4 weeks old - Dr's Appointment

Today was Conner's weight gain appointment & he passed with flying colors. He now weighs 7 lbs. 6 oz. - a gain of almost an ounce a day! Conner also grew a little taller & is 20 1/4 inches. The doctor checked his breathing & said everything seems normal. Conner doesn't have to go back to the doctor again until November 4th since everything was so great.

At home Conner has been wearing us out. He doesn't seem to ever reach a deep sleep, but the doctor said that's normal & we need to remember that Conner is only supposed to be a few days old right now. After a few weeks, Conner's sleep patterns should even out & he'll be able to sleep deeper and longer as he gets a little older. Let's cross our fingers that it happens soon.

Catching Up - See below

Sorry I didn't update for a while, but as you can read below life's been a little busy. I think I have caught up on all of our news & will try to do a better job from now on. Instead of having one really long post with everything that's happened over the past 3 weeks, I separated the updates into different posts so everyone can pick & choose what they want to read & what they want to skip over.

Our first week home.

So far Conner & I have been having a good time being home together. It is tiring but having to wait 2 weeks for him to come home makes me a little excited to be able to wake up for his 3 AM feedings. I am sure that will change. He has good days & bad days, but for the most part is only cranky when hungry. The hospital set his schedule for us & his body knows when it's time to eat. He was circumcised the Monday after he was released so we are still sponge bathing him. He is not a fan of sponge baths at all; hopefully he'll enjoy sitting in the water better. He's had a bunch of visitors & is starting to get spoiled with being held already.

September 9, 2010 - We're going home?!

Last night the nurse changed Conner's bottle nipple & ever since he has been finishing bottles in 7 minutes. Since Wednesday we were told over & over again that Conner would most likely be discharged on Friday, so it was a huge shock when the doctor monitored him today & said he could go home. It was such a shock that Jason & I weren't prepared at all. He & I were supposed to take an infant CPR class that night & the nurses ended up giving me the class in the Nursery next to Conner's crib. Conner was home by 3 PM & ready to watch his first Saints game.

September 8, 2010 - Eating & Breathing... at the same time.

Conner mastered the concept of eating & breathing at the same time today. Every meal has been via bottle & he is finishing most of them. Jason & I attended a class this evening about care for Conner after he has been released from the hospital that is required before Conner can be discharged. After the class, we went back to the Special Care Nursery to visit Conner & talked to the nurse about changing Conner's nipple he uses to eat. She said she would try different ones through the night & see if that helps him finish his bottles with out getting so tired.

September 7, 2010 - Learning to eat

Now that Conner has been moved from the NICU to the Special Care Nursery, he is no longer on any medications or breathing support. The doctors let us know that now we just have to wait for Conner to be able to finish his bottles consistantly for 48 hours. Of Conner's 8 feeding/day 6 of them were via bottle today & only 2 were via feeding tube. He gets tired very quickly, so it takes him 30 - 45 minutes to finish (if he finishes.) No pictures today because I spent the day taking care of Conner for the first time. I changed all diapers, gave him all bottles & rocked him to sleep when he was grouchy. It was the BEST day, but I have no pictures of it because I was so busy.

September 6, 2010 - Conner can breathe on his own!

Today Jason & I got to feel like parents. We were able to play an active role in Conner's care all day. We both fed him, changed diapers, & dressed him. All of Conner's breathing support was removed & he began eating 3 of his meals/day via bottle. His feeding were increased again to 50 ml every 3 hours. At 6:30 Conner was moved from the NICU to the Special Care Nursery.

September 5, 2010 - The turning point

Today Conner suddenly took a turn for the better & never looked back. Jason & I spent the whole day at the hospital again. I was able to hold & feed him today. It was so wonderful because I wasn't able to since he was born. He tried to eat out of the bottle but got tired & had to have a portion of it via feeding tube. His feedings are still every 3 hours but have been increased to 45 ml & bottle feedings are being incorporated. Conner's oxygen was reduced again to 1.0 LPM at 21% oxygen on a regular cannula (no longer humidified oxygen.)

September 4, 2010 - Moved to an isolette

Conner was moved to an isolette today because he was not a fan of being messed with & this allowed him to stay in the isolette to be weighed & prevent people from touching him too much. Conner's feedings were increased from 10 ml every 3 hrs to 40 ml every 3 hrs. His oxygen was decreased from 4.0 LPM at 21% oxygen to 3.0 LPM at 21% oxygen still on the vapotherm machine. The nurse continued to give Conner adavant every 3 hours to keep him calm. The cath was removed from Conner's belly today & Jason helped to hold him still while the nurses removed it. The photo-therapy light was removed today also.

September 3, 2010 - Setting up camp

The nurses had me bring blankets, a stuffed animal & clothes from home for Conner so that his hospital crib would be more comforting and that made me realize that Conner's hospital stay was going to be a while. It was the smack of reality I needed & we set up camp at the NICU. Conner's crib was decorated with a white sports blanket Jason's great-grandmother gave him & Jason picked out a stuffed football to go in Conner's crib. Today Conner held my finger for the first time. Also today, He started getting fed today instead of just having an IV. He was fed breast milk every 3 hrs via feeding tube & I got to help feed him one time. His oxygen was decreased to 4.0 LPM at 24% oxygen still on a vapotherm machine. The nurses added adavant to his medications because our "spunky" son kept removing the feeding & oxygen tubes from his face & they needed to calm him. Jason & I were kind of proud that Conner was giving the nurses a hard time.

September 2, 2010 - Baby Tanning

After a rough morning, I couldn't get moving & then Bridgette's car had a flat tire, we made it to the hospital. My brain finally came back today & I was able to comprehend what was happening at the hospital better. Today was an improvement as far as Conner's breathing. He was moved from the C-PAP ventilator to a Vapotherm machine (humidified oxygen canula.) Conner's oxygen levels in his blood were good so he was reduced from 4.0 LPM of oxygen at 37% to 35% at 6pm. (Ms. Linda, the Respitory Therapist, told us that this was really good because on September 1st he was on 97% oxygen.) A phototherapy light was added to the front of Conner's crib because his Jaundice levels were high. Conner seemed to really enjoy laying in the light.

September 1, 2010 - NICU/ Conner has premature lungs

First thing in the morning, I went to the NICU to visit Conner. While visiting the doctors came talk to me about Conner's status. After doing x-rays and testing his blood/oxygen levels, the doctors determined that Conner's lungs were too premature to allow Conner to try to progress on his own any longer. He was diagnosed with Respiratory Distress Syndrome (but we weren't told this until later.) They explained that it would be a few days before Conner would be released & that he would need increased treatment. They started Conner on antibiotics & did a surfactant treatment for his lungs. He was started on an IV of dextrose for his nutrition & was placed on a C-PAP machine (ventilator.) Conner was officially deemed "premature" and his treatment course would be that of any other premature baby with RDS.

August 31, 2010 - Our baby is where?

1 AM - After Conner was born and the family got to hold him, the nurse told us that Conner needed to go to the special care nursery for a few hours to monitor his breathing because he was retracting. (Retracting- pulling the chest in at the ribs, below the breastbone, or above the collarbones.) The nurse said Conner should be brought to our room around 3 AM.

2:30 AM - The pediatrician on duty at the hospital called our room to let us know that Conner is being moved to the NICU to be put on oxygen. They made it sound like it wasn't a big deal and he was only being moved because the nursery didn't have oxygen & once he was on oxygen for a little while he would be fine. We were given a new time of 5 AM for when he would be brought to our room. Jason & I tried to get some sleep so that when Conner came we would be rested.

5 AM - I'm WIDE awake ready for Conner to be brought to me. We sit & wait.

7 AM - We call for the nurse. She says she doesn't know anything except that Conner is in the NICU still. She tells Jason where the NICU is & he goes down to investigate. Jason visits Conner & talks to the staff in the NICU. They think he'll have to be on oxygen for a few days.

8 AM - I get a wheelchair & go to the NICU.

- Remainder of the day was up & down. He was taken off the oxygen for a few hours but was having a hard time breathing on his own so they put him back on. It was very hard to get questions answered about his status because the nurses didn't know what the doctor would decide in the morning. Jason & I spent the day going back & forth to the NICU and bringing family & friends to see Conner in the NICU. I don't remember a lot from today because I was so tired. I just remember being really upset & grouchy. We went to bed pretty early & very confused.

August 30, 2010 - Conner Joseph is Born!

On Monday, August 30, 2010, I had a 2:30pm ultrasound and a doctors appointment at 3:30. The BPP showed my amniotic fluid level was at 5.2. Leaving the ultrasound I knew I was going to be admitted into the hospital that night, but I didn't know if it was going to be to get fluids again or for delivery. I called Jason & put him on stand by, but he was pretty sure they were going to induce. Jason was right & Dr. Mullins decided Conner needed to come out as soon as possible. After looking at the ultrasound, Dr. Mullins decided Conner was big enough to be delivered immediately. I walked straight from the doctors office to the hospital and was admitted immediately. Janelle was the first to arrive at the hospital & held my hand while they started the pitocin (around 5pm.) Everything happened very quickly. By the time Jason got to the hospital at 5:45, the doctor had already broke my water & I was in labor. Jason & I planned a natural birth, but had discussed that if pitocin was needed that an epidural was the best option. Me being hard headed decided I wanted to try a natural birth anyway with the pitocin (craziest idea ever.) In an effort to progress labor as quickly as possible I was given a lot of pitocin and rarely had a break between contractions. Around 8:15 & 5 cm dilated, I caved & requested the epidural. Unfortunately, the epidural didn't work & it took until 9 before I had pain relief. After the epidural, the nurse checked me again & I was 10 cm. Time to push. We pushed for about an hour (I say we because at moments Jason was practically lifting me off the bed trying to help me push.) After an hour Conner was ready to come out, then we sat & waited for the doctor. The doctor came around 11 & Conner was welcomed into the world at 11:11pm.