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