One Hungry Little Boy

First of all, I can't believe it's April 30th! Where did the time go? Aaron will be 7 weeks old already this Saturday. WOW!

They upped Aaron's feeds again today. He is now receiving 5cc (mL) every 6 hours. We are so happy that he is tolerating it. We are hoping that this will soon help him get over his 2lb 6oz hurdle. They've also deceased the pressure on his ventilator some more. Woohoo!

We cannot believe how much different he looks already. I always seem amazed whenever I see a full-term newborn being wheeled down the hall to the regular nursery because Aaron seems so big already, I can't imagine a bigger baby! The ID band they put around his leg when he was first admitted was stuck on his thigh today. I actually had to use two hands to slip it down to his ankle! It used to just dangle there and slip off his feet when he would kick. He even has chubby toes that I just want to eat up! But still no tush, according to Nana and Pop who visited tonight.

On a personal note, we've recovered from the almost-house-burning-down incident of last night. We still ordered in just to be safe, and the smell is almost gone. I am actually taking the day off from school tomorrow to head to NYU for board (NERB) orientation. My second attempt at taking them will be this Saturday. Last time I attempted, I ended up giving birth in a bathroom. Fortunately, I don't think that will happen again this time. But please say a prayer that all goes well and I will be one step closer to getting my license.

Here's a picture of Aaron's "stick-em-up" pose from tonight.

Just Hanging Out

Today was actually uneventful in the NICU. Aaron was real sleepy when we visited tonight. He was just hanging out on his back. We missed most of the nightly duties of bathing him, changing his diaper and taking his temperature because we got to the hospital really late. Unfortunately, we were held up at home because Clayton almost burned the house down! I was running late in school and he decided to get dinner ready. The oven was pre-heating while he came downstairs and next thing he knew, the smoke detectors were going off. By the time he ran upstairs, there was black smoke everywhere! Luckily, he's always been quick to think and he immediately opened the doors and windows and put our dog, Hurley, out on the lead. He came back in and opened the oven door and flames came out. As it so happens, my parents had to have their house inspected when it went under contract and they had to make sure there was a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Thank goodness there was! Clayton quickly grabbed it and put the fire out. My mom usually puts extra cookie sheets, etc. in the oven but this time...the one time Clayton forgets to look...there was something pastic in there that melted and caused the fire. By the time clean up was done and we ate dinner and showered, we didn't get to see Aaron until 9pm. I think that him sleeping and keeping all his numbers in perfect range was his way of telling us it was OK that we were late...we didn't miss anything crazy and he was doing fine all by himself. His nurse on duty tonight told us that she noticed him smiling a lot today! It's really cute when he does it. I just always thought I made more of a simple face "twitch" but I'm glad someone else agrees that Aaron just keeps smiling. I wonder what he's thinking about...

Here's a picture from Monday night (04/27/09). I think it gives a nice perspective of Aaron's size vs. Clayton's hand!
PS. Please pray for baby Dawson, another preemie in the NICU. He needs to have same PDA ligation surgery that Aaron had last week.

Another Eye Exam

Aaron had another eye exam today. He had his first exam when he was 31 days old. It's done to check for ROP (retinopathy of prematurity). The doctor's findings show that Aaron's eyes are "immature", which is consistent with his gestational age (31 weeks yesterday). So pretty much, there is nothing the matter other than his eyes aren't fully developed yet. He will probably be getting an eye exam every 2 weeks until somewhere around 38-44 weeks gestational age, when they would normally be developed. They've increased his feedings today to 4cc every 6 hours and he is still tolerating it very well. He really seems to be loving breastmilk this time around! His breath rate on the vent is now down to 36 per minute. He started out at 60/min, was on 40/min for a while and since his PDA ligation last week they've been weaning his breath rate and pressure. Just another hurdle to get over before coming home. Hopefully tonight's blood gas readings will show that he is able to handle this lower setting.

Another Miracle

Just when we think God cannot amaze us even more than He already has, He proves us wrong...and thank goodness He does! Today, they lowered Aaron's vent pressure some more. They've also increased his feedings, AGAIN, from 2cc every 6 hours to 3cc every 6 hours. We have been praying over his tummy that he can tolerate his feeds and he seems to be doing pretty well with that.

But, here's the biggest news of the night. Aaron had some hydrocephalus in his ventricles that they seemed concerned about. They've been measuring his head circumference daily to keep up with it. The doctors told us he is too small for a shunt to be placed so our only option was for them to "tap" into his ventricles with a needle and aspirate the fluid out. They were waiting until after he recooperated from his PDA ligation to figure out what to do about it. Well, he had a head ultrasound the other day and it showed that the ventricles were getting smaller and the hydrocephalus was resolving on its own! Praise Jesus! We are so thankful to Him for answering our prayers that Aaron does not have to go through another surgery!!

Finally, he gained 40 grams from last night and is now up to 2lbs 6oz! Here is a picture from tonight of him playing hide-and-seek with us.

Kangaroo Care

What a big day it was for the Berry family. We've held Aaron on three occasions before but today was special. Aaron has been doing so well that we were able to do our first kangaroo care. Kangaroo care is direct skin to skin holding. Usually Aaron is all wrapped up in blankets and a hat when we hold him but since he has been fighting so hard and doing so well, I was able to put him up against my chest while he was only wearing his diaper! Oooh, he felt and smelled so good. I almost wanted to run out the door with him, but the clerk said she'd call the cops on me :)

They've started his feedings and already increased it since he's been tolerating it very well. Three pounds, here we come!

The Past 6 Weeks

Aaron was born on March 14, 2009. He weighed in at 1lb 14oz and was 14.75in long. He had a rough start to life, as he decided to make his enterance at 24w5d gestation. Clayton and I were on our way to the hospital to get checked out but little Aaron couldn't wait any longer to meet us.
No one was really sure of God's plan during those first few days. Aaron was taking us all on a rollercoaster ride with each meeting with the doctors. He underwent phototherapy for almost 2 weeks to get his bilirubin down. His ventillator settings were as high as they could be. But, Aaron kept on fighting and amazing everyone around him.

He quickly got down to 710 grams (1lb 9oz). It was amazing how just a few ounces make such a big difference when you're so small. He looked so skinny and small, it just broke our hearts. He would go up and down in his weight very quickly and it wasn't until recently that he got the hang of it and continuously went up and up. He eventually got up to his birth weight Easter weekend and hit the 2lb mark just one day later! That was such a big milestone and we were so proud of him.

Once he was more stable, the doctors decided it was time to close his PDA (patent ductus arteriosus). At first, they tried to do it pharmacologically with a medicine called indomethecin. He took a 3 day course of it but a heart echo after the last course showed no change. So, it was off to another hospital for surgical ligation. When he was first at the new hospital, they had him in an open incubator. It was so nice to see him like that and be able to kiss him all over, which we defintely did! The procedure took all of 45 minutes from them wheeling him away from the NICU to bringing him back. He had to be put under general anesthesia so it took some time for it to wear off his tiny little body. He also received one suture on his back...his first official scar!
Aaron recovered pretty quickly and was back at our regular hospital only 2 days after the surgery. Since then we've seen quite a bit of improvements in his saturations and they've been able to bring his oxygen concentrations way down. Also, now that his blood is circulating properly, and the intestines are one of it's first stops, Aaron has been tolerating his feedings much better. We are praying that this helps him gain weight quickly so we can start to think of taking him home!

We know he still has a very long journey ahead and we want to thank you all for your constant thoughts and prayers. There are so many people out there just waiting to meet this little guy, and we can't wait to be able introduce him to all of you.

Here are some of our favorite pictures from the past 6 weeks...

03/28/09 The first time we got to hold him (and our first family picture):04/09/09 Clayton's wedding band on Aaron's foot:04/14/09 Showing off his muscles:04/16/09 Aaron vs. Clayton's hand:

Welcome to Our Blog!

I almost can't believe that it has been over 6 weeks since Aaron has been born!

First of all, thank you so much for all your prayer, love and support. We know that our God is great and He answers prayers, or else Aaron wouldn't be growing and thriving like he is today. We know that God has big plans for him, we are just waiting to see it all unfold.

Every day, countless people ask us about his progress and this site will probably be the best way to keep everyone updated. So much has already happened in the past 6 weeks that it will be hard to mention every detail but we will definitely try and update each night as to what new is happening in our life. Please continue to visit this site to catch up on little Aaron's progress.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -- Jeremiah 29:11