Monday, December 25, 2006
Nathan's First Christmas
We spent Christmas afternoon at Nathan's Nana and Papa's house. We had a big turkey lunch and then we opened presents. Nathan slept through the presents, so Mommy opened them for him.
Nathan with Mommy and Daddy
Nathan with Aunt Patty
Nathan with Aunt Samantha
Mommy opening Nathan's gifts while he sleeps on her shoulder.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Christmas Eve
Nathan had a great first Christmas Eve. His Grandma and Aunt Samantha came over for dinner and then we opened presents.
Laura, Nathan and Aunt Samantha
Nathan Opening a Present
Nathan, Laura and Randy
Laura and Nathan with his gym
Samantha, Grandma and Laura putting the gym together
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Nathan's New Hat
Nathan got a new hat from one of Randy's co-workers. Nathan loves it and he looks cute in it, too. Nathan has started to make a lot of facial expressions and baby cooing sounds.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Ever wonder what your pet is doing while you're not at home?
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Fun in the Tub
Nathan loves to take baths. His favorite part is having his head rubbed. I hope this means that he will love to swim. I plan on spending a lot of time in the pool this summer with him.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Mini Santa
Aunt Samantha bought Nathan a Santa outfit. Randy cranked out lots of photos. Here are some of the good ones.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
10 POUNDS!!!
Nathan is now 10 pounds. He has come a long way from his birth weight of 2 pounds 4 ounces.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Hello!!
Nathan's big adventure is about my son Nathan. I have always hated those Mom's who can't stop talking about their kids. They just go on and on and on, and you can never get a word in the conversation. To my surprise, I have become one of those Mom's. And, I love it!!!
I hope you enjoy Nathan's Big Adventure. He has already been on a very long journey and I'm sure he will have lots more to come.
I hope you enjoy Nathan's Big Adventure. He has already been on a very long journey and I'm sure he will have lots more to come.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Tummy Time
Nathan does Tummy Time several times during the day. It helps him to build his muscles in his neck, shoulders and arms. It is preparing him to hold up his own head and crawl.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Thanksgiving
Since Nathan could not leave the house for Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving came to him. His Nana, Papa and Aunt Samantha came over for turkey dinner.
Nana, Papa and Nathan
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Nathan is finally home!!
Here it is, the final update on the Neonatal ICU experience. Nathan was weened off of his oxygen earlier this week and finally came home from the hospital today Sunday 10-29! He gets to come home without any medications, oxygen, or medical equipment. He now weighs 5 pounds 15 ounces and got to come home almost 3 weeks before his 11-16 due date.
Before Nathan left the NICU, he had to say good-bye to his friends. Nurse Carrie, Nurse Katherine and Baby Kaitlyn
Nurse Suzie
Mommy at home with Nathan
Daddy at home with Nathan
Nathan in his crib at home
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Fantastic Progress
Nathan has made fantastic progress lately. He has more than doubled his birth weight and is now 4 pounds 10 ounces!
His feedings are on their final schedule of being delivered 8 times a day (every 3 hours). He will continue to be fed every 3 hours up through his discharge from the Neonatal ICU. Right now he is getting 35 milliliters of milk pushed into his stomach every 3 hours. It is pushed through that orange tube that you see in the pictures. That 35ml volume will increase as his body weight increases. Those feedings started out being slowly pushed in over a 2 hour period. They decreased the rate down to 1 hour, then down to the final and fastest rate of 30 minutes. He was immediately digesting the fast 30 minute feedings, so they then gave him a 'bottle test' where they replace one of his pushed feedings with the same volume in a bottle. On his first bottle test, he took the full 35ml in 10 minutes! Based on those results they decided to replace two of his daily pushed feedings with bottle feedings. He is doing very well on those 2 bottles each day and they will probably replace another pushed feeding with a 3rd bottle soon. Sucking, swallowing, and breathing is very tiring for a preemie baby, so they introduce the bottle feedings slowly. When they replace all 8 of his daily pushed feedings with a bottle he will be fully graduated from feeding school!
He was also moved out of the incubator and into a regular unheated crib. This is another one of the final milestones of the Neonatal ICU. The staff felt that he was maintaining his temperature well enough on his own, so he no longer needs the heated incubator.
He has a few more steps to make before he can come home. We continually get asked if he will get discharged when he gets to 5 pounds. His weight is a direct indicator of his health and growth, but has very little to do with when they will discharge him. His discharge from the NICU is based on 3 primary milestones. 1, his ability to maintain his body temperature in an open air crib. 2, his ability to suck, swallow, and digest 8 bottle feedings every day. and 3) his ability to maintain his breathing rate and heart rate. Each day he still has a couple of apnea and bradycardia spells where he stops breathing which then causes his heart rate to fall. We are still 5+ weeks before his due date and breathing is one of the very last areas of the brain to develop. The apnea spells usually resolve on their own 2 to 4 weeks before his due date. We expect him to be in the Neonatal ICU for another 2 - 3 weeks. It's hard to accurately guess at this point, but it looks like he'll probably be coming home near the end of October.
His feedings are on their final schedule of being delivered 8 times a day (every 3 hours). He will continue to be fed every 3 hours up through his discharge from the Neonatal ICU. Right now he is getting 35 milliliters of milk pushed into his stomach every 3 hours. It is pushed through that orange tube that you see in the pictures. That 35ml volume will increase as his body weight increases. Those feedings started out being slowly pushed in over a 2 hour period. They decreased the rate down to 1 hour, then down to the final and fastest rate of 30 minutes. He was immediately digesting the fast 30 minute feedings, so they then gave him a 'bottle test' where they replace one of his pushed feedings with the same volume in a bottle. On his first bottle test, he took the full 35ml in 10 minutes! Based on those results they decided to replace two of his daily pushed feedings with bottle feedings. He is doing very well on those 2 bottles each day and they will probably replace another pushed feeding with a 3rd bottle soon. Sucking, swallowing, and breathing is very tiring for a preemie baby, so they introduce the bottle feedings slowly. When they replace all 8 of his daily pushed feedings with a bottle he will be fully graduated from feeding school!
He was also moved out of the incubator and into a regular unheated crib. This is another one of the final milestones of the Neonatal ICU. The staff felt that he was maintaining his temperature well enough on his own, so he no longer needs the heated incubator.
He has a few more steps to make before he can come home. We continually get asked if he will get discharged when he gets to 5 pounds. His weight is a direct indicator of his health and growth, but has very little to do with when they will discharge him. His discharge from the NICU is based on 3 primary milestones. 1, his ability to maintain his body temperature in an open air crib. 2, his ability to suck, swallow, and digest 8 bottle feedings every day. and 3) his ability to maintain his breathing rate and heart rate. Each day he still has a couple of apnea and bradycardia spells where he stops breathing which then causes his heart rate to fall. We are still 5+ weeks before his due date and breathing is one of the very last areas of the brain to develop. The apnea spells usually resolve on their own 2 to 4 weeks before his due date. We expect him to be in the Neonatal ICU for another 2 - 3 weeks. It's hard to accurately guess at this point, but it looks like he'll probably be coming home near the end of October.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Major Progress for Nathan!!
Nathan made a major step today (09-28)! We were there to help move him into the "Baby Steps" section!
Now that all of Nathan's intravenous lines are out, we can bathe him as well. When his lines were still in, he got sponge baths.
Nathan's First Tub Bath
The NICU has 2 main sections. The part they call the NICU, which is where Nathan has been for the past month, and the other half called Baby Steps. Nathan now has a new address in Baby Steps! Although Nathan slept through the move, this is a Major step towards coming home. The qualifications for Baby Steps are somewhat flexible, but primarily the baby needs to be off of any intravenous medications and treatments, not on assisted respiration like the ventilator or CPAP, and able to digest his full feedings. He is still in his incubator to maintain his temperature and he is still on his nasal cannula to assist with oxygen flow when needed.
In Baby Steps, Nathan will learn how to take feedings through a bottle and learn how to suck, swallow, and breath all at the same time. Us parents will be formally learning all kinds of things as well.
We are happy to be moved into the Baby Steps section, but very sad to leave some of the NICU nurses that we have become so close to. We loved sitting with Nathan and visiting with the nurses. Nathan also had to leave one of his preemie friends Katlyn behind in the NICU as well. We were sad that Katlyn and her parents couldn't move with us yet, but hopefully we'll see them in the Baby Steps section soon.
Now that all of Nathan's intravenous lines are out, we can bathe him as well. When his lines were still in, he got sponge baths.
The NICU has 2 main sections. The part they call the NICU, which is where Nathan has been for the past month, and the other half called Baby Steps. Nathan now has a new address in Baby Steps! Although Nathan slept through the move, this is a Major step towards coming home. The qualifications for Baby Steps are somewhat flexible, but primarily the baby needs to be off of any intravenous medications and treatments, not on assisted respiration like the ventilator or CPAP, and able to digest his full feedings. He is still in his incubator to maintain his temperature and he is still on his nasal cannula to assist with oxygen flow when needed.
In Baby Steps, Nathan will learn how to take feedings through a bottle and learn how to suck, swallow, and breath all at the same time. Us parents will be formally learning all kinds of things as well.
We are happy to be moved into the Baby Steps section, but very sad to leave some of the NICU nurses that we have become so close to. We loved sitting with Nathan and visiting with the nurses. Nathan also had to leave one of his preemie friends Katlyn behind in the NICU as well. We were sad that Katlyn and her parents couldn't move with us yet, but hopefully we'll see them in the Baby Steps section soon.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Nathan - 1 Month
Nathan has been in the NICU just over 4 weeks now and he is doing fantastic. He is up to 3 pounds 5 ounces. That's up from his 2 pound 4 ounce birth weight. When he's awake, he is very alert and animated and he looks great.
Nathan has been on a 24 hour a day continuous feed for a while now. He can't suck, swallow and breath all at the same time yet so the breast milk is pumped directly into his stomach. At the moment he is getting 6.5 milliliters per hour (every hour) and he is digesting virtually all of it. They are increasing that rate every day. His target rate is around 9 milliliters an hour, but as he gains weight, his target feed rate will also increase. The feed tube now goes through his nose. It is more comfortable through the nose and it stays in better. They can't put it through the nose when he is on the CPAP respiratory assistance because the nose must be open for that. But now that he is completely off the CPAP his nose is open for the feed tube.
Did you know that your intestine attaches to your stomach on the right side? As a result, preemie babies digest best while laying on their right side or stomach, but they also get rotated onto their left side and back and must keep digesting in those positions as well.
Yesterday they started fortifying the milk with extra calories. It's like a preemie protein shake! With the extra fortification and increasing feed rates, he'll be getting big soon!
He is still on the nasal cannula to provide extra oxygen when needed. His oxygen is set on room air levels most of the time, but occasionally he needs some brief assistance. He gives the nurses a regular challenge by ripping the cannula out of his nose. You'll see in one of the pictures how they have put a lot of extra tape on it as an attempt to keep it in place. He seems to tear through the tape pretty fast. Don't worry, it's a baby skin sensitive medical tape. Luckily his breathing is progressing very well because the cannula is somewhere other than his nose a lot of the time!
Nathan is also now on "cycled lighting". They open the blankets on his incubator during the day in order to get him used to day / night cycles. This is one of the many steps they take to get him ready for the real world.
Nathan recently got moved to a new spot in the NICU that has unusual lighting and not much space to move around. A new baby needed Nathan's old spot more than he did. The new location makes taking pictures difficult! Preemie babies don't like camera flashes, so many of the previous and new pictures were without a flash. We have a feeling he will be getting moved to the big kid section within a couple of weeks!
That's pretty much all the news for now!
Mommy holding Nathan
Baby Stop Sign
Kangaroo Time (Nathan is tucked down in my shirt)
Nathan in his incubator
Nathan has been on a 24 hour a day continuous feed for a while now. He can't suck, swallow and breath all at the same time yet so the breast milk is pumped directly into his stomach. At the moment he is getting 6.5 milliliters per hour (every hour) and he is digesting virtually all of it. They are increasing that rate every day. His target rate is around 9 milliliters an hour, but as he gains weight, his target feed rate will also increase. The feed tube now goes through his nose. It is more comfortable through the nose and it stays in better. They can't put it through the nose when he is on the CPAP respiratory assistance because the nose must be open for that. But now that he is completely off the CPAP his nose is open for the feed tube.
Did you know that your intestine attaches to your stomach on the right side? As a result, preemie babies digest best while laying on their right side or stomach, but they also get rotated onto their left side and back and must keep digesting in those positions as well.
Yesterday they started fortifying the milk with extra calories. It's like a preemie protein shake! With the extra fortification and increasing feed rates, he'll be getting big soon!
He is still on the nasal cannula to provide extra oxygen when needed. His oxygen is set on room air levels most of the time, but occasionally he needs some brief assistance. He gives the nurses a regular challenge by ripping the cannula out of his nose. You'll see in one of the pictures how they have put a lot of extra tape on it as an attempt to keep it in place. He seems to tear through the tape pretty fast. Don't worry, it's a baby skin sensitive medical tape. Luckily his breathing is progressing very well because the cannula is somewhere other than his nose a lot of the time!
Nathan is also now on "cycled lighting". They open the blankets on his incubator during the day in order to get him used to day / night cycles. This is one of the many steps they take to get him ready for the real world.
Nathan recently got moved to a new spot in the NICU that has unusual lighting and not much space to move around. A new baby needed Nathan's old spot more than he did. The new location makes taking pictures difficult! Preemie babies don't like camera flashes, so many of the previous and new pictures were without a flash. We have a feeling he will be getting moved to the big kid section within a couple of weeks!
That's pretty much all the news for now!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Nathan - Day 17
Nathan is 17 days old now (Wednesday 09-13) and is doing great.
He is up to around 2 pounds 10 ounces depending on his diaper load. He has also graduated into a fully enclosed isolet / incubator. That's the clear box with the arm holes in it that most people have seen for preemie babies. The incubator maintains the temperature, humidity, silence, and darkness better than the open crib he was in before. New arrivals are typically kept in open cribs because they are handled more frequently and need to be easily accessible to monitor and maintain their feed lines and sensors. Early preemies also need to be accessible in open cribs so the nurses can wake them up from their apnea and bradycardia spells!
He is still learning how to digest the milk that is getting pushed into his stomach. He is getting better and consumes more milk volume every day. As soon as he figures out how to digest it fast enough he is expected to start gaining weight fast.
That's pretty much all the news for now!
Nathan's Incubator
Nathan - Wide Awake
Family Portrait
Daddy holding Nathan and looking at him in the mirror.
He is up to around 2 pounds 10 ounces depending on his diaper load. He has also graduated into a fully enclosed isolet / incubator. That's the clear box with the arm holes in it that most people have seen for preemie babies. The incubator maintains the temperature, humidity, silence, and darkness better than the open crib he was in before. New arrivals are typically kept in open cribs because they are handled more frequently and need to be easily accessible to monitor and maintain their feed lines and sensors. Early preemies also need to be accessible in open cribs so the nurses can wake them up from their apnea and bradycardia spells!
He is still learning how to digest the milk that is getting pushed into his stomach. He is getting better and consumes more milk volume every day. As soon as he figures out how to digest it fast enough he is expected to start gaining weight fast.
That's pretty much all the news for now!
Wednesday, September 6, 2006
Nathan - Day 10
Today is day 10 (Wednesday 09-06) and Nathan is doing fantastic.
Nathan's apnea spells (where he temporarily stops breathing) have reduced significantly. It now happens once or twice a day instead of 10 - 12 times a day. The doctors expect it to continue for a few more weeks. He gets straight medical caffeine injected through his feed line to keep him alert which helps him to remember to breath. They also determined that the preemie passifier and sleeping on his stomach are too relaxing for him as they both increase his apnea spells. A mix of caffeine and good observation has made a big difference.
Saturday, 9-2, he was moved off of the CPAP and onto a nasal cannula. He is on 21% oxygen just like you and I, and the cannula provides a very slight flow of air to help him breath. It is not intended to keep his lungs inflated like the pressurized air from the CPAP was. The nasal cannula is the final step before they remove all respiratory assistance and let him breath completely on his own.
He is now getting breast milk injected directly into his stomach. It goes through the orange tube that is in his mouth. The nurses are increasing his milk dosage to as fast as he can digest it. His stomach and intestines are still growing and learning how to handle "solid" food. Once they get his milk digestion rate high enough they will stop the nutrient feeds through the umbilical cord line.
He is also starting to open his eyes and look around. I think the caffeine has him pretty strung out. When he opens his eyes he just looks so exhausted. He looks like he's been up for days and just can't sleep! Oh well, breathing is a few steps above sleeping on the priority list.
Randy also changed his first diaper ever. That was fairly entertaining. He ended up having to do it twice since he accidentally got some of Nathan's monitor wires inside the diaper on his first attempt.
Daddy's first diaper change.
Daddy holding Nathan for the first time.
Mommy looking and feeling much better since she has been released from the hospital.
Nathan strung out on caffeine.
Nathan's apnea spells (where he temporarily stops breathing) have reduced significantly. It now happens once or twice a day instead of 10 - 12 times a day. The doctors expect it to continue for a few more weeks. He gets straight medical caffeine injected through his feed line to keep him alert which helps him to remember to breath. They also determined that the preemie passifier and sleeping on his stomach are too relaxing for him as they both increase his apnea spells. A mix of caffeine and good observation has made a big difference.
Saturday, 9-2, he was moved off of the CPAP and onto a nasal cannula. He is on 21% oxygen just like you and I, and the cannula provides a very slight flow of air to help him breath. It is not intended to keep his lungs inflated like the pressurized air from the CPAP was. The nasal cannula is the final step before they remove all respiratory assistance and let him breath completely on his own.
He is now getting breast milk injected directly into his stomach. It goes through the orange tube that is in his mouth. The nurses are increasing his milk dosage to as fast as he can digest it. His stomach and intestines are still growing and learning how to handle "solid" food. Once they get his milk digestion rate high enough they will stop the nutrient feeds through the umbilical cord line.
He is also starting to open his eyes and look around. I think the caffeine has him pretty strung out. When he opens his eyes he just looks so exhausted. He looks like he's been up for days and just can't sleep! Oh well, breathing is a few steps above sleeping on the priority list.
Randy also changed his first diaper ever. That was fairly entertaining. He ended up having to do it twice since he accidentally got some of Nathan's monitor wires inside the diaper on his first attempt.
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