Shots

Carter got his second round of immunizations tonight. He did very well through all three shots that were given in his thighs. Fast forward to the point where we were saying good night and we have a different story. He had to be given Tylenol because he was in so much pain. I didn't know he could scream so loud! Luckily, his mommy calmed him down like she normally does and he went to sleep.

Tonight he weighed 2320 grams (5lbs 2oz). He did very well with his feedings today and I got to feed him for the first time officially (I let him snack from a bottle before for a very short while).

He had his first hearing test today with mixed results. His left side passed but his right didn't do so well. This is actually quite common since he got the test only one day after he became eligible to get it. They'll try again in a week and expect different results.

He's back on a cannula for his oxygen. This is because he was cleared by a plastic surgeon today - meaning his nose shouldn't be affected anymore by it. They opted to go this route instead of his hood because they think the flow of oxygen around his head wasn't allowing him to stay warm enough, thus not allowing him to gain weight at a good pace.

He needs some prayers for his head as it seems to grow very slightly each day; and today was no exception. It still doesn't affect him however so we have to just grin and bear it in terms of taking any action. Pray for him to have a good day tomorrow devoid of any residual pain from his shots.

Nick & Sandy

Tough Guy

Carter had a tough day today for his 35 week gestational birthday. He had his eye exam and mommy said it almost brought her to tears because he was screaming bloody murder. They found that he is on pace but still has immature eyes. The act of going through the exam is very taxing on a preemie as their calories are to be spent on growing fat instead of balling at the top of their lungs. It was so bad that afterwards, he bradied 3 times. They don't count those as "real" bradies but it is an indication as to the extent of his discomfort. They were going to give him a hearing exam but opted not to so they could let him rest after the eye exam.

He took an entire bottle tonight for his feeding. They increased his feedings again to 46 ml. Most of his feedings were administered through his tube so as to keep his calorie burning to a minimum so that he may grow. Good thing they did it that way because he still ended up losing an ounce of weight tonight.

Tomorrow Carter will get his shots so he'll be a grumpy boy. We feel as though we can see the light at the end of the tunnel even if it's still faint. He is a trooper as always and his tomorrows keep promising to be better than his yesterdays. Please keep him in your prayers.

Nick & Sandy

5lbs!

Good job Carter! He weighed 5 pounds even tonight. Today he was very hungry and took almost three bottles during his various feeds. He has an eye exam tomorrow so wish him luck. His eyes will probably be puffy for a while from the trauma during the exam.

When he's 60 days old (Sunday), he gets his second round of vaccinations. This includes tetanus, hep b again, pertussis, and some other varied shots. 6 immunizations from 4 shots. He'll be cranky that day!

Tonight he bradied again similar to last night. He doesn't like it when his neck is a little out of alignment - and sometimes you can't tell right away due to the double chin he's acquiring.

Overall, really good day for him. We'll update again tomorrow.

Nick & Sandy

I'm still a preemie

"Remember Mom and Dad, I'm still a preemie" seems to be what Carter was saying to us today.

Sandy thinks his head issue shrunk and I think it stayed the same. The nurse thinks it grew. Either way, he is getting a neurologist consult late next week. We still think everything will resolve itself.

In regards to the reminders of his prematurity, Carter got his point across a couple ways. The first showed itself in the form of an umbilical hernia. He pushes so much that he blew his intestines out of his abdominal wall. The good thing about this is that it's pretty common in preemie boys. The second way was via bradycardia. While I was holding him tonight, Carter decided that he would have two back to back bradys from which he needed outside stimulation to recover. He turned stark white during this time and it scared the bejesus out of us. We think he was tired from all of the good things he did today.

Ah the good things. Let's start at his ravenous hunger. He finished a full bottle for mommy earlier in the day and another half bottle tonight. Then he got a bath, which is always a time of high stress and calorie burning. His weight came in at 4lbs and 15oz! We think tomorrow is the day we hit 5lbs!

All of this combined with the fact that his tube was slated to go deeper in his stomach (due to growth) at 11pm tonight, seem to have come to a head at that point and caused a couple bradys. He's fine now and SOUND asleep. He's such a good boy and we are so very proud of him.

Please keep Stephanie, Ryan and Gavin in your thoughts. Their dog Sasha went to heaven tonight. We love them very much and wish them comfort in the coming days.

Nick & Sandy

BIG BOY

Carter got his new bed today and got an accurate measurement on his weight. If you remember back to two days ago, Carter weighed 4lbs 3oz. Well today he weighs 2190 grams. 4lbs 13 oz!!!! No, he didn't gain 10oz overnight, he just finally got an accurate weight.

Tonight, before we got there, Carter got really hungry and put down a 45 ml bottle in 15 minutes! This is a HUGE step towards bottle feeding like a term baby. His butt however is another story. He's got a bad diaper rash and it was bleeding this afternoon. The nurses aren't concerned but all we can think is POOR GUY! They're putting a prescription cream on it to accelerate its healing.

No real change on his head status other than it grew a little. We talked to Dave, the male nurse practitioner on staff and he made us more comfortable with the process of waiting. He explained that everything that they do in the NICU has a consequence and they always strive to let their patients' bodies heal themselves because intervention oftentimes will cause unknown and un-intended side effects. As long as Carter's ok with it, we should be too.

Our great friends Mike and Courtney had their child about 15 minutes ago. William Max Russek is 7 lbs and 19 inches and doing very well at Skyridge tonight. Court is doing great as well. Keep Carter and William in your prayers tonight as they are two little miracles here in Denver.

Nick & Sandy

Growing boy?

Tonight Carter's nurse weighed him three times and got three different weights ranging from 2130 to 1980. His bed has been unreliable at best in determining his weight over the past week and a half. He will get a new bed tonight and she will reweigh him. Either way, the doctor wasn't satisfied with his weight and decided to up his calorie supplement by 50% going forward. He should start getting heavier more quickly. She wants at least 10 grams a day from him. I wish someone expected me to gain baby fat on a daily basis and was disappointed if it didn't happen!

Carter got his last dose of caffeine tonight; he's had them since birth to help with bradys. This is a sign of him getting older.

We have a theory about the fluid on his head that seems to be supported by the abstract provided by Carter's doctor. The monitors that they placed on his head while still in the womb seem to have caused this condition in the other case studies we read about. The encouraging thing about this similarity is that those cases resolved themselves within 5 to 9 weeks. Yep, still freaked out. Not as bad though.

He had a great day today and will continue to do so tomorrow.

Until then...

Nick & Sandy

Good day

Carter had a good Sunday. He had lots of visitors and had another bottle. This time mommy fed him all by herself! He did very well and impressed us all with his ability to pick up the proper technique.

The doctor gave us an article that she found on his head condition. The jist of it is that it's relatively rare and all of the cases that were documented resolved themselves over a 5 to 9 week period. Sorry, still freaks us out. But at least we have some sort of information now.

He is now 17.25 inches long - or 44cm for you Europeans out there. He also weighed in a little less than yesterday.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support.

Nick & Sandy

What are you making that face for?

As we arrived at the hospital today, Carter was sitting propped up in his boppy waiting for us. Wide awake. He looked hilariously like an old man lounging by the fire!

We visited with him for a bit then proceeded on to our "Baby Safe" class across the street. We learned about all sorts of things from infant CPR to how to baby proof your house to how to stop an infant from choking. Highly recommended.

After we were done, we returned to his bedside and Sandy got to administer her first bottle feeding to Carter. He did really well and took about 40% of his total feed via bottle; the rest through his normal tube in his nose. Yes, that is what we now call "normal".

After his feed, Sandy sat him up and asked Carter, "What are you making that face for?" And with a grunting look on his face, Carter answered with a thunderous roar from his diaper! If our nurse was drinking anything at the time, she would have spit it all over the wall because she was laughing so hard.

Other than the aforementioned events, there were no real changes. His head remains an issue - although we are told by EVERYONE we speak to that it is ok and will resolve itself. We're just praying that they're right. His weight also remained the same: 1900 grams (4lbs 3oz).

Please keep our beautiful baby in your prayers. He is a blessing to us all.

Until tomorrow...

Nick & Sandy