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JACOB FAMILY JOURNEY
jjjacob22 |
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GETTING BIGGER...
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Mar 03, 2010 11:30am (EST)
We had our appt with the DAC last week. Pretty uneventful - I was expecting an assessment, but they won't do that until May. Nathan weighed 7lbs 13oz that day (2/25). Yesterday I took him to get his 2nd Synagis shot and he weighed a whopping 8lbs 6oz!! I can't believe he gained 9oz that quickly! At this rate we'll be at 10lbs in no time. Talk about trying to catch up - Nathan is an eating machine  He's definitley been keeping us jumping at home - maybe he's going through a growth spurt?? Some of his newborn clothes are even fitting a little snug! We're also going to have to graduate him up to size 1 diapers.
I'm going back to work on Monday...not looking forward to leaving my little man  Stephen will stay at home with him for a few weeks, then my Mom will be coming for a few weeks. After that we are hoping that it will work out to have my Mother-in-law watch him. Nathan is still on the monitor for at least another month. There were 3 true episodes that they detected when the did the download at the DAC. Now we turn off the monitor during feeding times and if he's awake and we are in the room with him.
We will have our early intervention evaluation tomorrow morning, and childrens special health services will be out friday. I'm hoping that Nathan will be able to receive PT and OT services right off the bat. His head is still a little misshapen in the back from always turning it to the right side. I know that his shoulder muscles are tight and probably contributing to the problem. We do as much as we can for positioning, but he always turns his head back to the right side.
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Posted by jjjacob22 | Comments: (1) | Permalink
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SEVEN POUNDS!
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Feb 16, 2010 02:29am (EST)
We had our last visit from the visiting nurses today and Nathan weighed in at 7 lbs!! It's unbelievable how far my little man has come  He's also eating over 2oz now - a new development in the past day or so. He is doing much better at nursing, however he is hungry again so soon afterwards that it makes those feedings marathon sessions of breast and bottle - totally exhausting. I think I'll still try to put him to breast a few times a day, but if this keeps up when I go back to work, then I'll have to just pump and give him a bottle every time. He doesn't seem to be having any problems with the Neosure mixed with his breastmilk and it definitely satisfies him longer.
Nathan had his opthamologist appt last Friday, his eyes are perfect  We don't have to go back for another year. It was nerve racking sitting in the waiting room though - a few ladies were hovering over him while I was trying to grab his paperwork from the desk. And then some lady with an obvious cold came up to us and wouldn't leave us alone. UGH.
We finally decided on a bottle to use - the NUK bottles are working out great, so I think we'll stick with those. Nathan is also outgrowing many of his preemie outfits and will start breaking into his newborn size clothes. He does go through outfits during the day though! Spit up is bound to happen a few times.
The apnea monitor went off today while Nathan was sleeping - for the first time the apnea light lit up. Nathan looked ok when I checked him, but I immediately touched him to make sure he took a breath. Not sure if he was breathing, I didn't wait to check and the alarm was still beeping - but we've had so many issues with the leads, who knows if it was a false alarm. Usually the lead alarm will go off - not the apnea alarm. He didn't look dusky at all. Scary. I was hoping to be rid of the monitor when we go to the developmental assessment clinic next week.
We also have another pediatrician appt next week for a follow up. Luckily no shots next week, the next round is the end of March.
I've attached a few photos - in one of them it looks like Nathan is trying to knock me out
SD531207
SD531185
SD531166
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Posted by jjjacob22 | Comments: (5) | Permalink
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DUE DATE
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Feb 10, 2010 04:03pm (EST)
Today was my original due date. I thought a lot today about what might have been if I would have carried Nathan to term. I am so grateful that he is here with us and is doing well. It's unbelievable how far he's come in the past 14 weeks.
We had another pediatrician appt yesterday, Nathan got his 2nd Hep B shot. He weighed in at 6lbs 10oz. He's definitely not gaining weight as fast as in the NICU - but the pedi said he is doing great. We have our opthamologist appt on friday (rescheduled it due to snow). The VNA is coming out again tomorrow to check on him. I really see those visits as pointless as they don't really do anything while their here. Maybe this will be their last one.
Nathan hasn't been nursing as well the past 3-4 days. I'm not quite sure why. I have a theory that it may be the nipples that we are using - Stephen ordered a bunch that were just like the NICU. I liked the drop-ins, and Nathan seemed to be doing ok with those, but it sometimes took a little longer for him to finish. I'm thinking of exclusively pumping - that way all of his feedings can be fortified with neosure. This way I won't be so frustrated and neither will Nathan. I don't really know what to do - I wish Nathan would feed better from breast. I've always had to give him a bottle with at least 20cc after nursing anyway.
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Posted by jjjacob22 | Comments: (4) | Permalink
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3 MONTHS OLD!
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Feb 06, 2010 08:27pm (EST)
Nathan is 3 months old today! Only 4 more days to go before his original due date of 2/10. This week has been hard... we're both sleep deprived and trying to figure out what will work best for Nathan. He finally seems to be eating better, but still isn't taking in what he did at the NICU. At our first pedi appt, he gained an ounce and was at 6lbs 5oz. Today the VNA came and weighed him and he is at 6lbs 7oz. The nurse told us that they look for a gain of 3oz in a week - way different than the oz per night that they looked for in the NICU. So we'll see how he does next Tuesday. We had to take him in again on Fridayfor a hip ultrasound per the pedi. Didn't make a whole lot of sense to us because he was C-section, but whatever. His hips look perfectly normal to the doctor that did the ultrasound. Nathan's circumcision has healed up really nicely too - so now we can give him a bath! And his diaper rash is almost gone - we switched from using the Coopers butt paste that was prescribed to the Desitin which worked so much better. He still doesn't like his diaper changed and screams his head off - we think he must be associating it with all the pokes and procedures of the NICU.
Stephen goes back to work on Monday and I'll be solo with Nathan. He has doctors appointments on tues and wed and VNA coming on thurs. It's going to be a busy week!
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Posted by jjjacob22 | Comments: (3) | Permalink
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JAN 31ST - HOME SWEET HOME!!!
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Jan 31, 2010 07:59pm (EST)
After 86 days in the NICU - our baby is finally home with us Yesterday was one of the most stressful for me - staying 24 hours and doing all of his care with all of the bells and whistles of the NICU. After 4pm, the NNP asked if I wanted to moved down to a nursery all by myself, without a nurse, and they would put a cot down there for me to sleep in. We took Nathan off the NICU monitors and attached him to our home monitor. The monitor didn't go off once during the night. Nathan kept me up all night though - he didn't sleep between his feeding times after 11pm. I got a total of 2 hours sleep - and that was broken up.... They told me that I would get less sleep after we got Nathan home - I guess now I believe them!
This morning Nathan was ready to eat an hour before his assessment time, so I went ahead and fed him. We were ready to hit the door by 9am. Our nurse filmed us leaving and saying goodbye to our primaries - both Stephen and I were tearful. When I got home and took a shower - I was sobbing. This has been the toughest thing we've ever had to go through. We are both so happy to have our precious boy healthy and home with us at long last. What a ride.
Nathan is already off his NICU schedule....LOL Guess we'll have to find our own rhythm here at home. He's been awake more than ever - probably due to the silence...he's so used to all the noise of the NICU 24 hours a day.
I'll keep posting on our progress here at home... Thanks to everyone who reads for your kind words and encouragement. We really appreciate it!! I'll be posting homecoming pics soon.
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Posted by jjjacob22 | Comments: (7) | Permalink
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 Archives
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Of course Nathan pooped at the dr's office and we had to ask for a diaper. He has to go back next week already for his 2nd Hep b immunization and a check-up. 
