Dr. Ross was able to come back today and check up on D. There are a couple of updates.
1-The ROP laser surgery was a...SUCCESS! The blood vessels that were placing pressures on the retna have "dissolved"! PRAISE GOD!
2-However, they have now left behind some scar tissue that currently is just laying there, but can end up placing pressure there if it does not dissolve as well. If this happens, we will have to be transported...yet again, to Beaumont Hospital for yet another surgery. So again, I am begging for prayers. Please pray for our little guy that this issue corrects itself.
3-There is also a little blood that is pooling under the lens so she is going to continue D's eyedrops a little longer.
On the other side, D is tolerating his feedings better and they are hoping to be up to full feeds by this weekend. Which means we will then be able to get rid of his IV's and start introducing breastmilk back into the picture. This of course, all rides on D's attitude and toleration (is that a word??) of the current feeding plan. D..Do you hear mama?!?! Get it together!! We want you at home!!
Thank you all for your words of encouragement and prayers, and we only ask that you keep praying, for healing, for strength, and for patience!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
So Flustered...
So as my due date nears, I have been getting a lot of questions in regards to when D is going to be able to come home....Well, not any time soon...here is a breif re-cap as to why.
At the end of April Dawson went for his PDA ligation, which was sucessful. When he retuned to our NICU, they immediatly tried to start feedings. They started with Continuous breastmilk and throughout May and June they were able to consistantly increase his feeds, add MCT oil and fortifier (calorie supplements) , switch to bolus (intermitten) . As of July 8th, we were up to Fortified BM24 Q3, and MCT oil 3x/day.
July 9th Dawson went in for ROP surgery, and was NPO starting at noon. July 10th, less than 12 hours post op...they tried to push 15ml of bm through his gavage. He promptly threw it all back up. They decided to make him NPO (No feedings...whatsoever) for the next 5 days, and monitor his belly via xray.
After his belly calmed back down, they started feeding him again on Neocate, pre-digested formula. Since then (7/13) it has been a constant battle, residuals at every feed, constantly increasing/decreasing his ml's and he just screams ALL.THE.TIME. On top of that, they have been replacing his IV's daily, which is about a 4 hour process because he has now blown so many veins.
So today, they found another loop in his belly and he is NPO again. They are going to check with an Xray around 1pm today, and may or may not re-start the neocate. I am just getting so mad that BM worked for almost 3mos with no problems, and then he puked ONCE and they dc'd that. Now neocate has been consistanly failing for almost 2 whole weeks, and yet they are still pushing it. I don't know what to do!!! Grr.
So I am a jumbled, pissed off mess. On top of hurting for my baby, My due date is Sunday, and it is really bringing out a lot of feelings and anger that I didn't know I had. I had to leave the hospital without a baby, and have had to every single day since. I am still angry and upset at the "loss" of my pregnancy. Do not get me wrong, I am very, very thankful that D is doing relativly well for a 24 weeker, and am so glad we were blessed with such a miracle, but I am still sad. I didn't get to carry him in my belly, and feel his kicks for longer than 2 weeks. I didn't get to shop for cute bump clothes, and instead of finding dresses that showed off my bump for my showers, I was looking for tops to hide my "pouch". I didn't get to hold, nuzzle, and feed my newborn, and I didn't get to change his diaper until he was over 1month old. So, to say the least..this week I am struggling to stay afloat.
At the end of April Dawson went for his PDA ligation, which was sucessful. When he retuned to our NICU, they immediatly tried to start feedings. They started with Continuous breastmilk and throughout May and June they were able to consistantly increase his feeds, add MCT oil and fortifier (calorie supplements) , switch to bolus (intermitten) . As of July 8th, we were up to Fortified BM24 Q3, and MCT oil 3x/day.
July 9th Dawson went in for ROP surgery, and was NPO starting at noon. July 10th, less than 12 hours post op...they tried to push 15ml of bm through his gavage. He promptly threw it all back up. They decided to make him NPO (No feedings...whatsoever) for the next 5 days, and monitor his belly via xray.
After his belly calmed back down, they started feeding him again on Neocate, pre-digested formula. Since then (7/13) it has been a constant battle, residuals at every feed, constantly increasing/decreasing his ml's and he just screams ALL.THE.TIME. On top of that, they have been replacing his IV's daily, which is about a 4 hour process because he has now blown so many veins.
So today, they found another loop in his belly and he is NPO again. They are going to check with an Xray around 1pm today, and may or may not re-start the neocate. I am just getting so mad that BM worked for almost 3mos with no problems, and then he puked ONCE and they dc'd that. Now neocate has been consistanly failing for almost 2 whole weeks, and yet they are still pushing it. I don't know what to do!!! Grr.
So I am a jumbled, pissed off mess. On top of hurting for my baby, My due date is Sunday, and it is really bringing out a lot of feelings and anger that I didn't know I had. I had to leave the hospital without a baby, and have had to every single day since. I am still angry and upset at the "loss" of my pregnancy. Do not get me wrong, I am very, very thankful that D is doing relativly well for a 24 weeker, and am so glad we were blessed with such a miracle, but I am still sad. I didn't get to carry him in my belly, and feel his kicks for longer than 2 weeks. I didn't get to shop for cute bump clothes, and instead of finding dresses that showed off my bump for my showers, I was looking for tops to hide my "pouch". I didn't get to hold, nuzzle, and feed my newborn, and I didn't get to change his diaper until he was over 1month old. So, to say the least..this week I am struggling to stay afloat.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
My time is MIA-7/13/09
I cannot believe it has been a month since my last post...it feels like it has only been a few days. There has been so much going on lately, every time I set out to write an update, things change so quickly it no longer applies.
We are finally off all of the oxygen support, although we battled with the nasal cannula quite a bit. 4 days on...3 days off...5 days off, 7 days on. But D finally had enough and it has been MIA ever since.
I wish I could write that D was up to full 30ml/3 hours on his feedings, like he was last week. But last Wednesday that all came crashing down. We had been working with a speech therapist on developing his oral feedings almost 3 times a week. Then D's eye Dr. came in from Flint and declared that come Thursday, D was going to need Emergency laser surgery as he was suffering from stage 3 ROP.
Retinopathy of prematurity – commonly known as ROP - is a potentially blinding eye disease primarily affecting premature infants weighing less than 2 pounds, 12 ounces. The disease spurs the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the eye, vessels that leak fluid and blood, and scar the nerve tissue inside the eye. This increases the risk of retinal detachment and severe vision loss in these infants, most born more than two months prematurely.
The Dr. returned on Thursday and was able to perform the surgery, and suspects everything went well, however we will not know for sure if it worked until later this week. There is a strong suspicion that he will need glasses at some point in his life though. In order to perform the surgery, all feedings had to cease 6 hours prior and D had to be placed back on the breathing tube. He was not very happy with that and yanked that out first thing Sat. morning. They did try to start things up with feedings again on Friday...however D did not tolerate that very well. So they ceased all feedings for the weekend in hopes of letting his tummy rest.
The Dr. ordered that we could try again today, however they are starting at a measly 3ml/3 hours for now. And they are using Neocate, which is the most foul smelling, partially digested, disgusting formula powder you can imagine. YUK. They hope this will be more gentle on his tummy, but I cannot wait for him to go back to BM. Fortunately, because he is taking so little, I did get to give him his first bottle today, and he took it like a CHAMP. Hopefully, this means we are getting the hang of things and the next few weeks will be a breeze.
On that note, prior to surgery we had a couple of nursing sessions to get D familiar with the general layout and idea of what he was supposed to be doing when placed at breast. He did well, tuckers out easy, but no heart or desat episodes. As soon as the IV's are removed we will be trying again once a day.
As for now, D is up to 4lbs 1oz...and we are hoping for his departure home within the next 2-3 weeks, but now that is all up to him. It just depends on how well he tolerates eating and eventually, nippling on a bottle and nursing. Fingers crossed.
Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers, and ask for continued prayer for healing. We are getting there, slowly but surely, D is truly proof that miracles can happen. I will also TRY to blog more frequently, as I did in the beginning =)
Back when he was still in the cannula
Meeting Grandpa for the first time!
Look at those cheeks!!
We are finally off all of the oxygen support, although we battled with the nasal cannula quite a bit. 4 days on...3 days off...5 days off, 7 days on. But D finally had enough and it has been MIA ever since.
I wish I could write that D was up to full 30ml/3 hours on his feedings, like he was last week. But last Wednesday that all came crashing down. We had been working with a speech therapist on developing his oral feedings almost 3 times a week. Then D's eye Dr. came in from Flint and declared that come Thursday, D was going to need Emergency laser surgery as he was suffering from stage 3 ROP.
Retinopathy of prematurity – commonly known as ROP - is a potentially blinding eye disease primarily affecting premature infants weighing less than 2 pounds, 12 ounces. The disease spurs the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the eye, vessels that leak fluid and blood, and scar the nerve tissue inside the eye. This increases the risk of retinal detachment and severe vision loss in these infants, most born more than two months prematurely.
The Dr. returned on Thursday and was able to perform the surgery, and suspects everything went well, however we will not know for sure if it worked until later this week. There is a strong suspicion that he will need glasses at some point in his life though. In order to perform the surgery, all feedings had to cease 6 hours prior and D had to be placed back on the breathing tube. He was not very happy with that and yanked that out first thing Sat. morning. They did try to start things up with feedings again on Friday...however D did not tolerate that very well. So they ceased all feedings for the weekend in hopes of letting his tummy rest.
The Dr. ordered that we could try again today, however they are starting at a measly 3ml/3 hours for now. And they are using Neocate, which is the most foul smelling, partially digested, disgusting formula powder you can imagine. YUK. They hope this will be more gentle on his tummy, but I cannot wait for him to go back to BM. Fortunately, because he is taking so little, I did get to give him his first bottle today, and he took it like a CHAMP. Hopefully, this means we are getting the hang of things and the next few weeks will be a breeze.
On that note, prior to surgery we had a couple of nursing sessions to get D familiar with the general layout and idea of what he was supposed to be doing when placed at breast. He did well, tuckers out easy, but no heart or desat episodes. As soon as the IV's are removed we will be trying again once a day.
As for now, D is up to 4lbs 1oz...and we are hoping for his departure home within the next 2-3 weeks, but now that is all up to him. It just depends on how well he tolerates eating and eventually, nippling on a bottle and nursing. Fingers crossed.
Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers, and ask for continued prayer for healing. We are getting there, slowly but surely, D is truly proof that miracles can happen. I will also TRY to blog more frequently, as I did in the beginning =)
Back when he was still in the cannula
Meeting Grandpa for the first time!
Look at those cheeks!!
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