Words can’t explain how happy and proud I was on my first Father’s Day. So here is a glimpse of Donovan’s journey so far. A picture is worth a thousand words, what are a thousand pictures worth? Priceless, I’d say.
I think we’re all settling into a little rhythm finally. Shannon, being the awesome mom she is, comes by it naturally so I’m not sure she has as much “settling in” to do as I do. Personally though, I’m gaining confidence every day. Just this morning things went relatively smooth, when the night before I was dreading the whole thing. On the days Shannon and I work the day shift together, I’m the one who drops him off to be watched because she works so much earlier. I’ve done this often enough with my mom, but today was the first time I had to drop him off at the in-laws. They actually live closer and they are on the way to work, a big bonus there as I somehow made it to work on time. They are more than capable of meeting his slightly special needs, it was just a new drop off which added a little anxiety. Add the fact that so far, no matter how much time I plan, something screws up the timing (spit up, cranky baby, spit up, etc) and I seem to be late for everything when Donovan is involved. Don’t mistake any of this for complaining, because I wouldn’t change a thing, just stating the facts all you parents already relate to.
Anyway, as I mentioned, things went smooth this morning. First I changed his diaper and then his clothes (I’m not very efficient at either, so having that out of the way was nice). Then he ate and spent some time upright with me (has to be upright for his reflux). I ate left-handed for the first time this morning, as I didn’t want to lay him down since he just ate. He just happened to be in my right arm when the waffles popped out of the toaster. That was interesting, I don’t think I dripped any syrup on him. Then he chilled in his nursery across from the bathroom while I got ready for work. What I figured would be the worst part of the morning would be strapping him into his car seat. He tends to get pretty outraged with the car seat until he is in the car and moving. I mean “red faced and catching his breath” outraged. This morning? Not so much, even while wide awake, he didn’t even look visibly upset at any point. Like I said, we’re all settling in.
Now for tomorrow, which brings another first since Donovan joined us. I have to drive 2.5 hours to Indiana, and back again at the end of the day.
Last night was a bit rough. Donovan didn’t want to relax much. I didn’t get to sleep until almost 4:00am (have to be to work at 8:00am). Hopefully tonight will be a little better. I have my golf league and my mom is going to watch him while I golf. Tonight will be my first experience of running him around on my own and having someone else babysit him. I’m not worried by any means, just a little anxious as I experience some more of the unknown for the first time. Logistically it’ll be interesting, to say the least. At the same time it’s all fun. Being a parent is probably the toughest and definitely the most rewarding part of life.
May 14th was Donovan’s due date. On May 15th, 1 day old (age corrected), I was able to capture video of him rolling over. I thought it could have been a fluke, but after placing him on his tummy two more times, he rolled right back over without fail. I know I’m biased because he is my son, but it doesn’t look like being born 8.5 weeks early is holding him back much in the motor skills department.
On Tuesday May 18th they came to the house and downloaded is monitor information. Now that data has to be delivered to and reviewed by the doctor. At that point I’m hoping they determine he no longer needs to be on caffeine. He’ll still need to be on the monitor for 2 weeks to confirm his bradycardias and apnea episodes are no longer a concern after stopping the caffeine. I know the monitor is small potatoes compared to what many parents of premature babies have to deal with, but I’ll also be glad when I can just pick up my baby and walk anywhere, without worrying about the wires getting snagged on something, stepping on the wire, untangling him from the wires, etc.
Shannon works again tonight, so this will be his second night of daddy-only care. The first time started off rough, he was awake and pretty crabby for just over the first 4 hours. After that though, the night went smooth. I really look forward to these times together, I just don’t have that magic wand moms can wave to calm their baby, so that tends to be the main challenge. Wish me luck!
Oh, by the way, I haven’t played poker in weeks, maybe months. I have thought of playing when I have had a moment here or there, but usually decide to sleep instead. I am playing some golf now though.
May 14th was Donovan’s due date. On May 15th, 1 day old (age corrected), I was able to capture video of him rolling over. I thought it could have been a fluke, but after placing him on his tummy two more times, he rolled right back over without fail. I know I’m biased because he is my son, but it doesn’t look like being born 8.5 weeks early is holding him back much in the motor skills department.
On Tuesday May 18th they came to the house and downloaded is monitor information. Now that data has to be delivered to and reviewed by the doctor. At that point I’m hoping they determine he no longer needs to be on caffeine. He’ll still need to be on the monitor for 2 weeks to confirm his bradycardias and apnea episodes are no longer a concern after stopping the caffeine. I know the monitor is small potatoes compared to what many parents of premature babies have to deal with, but I’ll also be glad when I can just pick up my baby and walk anywhere, without worrying about the wires getting snagged on something, stepping on the wire, untangling him from the wires, etc.
Shannon works again tonight, so this will be his second night of daddy-only care. The first time started off rough, he was awake and pretty crabby for just over the first 4 hours. After that though, the night went smooth. I really look forward to these times together, I just don’t have that magic wand moms can wave to calm their baby, so that tends to be the main challenge. Wish me luck!
Oh, by the way, I haven’t played poker in weeks, maybe months. I have thought of playing when I have had a moment here or there, but usually decide to sleep instead. I am playing some golf now though.
You can change the 360p to 1080p HD! (after you hit play)
Wow, people weren’t kidding when they said we wouldn’t be getting any sleep when Donovan came home. I keep wanting to post updates here on my blog, but just don’t have the time or the drive if I do end up with a few minutes. Anyway, depending on who you ask, March 13th or 14th was Donovan’s actual due date. Tomorrow (March14th) he’ll have been home 2 weeks, after 47 days in the hospital.
Although tiring to say the least, it’s been an amazing transition for all of us. He had his first check-up with his pediatrician last Friday and weighed in at 5lbs 9oz. The doctor was more than pleased with his size and development so far, that was encouraging. Going into the appointment, Donovan had gone about 3 days without pooping which was concerning for us but she (the doctor) was not concerned. Karo Syrup was recommended to help “smooth” things out and get him pooping. About a day later he finally had a large poop, and although he is still infrequent at pooping, he doesn’t appear to be constipated, he just may not poop very often.
One of our biggest concerns was that he would have feeding issues at home. So far there hasn’t been much to worry about. His pediatrician has told us to feed him when he is hungry and feed him as much as he’ll take, a more laid back approach than what he was discharged with from the hospital. Sometimes he feeds great, but often his reflux makes it a lot of work still. Between the long feeding times, the fact that he feeds about every 2 hours, and his lack of interest in sleeping – we’ve been searching for ways to get blocks of sleep.
All-in-all I think Donovan is doing pretty well, but mom and dad (mom mainly since she is still home with him all day and night) are still adjusting to parenthood.
I’m writing this when I should be sleeping, because Donovan came home Friday and I’m now realizing where everyone is coming from when they say “you’ll be like a zombie from all the lack of sleep”. OK, no one really said that, but they could have. I’m not complaining though, I’m so glad Donovan is home from the hospital after a 47 day stay since birth. My biggest fear was that he’d have feeding issues at home forcing us to go back to the hospital. It’s Sunday though and so far so good. In fact the worst issue so far is a horrible diaper rash that only seems to get worse no matter what we try to treat it with.
As far as the feedings, he is taking basically all of his bottles. He requires a lot of burping though. So if anyone has any tricks when it comes to burping babies, feel free to let me know. He doesn’t give up his burps easily, so feedings can drag on sometimes.
Donovan seems to sleep better during the day, meaning when he is fidgeting and awake at night, we’re awake at night. We’ve settled into a bit of a routine now, so we can get some blocks of sleep. So after a weekend at home, Donovan is doing pretty good.
Well I have to work in the morning, so I’m going to post this and get some sleep while I can. In fact, I don’t exactly remember what I’ve typed.
Last night Donovan weighed in at 2015 grams which is 4lbs 7oz. He looks real good as he fills out his little frame. Hard to believe he was born 2lbs 11oz. On Monday April 12th we had a meeting with his Doctor (Dr. Doctor, no joke). It was mostly about stuff we already knew. Something we did learn was they downloaded the data from his memory monitor and at this point they don’t think he’ll have to go home with a memory monitor. At the time the Doctor “guessed” he might go home by the end of the week, but Donovan’s feedings haven’t gone as well since, making that guess far less likely.
Donovan has had a busy past week. He had a hearing test and passed with flying colors. He had his second eye exam (he hates these) and everything looks normal for his age still. He had a second brain MRI two nights ago and the results look good. He was suppose to have his circumcision done this week, but the Doctor decided against it. It looks like he’ll be referred to a urologist when he is discharged and his circ will be done after he is out of the hospital. He got his Hepatitis B vaccine last night (well it was planned for last night anyway). So a lot of things are being checked off the list. The one that matters the most, at least in terms of him coming home, is his feedings. I’m hoping that since a lot of tests are out of the way now, he can just focus on resting and eating well. His feedings are going well and appropriate for his age, so there aren’t any worries there, we just look forward to him coming home. Sorry for the lack of updates, that should get everyone up to speed.
Just two days ago he moved from NICU to NIM (neonatal intermediate care). The move itself was exciting news, but nothing had really changed in his care. I just assumed this was a precursor of things to come. I was right, because I walked into his room last night to find the top on his crib was up. The doctor obviously thinks he is ready to maintain his own body temperature. The top had been up all day and he was tolerating the change just fine. After a few minutes of non-stop smiling and high-fiving total strangers (OK, just non-stop smiling) the nurse taking care of him informed us he had just taken his entire bottle without any issues. This is the first time he has ate a whole feed from the bottle. This is all great news because these are the two things he has to do on his own before he can go home. It looks like the temperature thing is going to take care of itself, leaving Shannon and I (and the nurses) focusing on his bottle / breast feeding. He needs to feed orally for 48 hours (no tube feedings) and without any issues before they’ll consider checking that off the list and discharging him. As exciting as that whole bottle feed is, he has a ways to go. For example, last night he took two more bottles, one was about half his feeding and the other about a third. Still, this is all great news and it’s so exciting seeing the changes in him almost daily. He also had his biggest weight gain last night, 60 grams, bringing him to 1795 grams (3lb 15oz). This was surprising because he spent the day heating himself, which burns more calories. I’m not complaining though. I’m trying not to get the cart in front of the horse- but keep it up little man, and you’ll be home before we know it!
On 4/7/2010 Donovan moved one step closer to coming home when he was moved to NIM (neonatal intermediate care). Here is hoping the NICU is behind us for good. A nurse once referred to the NIM as the “feeders and growers”, and that’s basically what our focus is, to get Donovan feeding without the tube. Other than him moving to a new room, not much else has changed. His feedings were increased from 32ml to 34ml every 3 hours. They discontinued his culturelle. The sore (IV burn) on his ankle is looking good and I heard a nurse say last night they might have to keep treating it for just a couple more days. His sore / rash on his butt is being treated as needed, should be fine soon I hope. In the diaper changing department, I’ll be glad when I don’t have leads, wires and port holes to deal with. I’m already not very efficient, those things really throw me off. In fact, last night Donovan played his normal trick and pooped after I had his new diaper in place. While changing his diaper again, I lost track of the second dirty diaper and it stuck to his new diaper. I dressed him again, and 3 hours later when mom did his 9pm care, she had an extra present. I was briefly embarrassed, but mostly laughing. I don’t expect I’ll make that mistake again.
Sounds like a long time. It is, but I’m counting my blessings because Donovan is doing well when so many aren’t. A volunteer brought food in for parents and I was able to eat dinner with other parents with babies in the NICU. Most stories have happy endings, but many have a longer road getting there. Donovan’s roomate Phoeve is having her ups and downs, I pray she is doing better very soon.
As far as Donovan, he didn’t have any brady episodes again today. He was fed one bottle by the day nurse at 3pm and took 17ml. I fed him at 9pm and he took 9ml, but he had a rough 9pm care, so I think he was worn out. Mom noticed a sore / rash on his butt when changing his diaper. The subsequent cleaning and treatment resulted in his loudest crying and the first tears I’ve seen from him. Shannon got him squared away though, and he was good to go after that. He only gained 10 grams, but it’s weight gain all the same. The nurse tonight uncovered his isolette (often it is covered with a sheet / blanket) so he can start viewing the world and letting his eyes adjust to daylight, etc. This will also prepare him for when they pop the top when he is maintaining his own body temp. Except for the rash on his butt, it was a fairly boring day, and we like boring in this case.
They are more than capable of meeting his slightly special needs, it was just a new drop off which added a little anxiety. Add the fact that so far, no matter how much time I plan, something screws up the timing (spit up, cranky baby, spit up, etc) and I seem to be late for everything when Donovan is involved. Don’t mistake any of this for complaining, because I wouldn’t change a thing, just stating the facts all you parents already relate to.
