Hi Everyone,
So, yesterday (Oct 30), we got an early Happy Halloween present ... 4 days before his due date, Spencer got the go-ahead to come home!!!!!! Weighing 8lbs exactly and able to do all that was required of him - take "full feeds" eight times per day, sit in his car seat for an hour after eating, not have any apnea spells for 7+ days (Spencer hasn't had one in weeks) .. he was ready. So, 12 weeks exactly (to the day!) of going back and forth from home to the hospital and the "last time" of doing so finally came. It was a surreal feeling walking out that door - all that time spent thinking the day would never arrive DID in fact finally arrive. A permasmile planted on my face and a spring in my step, Drew and I strapped Spencer in his car seat and made our way home. As we were watching the news together that night, fireplace on, rain coming down, Spencer lying on my chest, I had such a feeling of contentedness. That this was exactly as it should be.
So now starts the life we'd been waiting for - the life as parents of a newborn. It'll be busy, but it'll be wonderful. We are so, so excited. Thank you everyone, for keeping up with our blog all this time. We hope you've enjoyed reading our story!!!
Lots of Love,
Tara, Drew and Spencer xoxo
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Spencer - Week 38
Hello again,
Well, some good news happened on Saturday morning - we got a call from the NICU to say they were sending Spencer out of the NICU and up to the 3rd floor, the maternity ward's pediatrics unit!! He is no longer a "medical concern" and now just needs to work on taking his full feeds in order to go home. Apnea and bradycardias are a thing of the past - he has officially outgrown them, thank goodness. He's made his "7 days without" quota, as part of the criteria for going home. Now just for the feeding ...
Spencer is still at the point where he falls asleep part way through a feed. His "full feed" is 61 cc now and I was thrilled when he polished off 41 cc today ... before conking out. I'm hoping that in the next day or two, he will be able to "last" through an entire meal. It's frustrating because this is the final step to going home (48 hours of full feeds) and if he only knew that all he had to do was finish up ... aahhh, come on little buddy! I suppose I should remember this when he's 15 years old and eating us out of house and home as an always-starving teenager, that there was actually a time when he wouldn't finish.
Weight-wise, he's at 7lbs 3oz now, which they're very happy with. The only thing left now is the feeding!!!!
Ok, I'll end there 'cause that's really all there is to say ... please send "staying awake and eating" vibes our way 'cause we are so incredibly close now to saying sayonara to hospital beds!!
Lots of Love,
Tara, Drew & Spencer xoxo
Well, some good news happened on Saturday morning - we got a call from the NICU to say they were sending Spencer out of the NICU and up to the 3rd floor, the maternity ward's pediatrics unit!! He is no longer a "medical concern" and now just needs to work on taking his full feeds in order to go home. Apnea and bradycardias are a thing of the past - he has officially outgrown them, thank goodness. He's made his "7 days without" quota, as part of the criteria for going home. Now just for the feeding ...
Spencer is still at the point where he falls asleep part way through a feed. His "full feed" is 61 cc now and I was thrilled when he polished off 41 cc today ... before conking out. I'm hoping that in the next day or two, he will be able to "last" through an entire meal. It's frustrating because this is the final step to going home (48 hours of full feeds) and if he only knew that all he had to do was finish up ... aahhh, come on little buddy! I suppose I should remember this when he's 15 years old and eating us out of house and home as an always-starving teenager, that there was actually a time when he wouldn't finish.
Weight-wise, he's at 7lbs 3oz now, which they're very happy with. The only thing left now is the feeding!!!!
Ok, I'll end there 'cause that's really all there is to say ... please send "staying awake and eating" vibes our way 'cause we are so incredibly close now to saying sayonara to hospital beds!!
Lots of Love,
Tara, Drew & Spencer xoxo
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Spencer - Week 37
Hi Folks,
Another productive week for our wee one. He continues to stay healthy, continuing on now for another week not to have a single infection or illness throughout his ride in the NICU. Again, knock on wood! There was another MRSA scare in the row right next to ours, the 2nd time since we've been there. They tested all the babies just to make sure it hadn't spread and Spencer came back negative for it, phew! MRSA is short for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus and is an infection that gets into the blood. It's transfered through human contact when those touching the babies haven't washed thoroughly. When they have it, the babies have to go in an isolation room and anyone going in to see them (parents, nurses, doctors) have to wear a gown and surgical gloves. Not sure how long it stays in them for before they get better .. and I have to say, I'm glad I don't know and hope I won't have to either!
Spencer's been gaining some serious weight the last 4 nights and somehow has ballooned out to a whopping 6lbs 14oz! The weight gain is fantastic of course, but now his stamina for eating just needs to catch up! He still gets tired when feeding and will conk out part way through the feed. Having said that though, the goal from last week was to take more than 15 cc of milk and .. I'm pleased to report that at last night's 3am feeding, the nurse got him to take 20 cc! "Full feed" at the moment is 59 cc so he's still a little ways away, but it's forward progress! From what I'm told too, once they figure it out, it's full speed ahead - they're off to the races and never look back. So, I'm hoping that'll happen for him in the next little bit here, maybe even by the next blog post? Keep your fingers crossed! Remember, one of the criteria for going home is taking full feeds at every meal (he gets fed every 3 hours) for a total of 48 hours.
Speaking of criteria, another one to go home is not having a single apnea or bradycardia for 7 days in a row while being off caffeine. Yesterday was Spencer's last dose of caffeine (the doctors did end up "weaning" him this time - he's been getting only half a dose for the past 3 days), so this marks day one of that countdown! So, having said that, provided he starts taking full feeds sometime this week (it's anyone's guess if he will), the soonest we can have him home is October 20th! Wouldn't that be nice, that'd be 2 weeks before his due date. We'll see how he does. Either way, he's not too much longer for the place now - we're definitely on the downward slide, for which I can't even begin to express how excited I am!!
It's funny, as of yesterday, I actually feel like I've gotten a second wind. On Thanksgiving Day (Sunday), I had the biggest crying fit breakdown because I was so upset that there it was Thanksgiving and our sweet little baby was stuck in a hospital cot. I was actually sobbing uncontrollably to Drew - he was having to tell me to slow down and breathe ... I think he was afraid I was going to hyperventilate or something! Anyway, it lasted a few hours - lie on the couch and cry was all I could do. I felt a little better by the time we left to go to family dinner at my parents' that night, and then the next day (Monday), I actually felt fantastic! The anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach that's been there a while now was gone and I felt refreshed and relaxed and that I was going to get through this last little bit just fine. Such a roller coaster of emotion this baby-in-the-NICU is. Honestly though, I now feel like I can ease my way out. I don't feel all wound up like a corkscrew anymore. Spencer is fine, doesn't need much longer now and it will be soon enough before he's home in our arms!
On that note, I will end off here and post some new pictures. Have a good week!
Tara, Drew & Spencer xoxo
Another productive week for our wee one. He continues to stay healthy, continuing on now for another week not to have a single infection or illness throughout his ride in the NICU. Again, knock on wood! There was another MRSA scare in the row right next to ours, the 2nd time since we've been there. They tested all the babies just to make sure it hadn't spread and Spencer came back negative for it, phew! MRSA is short for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus and is an infection that gets into the blood. It's transfered through human contact when those touching the babies haven't washed thoroughly. When they have it, the babies have to go in an isolation room and anyone going in to see them (parents, nurses, doctors) have to wear a gown and surgical gloves. Not sure how long it stays in them for before they get better .. and I have to say, I'm glad I don't know and hope I won't have to either!
Spencer's been gaining some serious weight the last 4 nights and somehow has ballooned out to a whopping 6lbs 14oz! The weight gain is fantastic of course, but now his stamina for eating just needs to catch up! He still gets tired when feeding and will conk out part way through the feed. Having said that though, the goal from last week was to take more than 15 cc of milk and .. I'm pleased to report that at last night's 3am feeding, the nurse got him to take 20 cc! "Full feed" at the moment is 59 cc so he's still a little ways away, but it's forward progress! From what I'm told too, once they figure it out, it's full speed ahead - they're off to the races and never look back. So, I'm hoping that'll happen for him in the next little bit here, maybe even by the next blog post? Keep your fingers crossed! Remember, one of the criteria for going home is taking full feeds at every meal (he gets fed every 3 hours) for a total of 48 hours.
Speaking of criteria, another one to go home is not having a single apnea or bradycardia for 7 days in a row while being off caffeine. Yesterday was Spencer's last dose of caffeine (the doctors did end up "weaning" him this time - he's been getting only half a dose for the past 3 days), so this marks day one of that countdown! So, having said that, provided he starts taking full feeds sometime this week (it's anyone's guess if he will), the soonest we can have him home is October 20th! Wouldn't that be nice, that'd be 2 weeks before his due date. We'll see how he does. Either way, he's not too much longer for the place now - we're definitely on the downward slide, for which I can't even begin to express how excited I am!!
It's funny, as of yesterday, I actually feel like I've gotten a second wind. On Thanksgiving Day (Sunday), I had the biggest crying fit breakdown because I was so upset that there it was Thanksgiving and our sweet little baby was stuck in a hospital cot. I was actually sobbing uncontrollably to Drew - he was having to tell me to slow down and breathe ... I think he was afraid I was going to hyperventilate or something! Anyway, it lasted a few hours - lie on the couch and cry was all I could do. I felt a little better by the time we left to go to family dinner at my parents' that night, and then the next day (Monday), I actually felt fantastic! The anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach that's been there a while now was gone and I felt refreshed and relaxed and that I was going to get through this last little bit just fine. Such a roller coaster of emotion this baby-in-the-NICU is. Honestly though, I now feel like I can ease my way out. I don't feel all wound up like a corkscrew anymore. Spencer is fine, doesn't need much longer now and it will be soon enough before he's home in our arms!
On that note, I will end off here and post some new pictures. Have a good week!
Tara, Drew & Spencer xoxo
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Spencer - 36 Weeks Gestation
Hi there,
Well, the first bit of good news is that they found the reason for the increase in apneas. For the first little while, most of the babies are put on caffeine, as it stimulates breathing in little lungs that aren't yet fully developed. Seems funny, as pregnant women aren't supposed to have too much caffeine, but it works for these preemies, so that is what's given. Anyway, the babies are then taken off of it around 34-35 weeks gestation. Because Spencer was doing very well, with no apneas or bradycardias at all, the doctors decided to take him off it on September 22, the very day he turned 34 weeks. And ... in looking back at his chart, the day after, September 23, was exactly when the "crash" started to happen. He was put back on caffeine on Friday, October 2 and has been just fine ever since. So, there's the answer - he just needs his Starbucks for a little while yet! The docs tell me that this happens sometimes, that the babies need to go back on it for a bit longer, "especially boys", I was told. I asked if this time, rather than cold turkey taking him off (which is how it was done), if he could be weaned off instead. The nurses say that's how they think it'll be done this time.
The other bit of good news is that, on Saturday afternoon, October 3, Spencer came off the oxygen!! It was funny how it was done - I was there feeding him and after the feed, the nurse came over and said, "Can I tell you a secret? I turned off the oxygen when Spencer came out of his cot ... he's been breathing on his own this whole time". At first, I was taken aback - I couldn't believe she did that! But then, I realized that during the entire feed, he'd been just fine. The nurse warned me that he may not be able to last, that if I came back the next day and he was back on the low flow, not to worry 'cause he proved that he was able to go on his own at least for a little while, which is still forward progress. Well, that was over 3 days ago and he's still going strong! So, finally!! At 35 1/2 weeks, his little lungs finally became developed enough to function on their own. Again, it's scary to think he needed such help to breathe ... though, I have to keep in mind that it was what the doctors were telling us all along - he just needs time for his lungs, not meant to be out in the real world yet, to mature and grow.
Weight-wise, as of tonight, he's 5lbs 9oz. No infections or illnesses, knock on wood ... oh and the eye doctor came yesterday to give Spencer a check-up and I'm pleased to report that she gave his eyes a "clean bill of health" - no ROP or any eye issues at all! Very, very lucky. I'm thrilled too, of course - being premature can affect the eyes and ears much more readily than being born full-term and I'm SO thankful that Spencer has escaped any issues with either.
The breastfeeding is slow, but steady - it's a learning process for both of us. He's able to take some, the most so far being 15 cc. His feed is at 51 cc every 3 hours at the moment - 15 cc, not being anywhere near full feed yet, means we still have to practice! He knows what to do, it's just building up the stamina to go at it longer. Tomorrow (Wednesday), he's going to get his first bottle (still with breast milk). They say that babies have an easier time with bottles because they're easier to suck, so I'm eager to see how much Spencer will get through that route. I'm also told by mothers that have been there for longer than me that if you agree to bottling, your baby goes home faster, 'cause they're able to reach the 48 hours of full feeds faster on the bottle than they are through breastfeeding. They say to work on breastfeeding once you get home, with the public health nurse's help.
Well, that's all for now ... everything at the moment is status quo. Goals for this week - to be weaned off of the caffeine and to take more than 15 cc either through bottle or breastfeeding!
Have a good week, everyone and stay tuned for next week's update ...
Love,
Tara, Drew & Spencer xoxo
Well, the first bit of good news is that they found the reason for the increase in apneas. For the first little while, most of the babies are put on caffeine, as it stimulates breathing in little lungs that aren't yet fully developed. Seems funny, as pregnant women aren't supposed to have too much caffeine, but it works for these preemies, so that is what's given. Anyway, the babies are then taken off of it around 34-35 weeks gestation. Because Spencer was doing very well, with no apneas or bradycardias at all, the doctors decided to take him off it on September 22, the very day he turned 34 weeks. And ... in looking back at his chart, the day after, September 23, was exactly when the "crash" started to happen. He was put back on caffeine on Friday, October 2 and has been just fine ever since. So, there's the answer - he just needs his Starbucks for a little while yet! The docs tell me that this happens sometimes, that the babies need to go back on it for a bit longer, "especially boys", I was told. I asked if this time, rather than cold turkey taking him off (which is how it was done), if he could be weaned off instead. The nurses say that's how they think it'll be done this time.
The other bit of good news is that, on Saturday afternoon, October 3, Spencer came off the oxygen!! It was funny how it was done - I was there feeding him and after the feed, the nurse came over and said, "Can I tell you a secret? I turned off the oxygen when Spencer came out of his cot ... he's been breathing on his own this whole time". At first, I was taken aback - I couldn't believe she did that! But then, I realized that during the entire feed, he'd been just fine. The nurse warned me that he may not be able to last, that if I came back the next day and he was back on the low flow, not to worry 'cause he proved that he was able to go on his own at least for a little while, which is still forward progress. Well, that was over 3 days ago and he's still going strong! So, finally!! At 35 1/2 weeks, his little lungs finally became developed enough to function on their own. Again, it's scary to think he needed such help to breathe ... though, I have to keep in mind that it was what the doctors were telling us all along - he just needs time for his lungs, not meant to be out in the real world yet, to mature and grow.
Weight-wise, as of tonight, he's 5lbs 9oz. No infections or illnesses, knock on wood ... oh and the eye doctor came yesterday to give Spencer a check-up and I'm pleased to report that she gave his eyes a "clean bill of health" - no ROP or any eye issues at all! Very, very lucky. I'm thrilled too, of course - being premature can affect the eyes and ears much more readily than being born full-term and I'm SO thankful that Spencer has escaped any issues with either.
The breastfeeding is slow, but steady - it's a learning process for both of us. He's able to take some, the most so far being 15 cc. His feed is at 51 cc every 3 hours at the moment - 15 cc, not being anywhere near full feed yet, means we still have to practice! He knows what to do, it's just building up the stamina to go at it longer. Tomorrow (Wednesday), he's going to get his first bottle (still with breast milk). They say that babies have an easier time with bottles because they're easier to suck, so I'm eager to see how much Spencer will get through that route. I'm also told by mothers that have been there for longer than me that if you agree to bottling, your baby goes home faster, 'cause they're able to reach the 48 hours of full feeds faster on the bottle than they are through breastfeeding. They say to work on breastfeeding once you get home, with the public health nurse's help.
Well, that's all for now ... everything at the moment is status quo. Goals for this week - to be weaned off of the caffeine and to take more than 15 cc either through bottle or breastfeeding!
Have a good week, everyone and stay tuned for next week's update ...
Love,
Tara, Drew & Spencer xoxo
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