Yep, we are HOME! The nurse came in this morning and said she thought he might go home tomorrow and would be surprised if he went home today. But, then, when the nurse practitioner came in, she decided there was no need to keep him there any longer, so at around 5:30 pm today, David got to see home for the first time. He’s been a trooper all evening, with a few visitors (who we asked to come over for a little while) and with Mommy and Daddy trying to figure out what we’re doing. Since we haven’t been home very much, we haven’t had much time to get organized. But, we think we’re going to let “Mimi” help with that when she gets here Thursday.
Anyway, in addition to the most exciting news of coming home today, David also did a car seat study (which is necessary for him to be discharged and requires him to sit in the car seat for 1.5 hours) and he got his first tub bath. He wasn’t terribly happy about the bath, but he does like having his hair washed and he’s very calm once he’s dried off at the end of the bath.
I think that’s about it for today. I don’t know that we will be posting everyday from now on, since we won’t have our 24 hour nurse staff to help take care of him. But, we’ll still keep you updated as much as possible.
Since it was such a big day, there are a few more pictures than usual. Enjoy!!
Today is an exciting day…David got his feeding tube taken out. YAY!! He ate 3 whole bottles in a row without the tube and since it was halfway out anyway, the nurse decided to take it out this morning. Then, the doctor gave the official order to do demand feeding with him and see how he does with that. So, he will be monitored the next 48 hours and then we’ll talk about a discharge plan for him!! We’re hoping that he gets to go home early next week, but we’ll see what happens. Since taking his tube out, he has taken a few whole bottles and a most of the other bottles. So, he’s doing pretty well so far with just the bottle feeding.
He is still being really squirmy and is definitely not a sound sleeper…no matter how much you swaddle him. One time today the nurse found him with his head in one corner and his feet in the opposite corner. I found him with his head basically touching the top of the crib. So, we’ll have to watch this one while he sleeps.
In addition to no more feeding tube, David is also officially (well over) 5 lbs. He was actually just over 5 lbs last night (5 lbs 0.9 oz) but tonight he weighed in at a whopping 5 lbs 2.5 oz. So, needless to say, he’s gaining weight just fine. We’ll see what happens in the next 24 hours. Keep your fingers crossed!!
We were planning on giving him a tub bath tonight, but he had other plans with his feeding schedule. So, maybe we’ll do it tomorrow. We also might do the car seat test with him tomorrow. He has to be able to sit in his car seat for 1.5 hours without any Brady alarms going off. But, I’m sure he’ll be fine.
Here are a few more pictures to share with you all.
Not much happened today with David, other than he decided to pee all over two different outfits…both of which is Aunt Susan sent him. I got a picture of him in one of the outfits, but the other one didn’t even have a chance to be snapped. So, hopefully we’ll get it washed in the next few days and be able to try putting it on him again. 🙂
He has grown a little bit. He was measured today at 18 in. which is a little bit longer than the 17.7 in. he measured last week. He has done OK with the bottle today. This morning he drank a whole bottle and almost a whole bottle for Daddy before he left, but Mommy hasn’t had as much luck. He drank about 25 mL in two feedings and about 30 mL in a third feeding. So, that’s about it for the day. Here are a few pictures.
Both Chip and I spent the night in West Lafayette last night because we both had meetings today that we needed to attend. But, now we’re back in the NICU and will both be staying here tonight. But, enough about us, that’s not really why you’re reading this blog anyway. So, here’s a David update…
We called this morning and not much had changed last night. But, when I called again this afternoon at 4pm, we found out he had taken a whole bottle at his last feeding. Then, he just took another whole bottle at his 9pm feeding. Granted, he slept through his 6pm feeding because he was too worn out, but he is definitely making progress. He still needs to be able to eat from a bottle at every feeding, but he is heading in the right direction. However, despite his eating so well today, no one has suggested a time frame for when he can go home. It’s still just too early to tell.
Also, he is almost 5 lbs. He weighed in tonight at 4 lb 15.5 oz, so he’s really close to breaking the 5 lb barrier. We put on one of the preemie outfits Chip and I bought last night and I’m glad we took a picture because I don’t think it’s going to fit him much longer. That means, we definitely need to get the other preemie outfits on him as soon as possible or he might never wear them.
So, all-in-all, David had a VERY good day. Here are a few pictures we took last night and tonight.
Daddy and David sleeping in the chair
Sitting with Mommy
In one of the outfits we bought him…I LOVE the monkey feet
Drinking his bottle
This is one of the feedings where he drank the whole bottle
David is doing great today. At his 6am feeding he took 25 mL by bottle and has taken 20 mL and 22 mL by bottle at two other feedings today, which is about double what he had been taking. So, we know he’s heading in the right direction. He was also VERY squirmy today and wiggled his way out of his swaddle and halfway down his crib. His feet were almost touching the bottom of the crib when I picked him up to eat. In addition to that, I got a lesson from the occupational therapist today on how to give an infant massage. He seemed to really enjoy it while I was practicing. The only other news for the day is that the cardiologist came to do an echo to see if they could find a heart murmur. The nurse practitioner thought she might have heard one, so they ordered the echo to find out. We didn’t get the official report yet, but the cardiologist who performed the echo didn’t see anything unusual and when the doctor and nurse listened to his heart today, they didn’t hear anything. So, it sounds like nothing to worry about. Other than that, today has been pretty uneventful.
Here are a few pictures from today…mostly just sleeping.
Well, we’re back in the NICU. We went to church this morning and then headed back to Indy. Unsurprisingly, David was sleeping when we arrived, but we noticed he gained a little bit of weight. He is now 4lb 14oz. So, in that respect, he’s doing great. He’s still having trouble taking a bottle, but as all of the nurses like to tell us, he will figure it out in his own time…and we know all about being on someone else’s timetable. So, we are patiently waiting for him to learn the suck, swallow, breathe process.
I held him during his 3pm feeding and he took about 10-12 ml, which is pretty good for him right now, of course at least some of that ended up on the washcloth under his chin. After that, David and I took a short snooze in the chair…guess we both needed some R&R. Then, it was time for his FIRST sponge bath. He was pretty good, but I think he was cold part of the time, so we tried covering him up with some of the other dry washcloths to keep him a little warmer while we finished his bath. He really enjoyed washing his “hair” and calmed down a lot during that part.
Now Chip is holding him and he has been quite alert, which is something we haven’t seen a lot of the last week. So, it’s exciting to finally see his very big eyes looking around and checking out the world.
Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers):
Q: What is David’s hair and eye color? A: Well, since he decided to open his eyes some more today, we actually got to take a look at his eyes and they are blue. His hair color is still in question, just because he doesn’t have a lot of it, but the student nurse who helped us with his bath thinks it’s blond. So, that’s what we’re going with for now. Of course, we’re well aware that both his eye and hair color can change when he gets a little older.
And, of course, here are a few new pictures from today and the link right above the pictures is a little video.
Report from West Lafayette (we’re not at the hospital with him):
So we have been calling the NICU about every 6-8 hours. We’re trying not to be an overly worrying couple, so we’re trying to balance how often to call. Basically, there has been little change since we left the hospital. He still hasn’t figured out swallowing, which isn’t surprising anyone. Also, for clarification in case anyone is wondering — he is not being fed intravenously. His gastro-intestinal system and lungs are working just fine. So he’s being fed through a tube which “dumps” food directly into his stomach, where the rest of his bodily functions process it normally.
They bumped him up to 40ml of food each feeding yesterday, and today they are moving up to 44ml of food. They are also moving him up to a 22cal formula, from a 20cal formula. Apparently, breast milk is usually 20cal, so this is to help him catch up in size. He was last weighed at 4lb, 13oz, which we think means he may not have been weighed last night (at least, the nurse said that was up 22grams, although we were there when he was weighed at 4lb 13oz, so that’s why I’m not sure he was weighed again).
Overall, the NICU has been a great experience. David has his own room, which means everything in the room is personalized care. The nurses have been extraordinarily friendly and instructional. It seems we get a new nurse every shift – we haven’t had any repeated nurses during shifts we were present. On the one hand, this is good, because everyone gives us a little different perspective and information. On the other hand, we get a lot of the same information, and even though they pass things along with each shift, they never know quite now how much we have been there/involved/informed. We think he actually is rotated around so much in part because he is one of the easier babies in the NICU.
Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers):
Q: What’s the story behind the name? A: Well, of course, Charles is his father’s name. David is the name his birthmother had chosen as his middle name, and since we like the name and wanted to integrate a part of his birthfamily, we wanted to use it. We’re calling him David because his father goes by Chip, and his grandfather by Chuck. We weren’t as thrilled with other nicknames for Charles, so we thought it would be appropriate to go by David.
Q: So when did you really learn you were adopting David? A: Really, the first indication we had about David was when we got the call on 2/16. We had received no information about the possibility of an adoption prior to that point. So, no, we weren’t just keeping it a secret (though we definitely would have been keeping it more of a secret this time); we just really didn’t know.
Finally, here are a few pictures we took after the last status (though they are from Thursday night, not Friday or Saturday):
A multi-tasker, eating and sleeping at the same time!
So David is now 4 days old. He still hasn’t gotten the knack of eating, but they continue to remind us it could be a week on that. Kristina and I have been here all day, though we did go down to the cafeteria for breakfast and lunch, and out to dinner. It is nice, in a way, in the NICU that we can trust the nurses to take care of David, and moreover, that they are going to do so whether or not we are there. So going off and doing something together alone is something we have the luxury to do now, but know we won’t once he comes home (unless we have someone at the house watching him).
Overall, David has had a great day. They decided his jaundice numbers were low enough on day 4 that he wouldn’t need the special lights, so they swapped out his incubator for a regular crib. So now he’s in a “big boy” crib–at least, that’s what they called it. The nurse this evening weighed him, and was surprised to find he has gained 30 grams since yesterday, which puts him at 4lb, 13.2oz. She repeated the weight 3 times to be sure. I pointed out to her that previous measures were taken in the incubator rather than the mobile scale, so that may be the reason for the difference. We saw the doctor this morning, who said David was doing fine, just that he needed to grow up a bit more. 🙂
He’s doing okay on vitals, he’s had a couple of “Brady’s” today (where his heart rate drops below threshold), some of which were due to things like positioning, and others for unknown reasons. Remember that to go home, he has to be eating well, gaining weight, and not have had a Brady in 5 days (among I’m sure other criteria).
Currently he feeds every 3 hours on a 2/5/8/11 schedule. So far we have slept during the 2am feedings, but have tried to be around for all the others. Occasionally we try to bottle feed, which has mixed results–he may take 11ml (out of 35), or he may take only 1-3. Granted, he usually drools some (much?) of that, but at least he kinda has the sucking part of the suck-swallow-breathe action down.
Out of curiosity, and to find out more about adding a new dependent to our health care plan, I went down to the business office today, and asked what his running bill was adding up to. WOW! I will just say I am very glad Purdue offers very good insurance!
Tonight we are headed back to West Lafayette, and will stay there until Sunday, when we’ll return, and take turns being present while we run back and forth to teach class or supervise student teachers.
More Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers):
Q: What can I do to help/what do you need? A: At the moment, we are mostly just driving back and forth to Indianapolis. He is wearing premie clothes, but the hospital is providing them, and I have already heard there are at least one set of premie clothes on the way to us, so I would NOT go out and buy premie clothes (plus, he should not be in them very long). We are registered at BabiesRUs (http://www.babiesrus.com – registry number 41815430), and also Walmart (http://www.walmart.com – registry number 38512399003). We listed the expected due date as April 1st, since any showers which get planned will be obviously after the actual delivery date. Don’t worry too much about specific clothes on the registry, because we created it back in October for a different situation, and the clothes may not be the ones you think are appropriate anymore. I’m sure there will be other ways to help once he comes home, but until then, I don’t know that there’s a lot to do.
Finally, here are a few pictures of David from today.
This is about as awake as we’ve seen David thus far.
This morning, as expected, David is still in the NICU. He lost a few grams yesterday, but not a full ounce. He has not figured out the sucking reflex yet, so continues to do most feeding through the feeding tube in his nose. Kristina was here at the hospital yesterday, and we will both be here today. The nurses suggested we go home and get some rest before he really starts taking bottles and we always want to be here, so we’re planning on going back to West Lafayette for the weekend.
After signing the paperwork yesterday, we were then able to get our parent badges for the NICU, which allows us to come and go without having to ring the bell for admittance each time we come. (Not a huge hassle, but nice to get the privilege anyway).
Overall, he’s still doing well, and spends most of his time sleeping. They are still evaluating how his jaundice is going. They said there is a possibility, if it is getting any better, that he could move into a regular crib today instead of the incubator. We won’t know for a couple of hours whether they will make that decision, but it’s a possibility. In general, they are not expecting any issues or complications, beyond what is normal for a slightly early baby.
Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers):
Q: What is that tube coming out of his nose in the pictures? A: It’s his feeding tube. Since he hasn’t figured out how to eat yet on his own, they feed him directly to his stomach. We’re told the suck-swallow-breathe reflex often doesn’t kick in before week 35-36.
Q: When can we come see him? A: Unfortunately, at the moment, the hospital wants us to not have any visitors. We don’t know when they will change that, or when they will be discharging him. Currently, they talk about 3 weeks as being a possible duration, while still emphasizing that it’s completely “up to him” and when he makes the progress he needs to. Basically, that means that it could happen at any time, but 3 weeks is when a “typical” baby might figure everything out he needs to before they send him home. Also, he has to have 5 consecutive alarm-free days, so it’ll be almost a week past when he turned out to have been ready. Then, once they discharge him, we’ll be trying to keep from having too many guests at once for a bit while he gets used to being with us in his new environment. I think we posted previously about the importance of bonding with an adopted child—which now comes into play, though thankfully, we are getting this opportunity to begin this bonding period with him alone at the NICU.
Q: Is the adoption final? When will the adoption be final? A: The court will finalize the adoption in about 2 months. However, this is not an at-risk adoption, because in the State of Indiana, the signatures of the mother and father releasing parental rights are irrevocable. The birth family has already signed the paperwork (as have we).
Q: What can you tell us about the birth family? A: Almost nothing. Anything we do know is part of private information which we will share with David as he grows. He will take part in figuring out how much to share about his story when the time comes. Aside from that, we have not met them, and they have requested a closed adoption, so we actually know very little anyway. What I do know is that they made a conscious, loving, decision to ensure that he has the best parenting situation possible.
