Like a Pro

Well, Aaron pulled his feeding tube out on Friday (06/26/09) which has been forcing the nurses to spend that little bit of extra time with him finishing his food by bottle. And he's been doing such a good job at it that he is now finishing it all in a good amount of time. So all feeds now are 100% by mouth!

On Saturday (06/27/09) Aaron's cannula came off! He had been satting very high on pretty low settings that his nurse gave it a try, and he did wonderful all day! Here's a picture of his handsome face without anything taped on. Of course seeing this brought such tears to my eyes.

Overnight, though, he had a bunch of desats most likely from just getting tired, so the cannula went back on. He is on even lower settings than before (about 0.3L flow at 21% O2) and doing well. Hopefully weaning him off like this is better than just yanking him completely off of 1L flow!

Today was the most AMAZING day for me so far. As Aaron's mom I've felt like I haven't been able to do much for him other than spend a few hours a day with him. There wasn't anything that I could do that the nurses also couldn't (diaper change, bathe, bottle feed, etc). That is, until today! Aaron's been doing so well at bottle feeding and has had enough energy to take all feeds by mouth since Friday that I decided to try breastfeeding. He was a pro!!! He was wide awake and latched on immediately. I couldn't believe how excited he was! He was a bit fussy at first since he had to put in more effort than he does with the bottle to get it to flow but once he did he took off like a little champ! The nurse actually weighed him before and after (just because it was his first time) and he ended up taking 30cc in just 20 minutes! He normally gets 42cc so we gave him the rest with a bottle, which seemed to really annoy him now. He did so much better breastfeeding than bottle feeding...no drooling, no choking, no spitting up, no desatts, and no need to keep stopping so much for him to burp! He absolutely loved it! I went to pump the rest and when I came back he was still wide awake in Clayton's arms so we gave him another bottle. Aaron took 17cc more (as a "snack")before falling asleep.

Of course all this extra food kept him content and he didn't wake up for his next feed on him. But when he did wake up, he was back at breastfeeding. This time, he did even better than before and ate until he simply fell asleep. Every time I tried to pull him off so he could sleep comfortably he'd wake up a bit and keep eating more! He amazed us and the nurses so much, especially considering it was his first time. WOW! I can't wait to go back tomorrow and do it all again.

Day 100

Aaron celebrated his 100th day birthday yesterday (06/22/09). We cannot believe where the time has gone. He is doing very well at bottle feeding, usually taking most, if not all, of the breast milk by mouth. When he does that for a few feedings in a row, he still gets tired for the next one, so we're still working up to 100% by bottle 8x/day!

Last night, Aaron also weighed in at 2105g (4lb 10oz). He is almost at the 5lb mark and is already over 17inches long...so he will be outgrowing preemie clothes very very soon! Luckily, we have a few cute outfits from both grandmothers to get him into before he does that! Aaron's next eye exam is this Thursday, giving us a few more days to pray for improvement from his last one.

Yesterday, the doctor also told us that the previous concern about a new bleed/clot is no longer a concern! Aaron's usual radiologist looked at the latest ultrasound and noted that it was just an old one and that the IVHs are still resolving! We are so thankful that God answeres prayers!!

Here are a few pictures from the previous week's happenings.

Uncle Glenn's visit on Monday (06/15/09). First time he held Aaron:
Uncle Craig's visit on Thursday (06/18/09). First time he held Aaron:
Aaron and daddy on Father's Day (06/21/09). Aaron's gift to Clayton was taking a full bottle from him for the first time!! Clayton was so excited! :)
As always, thank you for checking in on Aaron's updates and keeping us in your prayers.

Major Milestones

Aaron's met some major milestones in the past week. He continues to do well with his bottle feeding. Most of the time, he is able to take all of his feeds (he is currently up to 45cc/3hrs) by mouth. After a few sessions, though, he tires out. Hopefully, as he tacks on more weight, he will have more and more energy to burn on getting 100% feeds by mouth! Here is a video of him with his pacifier...look how well he sucks on it!

He even found his thumb one of these days.

Aaron's current weight is 1970g (4lbs. 5.34oz). He has actually had 5 nights of weight gain, which is much better than his previous run of 2 nights. We think he's finally gotten a hang of packing on the pounds. And his length is 43.5cm (17.125 inches). Boy, is he one tall baby!!

On Monday (06/15/09) when I visited Aaron he had another huge surprise for me. I almost had a panic attack when I walked to his corner of the NICU and his isolette wasn't there! There appeared to be a new baby in Aaron's spot. I went to go check out what was going on and it turns out that it was MY baby in an OPEN crib! Yay! Aaron finally put on enough weight to maintain his body temperature without buring too many calories! What a joy it was to see him out like that. Just another major milestone on his way home from the NICU!
That night, Aaron also had a visit from uncle Glenn, who was able to hold him for the first time.

Monday was a real busy day for Aaron because he also had an eye exam. As he gets older and his eyes develop more, more information is available to the doctors. During this eye exam, they realized that the ROP has progressed. No surgical intervention is required at this time and we are praying that it is not needed at all. There is still a chance that things can remain stable or improve on their own. However, there is also a chance that it may continue to progress and get worse. We will cross that line when we get to it. Please keep Aaron and his eyes in your prayers.

$495,438.55

That is how much it costs to have your 24w5d preemie in the NICU for 37 days. And, as of today, Aaron's been in the NICU for 86 days. Crazy, but worth it!

Today, Aaron was playing with us a bit. Clayton wanted to try and feed him with a bottle for the first time. He had already been holding Aaron for a bit when feeding time came so munchkin was already sleeping. We tried and tried to wake him up, but got nothing. We took his blankets off, turned on the lights, tickled him, massaged him, pinched his pudgy little cheeks...nothing! Even the nurse tried to wake him...and nothing. Thank goodness he was hooked up to the monitors and his numbers were perfect or else I would've gotten a little nervous. Aaron must've been so warm and comfy against Clayton's chest that he didn't want to be bothered. Even when he did stir a little bit and his face turned red from us trying to wake him, he immediately went right back to sleep!

So, it was getting to be a bit past his feeding time and he hadn't taken much by bottle so we gave it to him through the tube. And, guess what he did...he woke up! That little bugger got his whole feed without having to do any work! Oh, how he outsmarted us all! I think next time we are going to feed him inside the isolette and then hold him so he's not too comfy with us.

Silly Aaron.

Aiming for Home

Tonight, Aaron weighed in at 1805 grams! Woohoo! So, unofficially he is 4lbs (but officially he is 3lbs 15.8oz)! At 1800 grams babies can start to be in an open crib. I'm sure they'll give Aaron a couple more nights of being this weight before they move him. It is going to be sooo nice to walk into the NICU and see him out of the isolette for the first time!

They've also made a big change to his feedings. Aaron was previously getting 24cc/2hrs. Ideally, to go home, they want a baby eating every 3 hours. So, yesterday afternoon they changed him over to 30cc/3hrs (that is equivalent to 1oz) and increased it by 2cc every other feed. Fortunately, he's been able to tolerate this increased amount of food in his tummy and they've been able to get up to 38cc/3hrs in just a short amount of time. They're also giving him a bottle every feed now (instead of every other), for as much as he can take. A few times, he was able to take all 38cc without any desats or bradys! I actually had a mini freak-out in the car yesterday with Clayton because of all the progress Aaron's made in just the past couple weeks. He is sooo going to be home in no time and we've got to get ready :)

Although Aaron looks small in the picture of him in Clayton's hands from yesterday, he almost looks like a "normal" baby in my arms.
This was also a busy weekend for the grandfathers, who both held Aaron for the first time! Here he is with Gidu and Tetaa on Saturday:
And with Grandpa today (actually the second time he held him, no photo proof exists of the first time):
Oh, Aaron, how you are sooo loved!

Big Boy

Aaron is up to 1750 grams (3lbs 13.6oz) and 26cc of breastmilk every 2 hours! He is alternating every other feed between feeding tube and mouth and doing really well at sucking and swallowing. He wakes up almost exactly every two hours ready for more food! He is so alert and awake it's amazing. Here is a picture of him hanging out in daddy's hands from last night. We cannot believe how much he fills out Clayton's hands now!

We were actually able to put his first outfit on on Monday (06/01/09) night. It was short lived, though, since he got really warm wearing it. Apparently the same exact thing would happen to Clayton when he was a baby! It was after his bath so he is sporting a spiky hairdo.

We've also tried breastfeeding twice this week. The first time was on Wednesday (06/03/09). Aaron was so comfy in my arms that as soon as he latched on he just feel asleep! His numbers were perfect and we couldn't wake him up. As much as I wanted to feed him, it was wonderful to see him so peaceful and comfortable. The next time we tried was Thursday (06/04/09). He was crying so much because of some air in his tummy that by the time the nurse figured it out and got the air out, it was too late past his feeding time (and too close to his next one, since he is eating every 2 hours) that it just turned into a feeding tube meal. I was really sad for how miserable he seemed. But, I'm not getting discouraged. I really believe he will be able to nurse one day and plan to keep trying until he does!

Clayton and I are hoping we have a 4lb baby at tonight's weigh-in. We will keep you all posted.