Holy Weight Gain Batman

Another pretty good week for me (thank you Lord). As of today, I am 5lbs 12oz - I know, wow, right? I have to be honest, a couple of these ounces may be buildup because I haven't had a bowel movement in 5 days, but glycerin suppository to the rescue today. I feel sorry for whoever my nurse is this evening. My doctors are not worried about it, they say it happens sometimes. Mommy is a little anxious because she thinks it may be stuck in my little hernia. Although she thinks she is a doctor now, she's not really, so we'll take their word for it. The eye doctor came back last Friday and my eye test results improved, so he won't check again for 2 weeks and hopefully we can dodge having to get the laser surgery. I've been taking my bottle feeds pretty well and I am taking a bottle at every other feeding. My breathing is steady, but we did have a minor set back after I received my immunizations. I had a fever and wasn't feeling well, so they had to bump me up to 5 liters for a few days. I am back on 4 liters now, but they are going to extend my steroid doses a few days just to see if we can get some more improvement. I'm thinking it won't be too much longer now, but we're just taking it one day at a time.

Well, things seem to be coming along pretty well right now. I've continued taking bottles and working on my nursing skills. I'm up to 4lbs 15oz today and am now 17.5 inches long. I did a tad bit worse on my eye test this week, but we are praying that it will not change any more. It is still up in the air as to whether I will have to have the laser surgery. I passed all of my other tests, and have started getting my immunizations. My oxygen flow has been decreasing and I am now down from 10 liters to 4 liters per minute. I have been tolerating the decreased steroid dosage so far and have about another week before I will be totally weaned. Again, this is where my biggest test will come. We are very hopeful that my great weight gain will be beneficial to helping me pass this test. My Mom got to help give me a bath and I met my maternal Grandfather for the first time. He's pretty cool. I heard that the shower was a hit and I want to thank everyone for the cool stuff I got. Can't wait to get home to check it out.

Got Milk?

Great news! I was given my first bottle yesterday and I did pretty good. I was able to take 2/3 of an ounce before getting tired. I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but it is for me. They are now going to start trying one bottle a day. My Mom also started trying to breastfeed and I latched on pretty good for my first try. Things have been going pretty good. For the 3rd week in a row, there was no change in my eye test, so that means that it is not getting progressively worse. I also passed some liver screening test that I had to take. I am continuing with all of my therapy and have been gaining weight pretty good. I am up to 4lbs 4oz today. I'm really starting to fill out my clothes.

Speaking of clothes, the funniest thing happened on Sunday. I know most of you probably know how much my Mom despises the color yellow - long story short (childhood trauma, yellow coat, big kid = Big Bird, 'nuf said). Anyway, I had a nurse that was not so familiar with me and she didn't know I had my own clothes, so she put this yellow onesie on me - ha, ha, ha. I thought my Mom was having a flashback of being called Big Bird by those mean kids, because she looked shocked. Needless to say, the nurses now know Mommy doesn't like yellow. Well, that's about it for now. I have about another week before the steroids are scheduled to be done, so we'll see then.

Today makes 7 days off the ventilator and things are going well. I weighed in at 3lbs 14.5oz. I started seeing a speech therapist to help me get ready to start taking a bottle. This will be one of my next big tests. Although I love my pacifier, drinking from a bottle is a little more complex. It requires me to coordinate swallowing and breathing at the same time, so I have to get some practice with this. The therapist will help me strengthen the muscles I need. I'm also seeing a physical therapist now to make sure I am developing all of that hand/eye coordination and body movement stuff. My respiratory therapist told my Mom he saw me doing push ups, but I was just lifting my head up to see what was going on. Yeah, I know, I have a lot of therapists now. Everybody wants in on this, but they're cool, so it's cool. I know everyone keeps asking when I am coming home, but we're not really sure yet. There are so many moving pieces that right now, we can only estimate 4-8 more weeks. Things will largely depend on how well I am able to drink from the bottle and how well I am able to breath on my own once I am off the steroids this time. I will be sure to keep you all updated as things progress.

What a Difference a Day (or Two) Makes

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend - I sure did. Once all of my new medicines kicked in, my little lungs did the happy dance. I managed to wean off the ventilator by Friday afternoon and I am back on the high flow oxygen. Things have been going really well with that. I think that I am officially a big boy now because I moved out of the incubator into an open crib and I got my first real bath yesterday. I also welcomed my Mom into real motherhood when she changed my diaper yesterday. I accidentally got her with #1 and #2, but she loves me so much, she wasn't even angry. I am doing so well, that I finally let my Aunt Jetaun come see me again (she cries too much, so Mommy banned her for a little while - lol). She and my Grandma Paula got to hold me too. God is sooooo good. I added some pictures so you can see some of my excitement from this weekend.

Bronchopulmonary who?!?!

Bad news is that I had to get back on the ventilator yesterday. My doctors did everything they could to try to keep me off, but I just got tired. I am now taking my third round of steroids and I saw a pulmonologist who changed some things around that will hopefully help me get over this. Good news is that I finally got a diagnosis for the problems that I have been having with my breathing - bronchopulmonary dysplasia. BPD is a chronic lung disorder that occurs most often in infants who were born very premature, particularly infants who needed the support of a ventilator for more than a few weeks after birth. The tissues of the lungs get damaged when they are over stretched by the pressure of the ventilator. The great news is that most all infants with this disorder survive. We just need a little more support until our lungs grow enough good air sacs to manage breathing on our own. Seeing as that I am now 3lbs 11oz, I am well on my way to getting bigger. I may have to come home on oxygen therapy or take breathing treatments for a little while, but the parents are prepared to do whatever they need to for me. This will definitely be motivation to keep my Mom from going back to her old ugly smoking habit. That's all for now, but please keep me in your prayers. I hope you all have a wonderful and SAFE holiday weekend!