Day 11 - The A's and B's of Prematurity

(I just had to put a picture of Jones on here!)

7.5.10

I have learned a lot about preemies in the past 11 days. The A's and B's of prematurity affect a lot of them...A is for apnea and B is for bradycardia. From what I understand, the baby becomes apneic, or stops breathing, and then drops their heart rate. Doctors say that most babies out grow this by 34-35 weeks although some require medications. Grayson was having just a couple episodes a day which he corrected himself without stimulation (which is really good). However, the nurse today told me that he had 13 yesterday! I was surprised to hear this because they seemed to have increased in the past week (he is 33 weeks today). The doctor said that they are trying to determine if the bradycardia is being caused by apnea or reflux...once they can figure that out, they can treat it, either with caffeine for the apnea, or prevacid (or something like that) for the reflux. While I was there today Grayson dropped his heart rate to 47 from 160's...I was scared to death but he did increase his heart beat after a little stimulation, thank goodness.

His bilirubin was 10.2 today. The doctor seems to think that the rebound bilirubin may have peaked and should begin to trend down now. He said that they will check another one in a few days.

We took a good nap and snuggled today. He looked so cute in a little brown and white stripped gown. He is just so tiny, I cant get over it. He makes his brother look HUGE! Speaking of Jones, Jai and I took him to Saluda Splash at Saluda Shoals and had a blast! He loved the water and the playground. He wore himself out and took a good nap on the way home. I am so blessed to have such great, amazing, cute boys (including my sweet husband!). I just had to put a picture of Jones on here from Saluda Shoals today. Jones loves to wear his sunglasses now. He use to hate them, but now he almost begs to put them on...too cute!

Tonight, the nurse told me that Grayson weighs 4 pounds and 7 ounces! He is up from 4 pounds and 4.7 ounces last night!!! The dr did tell me today not to look at the daily weight gain, rather look at the overall picture because preemie weights can easily be skewed if say, the baby just ate and hasn't pooped. But I'm excited about the day to day weight and probably always will be!

The nurse also told me tonight that they have Grayson sitting in a "bouncey seat" after he eats to help determine if his heart rate drops are caused by reflux or not. I can't imagine what a 33 week old baby looks like in a bouncey seat...

Day 10 - Grow Baby Grayson, Grow!

7.4.10

Tonight Grayson weighed in at 4 pounds and 4.7 ounces! I was thrilled when I heard that! The nurse said that she didn’t think that it was right, and so she weighed him 3 times to make sure. She said that it was the same scale as the night before and he was totally naked, even without electrodes! I pray that it was right!

Grayson is still tolerating his feeds at 38mL every 3 hours with no problems. I bet they will increase them to 40mL now that he has gained some more weight, we'll see. He is also pooping and peeing like he should! Oh the things that make a mommie happy!

His bilirubin this morning was 10.6, up from 9.3 on the 30th, and 10 on the 2nd. I'm not real sure what the plan is regarding this. The nurse says that the doctors have a chart that tells them what they should do based on their age and bili level...I guess the chart says "wait and see" for Grayson...dunno.

Grayson is still maintaining his temperatures in a big boy crib. He looks sooo funny in the crib because he is so small. The nurses do a great job of keeping him wrapped up and snuggled in.

Jai and I visited him today and I held him for a while. I also held his tube feeds as they went in by gravity. Then Jai and I changed his little poopie diaper. I am so afraid I'll hurt him when I change him because he is just so small and fragile, but I guess that is just something to get use to.

I can't wait to see him tomorrow! Happy 4th of July!

Day 9 - Big Boy Bed!

7.3.10

Last night the nurse weaned Grayson to a big boy crib and he was able to maintain his temperatures! I believe they are checking temps every 3 hours with meals and he has done great! Those nurses had him dressed in the cutest clothes, a onesie underneath, booties, and then a sleeper, then swaddled, and covered and snug with 2 blankets! He was just as snug as a bug in a rug...and not much bigger than a bug either!

Grayson gained 13 grams today. The nurse said he weighs 4 pounds and 2.4 ounces. Every little bit counts these days! I'm happy with anything as long as we don't go backwards!

I am concerned tonight because I thought he looked a little bit more jaundiced today than yesterday. I hope and pray that his bilirubin hasn't rebounded. The internet is dangerous...I googled "rebound bilirubin levels in preemies..." well let's just say I'll be making sure those nurses check a bili level tomorrow. He does have labs in the morning, what ever a "profile 2" means at Baptist. I have a feeling this might keep me up tonight. The nurse also thought that he looked a little jaundiced today too.

I spent some one-on-one time with Grayson today. The nurse, Pam, gave me a lot of freedom. She let me get him out of the crib and let me change his diaper. He is SO tiny! WOW. It just amazes me every day. I feel so guilty, like it's my fault that he is out in this world already, even though I do know it is a better environment than my uterus. So many things that we are making him do to survive, he isn't supposed to be able to do yet, yet he can do them. Amazing.

Judy is still here with us. It is so nice to have family around and to have help. She watched Jones tonight so that Jai and I could go out on a date. We had a great time and had some good laughs, but deep down inside I felt awful for being out and having a good time. But it was wonderful to have one-on-one time with my sweet husband.

Please pray that Grayson's bilirubin level will be less than 9.1.

Much love.

Day 8 - Cruising along

7.2.10

Let's see...I'm writing this a day behind so I'm trying to remember what happened yesterday. It's amazing because I really cant remember!

Grayson only gained about 10 grams today. While it's certainly not 2 ounces, at least he is still gaining weight! He is at 36mL every 3 hours for feedings and tolerating well!

The nurse told me today that they will begin weaning him to a crib because at 4lbs he should be able to maintain his own body temperature...so I need to go shopping!

Today Grayson met his Poppy...or as Jones called him today, "Potty." Grandma Judy also came to visit and then we went shopping. I am amazed at just how tiny preemie clothes are! They didnt have very many at Babies R Us though. But even though the preemie clothes looked small, they still look like they will be too big on him!

I was able to do Kangaroo Care with Grayson today, where he lays skin to skin on my chest. It was soo sweet. We both took a long nap!

Day 7 - Our little Gamecock!

(I thought I took better pictures of his Gamecock hat but I can't find them. Oh well).

7.1.10

After winning the College World Series, I couldn’t help but get Grayson a Gamecock hat and Gamecock booties. The booties are SO big! I didn’t think that his feet would be soooo small, but they are!

I rocked Grayson for a while this morning. The nurse wrapped him up and handed him to me. We cuddled, then we both fell asleep in the rocker. He slept so well in my arms and really appeared to be so content.

The nurse also took out his PICC line today! I was thrilled about that. So now we are just down to the feeding tube and of course EKG leads, which I’m sure both will be there for a while. Grayson is up to 36mL of milk every 3 hours…which is the GOAL! I am so excited.

The most exciting news of the day is…he is 4 pounds and 2 ounces! He gained 2 ounces today! Must be that good butterfat that he is getting! The nurse told me tonight that they will begin weaning him to a big boy crib tomorrow…which means he gets to wear big boy clothes and not just a diaper! So Judy and Alison and I are going to have a lot of fun shopping tomorrow!

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers and please keep them coming!

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.