A Day in the Life of Adam

I eat (wherever, however, and by whomever will feed me)

I sleep

Well, sometimes I don't really sleep

I cuddle

I wiggle all over the place when I'm getting my diaper changed

And I take baths

And then I do it all over again!

What a Privilege!

So today marks two weeks since we were able to bring the baby home. I think that during this time we have been able to develop somewhat of a routine, and Adam seems pretty content with his new digs. Definitely, being a parent is not easy, and I can attest that is true for infants. 'Round the clock feedings, diaper changing, and especially lack of sleep can add up to busy days and red eyes! However, there is also no greater privilege than to have a precious little life in your hands. Knowing that you are responsible for him is sometimes overwhelming, but so is seeing him sleep peacefully to awaken and look up into your eyes. We are so blessed!

Today we are preparing for Christmas and getting to spend time with our family. I am making sure presents are wrapped and everything is ready and Adam is...well, sleeping. But sleeping peacefully and dreaming sweet baby dreams.

Merry Christmas! May your homes be filled with happiness and love and may we all remember one little baby who came long ago to change our world. He is the reason for it all.

Baby's Room

Awhile ago I promised to post pictures of the nursery when it was put together. Here you go! The thing hanging in the first picture is a propeller plane light pull for the fan that I found online.

First Trip to the Doctor, Take 2

Adam’s first trip to the pediatrician was scheduled for 10:30 on Friday. After our first day at home on Thursday, we were seriously wondering how we were going to make it out of the house in time for the appointment. I felt like we needed to start getting ready on Thursday evening! So we did, kinda. We packed a diaper bag and tried to prepare as much as we could, choosing outfits, blankets, food, paperwork, etc. to make it easier on Friday morning. By 9:50 AM, we were ready to go, and feeling pretty proud of ourselves. We placed Adam in the carseat and David went out to warm up the car, but he came back in with bad news. Our car wouldn’t start. So of course I said, “Are you sure?”. Yep. The problem with this is the baby’s seat is installed in the car and David drives a pickup truck. I called the doctor’s office to find out if we could change the appointment time and David pushed our car out so we could try to jump it (once we located the jumper cables). On the phone, I was told 1) we were already checked in and 2) that we really needed to get the baby to the office today. (Gee, thanks!) We are delinquent parents already.

We were able to start the car, so David went to get the battery tested and I was able to get an appointment for 1:45 PM. It ended up that our battery was nearly dead. So we fed Adam again and went through all the motions a second time and we managed to make it by our appointment. From all this, we learned that it takes a lot more time and planning to leave the house than it used to.

At the appointment, the pediatrician examined Adam and everything went well. He weighed 4 lbs, 15 oz on their scale, so that is nearly a four ounce gain since we left the hospital!

Home at Last, Part II

(Yep, that's my reflection in the door...great photographer that I am!)

After Adam’s tube was out on Friday, we started hearing the word “home” several times from the nurses at the NICU. Sunday morning, I was determined to be there when the doctor came to do Adam’s assessment. It was then that the doctor said Adam was doing well and even though he was not yet 35 weeks, it had been 5 days since the caffeine was stopped and Adam had not had a heart rate drop. After talking it over, we were told that if he continued to gain weight and did not have any events, we could take him home on Tuesday, Dec. 9th, which would be his one month birthday and 7 days since his last event. The doctor asked if I was okay with taking him home and I told him I would take him right then if he would let me!

All of the going home preparations began on Sunday. He received two shots on Sunday, which I hated, then he had his car seat challenge. We brought in his seat and the base, and he was strapped into the seat for one hour with his monitors on. He passed this, too. He also had an eye exam which was worse than 5 shots if you ask me. I cried and cried, and then came home and cried more. His eyes were dilated, then numbed, then this metal thing was used to hold each eye open for the exam. They were puffy, red, and even more light sensitive than normal, and he held his eyes as squinted as he possibly could for about 10 minutes! It was pitiful, and I don’t want to think about it anymore (though we have to do this again in a couple of weeks)…

(Here's Uncle Scotty installing the carseat late Monday night in the hospital parking garage!)

On Monday, everything was still on track and more preparations were made. On Tuesday I came in ready to take him home. I fed him, then his pictures were taken and I put him in his “going home” outfit. We were practically out the door, just waiting for the doctor to come by when Adam got a little choked and had a heart rate drop. This made my heart drop too! Fortunately, the doctor there on Tuesday said that she would feel more comfortable sending him home on an apnea monitor (we could have been told that he had to restart his 7 day count). So we completed an infant CPR class and monitor training, then David and I spent the night with Adam in a room on the pediatrics unit to do “Care by Parent”. This was basically to help us feel comfortable with Adam and the monitor. This was fine, except the nurses came in to take his blood pressure, which he hates, even more frequently than it was taken in the NICU!

Finally, once we saw the doctor, received our instructions and had our questions answered, we were able to leave with him around noon on Wednesday. It was WONDERFUL to get to bring him home!

Home at last

Sorry for the lack of posts. Things have been wild the last couple of days. The doctors surprised us early this week by saying he was ready to go home on Tuesday, but after a slight setback we got him home on Wednesday afternoon.

Thank you all for praying for us and supporting us in getting our little man home.

A more in depth story of what happened on our way out of the hospital will follow.

Lisa and David

Finally Tubeless

Big surprise on Friday night, when we went to see our little man the nurse said that they took out his NG tube. As he keeps growing and eating more we knew this would eventually happen, but we didn't expect it so soon. Everyone please keep praying that he eats well and keeps putting on weight so he doesn't have to get a new tube put in.

Now that he doesn't have a NG tube the only thing he has left is to not have any more heart rate drops and to keep putting on weight. Once the doctors are satisfied with those two things we will get to bring in our car seat for a test to make sure he can tolerate being in the car seat for an hour. If he passes that test we will be ready to take him home. Barring set backs he should be home in time for Christmas.

Thank you all for your continued prayer and support.

Lisa and David (aka Mommy and Daddy)

New Roommate

The past two days have been good ones for the baby, as in "no news is good news", right? Adam keeps growing well, up to 4 lbs, 5.8 oz on Wednesday and 4 lbs, 6.3 oz today. The doctors stopped his caffeine on Tuesday, so now we are hoping for no heart rate drops. Monday Adam was started on a medication to help stimulate red blood cell production, and his dose of iron was increased, as he was a little anemic. The new medication might help prevent him from needing a blood transfusion. I kinda felt like this came out of nowhere but after researching, anemia is very common in premature babies for several reasons. I am just praying that the medication works and he does not need a transfusion. While I'm at it, I also hope that it works in a timely manner and does not keep him in the hospital longer. He is still doing well at eating, and now can eat by mouth as tolerated, meaning he still has the NG tube in case he needs it. Feedings are up to 36 ml each time, though he still tires pretty easily on some feedings. Temperature control has not been a big issue in his new crib, either. Today Adam is 34 weeks (gestational age).

Adam has a new roommate too - one little girl was able to go home, and his new roommate was born the day after Adam and was nearly his exact size and length. She is doing great eating from the bottle (she can gobble it up in 5 minutes!) but she still has a way to go to make 4 lbs. So its a good example for me to see how babies progress differently. Gotta run - can't wait to see his sweet face!

Bath #3, Baby Does #2

Yesterday evening David and I gave Adam his third tub bath (well, at least the 3rd one that we've given him). First he got sponge baths in his isolette, then we were able to do a tub bath but David was already scheduled to work. The last time, I did the bath in a separate room all by myself, and while its nice to have him alone for a little while, away from all the nurses and monitors, the bath was stressful. I was so glad to have David there to help me last night.

The evening nurse had everything all gathered up for us when we got there and we took him over to a bed with a heater over it in a procedures room. We went ahead and weighed him so he didn't have to get undressed again at midnight, and he weighed 4 lbs, 4 oz! Many times, the nurses all have different thoughts on how to give the baby a bath, but this time we were able to figure it out ourselves. We got the water just right, David got Adam undressed, and we placed him in the tub. David was holding and I was just starting to wash him when he tooted and made a bubble. We immediately doubled over with laughter and then realized he had left us a floater in the tub! The baby was just sitting there looking at us and we were laughing but trying to figure out what to do next.

I started emptying the tub and David took Adam out and quickly wrapped him up so he wouldn't get cold. By the time I had the tub clean, we looked and he had peed all in his blanket! What lessons we learned! The rest of the bath was great and we had him all cleaned up and were dressing him when we realized he had managed to pull out his NG tube! So it was very eventful!

However, we were able to get a picture of Adam with nothing on his face!

Warning: Next bath Thursday!

Three Weeks Old

Adam is still doing great, and today he is 3 weeks and 1 day old! He continues to get better at eating, but is still getting food through his tube about every other feeding. His weight today is up to 4 lbs, 2.8 oz (it was 4 lbs, 2 oz on Sunday). The nurse who took care of him last night had not taken care of him in about two weeks and she told me over the phone that he ate his bottle well at 3 AM and that she can tell a big difference in how alert he is. She described him as "playful" during his feeding time.

The next step is for Adam to start growing out of his heart rate drops. Around 34 weeks gestational age (this coming Thursday for Adam) the doctors will likely stop his caffeine and see how he does. Hopefully, he will not have more without the medication. We want him to get rid of them altogether!

Four Pounds of Sweetness

Guess who's up to 4 lbs, 0.8oz today? Despite an eventful day on Friday still learning to eat and getting a bath, Adam gained 1.7 oz! He is doing just super.

Today my mom came over to help keep us functioning at our house. She's doing laundry and cooking a pot of chicken and noodles that smells just yummy. Moms are good for getting things taken care of, aren't they? With all the running back and forth from the hospital, you definitely figure out what is priority and what is not, and many things have just been let go, which is okay until you can't find clean clothes (that fit) and things start to feel chaotic. She is much appreciated (and thanks David, for sounding the alarm while you had to work). Smart men know that when they can't fix it, its time to call the mother-in-law. :o)

Running back and forth to the hospital is starting to wear on us, so we would definitely appreciate your continued prayers for Adam as well as for us, that our rest is multiplied. Thank you!

Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving yesterday! David and I went in to find our boy decked out for the holiday. And to beat it all, our little turkey was sleeping with this grin on his face. I guess he thought it was funny to sleep with a turkey on his head!

Adam had another great day and the doctors called him "boring". This is a great thing! We love when they can't think of much to change for him. One doctor said we were just "feeding and feathering" him right now. He is doing better and better eating (as long as he is awake) and is getting more volume in his feedings now. Three feedings each day are formula feedings for extra calories, and sometimes these don't agree with him (especially the multivitamin with iron), but we need this to help him grow bigger. We can really tell a difference in his face and in his belly that he is a growing boy!

His weight at midnight, early Friday morning was 3 lbs, 15.1 oz (1 oz weight gain from Thursday's 3 lbs, 14.1 oz). Grow baby, grow!

Big Boy Bed

Monday and Tuesday were both good growing days for Adam. On Tuesday, Adam's weight was up to 3 lbs, 11.9 oz. David and I had several errands and appointments to make in between feeding times, and by the end of the day, we were worn out. Adam, however, slept peacefully :o).

On Tuesday, Adam was moved to an open crib. His nurses kept the isolette beside his new bed so that he could be moved to it if his temperature was not maintained. So far, however, Adam has done well, and his temperature has been within range. He is very bundled now - he has a onesie, an outfit, a warmed blanket bundled and a small fleece blanket on top, with a hat on to top it off. He is so cute! He had several feeding times where he was very alert and is getting better at eating. Please continue to pray for this. He needs to maintain his temperature and keep gaining weight in the new crib and he needs to learn to eat better so the NG tube can be taken out.


I think Adam was a little confused by this new bed!

I went back to work on Tuesday for a few hours in the afternoon. This is the plan for until Adam comes home. I wasn't looking forward to it because I would rather be with Adam, but I have to remind myself why I am doing it. Hopefully, this will allow me more time with him when he does come home.

The baby's weight early Wednesday morning was 3 lbs, 13.3 oz! Can you believe how great he is growing?

Tonight my family is having Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house, and I am looking forward to all of the good food! I am sure many people will be traveling today, so have a Happy Thanksgiving! We have much for which to be thankful.

"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land." - Psalm 95:1-5

Lisa can drive!

I am so happy to be able to drive myself again! I go back to the doctor today for a quick follow-up and should be allowed to take the keys again. I have been very fortunate to have so many people cart me to and from the hospital for the past week and a half, with even more people offering to give me a ride. I have found it very difficult to accept everyone's help all of the time. I know that this was likely something that God needed to teach me, and I know that many people have enjoyed feeling like they could help (and getting to see Adam). Thank you to everyone who helped or offered.

Adam's weight update for Monday (I wish I had a graph for this): 3 lbs, 10.4 oz (1.4 oz gain). He is on his way to 4 lbs!

An Early Thanksgiving

Adam has done really well so far eating by mouth. He still receives supplements each feeding by his tube but he is getting the hang of it and will increase to two feedings by mouth each day starting on Monday.

His temperature has been great and since Saturday his isolette temperature has been at 28 degrees Celsius which is the goal. Once he shows that he can maintain his temperature well, he can move to an open crib. There are positives and negatives to this. He needs to be in an open crib prior to going home, of course, and there are less restrictions for the length of time that we can hold him. However, he is now using less energy to stay warm and can use more to grow, and we have gotten quite used to him being in the isolette. The baby in the open crib next to Adam seems really out in the open to us! I think we are becoming germaphobic! (Is that a real word?)

Its really funny because when I thought about myself having a baby, I imagined myself being more like a mom with a second child - realizing that some germs are good and I can't protect the baby from everything. I did realize, however, that I wouldn't know for sure how I might act until the baby was born. Because of Adam's prematurity and all of the precautions that we take in the NICU, I have grown quite used to thinking about protecting him from unnecessary germs and contact. Maybe I'll grow out of it as he grows bigger and stronger, but for now I must admit that I have become a Purell Mom.

Saturday was also the first day that we gave Adam a tub bath. This was really fun for me. David was busy at the time and not at the hospital because we thought it would be another sponge bath, so we were both sad that he missed it. My grandmother had come back to see Adam for the first time since he was born. She came into the room the same time that the bath was starting and was able to help support his head and wash his back. This absolutely made her day! My mom was able to watch through the window (along with some passers-by - sorry Adam) and she took pictures for me. Sorry for the glare - she wasn't familiar with my camera.


Later in the afteroon three of my friends hosted a baby shower for me. This was my second shower and it had a different feel to it since now Adam is already here. We had a great time and Adam is all set for the day that his world grows bigger than the little room he lives in now. Plus, it was great to catch up with friends and family. (Thanks Bridger, Brandy, and Jessica!)

In the evening we went to dinner with all of David's family to celebrate Thanksgiving (I'm telling you, this was a busy day). It isn't often that we are all together so this was a blessing and we had a lot of fun. We all missed Adam being there and talked about how excited we are for him to be part of the family. Certainly, we have a lot for which to be thankful.

Extra 1/2 Pound

Adam continues to make great progress! The nurse worked with me on Friday to show me a few bottle-feeding tips for preemies and Adam seemed to get the hang of it a little bit better. He ate a total of ~8-10 mL. I spoke with one of his doctors again today and she is very pleased with how he is doing. His bilirubin has dropped again so today we were able to take the big sticker off of his forehead. I feel like I haven't seem him without that thing very many times so it is nice to have some new skin on which to plant kisses!

Weight update for early Saturday morning: 3 lbs, 8.4 oz! (another 1.5 oz gain) He has gained 1/2 lb since his birth!

The Baby Lotion Smell

This is Adam at the next feeding time AFTER the first bottle experiment. I think it wore him out for almost the entire day yesterday! He was a little tired when we got to the hospital yesterday morning, and the nurse had done a full assessment on him since it was the beginning of her shift. He had a bit of a surprised look on his face when he had his first taste from the bottle, and it took him a minute to figure out what to do. Eventually, he was making all of the motions, and we could see him swallowing and his little jaws were working it. I completely expected half of the milk to be gone when we gave him a little break, but when we held up the bottle, ~ 1 mL was gone! We gave it another try until Adam was fast asleep. So total for Day 1 was 3 mL. Not bad - he did a little bit and hopefully got used to the idea. There were other times during the day where he was more awake and really liked his pacifier and he probably would have done better at those times. I can't wait for him to try it again today.

No other real changes yesterday. I spoke with one of Adam's doctors yesterday and he thinks he is doing really well. He only had one apnea episode within 24 hours. In other news, I forgot to mention that his cord stump fell off two days ago. Unrelated to that, I was able to put baby lotion on him for the first time on Thursday. His skin was starting to look dry in some places from being under the light and in a heated isolette. He smelled so good afterwards! Isn't baby lotion one of the best smells ever?

Weight update: Midnight/Friday morning - 3 lbs, 6.9 oz! (1.4 oz gain)

Adam's Personal Photographer Visits...

Bottle Day!

Thursday marks the day that Adam will be 32 weeks adjusted gestational age, which is the point where babies first can try to bottle feed. This will be an exciting morning! We will do this once a day for the first few days, depending on how it is tolerated. Adam has been good about sucking on his pacifier or fingers from the time he was born. It is a little more difficult for preemies to learn to suck, swallow, and breathe so we will see how he does and soon we can try breastfeeding.

Wednesday Adam had a weight gain up to 3 lbs, 4.9 oz (over an ounce weight gain) and I just now called to check on him and his weight at midnight was 3 lbs, 5.5 oz.

One of the nurses on Wednesday talked to us about the importance of tummy time for babies (and preemies). Because of the "Back to Sleep" campaign, which showed a decreased risk of SIDS for babies who slept on their back (and now the recommendations also include preemies at home) many babies end up with misshapen heads due to too much time on their backs, since this would also include time in strollers, bouncers, swings, etc. This can even affect development. While Adam is in the hospital and hooked up to monitors, he is also allowed to sleep on his sides and on his belly but when he comes home he will also have to be "back to sleep". We learned about rotating his head positions as well as his orientation in his crib when he sleeps in his room, since babies tend to turn toward the door (where the action is and the food comes from, right?). But tummy time several times a day is important, and for his size, tummy time can mean lying on my chest with his hands near his head. As he grows stronger, he will be able to push his head up and look around, strengthening his neck muscles too. He can already do this a little bit. But Mom absolutely LOVES getting to hold him like this, as he is all curled up and cozy, and there are benefits for both of us.

Thank you still for your prayers and pray that he continues to grow and stay healthy and starts to outgrow the apnea episodes.

Eat, Sleep, and Dirty Diapers

I thought this pacifier gives a good reference for size.


Here's a shot at Dad's first time with changing clothes. Note: Mom actually did this first!

These are pics of Mom's first time putting on his clothes -- even some preemie clothes are big right now!

Monday was a pretty cold day in Lex, even with occasional flurries throughout the day. David's sister Sarah took the day off to come up and be my driver since I still have a week left before I can drive again. It was David's first day back to work which I know was difficult for him. He and I went in early for a feeding time and he stayed until he went to work. Then Aunt Sarah came to visit. Both of Adam's grandmas stopped by in the evening. He is well loved to be sure, and I can just imagine how many people would be there if there weren't restrictions! By the time David came back after work he was ready to get his boy back.

The CT scan of his head turned out perfectly normal, and besides that the day went well. Adam did a lot more sleeping today and was less awake before feeding times - he would usually only open one eye at a time! He was also started on a vitamin with iron.

Today David's mom will be my driver for the day. Adam's weight early this morning was 3 lbs, 3.8 oz! Chunky, huh? Today we learned that once he starts gaining weight, the goal would be an average weight gain of about an ounce per day.

One week birthday!

In honor of the one week birthday yesterday, here are some of the pictures that my friend Jessica took right after Adam was born. A couple of these are on here from earlier posts, but here they are in bigger sizes and credit given where credit is due - thanks Jessica!

On Sunday morning Adam gained weight up to 3 lbs, 2.3 oz and since his bilirubin was down, he no longer has to be put under the lights. Sometimes the higher levels makes babies more drowsy and he had been wearing his "bili shades" all the time. Now he can go back to wearing clothes! Dad and I helped with a sponge bath on Sunday morning and then learned about the lights getting turned off so I was able to dress him for the first time (pics to come later) which made my day. We asked if we should bring clothes to the NICU for him to wear but it sounds like its difficult to keep them straight so most babies wear the clothes the nurses have in the NICU. Adam spit up a little bit at a feeding later in the day so Dad got to try his hand at dressing Adam too. Neither of us were proficient at this; hopefully we did not burn too many calories wiggling him around to fix the snaps on the legs! At least he doesn't fuss.

Thank you for your continued prayers; continue to pray for Adam's weight gain. This morning (early Monday) I called and he was up to 3 lbs, 3 oz and is still tolerating his food well! Today he gets a CT scan of his head, which is routine for preemies. Hopefully everything is fine. We enjoy your comments very much.










**This is the sign that is still on his bed. If we had seen his name written out before, maybe we could have chosen a name quicker! Doesn't it look good?








**This was the first time that I was able to hold him; I was so thrilled that the nurses had waited to allow me to hold him first. It was difficult to wait until I was allowed to go see him while so many people had already seen him but I was so happy to know that he was breathing completely on his own. Holding him for the first time was so relaxing for me!

Saturday

Dad and I are starting to get the hang of being home and traveling back and forth to the hospital. Adam had a good day on Saturday as well; only a couple of episodes of bradycardia, where his heart rate drops a little below normal. Most of the time he brings it right back up on his own. Sometimes, though, he needs a little reminder. This is very common for premature babies and for that reason he has been on caffeine for a few days now. Maybe that means he will like Mountain Dew - oh no! That is a good reason why we love having him on the monitors at the hospital until he gets a little bit bigger and can outgrow those episodes.

The highlight of the day was both Mom and Dad were able to hold Adam for almost an hour each at different feeding times since his feeding pump is at such a slow rate. This is definitely a win-win situation since it is good for him and keeps him from spitting up and good for us since it takes longer. When we get there for feedings, Adam is always wide awake and most of the time has his hands in his mouth - a hungry boy! It doesn't take long once he starts eating for him to get to sleep.

We also did a little shopping today to work towards finishing Adam's room so it will be ready for him when he comes home. We shopped for a few necessities and also bought a bookshelf today. We will do more when Mom can walk around a little better. When we start organizing the room we will post some pictures.