The First Few Days

James has now been home for almost 48 hours and we are all adjusting nicely. Yesterday the Home Care Nurse came to the house to assess James, and his transition to home from the hospital. She said that he looks great, his lungs sound clear and overall he's doing fabulous! His oxygen tank was also delivered yesterday, we were given a portable tank of oxygen to get him home from the hospital, but we needed a permanent tank for the house. So we now have a 4.5 foot tall tank in James' bedroom. Because its not quite mobile, they gave us a 25 ft. cord to attach to his cannula. I can reach most of the house on this cord, except for the dining room. With any luck, James will not have to remain on the oxygen for much longer.

Pictures from the first 48...

Mike's first ever diaper change!

He did a great job, notice Grandma and Grandpa anxiously watching =)

All done! Happy Dad and happy James, life is good!

Jimmy #1 and Jimmy #2,  I love it!

It is a bit blurry, but I just love this little face!

Finally Home!

Well, James finally made it home! He was scheduled to go home on Tuesday after a brief desaturation (decrease in the capillary oxygen concentration) over the weekend, which pushed his discharge a day back from Monday. On Monday night, the hospital called and said the home oxygen service had all the necessary paperwork to set him up with a home oxygen tank and a few portable tanks. The orders for his medications had also all been sent to the pharmacy, so he was set to be discharged Tuesday. Well into Tuesday morning, we still hadn't heard from the oxygen people and the hospital wouldn't tell us what the company's name was so we could contact them ourselves. When Carolyn went to her appointment for a checkup, it was looking like they were going to take so long we would have to bump his discharge back to Wednesday. Thankfully, a little after 1:00PM they called me at work to set up what time we could meet them at the hospital to set James up with the portable oxygen tank. After making the arrangements I left work early to pick Carolyn up and drive to the hospital. After getting everything squared away with the oxygen tanks, I had to go to class (thankfuly WSU is a few blocks from the hospital) so Carolyn completed the paperwork for James's discharge while I was gone. By the time I returned, they were waiting for a single form to be completed before they released us. We finished up and had him home by shortly after 7:00.

This was where James was stationed since his move from the NICU into the Progressive Care Nursery.

James in his very cute going home outfit!

It's hospital policy for the nurse to carry the baby to the car. Nurse Heather was our discharge nurse.

Our big boy loved his car seat!

The Waiting Game

On Friday, we were told that James would be discharged on Monday as long as he passed his car seat test and didn't have any episodes. An episode being a heart rate drop, breathing difficulties, or oxygen de-sat. Well, over the weekend, he suffered one de-sat, so that pushed us back to today. Yesterday, I went to the hospital to feed him, and luckily I was there during rounds. I like to be there when they do rounds because they are done at the bedside and I can get all the nitty gritty information on my son. He was given the go ahead to come home today. HOWEVER, someone either with the hospital or the medical supply company is dragging their feet. James is coming home on oxygen and we are supposed to get trained on how to use it before he can come home. Needless to say, if he does not have his oxygen ready to go by the time rounds happens (at or around noon) he won't be coming home today. Its 11:15 a.m now, I'm not feeling too optimistic at the moment....

2 Steps Forward...

OK, since my last update quite a bit has happened. James was circumcised on Wednesday. Unfortunately, because of the procedure, he had to be put back on oxygen =( They also did a chest x-ray and they said it looked hazy, but not as hazy as it did before (love the technicality of all that). So, with that being said, they gave him another dose of a medicine called Lasix, this will hopefully help him. They have also concluded that the poor little guy has acid reflux. So now he is on medicine for that. He is also on iron supplements, sodium supplements and they are going to start adding more calories to my breast milk. Still not sure when he can go to McDonalds...

But in the meantime, yesterday my little man was officially one month old. Here is a side by side of then, and now!

Ok, I can't figure out how to put them side by side, but you get it =)


I have to mention our 2 other babies in this blog, our dear kittens; Linus and Lucy. How they will adjust to this little life in our home, is a good question. However, Lucy was being very 'helpful' yesterday when I was sorting laundry. Don't worry, these were getting ready to be washed!!

She has also discovered little socks.

She carried this around for quite some time yesterday.

It's almost time to go to McDonalds!

No, we are not going to lunch! The nurse used this phrase instead of the 4 letter 'h' word. Yesterday during my visit to see the little guy, I was informed that he had taken ALL of his feedings by a bottle. THIS IS HUGE! As long as this continues, he will be on his way to McDonalds. They are going to circumcise him sometime this week and with that, there is a chance that his oxygen saturation will drop a bit, it is quite a traumatizing experience for a little guy. If this happens, he will go back on oxygen, but most babies recover within 24 hours. Since we have not yet had our baby shower, we are now scrambling to get things that we will immediately need, onesies, diapers, wipes, crib sheets etc. My good friend Rose is going to let us borrow some of her baby items until (hopefully) we get them at our shower. Unfortunately since my little guy was born so early, 0-3 month clothes just don't fit, he has to wear newborn. We bought the car seat/stroller this weekend and Mike put it together yesterday. James has to pass the car seat test before he can be released. Basically all this is, is James sitting in a car seat for a certain period of time without any episodes happening, such as a decrease in heart rate, O2 stats and breathing. Hopefully he'll pass with flying colors...

The Big Move!

Yesterday, Mike and I went to see James for a very short visit and I'm very glad we did. As we got there, the nurse informed us that James would be moved from the unit he has been in since he was born, to the Progressive Care Nursery. This is a HUGE move! Babies that are in the PCN are one step closer to coming home! Way to go James!

His feedings are now up to 38mL every 3 hours and he is starting to nipple better, they have increased his bottle feedings to 2 per day. He now weighs in at 4lb 6oz. My little guy is getting bigger everyday.

James is quite the cutie, I've decided that he's my little 'puffer fish,' when he sleeps he 'puffs' the air out of his mouth, its rather cute!

I went to the doctor yesterday to find out the results of my blood work and to check the bp. BP was good, only trace protein in my urine however this time, the levels for my liver are out of whack. I cannot catch a break!! What this all means...this could be a side effect of the toxemia or it could be because of my gall bladder. The doctor has ordered more blood work to see if my levels change, but in the meantime, I have to continue to check my blood pressure, and if it begins to tread upward, I will have to go back to the hospital. Hopefully, HOPEFULLY, I do not have to go back! At this rate, my son is getting better faster than his mom!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's been far too long since my last post! Quite a bit has happened, I'll give the short version of the story.
1. James was given a bottle for the first time on the 11th! He was also taken out of the 'pod' because he is able to now regulate his own body temperature. So now he can wear clothes!

2. I was released from the hospital on the 12th.

3. Uncle Mitchell was home from Chicago on Spring Break, he was able to come to the hospital and hold James.

4. Molly was FINALLY feeling well enough to come visit James as well.

5. James is off of oxygen and breathing room air!

My sweet baby is thriving, now if he could just take the bottle for ALL of his feedings, we'll be all set. Everyday is another milestone, I cannot wait until I can hold my James at home...

Hospital

Oh what a week! Wednesday, I went to a routine doctors appointment and everything went well, I even ran to Meijer after and it made me feel like a 'normal' person again. My wonderful in-law's braved the rain and brought me to the hospital to see James. He was doing FANTASTIC! He was very alert, with his eyes wide open and moving all around. I was able to hold him for quite awhile before I let the grandparents come in. This was the first time that Mike's parents held James. Grandma was very eager, she couldn't wait to hold her grandson. Grandpa was a bit apprehensive at first, but as you can see, both James' settled in quite nicely =)

I thought I was going to have a nice, quiet evening with my husband. I THOUGHT WRONG! After Mike came home from class, my stomach started to feel a bit off. I just dismissed the pain, thinking it was just another affect of one of my new medications. Later on that night, my back and upper abdomen started hurting very badly. After waiting 30 minutes or so, the pain wasn't going away, it was getting worse. At this point Mike and I decided that it would be best if we went to the emergency room. After ruling out a heart issue, they took me for an ultra sound of my abdomen, where they found stones in my gallbladder. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, when it rains it pours! Needless to say, I'm going to have to have my gallbladder out sometime in the future. NOT FUN! Then they did some blood work and some of my levels were elevated, yet my blood pressure was normal (go figure). To be on the safe side, they wanted to keep me overnight for observation, and they decided to put me back on my favorite drug...magnesium sulfate (NOT)! This drug is horrible! It makes you feel as if your skin is burning, but to my surprise, this time I did not feel that way. Anywho, this is starting to get very long. Long story short, its now 12:26 a.m Friday night/Saturday morning and I'm still at the hospital. Hopefully I will be able to post tomorrow that I am at home, we shall see!

Kangaroo Care

This weekend I was able to spend some quality time with James. The nurses asked if I wanted to hold him, of course I said yes. She told me that I would hold him against my bare chest so he could feel the warmth of my body and hear my heart beat. This practice is known as Kangaroo Care, and studies have shown that this will help him grow and mature faster.  Little did I know how wonderful this would make me feel. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful little person in my life.

His feedings are still going well, they are increasing by 2 cc's every 3 hours. He now weighs in at 4 lbs. 6 oz.

Oh so sleepy...

Ok, so I know I said I would update everyday...I had no clue how exhausted I would be. My new hero's are mom's that deliver via c-section, become anemic, breast feed, AND bring their babies home with them. I wish James was home with me, but I don't know that I could handle it right now. Two nights in a row, I have pretty much fallen asleep during dinner, NOT GOOD!

A little about me first, then on to Mr. James. I went to the doctor on Friday, everything looks good. My bp is still fluctuating, which is not fun at times. Yesterday, I had to 'pause' my shower 3 times due to being light headed. She said this will be a common occurrence for at least the next few weeks =/


Now, back to the reason for the blog =) James is doing extremely well. In the last 24 hours, they have doubled his feedings from 6 cc's every 3 hours, to 12 cc's every three hours. He has been able to digest everything, which is a great sign. Hopefully soon he'll be able to get all of his nutrition from breast milk and they can take him off the IV.  The ventilator is gone, but this is what he looked like with it on.

 Picture taken 3/1/11

Notice the itty bitty purple paci in the picture. (Also notice the awesome alliteration in that sentence) He has now been upgraded to a 'normal' green paci.

 On 3/3/11 Mike was able to hold James for the first time. This is a picture I will cherish forever.

 James really doesn't like the cannula (oxygen thing) in his nose. Most of the time he has pulled it off and it's in his mouth.

 What color will his hair be? It seems to be getting darker, the nurse thinks it looks red in the light, we'll have to wait and see!

 This picture was taken on 3/5/11 he has quite the hold of that paci, hopefully will all this sucking practice he'll be able to take a nipple very soon!

Oh so sleepy =)

The Latest and Greatest...

Sorry, it's been a few days since the last update, both James and myself had a few setbacks.

With me, it was my blood pressure, this pre-eclampsia has a mind of its own. My bp decided to elevate on Saturday night, which caused me to stay in the hospital a few more days. Thankfully, I was discharged on Monday evening.

James also had a few setbacks this past weekend. He was originally put on a CPAP machine to aid his breathing. Which meant he was breathing on his own, but the machine was blowing air into his nose.

This weekend, they decided to put him on a ventilator, which does the breathing for him. It was very scary to see him with the tube in his mouth, but after talking with the doctors and nurses it became less scary and more of a reality. By being on the ventilator, James is not as labored when it comes to breathing, and he is actually taking more breaths on his own now that he does have some assistance. They gave him a synthetic surfactant for his lungs. This is helping his lungs work properly.