Day 6 No more bili lights!

6.30.10

Little Grayson's bilirubin level came down to 9.1 today and so the doctors decided to discontinue the photo therapy. He looked so cute when the glasses came off. The lights were very dim in the room and he opened his little eyes and looked all around. I reached in the isolette and rubbed his little head and he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep for a minute, but then opened his eyes again. He is just the tiniest thing. I patted his little bottom today and it just fits in the palm of my hand. Also I measured his body with my hand, from his shoulders to his rump is about the length of my middle finger to the end of my palm...soooo tiny! Especially in comparison to his big brother!

The nurse turned his IV fluids down to 1.5mL/hr, with the expectation that they will stop them tomorrow and take out his PICC line. He is tolerating 30mL of food every 3 hours. He had a little bit left over in his stomach so they are slowing down how fast they increase his feeds, but that is ok, we aren't in a hurry. What progress though!!!!! Tomorrow will be his one week birthday...so hard to believe and hard to believe how fast time is going by at this point.

Also...tonight Grayson weighed in at 4 pounds!!!!!!! He gained 2 ounces in one day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is the best news that I've heard in a long time!!!

Day 5 Back to Birth Weight

6.29.10
Today I spent a while in the room with Grayson. It was nice just to be there even though I can't do anything with him yet. Dr. Coates sat down and gave me updates...Grayson is tolerating 26 mL of breastmilk every 3 hours, which is great. So great that they actually stopped the gatorade and fat IV and just give him a sugary solution with some potassium through his IV
(D10 with sodium acetate and potassium acetate, I think) at 3 cc/hr. Dr. Coates thinks that if things continue to go well, then they can stop his IV and take out his PICC line in the next 2-3 days. That is great news. They also added a fortifier to the breast milk that adds calories, but most importantly it adds calcium, phosphorus, and some other goodies that preemies need more of.

The little Trooper's bilirubin level is 10.4, which continues to trend down. Dr. Coates thinks he will need one or two more days of the bili lights. Grayson was so cute today, he seemed like he didnt like his glasses and hat because he kept trying to move his glasses off his eyes....bout made me crazy because I was constantly up checking on his eyes.

Tonight Grayson weighed in at 3lbs and 14 ounces....so he is back to his birth weight! That is such good news, like music to my ears. The nurse today made it sound like a baby of his age should keep gaining and not lose anymore weight.

I cant wait to see our little Trooper tomorrow, he is such a cutie.

Day 4 - and the bili level is...

6.28.10

...11! Still requires to be under the bili lights, but at least the level is trending down! The nurse says that they could probably remove the lights but the doctors want to make sure that the level is trending down first. He continues to just soak up the rays, looking as cute as he can be in his little hat. Today is the first that I think he looks a little bit like Jones. He had his little lips closed and one nostril made a heart shape just like Jones. It is a nice resemblance. Speaking of big brother Jones, he is 17 months today! Big boy!!!

Jennifer came by to see the little Trooper. She was so cute, as soon as she walked in she said "well, he is a chubby little guy!" That was like music to my ears, coming from a very experienced NICU nurse! The chubbier the better in my book. Grayson is now tolerating 20mL per feeding and his gatorade was turned down to 5.5 from 6...taking small baby steps every day.

Tonight Grayson weighed in at 3 lbs and 13 ounces! I am SO happy about that! I have been told that premies usually lose weight within the first 3-5 days of life, so hopefully here soon he will begin gaining

I am completely and totally exhausted. I haven't taken advantage of taking naps and I think I'll have to start. It is amazing just how emotionally taxing this experience has been.

Day 3, Bring on the sunshine!

6.27.10

Time is going by so fast that I'm writing this a day behind....let's see what I can remember.

I have learned that jaundice is very common in preemies. I have also learned that instead of turning yellow, they turn a ruby red color that turns yellow when you press on their skin and then let go. Grayson's bilirubin level is 13, so he is now enjoying the sun under the bili lights. He is just sooo cute! He has these little purple foam glasses that are way too big and so they are held on by his little hat. He just lies there and soaks up the rays. I joke that he feels like he is on our back patio while his momma sunbathes on bed rest (I later learn that a high bilirubin can cause them to be lethargic...).

Grayson has continued to tolerate his feedings. The nurses are increasing his feedings by 2mL every 8 hours. By the days end, he should be at 14mL per feed. YAY! He is still getting IV "gatorade" and "fat" as Jai calls them, which is kinda just what they are. As he increases his tube feed amounts, he will decrease his IV fluids.

Oh and his weight.....holding steady at 3lbs, 13 ounces! YAY! Yesterday he was 1730 grams, today he is 1740, so he actually gained 10 grams. I am thrilled that he hasnt dropped too much weight, but there is plenty of time.

Grayson also met his Grandfather Joe today for the first time. My dad came and spent some time with us. My dad is truly an inspiration, as he was born at 32 weeks, weighing in a 4lbs and 6 ounces, back in 19.......we'll keep that a secret just for him. Imagine how the technology has changed from when he was born...! We had a great time visiting with Dad and took lots of good pictures.

The nurse says that Grayson has been doing well on the monitor, with only one heart rate drop that he corrected on his own...WONDERFUL!

Our visitors today were Dad, Robbie, Blair, Kevin, and Jennifer.

The very first picture is actually from day 4, not day 3, but I can't figure out how to remove it...lol!

Day 2 - Snuggle time!

Day two has been a good one. Rhonda was with Grayson again and had a list of goals of the day which included getting rid of CPAP, increasing his feeds, and letting me hold him.

The doctor and the respiratory therapist both agreed that Grayson could come off of CPAP. This is wonderful especially because the CPAP is so uncomfortable for Grayson. It is bulky and he had to wear a little hat that covered up his eyes to secure the heavy tubing...not fun for the little guy. So around 9 am, they took off the CPAP and he was breathing completely on his own! He didnt even need a nasal cannula! I was thrilled, especially because you can now see all of his perfect little face.

Grayson has been tolerating his feedings very well. He started out yesterday getting only 2mL of food every 3 hours, increasing the amount every 12 hours. He was doing so well with the food that they decided to increase the amount of food every 8 hours. So around 3 am tonight, he will get a whopping 10mL of food! YAY little buddy! The nurse told us tonight that his ultimate goal amount of food is 35-40mL, so we have a long way to go but we are making progress.

And the best part of the day...I got to hold my sweet little baby for the first time. I was scared to death and so nervous but it was amazing. Rhonda took him out of the isolette and it was then that I realized just how t-tiny he is! I loved snuggling with him. Jai and I took a lot of pictures and really enjoyed talking to him and watching him. He seems to love to suck on a paci already! But that is great practice for him to learn how to suck properly. Jai and I didn't want him out of his warm little isolette too long and so we had Rhonda put him back after about 45 minutes. It was then that I was able to change his little diaper! I was scared to death that I was going to hurt his little legs because they are just so small, but everything went well.

Tonight when we saw him he seemed comfortable and is still tolerating his feeds. He got a good bath and his weight was 3lbs and 13 ounces, just one ounce off of his birth weight. Now it is time to pump and go say good night to my sweet little Trooper!

Day 1 - Get RID Of The Vent

I was finally able to see Grayson about 11am on his first full day of life. He was still on the vent, but required very little oxygen. His vitals were stable and the plan of the day was to get him off of the vent. His nurse was named Rhonda and she was amazing. A true go-getter and advocate for the babies that she cares for. She was instrumental in getting Grayson off of the vent. Around 9pm, they finally extubated him to a nasal CPAP and he did excellent. He tolerated the nasal CPAP through the night, with a new goal to get rid of CPAP the very next day.

Grayson also began eating on this day too! He has an OG tube and gets his food every 3 hours. He was also able to take breastmilk, which I was very happy about. He started out at 2mL per feeding...not much at all but it is a start.

Our visitors today were Aunt Gigi, Mom, baby Jones, and Bob Christenbury.

A Surprise Birthday Party!

I never thought I would ever start a blog. I don't really have an interest in writing or ever thought I would, but I have now found that I want to write about our little Trooper's Journey as a 31 week preemie so I can remember where we have come from and what we have been through.

Grayson Kendrick Bell was born on June 24th at 3:58pm after my water broke when I was just 31 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I had experienced a very high risk pregnancy with a lot of bleeding, a partial placenta abruption, which created a very unusual clinical picture. The doctors called my uterus "fragile," saying I was a complicated case and no one really could answer why I was bleeding because all the labs, tests, etc checked out "normal."

I was placed on bed rest at 20 weeks. Doctors painted a grim picture and thought it was highly unlikely that I would deliver a term baby. At that point, my goal was to make it to the age of viability at 24 weeks. Weeks went on, ultrasounds showed the bleeding had stabilized, and bed rest turned into a "modified" bed rest, until 30 weeks. I began to have light bleeding and back to the couch with minimal activity I went. I prayed I would at least make it to 32 weeks, but really, 36 was my goal, but Grayson and my body had other plans.

On a Wednesday night I began to bleed while sleeping. The bleeding got heavier and I called the doctor. He was supportive, said some blood is to be expected but if it gets worse or I have contractions, come to the hospital. This was 2:45 am. Around 4am the bleeding was slightly heavier but no contractions. I laid in bed and prayed for God to tell me what to do and something just told me to go to the hospital. I don't know what it was, must have been God's grace because I just new it was time to go. Thankfully my mom was in town and was able to go to the hospital with me while my sweet husband stayed with Jones.

At the hospital the bleeding slowed down and I felt a little silly for being there. The doctor came to see me and ordered labs and an ultrasound. The lab work checked out ok, however the ultrasound showed that I had very little amniotic fluid surrounding the baby. There were a million things that could cause that and I struggled to find the one that I wanted it to be. The nurse performed a test and determined that my water had broken and then it was decided that we were having the baby that very day. Grayson was then born via c-section at 3:58.

His 1 minute apgar score was 8, and the 5 minute apgar was 9...excellent scores! Full term babies hardly ever score a perfect 10, so I was thrilled. He also weighed in at a solid 3lbs and 14 ounces....excellent weight! He was even crying as loud as he possibly could! There was so much blood in my uterus that he had swallowed it and also inhaled it which impeded his breathing. The neonatologist determined that he needed more breathing support, so he was placed on a CPAP, but eventually needed the ventilator. He stayed on the vent for the remainder of the night.

Our visitors today were my mom, Barbie Horne, Tiffany Walsh, and Grandma Judy.