Home Sweet Home

It's hard to write this because I had to put the baby down.  He's sleeping peacefully while lying next to me on the couch.  He's as beautiful as ever.  I can't kiss him enough, and instead of being afraid that the back of his head will be flat, I'm afraid I will make him have a flat forehead.  I try not to press my lips too hard :)  His hair is soft and fuzzy and he's got sweet little fat rolls on his tummy and thighs. 

Welt has gained 7 oz. since we brought him home Friday night.  He's up to 7 lbs. 6 oz., and the pediatrician said today that if he keeps gaining like this, he will go to regular infant formula and stop the 22 calorie. 

Medically, he's doing better than we ever expected.  He's on 3 medications: prevacid for his reflux, iron for his anemia, and miralax (he's not constipated, but it makes bowel movements easier on his hernia).  We are meeting with the surgeon tomorrow to discuss when his surgery will be.  Hopefully he will fix both hernias (he has one in his boy parts and one in the belly button).  He came home on a very low flow of oxygen and a heart and lung monitor.  The pediatrician will do an overnight study in the next few weeks to see whether we need to stay on those.  we have an appointment with the retinal specialist on Thursday, but fully expect to see no progression of his ROP.  They haven't found progression since the first week, and that it extremely uncommon for a 24 weeker.  We so grateful it's one procedure that baby doesn't have to suffer through.

I wish everyone could hear him right now.  It's the cutest noise I have EVER heard.  He snores, just like his daddy.  Fortunately, it's much, MUCH more quiet.  He doesn't like sleeping on his back, so he makes lots of funny noises at night, but we're sure he will get used to it soon. 

Ben and I are struggling with the sleep deprivation as is par for the course with "new" parents.  I have to say though, I would stay awake 24/7 if it meant having my baby sleeping 2 feet from my bed and not having to drive to Provo twice a day.  We may be tired and have bags under our eyes, but believe me when I say, we would have it NO other way. 

Well, I tried to remember everything, but if y'all have questions, leave a comment or facebook us.  We love you all, and thank you so much for the love and prayers.  We hope he continues to do well.  He can't wait to meet everyone!!!! (in a couple months (; )

What weighs more: 7 pounds of baby, or 7 pounds of poopy diapers?

Either way, they will both soon be residing at our house.  This big chunk is doing so well eating and breathing, that he will be coming home Friday or Saturday morning.  We are staying at the hospital Thursday night, with the baby, to get used to the home monitors.  Welp, I don't know how often updates will come once we are "full time" parents, but I'll try my best.  Love you all!

Junior Whopper

Well, it has been 3 months and 5 days and this little (big) boy is 6 LBS. 13 OZ.!!!  He has officially quadrupled his birthweight, and shows no signs of slowing down.

This week will probably be a long one.  Welt's hernia surgery is scheduled for Thursday (the 24th), so we are pretty anxious to say the least.  I know they say it's minimally invasive and he should recover quickly, but they will still be cutting my baby open. so I think I have the right to freak out a little.  He will be intubated for the surgery, and hopefully they will be able to remove the breathing tube the same day, or the day after.  Once he's off pain meds and back on his cannula, he will start a lower calorie formula (he's on 24 cal right now).  He will still gain weight, but not nearly as quickly as he has these past few months.

Baby is jumping between 1 LPM and 1/2 LPM.  If he continues to wean, there's a possibility he won't have to come home on oxygen.  That will be decided when we do a carseat test (to make sure the straps don't make him stop breathing).

So, I know it's really no surprise, but our baby LOVES to eat.  Every nurse that comes by tells me how surprised they are by his progress.  One even said "you must be living right, cause this baby is doing things that just aren't done by 24 weekers."  He will no longer take his binki (hallelujah) because nothing comes out of it.  He's got us grown-ups all figured out.  The original recommendation was for one bottle feeding per 12 hours, but the doc changed that order to every other feeding (4x a day).  He did so well his first few days that they now have him doing one back to back feeding every 12 hours.  It definitely tires him out quickly, though I don't think he'd have it any other way...other than a bottle every time.  He sounds like a gremlin (and sometimes a little piggie) when he eats.  His left vocal cord is the one that was damaged during his heart surgery, so when he eats, he lies on his right side where the muscles are stronger.

The retina specialist examined baby earlier this week, and again there has been NO progression in his stage 1 ROP.  The doc said that he has never seen this in a 24 weeker.  I guess our baby is breaking all kinds of molds! 

4 days ago, one of Welt's primary nurses, Tamara, told us to expect him to come home in 10-14 days.  Well, I guess now we are looking at 6-10.  The earliest we were counting on having him home was his due date, March 7th, and most docs told us that was unlikely and that he would maybe be home mid-March. 
So, Ben and I are scrambling to get things ready, and it's been especially rough since I have been attacked by allergies and Ben has a crappy cold.  We've got a place for him to sleep and a car seat, so once we get some diapers, I think we will calm down.  We've started paining his room and are trying to get the carpets cleaned before we bring home baby.  Only time will tell :)

I just can't believe that this much time has gone by and that we are so close!  I know that the love, care, concern and prayers from family and friends have been the driving force in his amazing progress.  We love y'all so much, and can't wait to show off our big boy!

I got a big brown furry caterpillar

I don't even know where to start. Welton is 6 lbs. 6.25 oz. He is now on a low-flow cannula and getting 1 LPM. Last night, he was started on bottle feeding. Babies who are as premature as he was usually take quite a while to learn "suck, swallow, breathe," but Welton learned in about 2 minutes. 20 ml is what they usually take on a first feeding, but he took 65...15 ml more than his normal feeding. The occupational therapist recommended 2 bottle feedings a day, but the neonatalogist saw how well he did this morning (55 ml in 7 minutes) and changed his order to bottle feeding for every other meal. In the next day or two, he should be on total nipple feeding, and the nurse told me today he could go home in as little as A WEEK AND A HALF! Welt's primary day nurse, Shelly, said that in her 26 years in the NICU, she has never seen a 24-weeker EAT SO WELL!!!  His hernia surgery is scheduled for the 24th of Feb (and is usually done the day babies go home), so that could be the magic day! Welp, I couldn't be happier about his progress, but I'm nervous about mine. SO much to do!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Poppin' Fresh

We just found out how much this kid eats, and now it's no wonder he is 6 lbs. 3.6 oz.! I guess 50 ml of formula, 8 times a day will do that to you. He was down to 2 LPM today and is doing well. They will start him on 2-3 bottle feedings a day, once he is down to 1.5 LPM. To illustrate the amount of oxygen he is getting now, compared to what he was on about a month ago: when he was put on the high flow cannula, he was on 10 LPM. 2 LPM is standard for an ambulance ride. He can be sent home on 1 LPM.

First time in the swing!  What a big boy!!!!!

Needless to say, we are pretty freakin excited. For some reason, he is having trouble pooping, so he is on 3 doses of miralax a day. Things are getting more and more hunky dory every day :-)

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.6

Stay Puff Baby

6 LBS. 1  OZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welton is no longer wearing his preemie clothes!  The newborn stuff is still a little big on him, but at least he's completely covered.  He is more than 3 1/2 times his birthweight.

His weight gain is helping him breathe better.  He has finally been weaned down to 3 LPM, and has actually had less swinging since going down.  Taking him off the caffeine and adding the Prevacid has also helped. 



Kissy face!

 Other than that, he's holding steady. 

Last night I had a blast at the shower that Lauren, Camille, and Hillary threw for me.  The baby got tons of cute stuff, and I know he will love his swing!  Thanks to everyone that came.  It's nice to be back in the land of the living!

Farty McPoopstink

There is no doubt this baby is half Cowart.  He has the rankest farts I've ever smelt and his poop is ripe enough to clear a room.  The doc is stopping Welton's protein supplements and they expect that to make the smell less...intense.

His feeding tube has been moved from his mouth (og) to his nose (ng).  This should help him work out his vocal chords.

As of this morning, there has been no progression in baby's ROP, which is FANTASTIC!

So, things keep getting better, and that's all we can really hope for.  Thanks for all the love and prayers!

Sensitive Bum

Well, we know the baby hates sitting in his own poop.  When Ben and I went to see him tonight, we changed his diaper and took his temperature and got him ready to be held.  Once I had him in my arms, I guess he relaxed and "let loose."  We know he loves to poop while we hold him, but this was the first time he let it impede his ability to chill.  He wiggled and squirmed until I changed his poopy pants (in my lap!...he's small enough that's it's not too hard).  Once he was clean (and peed all over me and the pillow), he settled down, but still didn't want to sleep.  I think I mentioned before, but it's good that he is enjoying staying awake and that he is differentiating awake and sleepy time.  So, Ben and I played with him (we really just stare at him) for a while and then let him get some rest.

We heard from the doctor today about his vocal chords.  A nerve was damaged during baby's PDA ligation, and there's nothing that can be done.  He has an 80-90% chance of it resolving on it's own.  It will most likely last until he is 2 or 3, so we will have the strange blessing of a quiet-crying baby.  We won't have to work with the therapist for his speech, but he will need therapy to learn how to eat a special way.

We may have found the reason for Welton's swings in oxygen saturation. ACID REFLUX!!  He started Prevacid a couple days ago and his numbers are AMAZING!  Hopefully tomorrow they will try weaning his air pressure again.  His damaged nerve is also causing irritation which may be contributing to his inconsistency.

The surgeon will not be back until March, but the hernia surgery is usually done the day the baby goes home, so I won't go hunt down the guy.  If he can't get to him before it's time to come home, they gave us the option of going to Primary Children's Hospital to have the surgery done.  Ben and I have grown to love and respect these doctors and nurses and Utah Valley, so we think we are going to stay put.

My mom is set to come home as soon as we have the word that baby will be released.  I think (hope hope hope) my dad will come out too, and they're gonna try to make it to at least one session of conference.  Ali is going to come up, sans kids and husband, to spend some time helping me get grounded (and hopefully helping me make the baby's room look decent).

Ok, time to turn off the t.v. and get to bed.  Miles to go...

12 weeks and counting

My, my, my, how the time has flown.  Chunk baby Welton is now 5 lbs. 13 oz., and doesn't show any sign of slowing.  Needless to say, we no longer have reason to worry about him being too small.  He is keeping his temperature AND gaining weight, which are two of the huge steps he needs to take.  His air pressure is still between 3 and 4, but he seems to do better without the cannula up his nose.  The nurses won't let us take it out though. 

Welt's primary doc, Dr. Minton, was rounding on him yesterday (Feb. 7) when I was there for the lunch time visit.  Welton will be meeting the surgeon some time this week to figure out what needs to be done with his hernias.  He also has an appointment with the ENT (ear, nose, throat doc) because he is "quiet."  When he was 5 days old he had heart surgery (for PDA, patent ductus arteriosus...look it up).  We knew that there was a possible complication with the vocal chords, and since he isn't crying very loudly, the doctor is calling in the ENT as a precaution.  If they do find damage from the surgery, we will work with the occupational therapist to help him develop properly. 

The baby is spending more and more time awake, which means the time he spends sleeping during skin to skin is really helping his brain develop.  He is starting to know the difference between when he should be awake, and when he should be sleeping.  It's so fun to hold him while he's awake and playing around. 

Well, I'm pretty excited for the next few weeks.  The girls in my ward are throwing a shower for Welton and me this Thursday, and my sisters-in-law (the Utah ones) are throwing  one in a few weeks (since the original December 4th date didn't work out so well).  Welton should be moved to the low-flow cannula soon, which means he will be able to start bottle feeding.  The closer we get to that, the closer he is to coming home.  We are still aiming for his due date (March 6 or 7, depending on which doctor you talk to) for him to come home, but we know it could be sooner or later.  Ben and I will celebrate our 2 year anniversary (on baby's due date), and hopefully we will get to do that at home with the baby!

Fugitives, poop, and half a pound of baby

Baby Welton is 5 1/2 pounds!  He also pooped all over me, including in my mouth.  Umm, it was pretty nasty.  The retina specialist said there is no progression in baby's ROP, and that is AWESOME!!  He's also been taken off the sodium and potassium supplements.  His lungs are still working hard, but we haven't been able to wean him anymore in the last few days.  His eyes are much more mature now, and it's so amazing to see him actually focus on momma and daddy's face!  He loves taking naps on our chests.  The skin to skin is the best place for him to get deep sleep, and deep sleep is the best thing for his brain development.

So, we had a pretty strange night earlier this week.  A fugitive duped the cops and escaped into the hospital.
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=14240507&nid=148   It turned out the guy just walked out the hospital door, so there was no reason to panic.  But, I did anyway.  Luckily the hospital is very protective of it's tiny patients, so the unit was locked down and no one could get to my beautiful baby boy.

I haven't slept in about a week, so my brain is having trouble recalling all the details.  I'll try again tomorrow.

Baby update

Welton is getting bigger by the day.  Monday the 31st, he weighed in at 5 lbs. 3.8 oz.  He's going through a growth spurt right now, gaining between 50 and 100 grams each day.  The NICU scales are all calibrated differently, so they make sure every night that he is weighed with "number 10."

The doctors tried again to wean his air pressure and he's holding steady at 3.5 LPM.  They will try in another day or two to wean down to 3.  Once he is down to 2 LPM then they will try bottle feeding.

Baby gets a blood gas (done by the respiratory therapist, it shows the pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the baby's blood, helping to determine lung function) drawn every few days, and his latest one (today) showed that's he's breathing really well.  His oxygen saturation swings a lot, but the good blood gas proves that the swinging isn't such an issue.

I love that he's getting so big.  It's fun to look through all his pictures (we've got at least one every day since he was born) and see the differences in him.  All the nurses just love him and are constantly fighting over who gets to take care of him!  He's already a little charmer, but considering who his parents are, it's really no surprise.  His dimples and head full of black hair are just irresistable I guess.