Time to Get Dressed!

It’s hard to believe we’ve been in this hospital for four weeks already! He’s been doing really well with bottle feedings. They kept him at 5cc’s for a few days but then they moved him up to 10cc’s and today they just changed it to 15cc’s four times a day. The doctor said if he does well today, he’ll get to go to 20 cc’s tomorrow which would be over half of his feeding in the bottle instead of the tube! I just finished giving him his first feeding of 15 cc’s and he did awesome, I think he could have taken more he was trying to suck on my hand when I went to burp him. He has been gaining weight well too; he’s now at 1965 grams or just about 4lbs 5oz. So he’s finally gained a pound over his birth weight. He still isn’t in an open crib yet even though he can maintain his temp on his own but hopefully they’ll move him in the next few days. If he keeps doing as well as he has been it sounds like we’ll only be here for a few more weeks. I am hoping to be home by Easter but we’ll see, I’m not counting on it too much! He’s been wearing clothes now too finally and getting wrapped in his own blankets. Most of the preemie clothes are still pretty big, but we have a few tiny sleepers that fit him perfectly. He goes through his clothes and blankets pretty fast so he has me busy doing his laundry all the time. He has his one month head ultrasound coming up in a few days and he’ll also have an eye exam soon to make sure everything looks good.

First Bottle Feeding!

He got his first bottle feeding yesterday! 5 cc’s and he did awesome, didn’t choke or gag at all. Tonight when I gave him his bottle feeding he downed it right away and looked at me like, “Are you kidding?!? Where’s the rest?!” Hopefully tomorrow they will increase how much he gets in the bottle and how frequently. Right now he’s only getting it twice a day. He’s also been gaining weight well the last few days. Tonight he weighed in at 1795 grams which is 4 pounds!! He would have been 34 weeks tomorrow so I’m hoping they move him into an open crib. He’ll also be able to start wearing outfits tomorrow so we’ll have to see if any of them are small enough to fit! Luckily he has a lot to choose from; even the nurses were showing each other his huge stash of clothes! Now he just need to keep gaining weight and eating well and hopefully we’ll be out of here in a few weeks.

Emerson ditched the PICC and I ditched the Wound Vac!

He has still been doing really well, we're pretty much just waiting for him to gain weight at this point and grow so he can be able to start his real feedings without the tube. He did pull his feeding tube out completely yesterday. He didn't cry at all but it freaked me out. Tonight his weight was 1700 grams or 3lbs 12 oz which we were really happy for because he hadn't gained much the few days before. Hopefully he keeps it up so we can get out of here sooner. This week should be pretty exciting because on Thursday he would have been 34 weeks. At that point they can take the cover off his Giraffe bed so he can see light. He should also be able to move into an open crib as long as he's 1800 grams by then. He already does a good job of maintaining his temperature, even when he doesn't have a hat on. 34 weeks is also when they said he would start being able to do real feedings. They'll start pretty slow with only 5cc's of breastmilk in a bottle but it's still pretty exciting. He did get his PICC line out so it's easier to hold him now that he's only hooked up to the monitors. He loves to be held I think because he's started kind of fussing when we put him back in his bed. He's also started make some noise before his feedings which they said was really good because it means he knows he's hungry. He also decided that while he likes his pacifier, he prefers to suck on his hands. My excitement of the week was that I got my wound vacuum off on Monday so for the first time in over two weeks I was finally not hooked up to anything! It’s so nice to not have to drag that thing everywhere I go. The incision is still open so I have to put this gel in it everyday but it’s better than the alternative. I went for my blood pressure checkup and they said it was alright finally so now I don’t have to go back for any appointments until my 6 week checkup.

No more lights!

He has been doing really well the past few days. He is off the phototherapy light, which is nice because that means we can hold him for longer than a half hour at a time. He has been being more alert when we've been holding him too. He keeps his eyes open for about 15 minutes and looks all around before he falls asleep. It seems like his looks change everyday! At first he looked exactly like Shaun did when he was a baby but now it's getting hard to tell who he looks like. He's starting to fill out in his cheeks a little and he has a bit of a double chin! He was doing so well with feedings that they decided to increase by 2cc's every 6 hours so he's been really moving up. Today he gets 27 cc's at his first feeding and by the end of the day he will reach his goal of 30 cc's per feeding! The nurse we had last night said that as soon as he reaches his goal today or tomorrow they might start trying to feed him small amounts with a bottle. That would be great because it would be sooner than the 34 weeks we were told originally. Since he's getting such big feedings, they've decreased the amount of IV fluids he's getting and will be taking the PICC line out of his arm within the next few days. Once that is out he won't be hooked up to anything but the monitors for his breathing and heartrate. Also once it is out he'll be able to start wearing clothes! Just short sleeve t-shirts and onsies at first but it's pretty exciting. We already have a full drawer here of just preemie size clothes, although I'm sure most of them will still be plenty big on him. He was weighed last night and he is up to 1600 grams, or 3lbs 8 oz. He gained 2 oz in one day! Shaun came back on Friday and left late last night. He got to give Emerson a bath for the first time and was pretty nervous doing it. He did a great job but Emerson decided to liven things up and pee all over him. He actually made it through the little hole of his Giraffe bed and out onto the floor. You wouldn't think such a little guy could have so much pee! It seemed like the weekend went way too fast! I had a lot of visitors the last four days and I finally left the hospital for the first time in two weeks. I had a lot of fun but didn't realize how exhausted I would be! Even though I love the company, I'm a little relieved to get back to my normal schedule.

Back up to Birthweight

Well today he would have been 32 weeks, so that means only a few more weeks until he can start to try eating from a bottle and not the feeding tube! That is one of the goals he needs to reach before he can go home. He also needs to weigh 2000 grams or more and yesterday he finally gained a little weight so we're on our way. He weighs 1450 right now, which is 3lbs 3 oz so he is up one ounce from his birthweight. His feedings got increased to 4cc's every 3 hours and every 12 hours they will increase it another 1cc as long as he is doing well with it. Hopefully this will help him to gain weight a little quicker. I did get to help give him a bath the other day and he seemed to really enjoy it, especially having his hair washed. He has quite a bit of hair to comb through already and it's a bit unruly in the back! Other than that he is doing well, he just needs to sleep and eat now so he can grow. Shaun had to go back to work on Tuesday and it's been a little weird being here by myself, especially since I was so used to his help! We are both counting the minutes until he'll be back on Friday night for the weekend. I'm feeling better each day as well and I got good news at my wound center appointment yesterday, I should only have to have the wound vacuum on for less than one more week! Originally they had told me it would probably be on for up to 2 months. I will definately be excited to get it off and finally not be hooked up to any machines!

Finally got to hold our baby!

His echo came back and his duct did close so he got to start feedings again. He's been doing well with those and they are going to increase how much he gets tomorrow. He had a head ultrasound at a week old and it came back normal, one less thing to worry about! Last night they took him off the cannula so now he is breathing completely on his own and he has been doing well with it. We got to hold him finally when he was a week old, it was a little scary because he's so tiny and you have to make sure his neck stays just right so he can breathe. He's been opening his eyes a lot more and today when I was holding him Shaun and I were talking and kept looking back and forth between us. We've been getting to help with a lot of diaper changes and they've started to get easier. He's still on the phototherapy for jaundice but we're hoping maybe tomorrow he can get off of that so he doesn't have to wear his goggles all the time.

No more CPAP!

A lot has happened in the last day or so! He got his umbilical line out today so tomorrow we can hold him for the first time. Tonight he also got to get rid of his cpap and get a cannula instead. It's great because we can finally see his face without the mask on! He's still only on room air, just a little bit of pressure so he remembers to breathe. Tomorrow he might get off of the bili blanket then he can ditch the goggles too and we can see him with his eyes open. He ripped off his goggles a few times today and was looking around, it seems to mellow him out when he can see what's going on. He's still pretty wild, outside of taking off his own goggles, he's managed to pull out his nasal cannula and kick off the wrap on his foot. Tomorrow he has an echo to see if his pda has closed and if it has he can start feedings again.

Troublemaker!

He has been doing an amazing job with breathing. It looks like he won't need to be put on a ventilator. He's been on just 20-21% oxygen for the past few hours (which is just room air). And he got to move down to a different cpap machine since he needs less pressure. They did do an echo and he has a pda but they said that was pretty common for preemies and they're giving him a 3 day dose of a type of ibuprofin that should help it close. He has to stop feedings though while he's getting the medicine. Although he was weighed last night and it looks like he didn't lose any, he may have actually gained a few grams. He was really wild when we saw him last night and kept pulling at all his wires and setting off the alarms. He's clearly a troublemaker already. I did get to change his diaper last night. Even though I've changed about a million diapers, I was nervous because he's so small and I didn't want to mess with any of his lines. Then I also got to hold him while he was weighed. I'm getting discharged from my room today so I'll move down to stay in his room.

Little but Feisty!

He's still doing really well, he hasn't had to be intubated yet. Everytime we go to his room the doctors say to be prepared for him to be on the vent next time we come but he's hanging in there! He got his first feeding today! He seemed to do well with it so we're excited hopefully he can start gaining some weight. He's pretty feisty though and keeps trying to escape his "nest" and grab at his wires. They told us if he keeps doing as well as he is we may be able to hold him tomorrow already! He got one of his first birthday presents, apparently he was born on Dr. Seuss's Birthday so a local elementary class gave him a hardcover Dr. Seuss book. I'm finally feeling better, off of the magnesium sulfate thank god! My incision had to be opened though and it was not a fun experience. I had a clot underneath so it wasn't healing properly and now I have a wound vacuum hooked up for a few weeks. Hopefully no more suprises!
The baby shower was supposed to be this weekend but I believe we are rescheduling it for after we bring him home. Phone calls will be made to let everyone know sometime soon.

Emerson Harlowe, Born March 2, 2009 - 3lbs 2oz, 15.75"

Although Emerson's due date was not until May 7, 2009 he had to be delivered early at 30 weeks due to my health. We went to what we thought was going to be a normal prenatal appt on Friday, February 27. My blood pressure was 168/108 and I had protein in my urine so we began to supsect pre-eclampsia. I was admitted to the Huron Regional Medical Center Friday afternoon and the inital tests came back encouraging. My liver levels were not elevated and blood pressures were stabilizing as long as I laid on my left side. So it looked like I would be able to make it longer in the pregnancy on strict bedrest. Then on Sunday night things took a sudden turn for the worst. I began experiencing intense back and side pain, which turned out to be my liver. After labs were drawn and my levels were shown to be rapidly increasing, it was decided I would have to be transferred to Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls and the baby would have to be delivered immediately. My parents and Shaun's parents took off for the drive to Sioux Falls immediately and Shaun and I waited for our transport in the medical plane.


The pre-eclampsia had developed into HELLP syndrome. We had a quick ultrasound to check on baby's size and last minute labs were run before my c-section.


At 4:38am on Monday March 2, 2009 Emerson was born. He had a loud healthy cry from the start and his Apgars were 8 and 9, great for a full term baby even. He has quite a bit of dark hair and he's definately a long baby like Shaun. He has not needed a ventilator yet, which has impressed everyone for how early he was born. Luckily I did end up getting both shots of betamethazone in before delivery so we think that helped his lungs mature. He has his very own NICU room at Sanford so I will be able to stay with him when I'm released.