little time in the fetal position, but his back is unusually strong from all of the beatings I give him with the hammer. Just kidding about the back, but he’s fine for when he was born.
Finally, there’s the clothing. We dress him up now. The preemie clothes say that they are for babies up to 5 pounds. He is swimming in them. Rather than take off the cannula to pull on a shirt, we can fit his entire trunk through the hole for the head. I’d get something for his right size online, but how do you shop for clothes for someone who has gained 15% of his body weight since Sunday? He’ll out grow the stuff he has now by the end of October.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Birthday Suit
Two nights ago Jordan did something that he has never done before. He went from 1399 grams to 1498 – in one night. He gained 7% of his body weight in a 24 hour period. His mother and I were sure that there were a bunch of reasons for this. He could have gained water weight if he hadn’t used the diapers enough, it could have been a broken scale which sometimes does happen. However, the nurses were busy enough taking care of 4 babies at once (!). We knew he would be weighed again last night and if the scale was broken, it wouldn’t be the same scale. Well, last night he was 1498 grams again. He is now 3 pounds 4.8 ounces – more than 3 ounces heavier than Sunday night. He won’t do that frequently so don’t get your hopes up, but he has never gained that much that fast before so we are real happy.
Of course, the mama Ali is a bit happier than I am. It turns out that when you reach (or approach) 1500 grams in this NICU, they remove a sensor. When Jordan was real little, he couldn’t maintain his body weight. As he gets bigger, he needs less help from the heater. Now, he is big enough that they remove his temp sensor. They will still manually take his temp every 3 hours (in the armpit). However, he is now large enough to start wearing clothes. I wish I had a camera that could have accurately recorded her smile when she heard that. I actually don’t know if she will want to kangaroo him or dress him up in his outfits tonight. I got to kangaroo yesterday, so she gets to choose today. There will still be a few pictures of him nekkid in the future, but something tells me there won’t be many.
There is only one and a half months until his due date so let me just review the things he needs to accomplish:
1. Maintain his body temp – will come automatically with weight gain.
2. Steadily gaining weight – 67% increase in 3 weeks
3. Take all feeds by bottle – still too immature for feeding, but will make an attempt by the end of the month.
4. No bradys for 5 days before discharge – Has stopped swinging as much and has been better with desatting. The clock for bradys won’t start for a while though.
5. Little or no oxygen support – He gets 3 liters of oxygen every hour. As his lungs grow and mature that will go down. Right now, they are a too small to work properly and he has CLD.
6. Mom and Dad need to take classes – We will be taking CPR soon and the doctor will let us know what other classes to take next month.
7. Pass car seat test – Will be given during his last few days.
Still not yet done but I’d say we’ve made good progress for beginning his 33rd week of gestation. Finally, please answer the poll on the left. Will only last through the 25th.
Of course, the mama Ali is a bit happier than I am. It turns out that when you reach (or approach) 1500 grams in this NICU, they remove a sensor. When Jordan was real little, he couldn’t maintain his body weight. As he gets bigger, he needs less help from the heater. Now, he is big enough that they remove his temp sensor. They will still manually take his temp every 3 hours (in the armpit). However, he is now large enough to start wearing clothes. I wish I had a camera that could have accurately recorded her smile when she heard that. I actually don’t know if she will want to kangaroo him or dress him up in his outfits tonight. I got to kangaroo yesterday, so she gets to choose today. There will still be a few pictures of him nekkid in the future, but something tells me there won’t be many.
There is only one and a half months until his due date so let me just review the things he needs to accomplish:
1. Maintain his body temp – will come automatically with weight gain.
2. Steadily gaining weight – 67% increase in 3 weeks
3. Take all feeds by bottle – still too immature for feeding, but will make an attempt by the end of the month.
4. No bradys for 5 days before discharge – Has stopped swinging as much and has been better with desatting. The clock for bradys won’t start for a while though.
5. Little or no oxygen support – He gets 3 liters of oxygen every hour. As his lungs grow and mature that will go down. Right now, they are a too small to work properly and he has CLD.
6. Mom and Dad need to take classes – We will be taking CPR soon and the doctor will let us know what other classes to take next month.
7. Pass car seat test – Will be given during his last few days.
Still not yet done but I’d say we’ve made good progress for beginning his 33rd week of gestation. Finally, please answer the poll on the left. Will only last through the 25th.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Milestones
This has been a weekend full of milestones. Nothing major, but a bunch of little things that combined make this a great weekend. First of all, as you can see below, last weekend he was on the vent. Since then he has gone to the CPAP, and then the high flow cannula. Since being put on the cannula, they have turned the flow down twice. They would have turned it down more, but that brings us to the next milestone. Jordan got his round of 2 month vaccinations this weekend. Before anyone asks, I don’t know what his schedule for vaccines will be, and I don’t know the schedule for normal kids either so I can’t compare. It is one of those things I intended to read about during the 3rd trimester. Anyway, they tired him out a little bit, but not the exhaustion from last weekend. He was just a little less active after the shots than he was before the shots. In fact, he spent most of Sunday working on the next milestone.
Jordan sucks! In fact, my kids sucks better than your kid! He had been working on his thumb all week, but now he has advanced. Of course, he works with his mini pacifier and will work on that for a few minutes, but he does something else even cuter. As mentioned before, he loves to put himself in his own positions. On of the positions he likes is to fold one of his arms under his head and use it as both a pillow and a pacifier. As can be seen below, he has worn his first clothes this weekend too! My mom made him a hat, and he should be able to grow with it for a good month or so. She made an earlier hat, but by the time he was off of the CPAP, it no longer fit him. She made a cover for the isolette that we won’t use. Unless it has his name on it, they can’t promise that we will get it back in the end. We’ll use it as a blanket when we get home.
Any of you who know me personally, will be proud of the next milestone. This weekend, I spent 3 hours walking around the store working on the baby registry! That’s right, I spent 3 hours shopping! I think it is the biggest sacrifice I have ever made for Jordan. On top of that, we are also going to register at another store within a couple of weeks. That will mean shopping twice in a month. I haven’t done that since my parents were paying for my back to school clothes.
Of course, the registry intentionally doesn’t have any clothes on it. There are 3 reasons for that. First of all, half the clothes in the store are seasonal type things, it is a national chain, and I have heard rumors that outside Florida that summer ends before Halloween. Here in Florida, I walk my dogs on Halloween in shorts and a tank top. Second, any of the Ross’ reading this know how certain uncles have soured us on the idea of receiving clothes as a gift. On the Ross side of the family, we see receiving socks as an unintended punishment – may he rest in peace. Finally, he’s just growing too darn fast! He is now 1399 grams – 3 pounds 1 ounce! 3 POUNDS! He gained a pound in 3 weeks. The books say that he starts growing faster after 3 pounds. He is only 100 grams from being allowed to wear clothes!
Jordan sucks! In fact, my kids sucks better than your kid! He had been working on his thumb all week, but now he has advanced. Of course, he works with his mini pacifier and will work on that for a few minutes, but he does something else even cuter. As mentioned before, he loves to put himself in his own positions. On of the positions he likes is to fold one of his arms under his head and use it as both a pillow and a pacifier. As can be seen below, he has worn his first clothes this weekend too! My mom made him a hat, and he should be able to grow with it for a good month or so. She made an earlier hat, but by the time he was off of the CPAP, it no longer fit him. She made a cover for the isolette that we won’t use. Unless it has his name on it, they can’t promise that we will get it back in the end. We’ll use it as a blanket when we get home.
Any of you who know me personally, will be proud of the next milestone. This weekend, I spent 3 hours walking around the store working on the baby registry! That’s right, I spent 3 hours shopping! I think it is the biggest sacrifice I have ever made for Jordan. On top of that, we are also going to register at another store within a couple of weeks. That will mean shopping twice in a month. I haven’t done that since my parents were paying for my back to school clothes.
Of course, the registry intentionally doesn’t have any clothes on it. There are 3 reasons for that. First of all, half the clothes in the store are seasonal type things, it is a national chain, and I have heard rumors that outside Florida that summer ends before Halloween. Here in Florida, I walk my dogs on Halloween in shorts and a tank top. Second, any of the Ross’ reading this know how certain uncles have soured us on the idea of receiving clothes as a gift. On the Ross side of the family, we see receiving socks as an unintended punishment – may he rest in peace. Finally, he’s just growing too darn fast! He is now 1399 grams – 3 pounds 1 ounce! 3 POUNDS! He gained a pound in 3 weeks. The books say that he starts growing faster after 3 pounds. He is only 100 grams from being allowed to wear clothes!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
This Week in Pictures
As you can see, Jordan is wearing his first clothes. Thanks to my Mom for making this hat herself.
I didn't know the she took this picture until 3 days later!
Hello, my name is Jordan. Who are you?
He is really starting to look like a big kid.
This isn't his first bath. It is neither a real bath, or his first time. However, it was the first time we got to do it.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Flip Flopping
After 7 days off Jordan is back at work – sleeping, breathing, and eating. They took him off of the vent yesterday and he lasted the entire night. They also have him eating nearly an ounce of formula over 2 hours. He isn’t on the IV fluids anymore, but when he had that bad day last week, they started him on antibiotics. His cultures didn’t show anything, but the proper dose of the medicine is 7 days, so they’ll finish out the week. Besides, have you ever seen a doctor who didn’t believe antibiotics were the solution to every problem? Once he is done with that, they’ll take the last needle out of his arm. He has also stopped swinging as much. He still has ranges, but not so big and not so sensitive. I spent 90 minutes with him yesterday and only desatted once, he usually does much more. He is up to 1287 grams – 2 pound 13.5 ounces! The nurses say that babies usually start gaining weight even faster after they hit about 3 and a half pounds. I am surrounded by larger babies every day in the hospital, but I have trouble seeing Jordan bigger. I know he will get bigger, but he is already so much bigger than he was. I don’t compare him to the other kids, I compare him to the little baby that I met on July 10th.
Jordan has started a little game that his parents call ‘flip-flop’. Jordan calls it ‘You can kiss my skinny little butt! We’re going to do thing my way or I will kill myself trying!’. I prefer our name better. When he was first put on his belly, it was pretty simple. He would be wrapped up in his swaddle, on his belly, in the fetal position with his legs and arms tucked underneath him. Now, he prefers to literally lie on his belly. He will kick his legs straight out behind him and will push hard enough to either move himself up or the swaddle back. Look at the picture from last weekend and you can see what I mean even though he is on his back. He made it clear in August that short of handcuffs – he will decide the proper position for his arms and it will either be at his sides or in front of his face. Yesterday he did a flip flop. When we arrived he was fidgety and moving around a lot. The nurse turned his head from the left to the right. The nurse turned around to write some numbers down on her chart. Jordan said, “Chick, you must have lost your cotton pickin mind!”. Then he turned his head back to the left. I know that full term babies can do this after 2 months, but his due date isn’t for 8 weeks! I nearly jumped up, the nurse had seen him do it before, and the mama Ali thought it was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen. I know it wasn’t a fluke because on 2 other occasions he lifted his head onto his face, could have turned back to the right, but did not. When he lies down on his belly now, he decides where the legs go, he decides where the arms go, and he decides where the head goes. If you don’t like it you can kiss his skinny little butt!
Jordan has started a little game that his parents call ‘flip-flop’. Jordan calls it ‘You can kiss my skinny little butt! We’re going to do thing my way or I will kill myself trying!’. I prefer our name better. When he was first put on his belly, it was pretty simple. He would be wrapped up in his swaddle, on his belly, in the fetal position with his legs and arms tucked underneath him. Now, he prefers to literally lie on his belly. He will kick his legs straight out behind him and will push hard enough to either move himself up or the swaddle back. Look at the picture from last weekend and you can see what I mean even though he is on his back. He made it clear in August that short of handcuffs – he will decide the proper position for his arms and it will either be at his sides or in front of his face. Yesterday he did a flip flop. When we arrived he was fidgety and moving around a lot. The nurse turned his head from the left to the right. The nurse turned around to write some numbers down on her chart. Jordan said, “Chick, you must have lost your cotton pickin mind!”. Then he turned his head back to the left. I know that full term babies can do this after 2 months, but his due date isn’t for 8 weeks! I nearly jumped up, the nurse had seen him do it before, and the mama Ali thought it was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen. I know it wasn’t a fluke because on 2 other occasions he lifted his head onto his face, could have turned back to the right, but did not. When he lies down on his belly now, he decides where the legs go, he decides where the arms go, and he decides where the head goes. If you don’t like it you can kiss his skinny little butt!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Come here Jordan, it's time for your 5 O'clock beating!
About a month ago I mentioned that Jordan had a vibrator in order to loosen up phlegm and mucous in his chest. He has now moved up to a small mallet. The thing weighs less than 2 ounces and the head is shaped like a hollowed out Hershey’s kiss, but made out of a soft plastic. It makes a louder sound when he is hit with it than you would think, and the nurses say that the babies enjoy it. I can’t talk about Jordan, but I certainly find it fun. After 63 days (two months last Sunday!) I can finally so something in the darn NICU where I don’t have to treat the boy like he’s made out of an eggshell. He’s two pounds eleven ounces – time for him to man up! I can’t wait to whoop his butt again tonight.
He has been doing well on the vent. In fact he is breathing the minimum level of oxygen, the vent has been turned down pretty low, and he is solidly breathing over it. It’s set at 22 breaths per minute, but he is doing about 40. He isn’t even desatting anymore. I am positive he will start swinging again once he comes off, which should be anytime now. His feedings are slowly working back up to where it was a week ago, but he isn’t there yet. Digestion actually burns calories, so they are slowly working up on the foods and down on the I.V. fluids. He gets about 18 milliliters every three hours, so he is already eating more than one of his aunts!
On a personal note, you all know what today is. Make sure that you all take a few minutes to reflect in a fashion that you are comfortable with.
He has been doing well on the vent. In fact he is breathing the minimum level of oxygen, the vent has been turned down pretty low, and he is solidly breathing over it. It’s set at 22 breaths per minute, but he is doing about 40. He isn’t even desatting anymore. I am positive he will start swinging again once he comes off, which should be anytime now. His feedings are slowly working back up to where it was a week ago, but he isn’t there yet. Digestion actually burns calories, so they are slowly working up on the foods and down on the I.V. fluids. He gets about 18 milliliters every three hours, so he is already eating more than one of his aunts!
On a personal note, you all know what today is. Make sure that you all take a few minutes to reflect in a fashion that you are comfortable with.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, then it was the best of times, and then ended up the worst of times again.
So we wake up Sat morning with great news from the nurse. Jordan decided that he'd had enough of the vent, so he pulled it out. He did pretty well last night, so they decided to just go ahead and put him back on the CPAP. It was a very good day.
When we arrive at the hospital, he is back on the vent. It turns out that his airways are a little swollen from being on the vent. The tube caused irritation which made his airways smaller and made it harder for him to breathe. The doctors can fix it, but they are talking about doses of medicine that take days, not hours. It's looking like he is going to be on the vent beyond the weekend, even though his lungs are halfway strong enough to come off. Also, we bought a book back in July on preemies. It list everything that can go wrong and all of the most common problems. The book is designed so that when the doctors say your baby his problem X, you can look up problem X as well as causes, long term outcomes, solutions and stuff like that. Today they mention in passing that the vent problems are going to be aggravated by his chronic lung disease, or CLD. No one has ever explicitly told us he had this problem, though the book mentioned it is likely for kids like Jordan. They have been treating a disease I didn't know he had. This is a really bad day.
Then we ask the doctor a question about what will happen when he comes home with CLD. Every time in the past when I ask a question about the future I either get told how little Jordan is or how young he is. Today, I got an actual answer! That means that even the doctors are starting to look past next week - at least when they talk to us. It isn't a big deal except that it has never happened before! Then we find out the results of the cardio from the test that put the kid on the vent in the first place. It turns out that the PDA is officially closed. Not mostly closed or 99% closed - it is totally closed. The doctor said that barring complications from an infection or medicine for an infection, it will stay closed. Then Jordan woke up. He didn't just open his eyes - something he rarely does. He actually woke up. He opened his eyes and looked at us. First mom, then me. He usually lasts semi awake just long enough to make us get the camera and then fall back asleep. Tonight he was totally alert for a full 30 minutes! I will post stills on the blog later this week. He didn't really do much in terms of interacting, but he saw us and we saw him. Looking at a sleeping baby is fun and all, but an awake baby is even better. Today was a great day!
Then the nurse turns him over as she has to do every few hours. He desatted pretty bad and his heart rate drops in half - a.k.a. "Brady". The nurse had to call over 2 other nurses to try and revive him. One of them has to manually pump oxygen into the tube leading into his lungs. It takes 3 NICU nurses over 5 minutes to stabilize him enough so that the vent can take over the breathing. Anyone who has ever needed 3 nurses to revive their 2 month old son can tell you that they are having a bad day.
When we arrive at the hospital, he is back on the vent. It turns out that his airways are a little swollen from being on the vent. The tube caused irritation which made his airways smaller and made it harder for him to breathe. The doctors can fix it, but they are talking about doses of medicine that take days, not hours. It's looking like he is going to be on the vent beyond the weekend, even though his lungs are halfway strong enough to come off. Also, we bought a book back in July on preemies. It list everything that can go wrong and all of the most common problems. The book is designed so that when the doctors say your baby his problem X, you can look up problem X as well as causes, long term outcomes, solutions and stuff like that. Today they mention in passing that the vent problems are going to be aggravated by his chronic lung disease, or CLD. No one has ever explicitly told us he had this problem, though the book mentioned it is likely for kids like Jordan. They have been treating a disease I didn't know he had. This is a really bad day.
Then we ask the doctor a question about what will happen when he comes home with CLD. Every time in the past when I ask a question about the future I either get told how little Jordan is or how young he is. Today, I got an actual answer! That means that even the doctors are starting to look past next week - at least when they talk to us. It isn't a big deal except that it has never happened before! Then we find out the results of the cardio from the test that put the kid on the vent in the first place. It turns out that the PDA is officially closed. Not mostly closed or 99% closed - it is totally closed. The doctor said that barring complications from an infection or medicine for an infection, it will stay closed. Then Jordan woke up. He didn't just open his eyes - something he rarely does. He actually woke up. He opened his eyes and looked at us. First mom, then me. He usually lasts semi awake just long enough to make us get the camera and then fall back asleep. Tonight he was totally alert for a full 30 minutes! I will post stills on the blog later this week. He didn't really do much in terms of interacting, but he saw us and we saw him. Looking at a sleeping baby is fun and all, but an awake baby is even better. Today was a great day!
Then the nurse turns him over as she has to do every few hours. He desatted pretty bad and his heart rate drops in half - a.k.a. "Brady". The nurse had to call over 2 other nurses to try and revive him. One of them has to manually pump oxygen into the tube leading into his lungs. It takes 3 NICU nurses over 5 minutes to stabilize him enough so that the vent can take over the breathing. Anyone who has ever needed 3 nurses to revive their 2 month old son can tell you that they are having a bad day.
Friday, September 7, 2007
I simply remember my favorite things, & then I don't feel so bad.
From the last time I got to kangaroo. He has gotten stronger since then.
We already are half way to the next one!
Tell me that his arm doesn't have some baby fat on it!
This was the last time he used this swaddle. It is the first time he has actually outgrown something!
This is a foolproof way to calm him down after a long day of sleeping and eating.
Double Jordan, Double Jeopardy
As of Wednesday night, Jordan was officially double his birth weight. He was up to 2 pound 9 ounces - 1167 grams! He is starting to get little pockets of baby fat on parts of his body. I would post pictures of him from then if I had them. He has also started to suck on his thumb. Another one of those things that you think you will never do when you become a parent - try to help your kid to start sucking his thumb. It calms him down and he seems to prefer it over a pacifier at the moment. I will regret it a year from now, but right now I’ll do whatever necessary to help him get a good night of sleep.
The doctor called me on Thursday afternoon. The doctor is a lot like your kids principal - they never call you to tell you how2 well things are going. My father never called a parent to tell them that their kid just passed the history final and had great attendance. My kid’s doctor has never called to say how good he was doing today. On Thursday Jordan had a brain scan, a heart scan, and his eye exam. He wasn’t originally scheduled for all of these, but due to labor day scheduling problems, they all happened yesterday. Needless to say that each of these exams by themselves are a stimulus to a baby 2 months before his due date. Put all 3 together and he gets exhausted. When you and I get exhausted we go take a nap, maybe spend the day at home. When movie stars get exhausted, they check into rehab for a week or so. When Jordan gets exhausted, he stops breathing. He didn’t slow down, he just laid in bed and stopped breathing. They had to put him back on the ventilator. We rushed up there last night and literally saw him just lying there. Minimal movement of his muscles, no real attempt at breathing. The vent was programmed to give 35 breaths per minute, and the sensor picked up 35 breaths per minute. They even stopped feeding him so that he didn’t burn energy trying to digest food.
When we spoke to the doctor in person, she seemed positive that it was exhaustion from the 3 exams. I look forward to the next person that has the balls to tell the mama Ali that Jordan is going to have more than one exam in a day until he is discharged. The doctor did a blood culture which showed no infections of any kind. We are still waiting on the results of the lung culture, but are confident that it will show nothing as well. Just to be on the safe side, he is being given antibiotics. That means he has an IV for antibiotics and sugar water. The doctor said that even if she had room on the other side of the NICU, she wouldn’t send him back because she feels that he’ll be fine in a couple of days. Of course, this isn’t her kid going back on the vent with an IV in his head, so it’s ONLY a couple of days.
Since this went down Thursday, progress was made on Friday. He was started on half feeds, and assuming he tolerates it, should be on full feeds by the end of the weekend. Also, he was set at 35 bpm, but has been doing so well that they turned him down to 27. Remember the problem he was having with the mucous? Well with the vent tube going down his throat, there are no boogers blocking the airway and he is satting at 90 while breathing room air - no supplemental oxygen. If we are lucky, the time off will allow the irritation in his nose to heal. Also, the vent tube proportionally speaking would be as if we had a hot dog extending down our throats. This is so uncomfortable for him that he is actually trying to physically remove it. The nurses have his arms restrained so he won’t succeed, but the fighting is starting to make him breathe more. The doctor thinks he should come off of the vent by the end of the weekend. Also, Jordan has level 2 ROP, not good news, but not unexpected. He has level 2 out of 5, so it could be a lot worse. They will check him every Thursday to make sure it doesn’t get worse - or they will have to treat. The mama Ali has made it clear that from now on Thursdays are for eye exams - and ONLY eye exams. He should be back to sipping on his happy juice and getting fat within a few days, at which point I’ll be able to sleep again.
The doctor called me on Thursday afternoon. The doctor is a lot like your kids principal - they never call you to tell you how2 well things are going. My father never called a parent to tell them that their kid just passed the history final and had great attendance. My kid’s doctor has never called to say how good he was doing today. On Thursday Jordan had a brain scan, a heart scan, and his eye exam. He wasn’t originally scheduled for all of these, but due to labor day scheduling problems, they all happened yesterday. Needless to say that each of these exams by themselves are a stimulus to a baby 2 months before his due date. Put all 3 together and he gets exhausted. When you and I get exhausted we go take a nap, maybe spend the day at home. When movie stars get exhausted, they check into rehab for a week or so. When Jordan gets exhausted, he stops breathing. He didn’t slow down, he just laid in bed and stopped breathing. They had to put him back on the ventilator. We rushed up there last night and literally saw him just lying there. Minimal movement of his muscles, no real attempt at breathing. The vent was programmed to give 35 breaths per minute, and the sensor picked up 35 breaths per minute. They even stopped feeding him so that he didn’t burn energy trying to digest food.
When we spoke to the doctor in person, she seemed positive that it was exhaustion from the 3 exams. I look forward to the next person that has the balls to tell the mama Ali that Jordan is going to have more than one exam in a day until he is discharged. The doctor did a blood culture which showed no infections of any kind. We are still waiting on the results of the lung culture, but are confident that it will show nothing as well. Just to be on the safe side, he is being given antibiotics. That means he has an IV for antibiotics and sugar water. The doctor said that even if she had room on the other side of the NICU, she wouldn’t send him back because she feels that he’ll be fine in a couple of days. Of course, this isn’t her kid going back on the vent with an IV in his head, so it’s ONLY a couple of days.
Since this went down Thursday, progress was made on Friday. He was started on half feeds, and assuming he tolerates it, should be on full feeds by the end of the weekend. Also, he was set at 35 bpm, but has been doing so well that they turned him down to 27. Remember the problem he was having with the mucous? Well with the vent tube going down his throat, there are no boogers blocking the airway and he is satting at 90 while breathing room air - no supplemental oxygen. If we are lucky, the time off will allow the irritation in his nose to heal. Also, the vent tube proportionally speaking would be as if we had a hot dog extending down our throats. This is so uncomfortable for him that he is actually trying to physically remove it. The nurses have his arms restrained so he won’t succeed, but the fighting is starting to make him breathe more. The doctor thinks he should come off of the vent by the end of the weekend. Also, Jordan has level 2 ROP, not good news, but not unexpected. He has level 2 out of 5, so it could be a lot worse. They will check him every Thursday to make sure it doesn’t get worse - or they will have to treat. The mama Ali has made it clear that from now on Thursdays are for eye exams - and ONLY eye exams. He should be back to sipping on his happy juice and getting fat within a few days, at which point I’ll be able to sleep again.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Bloody Tuesday
Jordan is up to 1099 grams – 2 pounds 7 ounces! At this rate, he’ll be up to a hundred pounds by the end of the decade! Happy 3rd birthday Jordan. Even his feet are getting bigger. You know what they say about boys with big feet – they cost their parents a small fortune in shoes. They gave Jordan some blood yesterday. He was running low on red blood cells and because of his age he can’t quite make enough of his own yet. The extra blood should help him with the desatting. They still haven’t solved the mucous problem yet. His primary doctor has been out for a week and a half, and the other doctors don’t make big changes in treatments unless necessary. Low blood counts are important, but a stuffy nose really isn’t.
He is also getting pretty strong. If anyone has seen him or any other 23 weekers, the movements are jerky and flailing. You touch him on his right leg, and he’s liable to move anything. Now, he moves more purposefully. He will either move his right leg or try and move his right arm to try and move you away. The cutest thing is when the nurses put him curled up on his belly in the fetal position. Sometimes he will straighten his legs to be more comfortable. Rarely he will push up on his arms in an attempt to turn over. He’s not there yet, but I swear it looks like stuff that most kids don’t do until after they have been born. The development schedule for Jordan will be weird for many years. Normally you have crawling at 6 months, walking at 12, simple sentences at 18. With micro preemies, there are no rules. Some things they do early because they are exposed to stimuli early. Other things they do late. Even adjusting for his due date, he won’t do things on time. He may smile by the time he comes home. He may smile by his birthday. No one knows. He should catch up by preschool, but we are going to have a dickens of a time measuring progress by then.
He is also getting pretty strong. If anyone has seen him or any other 23 weekers, the movements are jerky and flailing. You touch him on his right leg, and he’s liable to move anything. Now, he moves more purposefully. He will either move his right leg or try and move his right arm to try and move you away. The cutest thing is when the nurses put him curled up on his belly in the fetal position. Sometimes he will straighten his legs to be more comfortable. Rarely he will push up on his arms in an attempt to turn over. He’s not there yet, but I swear it looks like stuff that most kids don’t do until after they have been born. The development schedule for Jordan will be weird for many years. Normally you have crawling at 6 months, walking at 12, simple sentences at 18. With micro preemies, there are no rules. Some things they do early because they are exposed to stimuli early. Other things they do late. Even adjusting for his due date, he won’t do things on time. He may smile by the time he comes home. He may smile by his birthday. No one knows. He should catch up by preschool, but we are going to have a dickens of a time measuring progress by then.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Lawyer Jokes
The doctor gave me a stern scolding today, and I must admit that I deserved it. After nearly 2 months, dozens of IVs, constant scrubbing, and countless doses of antibiotics, I exposed Jordan to an infectious agent. I should have been more careful before I exposed Jordan to a lawyer friend of the family. The doctor said that she can cure pneumonia, sepsis, and can treat E. Coli and even the flesh eating virus, but that there is nothing she can do if he catches a disease she called ‘attorney’. The disease starts out by eliminating the part of the brain that recognizes morals and ethics. Shortly after it causes the victims to start rhyming in public with Latin words like acquit. After a few years he gets to the level of partner and his heart stops beating and actually falls out of his body. Doctors have spent years trying to cure victims of ‘attorney’, but after billions of dollars of research, the only cure seems to be a bullet to the head. The doctor said with any luck Jordan wasn’t infected and will grow up to do something honorable with his life, like crack whore.
Seriously, the nurses have started to call him a swinger. They try to keep his oxygen saturation between 85 and 95. Above 95 for large periods of time and it can cause ROP. Below 85 and it feels to him as if he is having an asthma attack. They work his saturation by regulating the percent oxygen he breathes in. Room air is about 21% oxygen, they can go up to 100% pure, but Jordan usually breathes around 30%. The thing is if that 30% causes him to saturate above 95, the nurses slightly lower the oxygen he breathes. He then responds by saturating in the 70s or lower. He had 3 nurses working over an hour in the new nursery trying to find the level that keeps him satting in the right range. Eventually, they said screw it and left him satting at 100 for a few hours. Possible ROP is always better than definite oxygen deprivation. His sats have been always in a big range, and the nurses have started calling him a swinger for that reason. Otherwise he is still stable. They raised his feeds to 7.5 mils an hour, and are looking to raise it more by the end of the week. I can honestly start to see in some his limbs where he is getting some baby fat. He’s starting to look more like the way he is supposed to look.
Seriously, the nurses have started to call him a swinger. They try to keep his oxygen saturation between 85 and 95. Above 95 for large periods of time and it can cause ROP. Below 85 and it feels to him as if he is having an asthma attack. They work his saturation by regulating the percent oxygen he breathes in. Room air is about 21% oxygen, they can go up to 100% pure, but Jordan usually breathes around 30%. The thing is if that 30% causes him to saturate above 95, the nurses slightly lower the oxygen he breathes. He then responds by saturating in the 70s or lower. He had 3 nurses working over an hour in the new nursery trying to find the level that keeps him satting in the right range. Eventually, they said screw it and left him satting at 100 for a few hours. Possible ROP is always better than definite oxygen deprivation. His sats have been always in a big range, and the nurses have started calling him a swinger for that reason. Otherwise he is still stable. They raised his feeds to 7.5 mils an hour, and are looking to raise it more by the end of the week. I can honestly start to see in some his limbs where he is getting some baby fat. He’s starting to look more like the way he is supposed to look.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Graduate School
I didn't say anything before because I didn't want to jinx anything, but if you have been reading this blog, then you already know. Jordan had a better month in August than I could have possibly expected. On August 1st he was hooked up to 4 IVs, on the ventilator, I don't think he was eating, and I think that was the first time he was turned onto his belly. Frankly, at the time, the question was if he would survive.
Now, he's on continuous feeds, off the vent, no IVs, and almost all of the nurses have realized he does best on his belly. We've gotten to hold and to kangaroo. He went from opening his eyes into slits to really looking at his mother the other day - we even saw the white parts. In the past week I personally have been coughed, sneezed, drooled, and hiccuped on, and thought everyone of them was a miracle. He can cry, though he rarely chooses to (he's never hungry, cold, or overstimulated). A month ago, we never thought to ask the doctor when they would take him off the vent and was pleasantly surprised when he was. That was the only treat so far that was better than yesterday.
Jordan was the only baby in that part of the NICU in his position. He was in an isolette, off all IVs, no ventilator, and had been there more than a week. There are another 20+ babies on that side of the NICU, and none of them meet those qualifications. He wasn't the oldest, he wasn't the biggest, he was by far the most stable. They moved him to the step down nursery!!! The mama Ali and I called it graduate school because every baby to go into the 'A' side of the NICU, leaves one of two ways. The other way is to be moved to the 'B' side. There, the nurses have 4 babies each instead of 2. The nurses are just as qualified, but tend to spend less time with each baby. They feed, change diapers, respond to alarms, take vitals and leave them alone. My son needs less attention. He doesn't have to have anyone worry about his IVs, he sleeps 23 hours a day, he flirts with the nurses by desatting, he gains weight. At the end of July, I learned the true meaning of fear. At the end of August, I learned the true meaning of pride.
Of course, if he does poorly, they will move him back. He was half the weight of most of the babies in there. However, looking back at the last two weeks, he has been very consistent. I just wish the doctor would come and tell us how bad she expects him to do so that he can prove her wrong again. The mama Ali and I are going to go clothes shopping today, and pick up some paint and furniture tomorrow. Let there be no doubt that we are now real parents!
Now, he's on continuous feeds, off the vent, no IVs, and almost all of the nurses have realized he does best on his belly. We've gotten to hold and to kangaroo. He went from opening his eyes into slits to really looking at his mother the other day - we even saw the white parts. In the past week I personally have been coughed, sneezed, drooled, and hiccuped on, and thought everyone of them was a miracle. He can cry, though he rarely chooses to (he's never hungry, cold, or overstimulated). A month ago, we never thought to ask the doctor when they would take him off the vent and was pleasantly surprised when he was. That was the only treat so far that was better than yesterday.
Jordan was the only baby in that part of the NICU in his position. He was in an isolette, off all IVs, no ventilator, and had been there more than a week. There are another 20+ babies on that side of the NICU, and none of them meet those qualifications. He wasn't the oldest, he wasn't the biggest, he was by far the most stable. They moved him to the step down nursery!!! The mama Ali and I called it graduate school because every baby to go into the 'A' side of the NICU, leaves one of two ways. The other way is to be moved to the 'B' side. There, the nurses have 4 babies each instead of 2. The nurses are just as qualified, but tend to spend less time with each baby. They feed, change diapers, respond to alarms, take vitals and leave them alone. My son needs less attention. He doesn't have to have anyone worry about his IVs, he sleeps 23 hours a day, he flirts with the nurses by desatting, he gains weight. At the end of July, I learned the true meaning of fear. At the end of August, I learned the true meaning of pride.
Of course, if he does poorly, they will move him back. He was half the weight of most of the babies in there. However, looking back at the last two weeks, he has been very consistent. I just wish the doctor would come and tell us how bad she expects him to do so that he can prove her wrong again. The mama Ali and I are going to go clothes shopping today, and pick up some paint and furniture tomorrow. Let there be no doubt that we are now real parents!
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