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 :-)

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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.