Thursday, July 03, 2008
Eric is now 32 weeks gestationally, 8 more to go!
Eric recieved his first bath yesterday. He didn't complain too much. Cris was working so he missed it, but he did get a nice-smelling baby for when he got to the hospital. We will be getting Eric's new bath tub today.
The nurses were talking about moving Eric to the second pod. There are four pods that the babies are in. The first pod is for the most fragile babies and the one Eric is currently in. As they get better, they graduate to the other pods. The goal is to get Eric to the 4th pod. That will mean he is ready to go home. Eric just needs to stop scaring them with the desats. He is getting better at it, but the reflux is still causing him problems.
In a couple more weeks, we can start thinking about starting him nippling. Nippling is when you start introducing a baby to the breast or bottle. Since Eric will be exclusively breastfed for the first six months, Joanna will need to be there every two hours, as much as possible. Breastmilk is easier to digest than formula, so it goes through a baby's body more quickly. When Joanna is not there, they will continue to feed him through the gavage tube. That's the reddish-orange tube you see in the pictures.
Here's to another progressive week. Eric is such a little fighter and we are very proud of him! Abigail is also doing better and we continue to pray for her recovery.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Tuesday, July 1st
Following the trends, the doctors and nurses have discovered that Eric desats the most during and after feedings. The feeding tube keeps the stomach open and the CPAP puts air into the stomach. Hence, Eric has a serious case of reflux. It peaked today with Eric needing to be bagged after a feeding. His heart rate and oxygen levels just depleted, plus he was spitting up heavily.
The medical staff is trying a new method of feeding him. Eric is held in an upright position (like the one for Kangaroo Care) during feedings and for at least a half hour afterwards.The last two feedings went really well that way, with very few desats.
We may get to bathe him for the very first time soon. Not sure if we can post nekkid baby pics online, so we'll just use them for blackmail in the future.
We are the last of the original babies in the first pod. The others have either gone home or moved on to the next pods. Eric is doing his best to become a "feeder grower" and get upgraded to the next pod. We think he is just being a gentleman and waiting for Abigail to get better. After all, she is to be his future wife. Miss Abigail's parents and us, have already arranged their marriage. They even have the same last names already!
Every day is a blessing. Thank you for sharing them with us.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Eric weekend and Monday reports Current mood: grateful
Eric had a pretty good weekend on Saturday and Sunday, with only a few serious de-sats. Cris was able to hold him on both days, which was really good. Eric is up to about 2lbs 10 oz which is solid progress. Eric is still running high on his pressure and his oxygen rate depends on his mood and time of day, with quite a bit of varience. Generally though, Eric is making progress.
Monday was started off a much worse day, as his blood gasses were not as good as they should be. Eric also had to receive another transfusion (hopefully his last) and the doctors did another blood gas in the afternoon which was better but still not that good. Joanna was able to hold him for a short bit, so that was good. Eric did end Monday night on a good note as he was doing pretty good when we left last night.
Eric's pod mate did improve over the weekend, but scared everyone yesterday. We are continuing to ask people to pray for her and her parents. We continue to be very grateful for all of our time we have been able to spend with Eric. Every day with him is a true treasure. We also want to thank everyone who has been so positive and thoughtful toward us. We are probably going to only update the website every few days from this point forward, as our time and energy seems to have evaporated lately.

Saturday, June 28, 2008
Eric, end of day 50 Friday Current mood: grateful
Eric ended the day on a good note last night. Joanna got to hold him and he did well. His gasses have improved a bit and they have weened his pressure down by 1 point to 6. Eric was still at 48% oxygen when we left last night, but his weight was up to 1200 grams, or about 2lbs 10oz. Joanna had a good evening with Eric and the chance to bond was much appreciated.
We are very grateful for Eric's continued progress and look forward to the day we can take him home, hopefully in about 9 more weeks.
We continue to pray for his podmate and her parents. The little angel had a little bit better of a day, but most definitely can use all the prayers and well wishes her and her family can get. We pray for her lungs to get better so that one day she can go home with her family. Thanks to everyone for their well wishes and prayers.

Friday, June 27, 2008
Eric on Day 50 Current mood: grateful
Eric had a decent day yesterday, but still with some ups and downs. Joanna was able to hold him again, but after a while he de-satted again, but not too bad. Eric did gain some weight after a few days of not gaining, so he is up to 1170 grams, or about 2lbs 9 oz. Eric is still on the CPAP, but his pressure is still pretty high at 7. He needs to get down to 2 for the nasal cannula so that he does not need the Hannibal Lector face mask, and just nasal tubes.
His blood gas last night was not as good as they would have liked, but his blood gas this morning was better, so they are going to continue with CPAP and try to bring his pressure down when they can. So far on Friday morning, he is behaving, which is a nice change that we could do with more.
His podmate had a so-so day, so we are still asking for prayers on her behalf, and on behalf of her parents. It has been very stressful, as most can imagine. Her parents and us are still praying for that miracle for her. This whole experience has just made us so grateful for all the little things we have and have experienced. It has also taught us to not take anything for granted and to live each day as it comes.

Thursday, June 26, 2008
Extra Prayers Requested Current mood: grateful
Wednesday afternoon and evening were a yo-yo day for Eric. When Joanna first tried to hold him in the afternoon, Eric de-satted and crashed hard. This was the second time in a row that this had happened, and this was very disheartening. Eric is in the in-between size where the smallest CPAP mask does not quite fit and the next size up is too loose. Joanna was very discouraged, as people can imagine.
By later in the evening, Eric was doing much better on the smallest mask and the staff encouraged Joanna to hold Eric again, which she did. This time he did much better and she was able to hold him for several hours. Eric continues to operate on his schedule though.
The extra prayer requests are NOT for Eric, however. One of Eric's pod mates who was born at Eric's weight and gestational age is in need of a miracle. She is five and half weeks old and has been hanging on and improving until the beginning of this week. This week however, her lungs are giving out and the doctors are almost out of options. If she does not turn around in the next few days, the parents have the difficult choice of leaving her on the machines until she dies or holding her until she passes. Since we have been pod neighbors with the parents for over a month (Eric was born about a week earlier in May), we have become friends to them and can come close to understanding (as well as anyone can) what they are going through. We are asking everyone who reads our blog to say a prayer for their little angel and to think positive thoughts for the baby and the parents.
This reminds of us of how far we have come and of how much we have to be grateful for. This also reminds us to treasure every day we can get, as things can turn around when you least expect it. Thank you all for your support and well wishes!

Eric Wednesday update, day 48 Current mood: hopeful
Eric had some difficulties last night/this morning, but he is still on CPAP. The doctors did not like his gas readings at 6am and he was de-satting a bit, so they increased his pressure and oxygen levels. At 8am his gas was much better and after the 9am doctor rounds, Eric was still doing well, so he is staying on the CPAP for now.
Eric's eye exam went fine, his eyes are still a bit hazy and his ROP has not gotten worse, so those are good signs. He will have weekly eye exams until he leaves the hospital to keep on top of that. So far nothing needs to be done for his eyes, and that is good.
Eric has been doing well with his binky and it has been helping him strengthen his jaw muscles. That is one of the things that helps him keep air in his lungs with the CPAP. The binky will also help when it comes time to breast feed, and he plain just likes to suck on things.
We did have another baby right next to Eric extubate herself on Tuesday while we were there, so took a few photos to show what a big deal an unplanned extubation really is. There were 2 doctors and about 8 nurses involved in getting the other baby stabalized and re-intubated. It is much easier to remain calm when it is not your own, but still very scary as we are friends with the parents of the other baby that had trouble. The other baby has been Eric's podmate for over a month and was born at about the same weight as Eric.
Eric continues to tolerate his feeds and do well overall. He is up to 1140grams which is about 2.5lbs. The CPAP if he can stay on it, will really help him recover from his chronic lung disease (the damage caused by the respirator). Every day he is off the respirator is a great day. Eric also likes to grip things, so the CPAP mask is very firmly attached to his head. It means he cannot sleep on his stomach, but it also means he cannot remove it easily as well. Eric has also outgrown his first preemie hat we got him, as his head is now 25.5cm in circumference.
We continue to be very grateful and hopeful for his continued improvements, and we really, really look forward to the day we can finally bring him home. Hopefully Joanna will be able to hold him today as Monday was a bit too scary.
Wonderful Sunny heard my desperate call for chocolate and brought several bars to the hospital for me. I shared some with the nurses. We all say thanks, Sunny!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
He did it again Current mood: hopeful
I got a call from NICU this morning. Eric extubated himself again. Yes, again, the little bug. This time, they tried CPAP and so far he is doing good. His O2 concentration is at 52%, which is high, but they are hoping to wean him down. They will do a blood gas at noon and let us know how he is tolerating it.
If Eric tolerates it, they will keep him on it. It may last anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days. The nurse, Lisa, said it is kind of a mini-workout for him. If he gets too tired, they will put back on the vent. Fingers crossed that he does well.
Obviously Eric decided, who cares what we say, he's doing things on his schedule, his way. The NICU staff isn't kidding when they say to 'never trust a preemie'.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Someone has their naughty pants on today Current mood: tired
"Do you KNOW what YOUR son did today?" Is the question that Cris was greeted with today when he arrived at the NICU.
Yesterday, Eric tried to extubate himself so the nurse, Laurel retaped the ET tube and all was well. He was very fiesty with Laurel and kept kicking off his blankets. She wrapped him up tight and he couldn't get out of it. However, he then became too hot. He is now able to maintain his temperature which makes swaddling him more of a challenge.
I was able to do Kangaroo Care today and all was going well for about an hour and a half. Until Eric decided to play with his ET Tube. You know, the tube that keeps him breathing. Cause that's not important or anything. The nurse had me hold down his tube and we tucked his hand into my shirt so that he couldn't grab anything. Since he was unable to grab anything, he moved his head until he extubated himself.
Cue everyone coming over to see my now purple baby. The bagged him while he was still on my chest. No good. They moved him back onto the bed, bagging him all the while. Bagging is when the force air into his chest, think CPR. Dr. Bedrick tried to see if Eric would breathe on his own without the ET tube, but no such luck. Back went the tube. He was fine afterwards and no changes were made except a little higher on the O2 concentration.
Later on, when we were changing his diaper, we found out the reason for the extubation, a very generous diaper experience. Apparently this is Eric's new trick. Either change his diaper RIGHT NOW, or he will try to extubate himself. Cris later told me that if I had more hair on my chest, Eric could grab that instead. Okay, honey, I'll get right on it.
Eric lost his free hand privelages. I put mittens on both hands and a sock on the bare foot without the wires. This was right before the shift change. After the shift change, both mittens were off and so was his sock. AND all of his blankets. Of course, Eric made sure he was extra cute afterwards so that I would forgive him.
Luckily, I had a some nice new dark chocolate from Trader Joe's. I shared it with the nurses as thanks for taking care of Eric. When I got home, more chocolate. I may need to stock up.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Eric Weekend Report, Days 44 and 45 Current mood: grateful
Eric had a decent weekend. The doctors were able to bring down his pressure support to 18, but his breaths remain unchanged at 12 per minute. Eric is still at 1110 grams.
Saturday, neither Cris nor Joanna were able to do kangaroo care with Eric as it was still too noisy and Eric was still surfing a bit. Sunday was a better day and Cris was finally able to do Kangaroo care for the first time for about 50 minutes. Eric was still surfing a bit, but it was a fantastic experience for Cris to hold his son. Some photos and video to come later.
Eric is still feisty and nearly extubated himself later Sunday night, so Joanna was not able to hold him that day. It also became quite noisy that night. We both really look forward to the day when he is off the respirator and we can hold him more. The doctors are currently thinking that they will try Eric on CPAP again on Tuesday or Wednesday. They have been going extra slow this time, since the last attempt failed. Eric also has a follow up eye exam on Tuesday, to see how his ROP (the scarring of retina) is doing.
We continue to be hopefull and grateful for every day with Eric. He is definitely the best thing that has ever happened to us.

Sunday, June 22, 2008
Eric Friday day 43 report Current mood: grateful
Eric had a decent day today. He was quite active throughout most of the day, possibly because of some of his more boisterous neighbors. While he did continue to surf, he overall did fine today. The doctors have dropped his breaths down to 12, his pressure down to 21, and his base pressure is 8, which is a nice improvement. The current plan is to try Eric on CPAP again on Monday or Tuesday.
Joanna was unable to hold him again today because of the high noise, and lots of crowding in the NICU in his area. One of Eric's podmates underwent successful cranial surgery to relieve pressure on her brain and that went well. Eric continues to be feisty and active, as well as hungry all the time it seems. The doctors have upped his feeds to 21 ccs per 3 hours and upped his calories to 26 cal per oz. Eric has been gaining more weight as a result of the increase in calories and is now up to 1110 grams (about 2lbs 7oz).
We continue to be very grateful for having Eric in our lives and cherish every day we have with him.

Friday, June 20, 2008
Eric at day 42 Current mood: grateful
Eric had a decent day today. While he was still surfing, the nurses and doctors lowered his respirator settings on both the pressure and down to 12 breaths per minute. Eric was also down to 27% oxygen, which is really good for him.
Joanna was unable to hold him again, primarily because of the crowding and noise from a full unit of sick babies. All the babies crying nearby Eric does make Eric far more feisty. He continues to try to remove sensors and his respirator tube, and he nearly removed his respirator tube again at about 11pm last night while we were there. Eric definitely is strong willed.
We continue to be hopeful and grateful, but also the weeks are really catching up to us, so we are both getting pretty darn tired. We just have so much to be thankful for and we don't want to miss a single day with Eric. Thanks for everyone elses continued support and understanding!

Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday day 41 Current mood: grateful
Today started off a bit scary when Eric started off Wednesday morning by extubating himself at 3am. The nurses and doctor on duty at 3am tried Eric on CPAP for the 3rd time, but he still could not handle it. Eric was reintubated and is again on the respirator. Also, there were several new babys added around Eric's incubator, so there was much more activity and noise. Eric surfed quite a bit on his sats and it was not his best day, as he was quite feisty. Eric also managed to pull out his thermometer at least 3 times.
Joanna was unable to do any Kangaroo care because of the noise (including quite of bit of babies crying), high volume of people, and Eric's surfing. We are hoping for a better day today. We continue to treasure every day we have with Eric, and we look forward not only to the day he can come off the respirator, but also the day we finally get to take him home. Eric continues to tolerate his feeds well. Eric has gained some more weight, and is now at 2lbs, 5oz or 1050grams. Eric's head is at 24.5 cm, and his length is at 36 cm. Eric is now gestationally 30 weeks old, and he has made amazing progress so far.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Eric day 40 Current mood: grateful
Tuesday was a decent day for Eric. Although the doctors did not adjust his ventilator settings, Eric did have a good day, with the exception of the eye doctor exam. Eric does have ROP (an eye condition, common in preemies his age, and usually made worse with high levels of oxygen), but it is only in zone 2 (not the critical center, called zone 1) and it is not severe enough to need any surgeries. Eric will get another eye exam next week, but the doctor is hopeful that it will clear up on its own and heal without any medical intervention. It is one more thing to keep an eye on, so to speak.
Joanna was able to do some more Kangaroo care again on Tuesday for about 90 minutes, but Eric as surfing for quite a bit of that time. We continue to be hopeful that we will be able to do Kangaroo care on a regular basis from now on. Even Cris, when he gets enough time at the hospital (Saturday??). Eric has not been gaining as much weight as the doctors would like, so the doctors have increased his calorie count to help with that. Also, we did have a bit of scare on Tuesday night when they stopped Eric's feeds since he had 3ccs left and it was green. At midnight, there was almost no residuals and they started feeds again. Babies Eric's age are susceptable to a necrosis in the intestines, in which the intestines can start to die off. Fortunately that was not the case with Eric last night, but the doctors wanted to make sure, as if it is caught early enough, it is easily fixed.
We continue to be grateful for every day we have with Eric.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Starting Kangaroo Care
Yesterday, Joanna was able to start Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC). Kangaroo Care is skin-to-skin contact with a preemie allows the baby to stabilize faster. Eric was able to handle 2 hours of KMC. Eric could have handled more, but it was time for a shift change. He was at 37% oxygen the entire time we were doing KMC and never surfed below the 83 O2 level. Amazing progress for him! Unfortunately, Cris was at work at the time and missed it. The nurse for the day, Jean, took some pictures for us.
The medical staff said that as long as he is stable and tolerating it well, we can continue KMC everyday. The more we are able to do it, the better it is for Eric.
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