Thursday, May 30, 2013

Leo's Getting Stronger!

Leo's up to trying to feed from 5 bottles a day.  He completes some and not others.  No matter what, he always manages at least 1/2! He spends most of his day in room air with a little flow, but he does need some extra now and then.  Until he proves to us that he can be without more than room air for a couple of days straight the cannula will still remain on.  Hopefully that's soon as he continually pulls it off with his fingers!

Leo weighs 6 lbs. now and doesn't fit into most of his preemie clothes! We put him in newborn stuff and it's finally starting to fit him.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

A Good Day For Leo

Leo had a positive day today.  Hopefully his week continues the same.  He took over half of every bottle we gave him and he was in room air with a little flow today for 7ish hours.  While feeding he needed a little more.  All great things!  After not having such a great weekend, it was really nice to see some progress.  We love little Leo so much, and every little accomplishment makes us so happy.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Despite Not Feeling 100% and Getting Shots Leo Continues to Grow!

Yesterday Leo ran a very low fever for a few hours in the morning and also had a very high respiration rate so the doctor wouldn't let Leo do any bottle feeding and ordered a chest x-ray and blood work for the morning.  This morning the doctor reviewed the tests and said his lungs still look good and his blood work came back normal. He had one of his shot overnight the night before so it was probably because of that.   His respiration rate also lowered.  Because of this, we were able to try some bottle feeding today.  Leo was really crabby and his nose was all stuffed up so our bottle feeding did not go well this afternoon.  They will try again this evening and overnight.  Hopefully this week will bring Leo some good luck.  Once he's able to take all his bottle each day he can come home.  To me this seems like a REALLY BIG task.  But, I think once Leo actually gets an entire week without shots and being sick he will make really great progress.  Hopefully that's this week!



Leo's growing quickly.  He's almost 18 inches long and at 5 lbs. 12 oz.  he's reaching the 6 lb. mark!  This was our attempt to get a picture of how long and big he's getting, but the little guy didn't want to cooperate - He looks pretty goofy.  As you can see, Leo has an obsession with having at least on of his hands up by his face at all times. 

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Leo Update

Leo got his first set of shots last night and will get one more this evening.  He had no reactions from them and seems to be doing well.  He was struggling with his digestion a little bit over the last couple of days.  He was uncomfortable and grunting a lot.  They gave him a little prune juice last night and this morning and it did wonders!  He feels so much better and is a lot more relaxed today.  Because he was a lot more relaxed, he took almost his entire bottle for the nurse and 3/4 of his bottle for me.

Leo has a music and light soother attached to his crib and he loves it!  He enjoys the music and lights.  We refer to it as his TV.  That's one positive of being in the hospital for the first two months of life he hasn't been exposed to TV yet. 


Leo was wide awake at 5:00 for his bottle!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Leo's Motto to Live By: Slow and Steady Wins the Race!

Leo's doing great this week.  He's 5 lbs 5 oz!  He had another eye exam to detect ROP and his eyes are finally mature and did not have the disease - so he can no longer get it!  He doesn't need to see an eye doctor for another year!  When it comes to feeding, Leo's definitely taking his time.  He's currently attempting half of his feeding orally, but does not take the entire bottle most the time.  Eventually he'll get there.  He's taking that same route when it comes to his oxygen.  He is SLOWLY weaning his way down to room air.  In fact he was in room air for a couple of hours today.  But,  beyond that he really likes a little extra, especially when he's feeding.  He's having such a great week that they've decided to give him his first round of vaccines!  He will get them on Thursday.  





Saturday, May 18, 2013

Saturday Update!

Leo sounds a lot better and they've only suctioned out his nose once today!  He also drank an entire bottle!  Hopefully he'll do the same for the nurse overnight. 

Friday, May 17, 2013

Leo's 5 Pounds!

Leo's officially over the 5 pound mark!  He weighs in at 5 lbs.  1 oz.  He's doing well with bottle feedings.  He has yet to finish a  complete bottle, but takes almost all of it.  He has been moved to 3 bottles a day!  This starts tomorrow, so we will see how he does.  Also, his oxygen needs continue to lessen.  All-in-all Leo's had a great last couple of days!  






Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Leo Drinks His First Bottle!

Leo was given his first chance at a bottle today.  They said not to get discouraged if he doesn't drink much because thy only let them try for a half hour.  Whatever they don't finish they get fed trough their feeding tube.  Leo almost drank the whole thing!  He only needed to be fed 12 ml through his tube!  The best thing is that he sucked, swallowed, and breathed.  The nurse said he did a great job regulating it on his own and he didn't have any heart rate or oxygen drops!  It was a great birthday present for me!  

He will only be given one bottle a day and that will increase over time.  Preemies born very early like Leo get really tired and consume too many calories if they do more than that.  

We are so proud of him.  It was a positive step that I really needed to see after he'd been sick and not progressing very much.  



Tired from all the hard work!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Leo's Feeling a Little Better

Leo is feeling better today. His lab work came back and was improved! Now he just needs to beat these last sniffles. Which like I said before are a mix of congestion and having his nose suctioned. When Dave and I visited tonight he stayed awake for 1 1/2 hours. It was really fun to see him. He was so into his mobile and looking at us. He follows sound really well and directs his attention to where he hears it. That's great news developmentally. I just can't wait to see him tomorrow morning!



Sunday, May 12, 2013

Sunday Night Update

Leo was in good spirits today. He celebrated Mother's Day by snuggling with me and feeling better. He got a bath and seemed to be breathing better. They are trying not to suction out his nose too much as it just inflames it more. It's a fine balance between his stuffiness and inflaming it by suctioning it. Let's hope by the end of the week he's doing well again!







Saturday, May 11, 2013

Leo's Still Stuffy

Leo is still very congested. He had a rough night and morning as his blocked nose made him very cranky and uncomfortable. The doctor saw him today and she assured me that his lungs sound beautiful and we have to let his body mend itself. It's very stressful. And of course I go through all the "what if" statements I can think of which only adds stress. I continue to remind myself that I need to live in the present and not dwell on the past or try to predict the future. This has proven to be a difficult task for me when it comes to Leo.

He sounded and looked better this evening and was awake. All good signs. We are praying he gets better soon as it scares me, it's no fun for him, and he can't do any feeding until he's better.

He is becoming quite the big boy! He is 4lbs. 10 oz. Getting close to 5 lbs! Which I predict will happen at the end of next week.



Friday, May 10, 2013

Happy Friday

Leo's doing better today. The doctor will watch him over the weekend and labs will be rechecked on Monday. He's still stuffy. His heart rate is great and he has not had any "spells" where it drops and he quits breathing since Tuesday. He's been wide eyed during all his feeding times. This is great news as we will get to start trying to orally feed him on Monday. The nurses tell me it's around 36 weeks that babies start being more awake. And at 36 weeks and 1 day he's definitely proven that to be true! It's fun to see him more awake and interact with him.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Leo's Slowly on the Mend

Leo's cultures for common viruses came back today and they were all negative. His other labs were a little off though. They showed that he does have a small infection and that he has some difficulty with is respiration. Because of this, they did a chest X-ray this afternoon. It came back clear. So currently they are just saying it's a virus, but can tell that he is improving. They will continue to watch him closely and retest his labs in a few days to check for any changes. Hopefully good news!

Preemies are vey susceptible to the smallest infections and this is the reason there will be so many precautions during the months after Leo comes home. If we ever say don't come to visit or make sure you're 100% healthy before you do, don't be offended. It's so we can enjoy Leo for years to come. When you do come, we'll ask you to wash your hands, not bring any children, and probably not touch him for awhile. We can't wait to share him with everyone, but his health depends on these precautions. Thanks in advance.

Here's to hoping and praying for a speedy recovery!!




Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Leo's 7 Weeks Old

Leo was doing better today. He was still fussy. In fact, all he wanted to do was sleep in my arms. Anytime I tried to lay him back down he would cry - He's really developed a set of lungs this week. I'd like to say this was because he wanted to be right by his momma, but he is suffering from reflux and he'd prefer to be positioned with his body more vertical than he can when laying down. He is still very stuffed up and is still having dips in his oxygen levels. The good news is that he is not having heart rate drops anymore. They did some viral cultures and one came back negative the others are still pending. He seems to be on the mend and it's nice to have nurses and doctors looking out for him! Hopefully we can introduce bottle feeding soon! Of course, we want to make sure he is in good health first.



Monday, May 6, 2013

One Tough Guy

Leo did better today but is still under close watch. His oxygen needs are still up but he had less heart rate and oxygen level drops today. Many which were resolved without any help. His belly was bugging him all day and he was super fussy. He only wanted to be held. Whenever I tried to lay him down he just cried. Reflux has got the best of the little man. Besides that he was in better spirits and not as fussy when Dave and I saw him this evening. Especially after he had a diaper explosion which resulted in him getting new clothes and sheets. :) he sure acted like he felt better after that...the doctors and nurses are watching him closely. Hopefully he'll feel better soon and he can resume learning how to orally feed.



Sunday, May 5, 2013

Sunday Update

Today wasn't smooth sailing for Leo. He started this new thing where he drops his heart rate and oxygen levels dramatically. He often resolves it himself, but it is happening too frequently and sometimes he needs stimulation to snap out of it. The nurses are watching him closely. His temp, skin color, and lungs all check out okay, so it's unclear at this time why this is happening. It might be all of the big changes he gone through this week but it could also be the signs of an infection. We will know more tomorrow. Hopefully it clears up on his own, it scares his mom! We went for his afternoon care times, but decided to let him rest for the evening. It's so hard not seeing him, but we know it's the best thing for him. Keep him in your thoughts!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Leo's Friday

Leo got a new cannula - oxygen tube - that is much smaller. It gets the extra oxygen from the wall so there is no more big machine that humidifies the air. Plus it's a little more comfortable for Leo. This means he's getting closer to breathing room air.

He's regulating is temp really well so he doesn't need a hat! There are three BIG things Leo has to do before he comes home. Take a bottle, breath room air (can go home on a minimal amount of oxygen), and regulate his temp. He's successfully done one: regulate his temp. So two more big milestones to go!

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Leo's 6 Weeks Old Today

Leo celebrated being 6 weeks old by doing so well that they lowered his oxygen level again today! He will also start trying to feed at least once a day via his mouth instead of a feeding tube. I have a lactation consultant meeting me in Leo's room tomorrow for our first try!

Although it was cold and snowy outside (so weird for May 1) Leo was very warm inside :) I put a polar bear winter outfit on him so he could match the weather. I said next year at this time he'll be in something a bit warmer but this was fitting for today!