Here's the latest video of the little man - he is 8 lbs 10 ounces!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Germs!
When we were discharged from the NICU, we were offered many differing opinions on how to acclimate Edward to our lives at home and how to keep him safe from….. you guessed it…. germs! Basically, because of Edward’s prematurity he is more susceptible and less able to fight off infections. Because Edward was born so early, so little, and required the ventilator to breathe, he has chronic lung disease. Chronic lung disease basically means that his lungs have some scarring and damaged tissue. His lungs should be healing a little bit every day, but it takes time for the new healthy lung tissue to outgrow the damaged lung tissue. The doctors and nurse practitioners were very frank with us: a small, common infection could land us right back in the hospital - especially because of his chronic lung disease, upper respiratory infections can wreak havoc on his body. At the same time, the doctors and nurses told us that we still can not prevent him from ever getting sick, and we certainly should not try to create some sort of boy in a bubble complex.
One thing that was reiterated was that Edward was coming home at the best possible time, after flu season. They told us, get out of the house! Go on walks with him, go to dinner and sit outside, do things with him. Don’t keep him in the house!” So we pressed the doctors with more questions. We asked about people touching and holding him, we asked about family events and large parties. Again, we heard differing opinions, but we also heard a few commonalities: he is not a baby that should be passed around (just yet!). He should not be held and kissed on by every person we see, every relative who wants to hold him, and every weird stranger who glances at him in the stroller. Bummer! Because don’t you just want to kiss and pinch his chubby little cheeks?
Another thing we heard was, hand washing, hand washing, hand washing. It will be no different than the NICU, I am afraid, but honestly hand washing is a simple thing to do in our eyes to keep him safe. We wash our own hands all day long at our OWN house. In fact, we have a giant bottle of Purell on our living room table, one bottle in the kitchen, and one bottle on his changing table (not to mention we have about 10 travel size bottles in the diaper bag). I, like a new overly panicked mom, also bought a little sign for his stroller, that basically says, “Don’t touch me with your dirty hands!” Haha, well, it doesn’t exactly say that, but, pretty close. Michael rolled his eyes and teased me a little bit when I ordered this thing online, but it will help keep strangers from touching him. The sign will hopefully prevent people from touching his little fingers. I know many people do not mean it, but touching a baby’s fingers is not exactly the best thing to do, especially since Edward has found his hands, and likes to shove his hands in his mouth when he is hungry. So yes, you too can roll your eyes at me and this silly sign that will be on his stroller, but it makes me feel better!
Still, the spectrum of recommendations continued. “No church or grocery stores for a year,” some nurses/ doctors would say. And other physicians stated, “That’s ridiculous.” We heard, “Absolutely no daycare,” and then in the same breath, “Well if you have to go back to work, you have to go back to work.” And so we listened and listened and still had to ask ourselves what to think? What to believe? What to really consider?
In light of all of the advice, we still have to make our own decisions and feel comfortable about our choices. Our first major decision was that I should stay home with Eddie for a while. Since it has been officially approved, I can now say that I will be taking a leave of absence from teaching next school year. I am so grateful to be able to do this and hopefully, this will allow Edward the extra time that he needs to grow bigger and stronger. I will have busy days ahead of feeding him, doing physical therapy with him, and taking him to many doctor appointments. We are so grateful for all of the love and support that we received from all of my coworkers at Mary Carr Greer Elementary School. Eddie might be a hungry caterpillar, but he is also a Greer Gecko! I will definitely miss my 5th graders and my friends, but Eddie’s health and well-being is our top priority. Avoiding daycare germs during his first year seemed liked an easy decision.
Another thing that we decided is that we might have visitors over from time to time, but mostly we would rather meet people outside, like on walks, or out to dinner. We will take advantage of the great weather and enjoy as many open-air activities as possible. We need to get out of the house now, because the fall and winter months will bring about his first dreaded flu season. He will be especially at risk for RSV. He should qualify for the vaccination this fall, but I imagine we will be spending more time in the house during the fall/winter. This just means Edward will have more time to watch Notre Dame football with us!
And lastly, hand washing. Don’t be offended if you do come to visit us, either at the house or outside somewhere, and we shove some Purell in your face. It’s not that we think you’re a dirty person, but hey, you might be! Just kidding. We are just trying to minimize the chance of infection for Edward. We know that Edward will eventually get sick, but we are going to try our best to keep him healthy this first year as he develops into a big strong boy! We love, love, love all of the UVA doctors, nurse practitioners, and nurses who cared for Edward, but believe me, we do not want to go back to the hospital ANY time soon!
Eddie has healed from the last surgery and he is keeping down his food… thank goodness! He is now consistently drinking 2 -3 ounces every feeding! We will see his pediatrician for another weight check on Thursday, but his last weight was 8 lbs 8 oz! We also saw the opthamologist this past week and both of his eyes look wonderful. His laser eye surgery was a success and the retinopathy has totally resolved. The eye doctor was so happy, that we don’t have to see him again until September. At that next appointment we will determine how nearsighted Edward might be, and talk about the possibility of glasses, but we will cross that bridge when we get there.
Katie
One thing that was reiterated was that Edward was coming home at the best possible time, after flu season. They told us, get out of the house! Go on walks with him, go to dinner and sit outside, do things with him. Don’t keep him in the house!” So we pressed the doctors with more questions. We asked about people touching and holding him, we asked about family events and large parties. Again, we heard differing opinions, but we also heard a few commonalities: he is not a baby that should be passed around (just yet!). He should not be held and kissed on by every person we see, every relative who wants to hold him, and every weird stranger who glances at him in the stroller. Bummer! Because don’t you just want to kiss and pinch his chubby little cheeks?
Another thing we heard was, hand washing, hand washing, hand washing. It will be no different than the NICU, I am afraid, but honestly hand washing is a simple thing to do in our eyes to keep him safe. We wash our own hands all day long at our OWN house. In fact, we have a giant bottle of Purell on our living room table, one bottle in the kitchen, and one bottle on his changing table (not to mention we have about 10 travel size bottles in the diaper bag). I, like a new overly panicked mom, also bought a little sign for his stroller, that basically says, “Don’t touch me with your dirty hands!” Haha, well, it doesn’t exactly say that, but, pretty close. Michael rolled his eyes and teased me a little bit when I ordered this thing online, but it will help keep strangers from touching him. The sign will hopefully prevent people from touching his little fingers. I know many people do not mean it, but touching a baby’s fingers is not exactly the best thing to do, especially since Edward has found his hands, and likes to shove his hands in his mouth when he is hungry. So yes, you too can roll your eyes at me and this silly sign that will be on his stroller, but it makes me feel better!
Still, the spectrum of recommendations continued. “No church or grocery stores for a year,” some nurses/ doctors would say. And other physicians stated, “That’s ridiculous.” We heard, “Absolutely no daycare,” and then in the same breath, “Well if you have to go back to work, you have to go back to work.” And so we listened and listened and still had to ask ourselves what to think? What to believe? What to really consider?
In light of all of the advice, we still have to make our own decisions and feel comfortable about our choices. Our first major decision was that I should stay home with Eddie for a while. Since it has been officially approved, I can now say that I will be taking a leave of absence from teaching next school year. I am so grateful to be able to do this and hopefully, this will allow Edward the extra time that he needs to grow bigger and stronger. I will have busy days ahead of feeding him, doing physical therapy with him, and taking him to many doctor appointments. We are so grateful for all of the love and support that we received from all of my coworkers at Mary Carr Greer Elementary School. Eddie might be a hungry caterpillar, but he is also a Greer Gecko! I will definitely miss my 5th graders and my friends, but Eddie’s health and well-being is our top priority. Avoiding daycare germs during his first year seemed liked an easy decision.
Another thing that we decided is that we might have visitors over from time to time, but mostly we would rather meet people outside, like on walks, or out to dinner. We will take advantage of the great weather and enjoy as many open-air activities as possible. We need to get out of the house now, because the fall and winter months will bring about his first dreaded flu season. He will be especially at risk for RSV. He should qualify for the vaccination this fall, but I imagine we will be spending more time in the house during the fall/winter. This just means Edward will have more time to watch Notre Dame football with us!
And lastly, hand washing. Don’t be offended if you do come to visit us, either at the house or outside somewhere, and we shove some Purell in your face. It’s not that we think you’re a dirty person, but hey, you might be! Just kidding. We are just trying to minimize the chance of infection for Edward. We know that Edward will eventually get sick, but we are going to try our best to keep him healthy this first year as he develops into a big strong boy! We love, love, love all of the UVA doctors, nurse practitioners, and nurses who cared for Edward, but believe me, we do not want to go back to the hospital ANY time soon!
Eddie has healed from the last surgery and he is keeping down his food… thank goodness! He is now consistently drinking 2 -3 ounces every feeding! We will see his pediatrician for another weight check on Thursday, but his last weight was 8 lbs 8 oz! We also saw the opthamologist this past week and both of his eyes look wonderful. His laser eye surgery was a success and the retinopathy has totally resolved. The eye doctor was so happy, that we don’t have to see him again until September. At that next appointment we will determine how nearsighted Edward might be, and talk about the possibility of glasses, but we will cross that bridge when we get there.
Katie
Friday, May 27, 2011
Week Three
All babies spit up. He is making wet diapers. He is gaining weight. He seems fairly happy and content. These are some of the various statements I kept repeating to myself and to Katie as we progressed through our third week at home in an effort to make ourselves feel better. As previously mentioned, Edward had started to spit up somewhat frequently and it seemed to be getting worse instead of better. Still, the above statements were true. He was gaining weight consistently and continued to make wet diapers - essentially the two goals of feeding. But it seemed like we were fighting tooth and nail to get every milliliter of breast milk in him and to keep it in.
Reflux is a common problem in babies and especially in premature babies. For reasons that are unknown (at least to me), the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) tends to intermittently relax allowing gastric contents to reflux retrograde back into the esophagus. In other words, the feeding tube leading to the stomach (the esophagus) is separated from the stomach by ring of muscle that acts like a valve (the lower esophageal sphincter). When you swallow, that valve opens up allowing food content to pass into the stomach. That valve then closes and what you eat spends some time in the stomach being digested and churned about. Then, another muscular valve at the end of the stomach (the pyloric sphincter) acts as the exit valve that allows food content to pass into the intestines. Reflux occurs when the first valve between the stomach and esophagus inappropriately opens up. In adults, reflux is typically caused (or at least made worse) by acid over-secretion - which is why antacids and acid reducers are the mainstay of treatment for heartburn. In newborns, acid over-secretion can be a contributing cause for sure, but the issue is generally more mechanical due to the floppiness of the muscular valve. Regardless of its cause, reflux in a newborn can wreak havoc on their feeding and subsequently on their growth and development. It can also wreak havoc on the parents as each feed seems like an interminable battle that is painful for both parties involved. Edward seemed to be getting progressively fussier and fussier by the day. We were afraid that we were doomed to a long struggle with reflux.
We kept the faith though, pressing on with bottle after bottle. Then things changed. The night before we had two follow-up appointments, one with our pediatric general surgeon who did the bilateral hernia repair in the hospital and the other with our regular pediatrician, Edward took a great bottle of nearly two ounces! Maybe we were starting to turn a corner!....but alas, he spit up again. But this was a little different. It came out forcefully and had some pretty good distance to it. Then he did it again later than night. Hmmm......
Our first appointment was with the pediatric surgeon. I was not able to join Katie and Edward for this appointment, but as Katie was describing Edward's symptoms, the surgeon mentioned the possibility of pyloric stenosis. As mentioned above, the pylorus is the exit valve of the stomach, a muscular ring that can contract and relax as needed. Pyloric stenosis is abnormal hypertrophy (enlargement) of that muscle which then does not allow food to pass into the intestines and causes back up into the stomach. Pyloric stenosis is classically associated with two things: projectile vomiting and an olive-sized mass in the epigastrium (just above the belly button). Edward was starting to projectile vomit, but only intermittently; furthermore, many of his symptoms seemed like reflux. The surgeon carefully examined Edward's abdomen for the "olive" but it was nowhere to be found. The surgeon asked Katie if Edward had thrown up anything green or brown. Nope. It was all milk so far....though some pretty malodorous stuff - even his burps smelled particularly foul. Well, the surgeon said, this could be pyloric stenosis but it is not definitive - let me know if it gets worse!
I left work early that day to join Katie for the pediatrician appointment scheduled for that afternoon. We fed Edward one more bottle before the appointment right around noon. Sure enough he spit up again, but this was no ordinary spit up. This hit Katie's chest with such force that it caused back splatter onto Edward. Furthermore, it was brown....like coffee grounds. In the adult world, coffee ground emesis is another classical description and typically portends something fairly serious. Vomit becomes coffee ground in quality in presence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding which allows blood to be exposed to gastric acid, leading to the oxidization of iron molecules found within the blood cells. In Edward's case, he was likely bleeding for one of two reasons: either he had gastritis which is irritation of the lining of the stomach or he had something called a Mallory-Weiss tear, which is a small mechanical tear in the mucosal lining at the junction of the esophagus and stomach secondary to repeated vomiting
To put it lightly, Katie was beside herself and I was pretty concerned myself. We considered going straight to the ER, but since our doctor's appointment was in 15 minutes we decided to start with that. Our pediatrician was also quite concerned, but again he could not feel any evidence of pyloric stenosis on exam. Furthermore, there were many other potential causes of Edward's symptoms, some serious and some not so serious. So, he called the surgeon who we saw that morning and they decided to send us to the main hospital for an ultrasound that afternoon.
Katie dropped me off and I took Edward to Radiology while she ran home to get some essentials in case we were in the hospital all afternoon or evening figuring all this out. I sat in the Radiology waiting room with Edward in my arms - he was getting pretty lethargic from all the vomiting and lack of nutrition. And even though we had not fed him anything for a few hours, he spit up again all over me. Dark brown stuff - the poor little man! His eyes had this glazed over look and he seemed so worn out. "He spent 3 long months in the NICU only to come home to this!" I thought to myself. I have to admit that was one of the lowest points for me throughout all this whole process. Finally, soon after Katie arrived, they called us back into Ultrasound. While we were waiting, I confessed to Katie that I was actually hoping for pyloric stenosis. There were other possibilities that were more serious (intussusception or volvulus) or less treatable (such as reflux) and I was worried the ultrasound would be totally normal. Then we would be left with this poor baby who seemed miserable, vomiting all the time and two parents who were equally miserable and close to wits end.
Then finally, we got the results: Pyloric Stenosis! As strange and as counterintuitive as it seems, I was overjoyed! We had a diagnosis! .........So now what?
Reflux is a common problem in babies and especially in premature babies. For reasons that are unknown (at least to me), the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) tends to intermittently relax allowing gastric contents to reflux retrograde back into the esophagus. In other words, the feeding tube leading to the stomach (the esophagus) is separated from the stomach by ring of muscle that acts like a valve (the lower esophageal sphincter). When you swallow, that valve opens up allowing food content to pass into the stomach. That valve then closes and what you eat spends some time in the stomach being digested and churned about. Then, another muscular valve at the end of the stomach (the pyloric sphincter) acts as the exit valve that allows food content to pass into the intestines. Reflux occurs when the first valve between the stomach and esophagus inappropriately opens up. In adults, reflux is typically caused (or at least made worse) by acid over-secretion - which is why antacids and acid reducers are the mainstay of treatment for heartburn. In newborns, acid over-secretion can be a contributing cause for sure, but the issue is generally more mechanical due to the floppiness of the muscular valve. Regardless of its cause, reflux in a newborn can wreak havoc on their feeding and subsequently on their growth and development. It can also wreak havoc on the parents as each feed seems like an interminable battle that is painful for both parties involved. Edward seemed to be getting progressively fussier and fussier by the day. We were afraid that we were doomed to a long struggle with reflux.
We kept the faith though, pressing on with bottle after bottle. Then things changed. The night before we had two follow-up appointments, one with our pediatric general surgeon who did the bilateral hernia repair in the hospital and the other with our regular pediatrician, Edward took a great bottle of nearly two ounces! Maybe we were starting to turn a corner!....but alas, he spit up again. But this was a little different. It came out forcefully and had some pretty good distance to it. Then he did it again later than night. Hmmm......
Our first appointment was with the pediatric surgeon. I was not able to join Katie and Edward for this appointment, but as Katie was describing Edward's symptoms, the surgeon mentioned the possibility of pyloric stenosis. As mentioned above, the pylorus is the exit valve of the stomach, a muscular ring that can contract and relax as needed. Pyloric stenosis is abnormal hypertrophy (enlargement) of that muscle which then does not allow food to pass into the intestines and causes back up into the stomach. Pyloric stenosis is classically associated with two things: projectile vomiting and an olive-sized mass in the epigastrium (just above the belly button). Edward was starting to projectile vomit, but only intermittently; furthermore, many of his symptoms seemed like reflux. The surgeon carefully examined Edward's abdomen for the "olive" but it was nowhere to be found. The surgeon asked Katie if Edward had thrown up anything green or brown. Nope. It was all milk so far....though some pretty malodorous stuff - even his burps smelled particularly foul. Well, the surgeon said, this could be pyloric stenosis but it is not definitive - let me know if it gets worse!
I left work early that day to join Katie for the pediatrician appointment scheduled for that afternoon. We fed Edward one more bottle before the appointment right around noon. Sure enough he spit up again, but this was no ordinary spit up. This hit Katie's chest with such force that it caused back splatter onto Edward. Furthermore, it was brown....like coffee grounds. In the adult world, coffee ground emesis is another classical description and typically portends something fairly serious. Vomit becomes coffee ground in quality in presence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding which allows blood to be exposed to gastric acid, leading to the oxidization of iron molecules found within the blood cells. In Edward's case, he was likely bleeding for one of two reasons: either he had gastritis which is irritation of the lining of the stomach or he had something called a Mallory-Weiss tear, which is a small mechanical tear in the mucosal lining at the junction of the esophagus and stomach secondary to repeated vomiting
To put it lightly, Katie was beside herself and I was pretty concerned myself. We considered going straight to the ER, but since our doctor's appointment was in 15 minutes we decided to start with that. Our pediatrician was also quite concerned, but again he could not feel any evidence of pyloric stenosis on exam. Furthermore, there were many other potential causes of Edward's symptoms, some serious and some not so serious. So, he called the surgeon who we saw that morning and they decided to send us to the main hospital for an ultrasound that afternoon.
Katie dropped me off and I took Edward to Radiology while she ran home to get some essentials in case we were in the hospital all afternoon or evening figuring all this out. I sat in the Radiology waiting room with Edward in my arms - he was getting pretty lethargic from all the vomiting and lack of nutrition. And even though we had not fed him anything for a few hours, he spit up again all over me. Dark brown stuff - the poor little man! His eyes had this glazed over look and he seemed so worn out. "He spent 3 long months in the NICU only to come home to this!" I thought to myself. I have to admit that was one of the lowest points for me throughout all this whole process. Finally, soon after Katie arrived, they called us back into Ultrasound. While we were waiting, I confessed to Katie that I was actually hoping for pyloric stenosis. There were other possibilities that were more serious (intussusception or volvulus) or less treatable (such as reflux) and I was worried the ultrasound would be totally normal. Then we would be left with this poor baby who seemed miserable, vomiting all the time and two parents who were equally miserable and close to wits end.
Then finally, we got the results: Pyloric Stenosis! As strange and as counterintuitive as it seems, I was overjoyed! We had a diagnosis! .........So now what?
Monday, May 16, 2011
All Babies Spit Up....
After being home for almost a week, my mom innocently asked "How much is Edward spitting up?"
"None!" I happily replied. And it was true. The first five to six days at home, Edward did not spit up once. He was still learning to take bottles and was not taking large volumes, but sure enough he had not spit up a single time. In fact, throughout his entire NICU stay, I think he only threw up 2-3 times total.
We were overjoyed with our luck! Then lady luck looked the other way. Edward was pretty gassy and somewhat fussy after most of his feeds, but then he started to spit up. Not a lot at first and not with every feed, but it was fairly consistent throughout the course of a day. We started holding him upright for over an hour after every feed in case there was any element of reflux and hopefully decrease the amount of 'spit-up'.
One night, after a feed and holding him for about 90 minutes, we placed Edward in his bassinet next to our bed. Ten minutes later, "BLEH!" with vomitus going through the bassinet and onto the side of our bed. It wasn't always quite that bad. Mostly, he would take his feed, fuss for a little bit and then spit-up some white curdly stuff that wasn't very pleasant to smell.
Similar to the amount of breastmilk that he was actually taking in, these episodes of emesis were a cause of great discussion and angst. I downplayed it at first, reminding Katie that 'all babies spit up,' which of course is true to some extent. But despite repeatedly asking my opinion on various issues, Katie does not believe a word I say anymore....and I can't say that I blame her. I have learned that it is impossible for me to simultaneously play father and physician. Objectivity goes out the window when it is your own family.
Despite of all this, Edward still gained weight at our next pediatrician appointment! In fact, he gained almost 7 ounces (nearly an ounce a day)! Our pediatrician was thrilled and we were extremely pleased to have achieved such a significant weight gain. But it seemed like we were killing ourselves to accomplish this. Every feed was a battle and often ended in a change of clothes for Edward and one of us. At the same time, the weight gain was so encouraging - clearly we were doing something right.
Then, week three happened....
"None!" I happily replied. And it was true. The first five to six days at home, Edward did not spit up once. He was still learning to take bottles and was not taking large volumes, but sure enough he had not spit up a single time. In fact, throughout his entire NICU stay, I think he only threw up 2-3 times total.
We were overjoyed with our luck! Then lady luck looked the other way. Edward was pretty gassy and somewhat fussy after most of his feeds, but then he started to spit up. Not a lot at first and not with every feed, but it was fairly consistent throughout the course of a day. We started holding him upright for over an hour after every feed in case there was any element of reflux and hopefully decrease the amount of 'spit-up'.
One night, after a feed and holding him for about 90 minutes, we placed Edward in his bassinet next to our bed. Ten minutes later, "BLEH!" with vomitus going through the bassinet and onto the side of our bed. It wasn't always quite that bad. Mostly, he would take his feed, fuss for a little bit and then spit-up some white curdly stuff that wasn't very pleasant to smell.
Similar to the amount of breastmilk that he was actually taking in, these episodes of emesis were a cause of great discussion and angst. I downplayed it at first, reminding Katie that 'all babies spit up,' which of course is true to some extent. But despite repeatedly asking my opinion on various issues, Katie does not believe a word I say anymore....and I can't say that I blame her. I have learned that it is impossible for me to simultaneously play father and physician. Objectivity goes out the window when it is your own family.
Despite of all this, Edward still gained weight at our next pediatrician appointment! In fact, he gained almost 7 ounces (nearly an ounce a day)! Our pediatrician was thrilled and we were extremely pleased to have achieved such a significant weight gain. But it seemed like we were killing ourselves to accomplish this. Every feed was a battle and often ended in a change of clothes for Edward and one of us. At the same time, the weight gain was so encouraging - clearly we were doing something right.
Then, week three happened....
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Where to begin.....
We apologize for the dearth of posts recently - having a new baby at home is slightly time consuming. I am not sure if anyone is still following along, but figured we would send out an update just in case.
So....as many of you know, we brought the little man home 3 weekends ago. It has been an absolute joy to have him home with us after such a long course in the NICU. At the same time, Katie and I are first-time parents struggling with the adjustment of having a 'newborn' at home. To put it lightly, we are a little nervous and anxious. As many first-time parents before us have done, we scrutinize Edward's every move. Every cough, burp, grunt, pee, poop, spit-up, feed, etc is carefully discussed and analyzed. No stone goes unturned. The combination of being first-time parents and starting off with nearly 100 days in the hospital has greatly skewed Katie's and my ability to determine what is "normal baby behavior" and what is pathologic. This makes for many "interesting discussions" between the two of us.
To be honest, Edward left the NICU in phenomenal shape. He did not require any supplemental oxgyen or any apnea monitors. His only medication was a thoroughly disgusting multivitamin to be given only once a day. As with many NICU babies, his biggest issue was feeding. In the hospital, we had an attending neonatalogist, multiple nurse practitioners, ICU nurses, a nutritionist, a lactation consultant and a speech pathologist all helping us coordinate Edward's feeds. Upon discharge, he was just developing his ability to take bottles, but enough so to be able to go home. Once at home, his feeds were obviously up to only Katie and me. A daunting task to say the least. The basic tenet was for us to feed him every 3 hours or so and make sure he is making wet + dirty diapers regularly. If we accomplish this, he should gain weight! Simple, right? Well, Edward didn't make it quite that easy.
Week One
As previously mentioned, Katie and I spent the first week obsessing over our every decision and perseverating on the exact amount of breast milk he would take in with each feed. We (read Katie) kept a strict log of his daily intake, recorded to milliliter. Sometimes, he would take 30 mL, sometimes 45. Then he would only take 20. Then 40! Then 15. Then 45 again! Back and forth, back and forth. This variation caused great consternation. Still, he seemed to be making wet diapers regularly, so we pressed on, keeping the faith. Forty-eight hours after discharge, we had our first pediatrician appointment for a weight check. Driving to the doctor's office, both Katie and I shared our trepidation of finding out if had gained weight and confessed a likely sense of failure if he had not.
Once at the pediatricians, the nurse directed us to the intake area and had us lay Edward down to undress him on a scale ......a scale straight out of the 1890s - the type of scale with the movable weights across the top that looked about as accurate as throwing darts. You should have seen the look on Katie's face. In the hospital, a difference in weight as small as 5-10 grams could be detected. Much to our relief, the actual, digital scale was nearby and the scale on which we were only functioned as a changing table! Whew. Then the actual weigh in occured. I am not sure if any of you watch the Biggest Loser on TV, but as the nurse laid Edward, naked as a jaybird, on the digital scale and the numbers started calculating, I felt like we were on that show. Seconds felt like hours, but finally the scale settled out and he had gained 15 grams (half an ounce)! Not a huge gain, but more importantly, it was not a loss! We were so relieved. We continued on with our current plan and had another weight check 3 days later. On that visit, he gained 75 grams (2.5 ounces)! He was up to 6 lbs 13 ounces! Again, another huge relief. Maybe we were finally getting a hang of this whole parenting thing....then weeks 2 + 3 happened.
To be continued.....
So....as many of you know, we brought the little man home 3 weekends ago. It has been an absolute joy to have him home with us after such a long course in the NICU. At the same time, Katie and I are first-time parents struggling with the adjustment of having a 'newborn' at home. To put it lightly, we are a little nervous and anxious. As many first-time parents before us have done, we scrutinize Edward's every move. Every cough, burp, grunt, pee, poop, spit-up, feed, etc is carefully discussed and analyzed. No stone goes unturned. The combination of being first-time parents and starting off with nearly 100 days in the hospital has greatly skewed Katie's and my ability to determine what is "normal baby behavior" and what is pathologic. This makes for many "interesting discussions" between the two of us.
To be honest, Edward left the NICU in phenomenal shape. He did not require any supplemental oxgyen or any apnea monitors. His only medication was a thoroughly disgusting multivitamin to be given only once a day. As with many NICU babies, his biggest issue was feeding. In the hospital, we had an attending neonatalogist, multiple nurse practitioners, ICU nurses, a nutritionist, a lactation consultant and a speech pathologist all helping us coordinate Edward's feeds. Upon discharge, he was just developing his ability to take bottles, but enough so to be able to go home. Once at home, his feeds were obviously up to only Katie and me. A daunting task to say the least. The basic tenet was for us to feed him every 3 hours or so and make sure he is making wet + dirty diapers regularly. If we accomplish this, he should gain weight! Simple, right? Well, Edward didn't make it quite that easy.
Week One
As previously mentioned, Katie and I spent the first week obsessing over our every decision and perseverating on the exact amount of breast milk he would take in with each feed. We (read Katie) kept a strict log of his daily intake, recorded to milliliter. Sometimes, he would take 30 mL, sometimes 45. Then he would only take 20. Then 40! Then 15. Then 45 again! Back and forth, back and forth. This variation caused great consternation. Still, he seemed to be making wet diapers regularly, so we pressed on, keeping the faith. Forty-eight hours after discharge, we had our first pediatrician appointment for a weight check. Driving to the doctor's office, both Katie and I shared our trepidation of finding out if had gained weight and confessed a likely sense of failure if he had not.
Once at the pediatricians, the nurse directed us to the intake area and had us lay Edward down to undress him on a scale ......a scale straight out of the 1890s - the type of scale with the movable weights across the top that looked about as accurate as throwing darts. You should have seen the look on Katie's face. In the hospital, a difference in weight as small as 5-10 grams could be detected. Much to our relief, the actual, digital scale was nearby and the scale on which we were only functioned as a changing table! Whew. Then the actual weigh in occured. I am not sure if any of you watch the Biggest Loser on TV, but as the nurse laid Edward, naked as a jaybird, on the digital scale and the numbers started calculating, I felt like we were on that show. Seconds felt like hours, but finally the scale settled out and he had gained 15 grams (half an ounce)! Not a huge gain, but more importantly, it was not a loss! We were so relieved. We continued on with our current plan and had another weight check 3 days later. On that visit, he gained 75 grams (2.5 ounces)! He was up to 6 lbs 13 ounces! Again, another huge relief. Maybe we were finally getting a hang of this whole parenting thing....then weeks 2 + 3 happened.
To be continued.....
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Hallelujah, He's Home!
After 24 hours of 'real' parenthood, Katie and I have realized that the phrase 'sleeping like a baby' is ridiculous. If by sleeping like a baby, you mean a constant stream of grunts, coo's, cries, etc with intermittent periods of sleep, then you're right on.
I am only half-kidding. Our two days at home have been essentially perfect and though we slept in shifts last night, we could not be happier. Edward is extremely calm and mellow and doesn't seem to miss the hustle, bustle and beeps of the hospital. We toyed around with the idea buying our own hospital monitor, so Edward would feel more at home (and Katie could monitor his heart rate and oxygen level - again, only half-joking). Winston, our dog, on the other hand, is going through a period of 'adjustment'.
Hope everyone is having a very Happy Easter as we certainly are. Here's a video of pictures from Edward's 95 days in the NICU and his first minutes at home!
I am only half-kidding. Our two days at home have been essentially perfect and though we slept in shifts last night, we could not be happier. Edward is extremely calm and mellow and doesn't seem to miss the hustle, bustle and beeps of the hospital. We toyed around with the idea buying our own hospital monitor, so Edward would feel more at home (and Katie could monitor his heart rate and oxygen level - again, only half-joking). Winston, our dog, on the other hand, is going through a period of 'adjustment'.
Hope everyone is having a very Happy Easter as we certainly are. Here's a video of pictures from Edward's 95 days in the NICU and his first minutes at home!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)