I know it's been a while since my last post. Colton has grown so much since my last post when he was 5 weeks old. We've tried to measure him and weigh him on our non-digital scale and he appears to be approximately 22 inches long now and somewhere between 10 and 12 pounds. He is definitely a growing boy!!
He is eating really good. Usually about twice a day he will eat 5 ounces and then the remaining feedings will eat either 3 or 4 ounces (usually closer to the 4 ounce mark). He is still eating every three hours at 7, 10, 1, and 4. He is sleeping really good. He sleeps well during his naps and then at night. Last week he officially started sleeping through the night. YAY!!! Monday and Tuesday mornings he woke up around 6:15, 6:30 and since then I've had to wake him at 7 to eat. A big thanks to the babywise system! This will be great for when I go back to work at the end of July!!
We are still having issues with him having gas. At 6 weeks it seemed to kicked into overdrive. It has started waking him up and then once it passes he goes right back to sleep. It bothers me that it's interfering with his sleep. We had been using mylicon and it just wasn't working anymore. I have been avoiding strong dairy products like milk, ice cream, cheese, sour cream, etc and have cut out all the other gassy foods such as veggies, beans, limited caffeine, etc. It seems like it doesn't matter what I eat he is going to have gas. We've also tried using different bottles and nipples and that didn't work. He didn't eat well off anything but the dr brown bottles. So we have exchange the nipples and are using new nipples on the dr brown's just in case the others were "worn out". And of course we've tried all the different holding positions, rubbing back, patting his bottom, etc and still nothing. Some friends suggested I try using gripe water. I called the pediatrician to see what his thoughts were on gripe water. Since it's herbal ingredients I wanted his opinion as I wasn't sure if herbal things really are good for babies. When your pregnant, it's suggested to not have herbal teas, pills, etc so I was a bit apprehensive without his approval. But he said to go ahead and give it a try. They'd really like for him to stay on the breastmilk if at all possible but if it gets to where it bothers me to much feeling like I'm not helping him, they have given us samples of an infamil formula that is designed for gassy babies. So I've gotten some Colic Calm gripe water and are giving it a try. The dr said that whatever you do, you have to give it at least a week before you decide if it's working or not. The colic calm suggests giving 1/4 to 1/2 the dose to babies who get gassy after every meal before he eats. Then if you need to give more after he eats, you can give another 1/4 to 1/2 dose. So we started it Thursday last week and we are starting to see a little bit of relief. He still has gas, just not as bad. So hopefully after being on it for a week we will see even more results. If not, I'll prolly be ready to throw in the towel and try the Infamil for gassy babies formula the dr gave us. I just feel sorry for the guy. He handles it well. He rarely cries. Every once in a while he will wimper or whine but mostly just gets red in the face, arches his back, and kicks his legs. It's enough without the crying to know he is in pain. The dr said that most babies out grow this by the 3 month mark so hopefully Colton will out grow it within the next 4 weeks and not be one of those babies that remain gassy 4 to 6 months. It's really hard on me as the mom because I feel like it's my job to make sure he doesn't hurt and I can't seem to find any real relief for him. :(
Other than the gas all else is great. He is a happy baby. He has his 2 month appointment with the pediatrician the first week in July. I think he will be due for some shots so that afternoon is bound to not be a fun one. Colton's best friend Miles was born last Monday. He was born at 34 weeks so he is having to spend some time in the NICU. We can't wait for Miles to get home so we can have play dates!!!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Life At Home
For us Friday the 13th turned out to be a great day. We finally made it home on Friday, May 13. My parents brought the dogs home and they were unsure what to think at first. They were like what the heck is going on but after a few days they settled down and now always check on Colton while he is sleeping. It's pretty sweet to watch them be a little protective over him.
Brian's work let FMLA cover the two weeks that Colton was in the NICU; so our first week home he was able to take a week vacation and be home with Colton and I. That first weekend was a dramatic nightmare for me. I was so tired, exhausted, overwhelmed, stressed and everyone in the world wanted to come over to see Colton. When Sunday night rolled around I lost it. After a house full of people left I started crying and could not stop. Poor Brian, I don't think he knew what to do. He knew I had hit a brick wall so he just hugged me while I cried it out. Since then I've tried to manage the visits with telling times they can come over.
Colton had a dr appointment that Monday morning with the pediatrician. His lungs and heart sounded good and healthy thankfully. When Colton left the NICU on Friday he was back up to his birth weight, 6 lbs 13 oz and at this appointment (3 days later) he weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. We were happy to see that after our stressful weekend, Colton handled it well and was moving in the right direction. We really like our pediatrician. We selected him with the help of Pat (our caretaker for Colton when I go back to work). We learned that one of the NICU nurses uses him for her son, our neighbor uses him and one of our friends uses him for their twins. And they are all spread out over the midcities area and are willing to drive to Hurst for Dr. Deitchman. It's always nice to know others have had good experiences and recommend the dr you randomly selected to use! Since Colton was given a good bill of health, he doesn't have to go back until he is 2 months. I think Dr. D could see the worry in my eyes so he again went over everything with me and reminded me that if I ever have any concerns, their phones are answered 24 hours a day. He is part of cook children's and is officed right next door to the new hospital location in Hurst. After many questions and answers, I felt assured and okay with Colton going till 2 months before being seen again.
I then had my c-section 2 week follow up that afternoon. My incision was healing very well. I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight already. I can assure you this was not from trying to get there...it's all because of the pumping breastmilk that I am doing. But I certainly don't have the pre-pregnancy body back yet. It has a ways to go in regards to getting back in shape. Dr. Walter's asked what all I do in the gym and when I told her she said, "well lets just start with walking for now." I think she was afraid I would over do it in the gym, lol. She was glad to see Colton was out of the NICU and with us. After a few laughs like we usually have with her, we were on our way home. My next appointment is at the 6 week mark which will be on June 13. She said then we will talk about me working out and birth control. I have to say that the c-section was not bad at all. It was completely the opposite from the horror stories I had heard. I didn't have much pain, was able to hold Colton right after he was born while the dr's were sewing me back up, and had hour recovery with him till it was decided to move him to the NICU. If we decide to have any more babies, I would definitely be up for a c-section again.
The rest of the week went great. Since Brian was home, we had a chance to be together and settle in. You know, figure it all out together. It was really nice that he was able to be home. Since Colton was on a 3 hour feeding schedule in the NICU we kept it and are using it. I planned to use the Babywise system which incorporates a feeding schedule like that so it worked perfectly. In fact, I had it easy because I didn't have to work on getting Colton on a schedule. All I had to start doing was working on his awake time after he ate. He was on a 9, 12, 3, and 6 schedule but just this last week we have moved it to 7, 10, 1, 4 schedule. It seems to work better for us. We start our day at 7am and his last feeding is 10pm. We then let him sleep till he wakes up wanting to eat. He usually wakes anywhere between 3 and 4am and then I have to wake him up at 7 to eat again. With this I am able to get good sleep and feel great during the day. According to the book and other friend testimonies, around 6 to 8 weeks Colton should start sleeping through that middle of night feeding which will be nice for when I go back to work.
That next weekend we had someone come to the house and take newborn pictures. Colton did really well for her. We were concerned since he was tad older that he wouldn't sleep well but she managed to get some good pictures. She had a lot of patience with Colton!! The pictures turned out great! And it was Brian's 40th birthday so we had our first outing that Saturday evening. We took Colton by the church to meet everyone there and thank them in person for all their prayers. We then headed over to Rio Mambo for Brian's birthday dinner party. Several of our friends meet us there to meet Colton and help Brian bring in 40. It was a big night for me with taking Colton out and about like that. I made everyone sanitize their hands before touching Colton, lol. I'm slowing getting more laxed on that but you know after 12 days in the NICU, you become a bit over bearing and paranoid. But the night was successful. Brian had a good time and I managed to not have a breakdown like I did the weekend before.
Brian has since gone back to work. His first week back was welcomed with being on call. And I was welcomed to being home basically alone all week and to weather those crazy storms we had by myself. I'm not a big fan of tornado type weather with having a baby and two dogs to worry about. Poor Brian has had to work nonstop the entire week. And because it was a holiday weekend (memorial day), he had to remain oncall through today, Tuesday. I am very happy that he is off call today as I'm sure he is too.
Colton has been doing great. This last week we had a few days of fussiness. For about 3 days I was ready to pull my hair out. I couldn't seem to make him happy. I tried all the usual things to check, like did he have to burp, did he have a dirty diaper, was he hungry, did he just want to be held, etc. I first thought he was extremely gassy so we tried the mylicon for gas relief. I've even cut out most dairy and chocolate from my diet in case it was those two things. I then realized it was because we hadn't been swaddling him. He had been getting stronger and escaping from it so we thought that he really didn't like it. So the last several days we just wrapped him lightly with his arms out. He seemed okay with it. He was sleeping and seemed happy for a while till I guess he finally had enough of it. Apparently it overstimulated him because as soon as I swaddled him tight again he was happy as can be. Miracle cure!! It is hard though to get him swaddled tight because he has a lot of strength in those arms. I'm going to try a few of those blankets that make swaddling easy and see if that helps. I've also ventured out with him by myself. I've met friends for lunch, been to dinner with my mom, visited a friend on bedrest in the hospital, and even had a successful shopping trip to Target. I'm slowly getting used to and being comfortable with taking him out and about.
Time is flying by so fast. Yesterday started Colton's 5th week of life. I don't want him to grow up. I love all his little coo noises, his smiles, and how he lays his head on my shoulder & wraps his arms around my neck when we have what I call mommy time. I know we have many more fun times ahead but man I really enjoy this stage. It's a feeling I cannot explain. My maternity leave is almost half way over and I am so sad!!! I can already tell you that I am not going to want to go back to work. But I will have no choice and shall survive (since I have to). One thing I know for sure is that I love be a mommy!!!!!!
Brian's work let FMLA cover the two weeks that Colton was in the NICU; so our first week home he was able to take a week vacation and be home with Colton and I. That first weekend was a dramatic nightmare for me. I was so tired, exhausted, overwhelmed, stressed and everyone in the world wanted to come over to see Colton. When Sunday night rolled around I lost it. After a house full of people left I started crying and could not stop. Poor Brian, I don't think he knew what to do. He knew I had hit a brick wall so he just hugged me while I cried it out. Since then I've tried to manage the visits with telling times they can come over.
Colton had a dr appointment that Monday morning with the pediatrician. His lungs and heart sounded good and healthy thankfully. When Colton left the NICU on Friday he was back up to his birth weight, 6 lbs 13 oz and at this appointment (3 days later) he weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. We were happy to see that after our stressful weekend, Colton handled it well and was moving in the right direction. We really like our pediatrician. We selected him with the help of Pat (our caretaker for Colton when I go back to work). We learned that one of the NICU nurses uses him for her son, our neighbor uses him and one of our friends uses him for their twins. And they are all spread out over the midcities area and are willing to drive to Hurst for Dr. Deitchman. It's always nice to know others have had good experiences and recommend the dr you randomly selected to use! Since Colton was given a good bill of health, he doesn't have to go back until he is 2 months. I think Dr. D could see the worry in my eyes so he again went over everything with me and reminded me that if I ever have any concerns, their phones are answered 24 hours a day. He is part of cook children's and is officed right next door to the new hospital location in Hurst. After many questions and answers, I felt assured and okay with Colton going till 2 months before being seen again.
I then had my c-section 2 week follow up that afternoon. My incision was healing very well. I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight already. I can assure you this was not from trying to get there...it's all because of the pumping breastmilk that I am doing. But I certainly don't have the pre-pregnancy body back yet. It has a ways to go in regards to getting back in shape. Dr. Walter's asked what all I do in the gym and when I told her she said, "well lets just start with walking for now." I think she was afraid I would over do it in the gym, lol. She was glad to see Colton was out of the NICU and with us. After a few laughs like we usually have with her, we were on our way home. My next appointment is at the 6 week mark which will be on June 13. She said then we will talk about me working out and birth control. I have to say that the c-section was not bad at all. It was completely the opposite from the horror stories I had heard. I didn't have much pain, was able to hold Colton right after he was born while the dr's were sewing me back up, and had hour recovery with him till it was decided to move him to the NICU. If we decide to have any more babies, I would definitely be up for a c-section again.
The rest of the week went great. Since Brian was home, we had a chance to be together and settle in. You know, figure it all out together. It was really nice that he was able to be home. Since Colton was on a 3 hour feeding schedule in the NICU we kept it and are using it. I planned to use the Babywise system which incorporates a feeding schedule like that so it worked perfectly. In fact, I had it easy because I didn't have to work on getting Colton on a schedule. All I had to start doing was working on his awake time after he ate. He was on a 9, 12, 3, and 6 schedule but just this last week we have moved it to 7, 10, 1, 4 schedule. It seems to work better for us. We start our day at 7am and his last feeding is 10pm. We then let him sleep till he wakes up wanting to eat. He usually wakes anywhere between 3 and 4am and then I have to wake him up at 7 to eat again. With this I am able to get good sleep and feel great during the day. According to the book and other friend testimonies, around 6 to 8 weeks Colton should start sleeping through that middle of night feeding which will be nice for when I go back to work.
That next weekend we had someone come to the house and take newborn pictures. Colton did really well for her. We were concerned since he was tad older that he wouldn't sleep well but she managed to get some good pictures. She had a lot of patience with Colton!! The pictures turned out great! And it was Brian's 40th birthday so we had our first outing that Saturday evening. We took Colton by the church to meet everyone there and thank them in person for all their prayers. We then headed over to Rio Mambo for Brian's birthday dinner party. Several of our friends meet us there to meet Colton and help Brian bring in 40. It was a big night for me with taking Colton out and about like that. I made everyone sanitize their hands before touching Colton, lol. I'm slowing getting more laxed on that but you know after 12 days in the NICU, you become a bit over bearing and paranoid. But the night was successful. Brian had a good time and I managed to not have a breakdown like I did the weekend before.
Brian has since gone back to work. His first week back was welcomed with being on call. And I was welcomed to being home basically alone all week and to weather those crazy storms we had by myself. I'm not a big fan of tornado type weather with having a baby and two dogs to worry about. Poor Brian has had to work nonstop the entire week. And because it was a holiday weekend (memorial day), he had to remain oncall through today, Tuesday. I am very happy that he is off call today as I'm sure he is too.
Colton has been doing great. This last week we had a few days of fussiness. For about 3 days I was ready to pull my hair out. I couldn't seem to make him happy. I tried all the usual things to check, like did he have to burp, did he have a dirty diaper, was he hungry, did he just want to be held, etc. I first thought he was extremely gassy so we tried the mylicon for gas relief. I've even cut out most dairy and chocolate from my diet in case it was those two things. I then realized it was because we hadn't been swaddling him. He had been getting stronger and escaping from it so we thought that he really didn't like it. So the last several days we just wrapped him lightly with his arms out. He seemed okay with it. He was sleeping and seemed happy for a while till I guess he finally had enough of it. Apparently it overstimulated him because as soon as I swaddled him tight again he was happy as can be. Miracle cure!! It is hard though to get him swaddled tight because he has a lot of strength in those arms. I'm going to try a few of those blankets that make swaddling easy and see if that helps. I've also ventured out with him by myself. I've met friends for lunch, been to dinner with my mom, visited a friend on bedrest in the hospital, and even had a successful shopping trip to Target. I'm slowly getting used to and being comfortable with taking him out and about.
Time is flying by so fast. Yesterday started Colton's 5th week of life. I don't want him to grow up. I love all his little coo noises, his smiles, and how he lays his head on my shoulder & wraps his arms around my neck when we have what I call mommy time. I know we have many more fun times ahead but man I really enjoy this stage. It's a feeling I cannot explain. My maternity leave is almost half way over and I am so sad!!! I can already tell you that I am not going to want to go back to work. But I will have no choice and shall survive (since I have to). One thing I know for sure is that I love be a mommy!!!!!!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Colton's 1st Week
Colton Keith Plemons was born on Monday, May 2, 2011 at 9:27am. He weighed 6 lbs, 13 oz and is 20 inches long. He is such a handsome guy. He was born with a full head of dark hair, a beautiful color, and has his daddy's big feet and weird toes, lol. We love him to pieces. He is our angel sent from heaven!!
The c-section went great. Once the process started, it only took 5 minutes for Colton to be born. During his grand entrance, he tried crying before being all the way out and swallowed some amniotic fluid. We could hear Dr. Walter's saying hang on little guy, don't cry yet, lol. Then the next thing we know he is being held over the drape and looking down at us. He was the most beautiful sight we've ever seen. They took him across the room to clean him up and weigh him. Brian got to take pictures while they were doing that. Then they brought him over to me and laid him on my chest while the dr's were finishing up on my stomach. We were in recovery at approximately 10am.
We stayed in recovery for about an hour and half. We had some good skin to skin time and then we tried to breast feed. He would latch on but not suck. He kept doing a grunting noise and the nurse was a bit concerned about it. So she would try to upset him and get him to cry. He'd cry but not the full lung actioned cry that they wanted to hear. So they decided to put him in NICU for about 4 to 6 hours to help him transition (womb to the world). They said that during a vaginal delivery, while in labor and the baby is traveling in the birth canal, their body is given signals from the labor to start flushing the fluids in their bodies to prepare for birth. So with a c-section, the baby's body doesn't get those signals and are born with extra fluid in their systems and lungs. Plus he swallowed extra amniotic fluids during birth when he tried crying. So we agreed that putting him in the NICU for a few hours is a good idea. I was taken to the room so our visitors can see us. Brian was able to take everyone one at a time to the NICU to meet and see Colton. During the day, they did an xray to see just how much fluid Colton had in his lungs and the determined that he had a bit more than anticipated and would probably need 48 to 72 hours for the fluids to dry out. That was hard news for me because I haven't seen him at all at this point since we were in the recovery room. Finally at 8pm I was taken to see him. Everything was looking good. They had him on the oxygen nostril things to help dry out his lungs and make sure he was maintaining good oxygen in his blood. That had to remain at a 92 or above. All was good, he was maintaining the levels he needed so they let me hold him. Thats when the NICU nurses took a picture of the three of us and printed it out for us. It was our first family photo. We left thinking that he would more than likely be moved to our room that next morning.
Bad news coming: Around 3:30am, we received a phone call from the NICU. Colton had apparently developed a tear in his lung causing his lung to collapse. They needed to put him in an oxygen bin so that the increased oxygen can help heal the tear. We asked if we could see him. They suggested we wait about an hour because they were working to get him calm and relaxed while under the oxygen bin. We waited an hour and went to go see our little guy. We asked how this happened. They said that it can just happen. They believe that Colton's lungs are about two weeks behind the rest of his body. The lungs appeared to be acting as if they were 36 weeks. They are sticking together rather than staying apart and having to work extra hard to breathe thus causing a tear.
More bad news coming: We finally got in to see him and they were trying to determine how to remove the air that has leaked in from the tear. Normally they would insert a tube but they didn't want to do that in his case. They told us the tear was in his left lung which is the same side of the heart. They were afraid to use a pump in fear they could nick the heart or something like that. So they decided to eliminate the air by a needle and hoped that the tear was healing so that more air didn't leak in. Finding out that it was his left side instead of the right side opened another door of tears for us. We have now gone to a week or longer of potentially being in the NICU.
Worst news coming: We spent Tuesday afternoon in tears and fear. The dr came in to give us an update. Colton has been diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension. Basically it stemed back to his lungs. From what I understood, his blood pressure was unbalanced in his lungs which causes an unbalance within the heart. One side of the heart has to work harder and causes that side of the heart to enlarge. He has been deemed very sick and in critical condition. She said the fact that he is considered a full term baby gives him great odds and is confident he will be okay. He should be able to withstand the treatments they needed to do more than a premie baby would be able to. They needed to insert a ventilator and warned us that it could harm the tear in his lung. He will also being getting several iv inserts and to prepare him being all wired up. They also are putting a lamp on him to help treat a mild case of jaundice. This was the least of our worries as many babies develop jaundice and is not critical. We are now looking at ???? of how long he will be in the NICU. As they day went on, we learned the tear on his lung was unaffected and healing just fine. (Finally a bit of good news!!) But then a nurse came in shortly thereafter, asking us to sign a form granting permission to give Colton a blood transfusion. They've been taking so much blood for lab work that his little body just can't reproduce enough blood fast enough and they want to make sure that he has enough blood to keep his body strong. So of course we gave permission. That evening they allowed me to wrap a blanket around me for a while and then placed it around him to sleep in. Besides, pumping like a mad women and storing milk for when he gets to eat, it was all I had to hold onto in a form of trying to help him. You feel so helpless and like your letting them down when they are sick like this. The way I was feeling is something that I cannot be put into words. This was a very scary day!!!
Good news coming: The next morning (Wednesday), they told us that they have actually been able to reduce the amount of antibiotics for his sickness. That was great news because he is starting to be able to maintain some balanced pressure levels himself. Their plan for the day was to let him rest and relax. He had a big day the day before with a lot of poking, xrays, labs, diagnosing, etc. Then that evening, he was close to being completely off the meds. That night we refreshed him with another blanket that I wrapped around my body for a couple of hours.
More good news coming: The next morning (Thursday), he was completely off that medicine. His echocardiogram showed his heart was normal size and working appropriately and his lungs were maintaining a balanced pressure all on their own. It was a shock and surprise to us and the dr's. They were highly impressed with how well he was doing and so quickly. Maybe I'm wrong but I truly believe or want to believe that the blankets helped him feel close to what he knew and that is me. The goal for the day is to continue to get his lungs to mature. He is on steriods for that, a ventilator, oxygen, IV for nutrition, lamp for jaundice, and other things that I'm just not familiar with. They started giving him some breast milk through a line that goes directly into his stomach. It basically builds his stomach up to be able to accept it. Thankfully his body had no problems digesting it. As the day went on, his oxygen levels were slowly coming down and he was picking up breathing more and more over the ventilator. He was being strong and heading in the right direction. I was able to check his temperature, change his diaper and hold his hand for a while. Late the evening and into early, early Friday morning he was maintaining normal levels. Needless to say we went to bed extremely happy that night!
More good news: I should have been released yesterday from the hospital but my dr said that technically with a c-section insurance will pay up to four days so that meant I could be discharged today instead. So I was discharged at 3pm but because the maternity floor had low attendance and empty rooms, they allowed us to stay as a courtesy. Basically we are here but not here. We are on our own for food, my medicine, etc. As long as the room is not needed, we can stay while he is in NICU. They think that we are good through Sunday and maybe possibly Monday. I cannot tell you how thankful I am for this. I prefer being down the hall much more than across town. Friday morning visit we learned he maintained normal levels all night. So we were waiting for his neonatelist specialist to get in and see what she wanted to do. Next thing we knew, she was in our room and giving us an update. They took the ventilator off because his breathing was fantastic and put the nasal thing in to continue oxygen for a bit and then will be taking the oxygen away with leaving only the air pressure for a while. They plan to continue to feed him thru the stomach line today and will be taking another line out of his belly button shortly that was used to draw blood so that he didn't have to be sticked so many times. Once that line comes out, we will be able to hold him. She anticipated that by 3:00 we should be able to hold him. Out came tears of joy and happiness!! I could not wait for 3:00 to get here. When it finally got here and they laid him in my arms I just cried and cried. It was the best feeling in the world. He immediately started turning his head towards me to start rooting. We got good giggles out of that. His feeding times are 9, 12, 3, and 6 so she put some breast milk into his stomach line and within minutes he was smiling and going to sleep. He loves to be swaddled and in mommy's arms. During feeding times I get to also check his temperature and change his diaper. We also introduced the pacifier to him and let me tell you he loves that thing. He never wants to take it out, lol! So needless to say I made every feeding time except for the 3am one. I was convinced that I needed to sleep between the 12 and 6 feeding times. It took some convincing but I finally agreed, lol. He also managed to go all day without oxygen and was only using the air pressure. I guess the pressure is used to remind the baby to breathe...basically it's just part of the weaning process.
Saturday morning, Colton continued to stay off the oxygen all night and maintain good levels. So they took the nasal thing off. They also took one of his iv's out since he no longer needs any meds. He still has an iv in his foot for the fluids they are using to offset the milk amount he is getting. Today we started bottle feeding. They said it may take some time for him to catch on since he didn't get to develop those instincts right after birth. He is doing pretty good with it. He is getting a small amount for now but is able to get is all down with some coaxing. Him loving the pacifier is helping him get it down faster. Tomorrow the milk portions increase which means the iv fluid reduces. And we also have our first breast feeding attempt tomorrow at 3. We gave him a bath and that was fun for me...not so much for him. But after we had him swaddled he was a happy camper. So basically at this point all we are waiting on is the jaundice to away and him eating good. They seem to think about one more day under the jaundice lights and the eating....well that is up to Colton. They will then release him and we spend an overnight here in a room together then go home. We are getting very, very close!!!!
Colton has had many people praying for him. All I can say is thank you! Thank you so much for praying for our little guy. Those prayers cannot be thanked enough. Colton felt the love because he recovered much faster than we all anticipated. Fellowship Church has also been a huge help and pray group for us. My greeter team has been praying like crazy and we have had a few visitors from the pastor group come here to pray with us in our room.
The c-section went great. Once the process started, it only took 5 minutes for Colton to be born. During his grand entrance, he tried crying before being all the way out and swallowed some amniotic fluid. We could hear Dr. Walter's saying hang on little guy, don't cry yet, lol. Then the next thing we know he is being held over the drape and looking down at us. He was the most beautiful sight we've ever seen. They took him across the room to clean him up and weigh him. Brian got to take pictures while they were doing that. Then they brought him over to me and laid him on my chest while the dr's were finishing up on my stomach. We were in recovery at approximately 10am.
We stayed in recovery for about an hour and half. We had some good skin to skin time and then we tried to breast feed. He would latch on but not suck. He kept doing a grunting noise and the nurse was a bit concerned about it. So she would try to upset him and get him to cry. He'd cry but not the full lung actioned cry that they wanted to hear. So they decided to put him in NICU for about 4 to 6 hours to help him transition (womb to the world). They said that during a vaginal delivery, while in labor and the baby is traveling in the birth canal, their body is given signals from the labor to start flushing the fluids in their bodies to prepare for birth. So with a c-section, the baby's body doesn't get those signals and are born with extra fluid in their systems and lungs. Plus he swallowed extra amniotic fluids during birth when he tried crying. So we agreed that putting him in the NICU for a few hours is a good idea. I was taken to the room so our visitors can see us. Brian was able to take everyone one at a time to the NICU to meet and see Colton. During the day, they did an xray to see just how much fluid Colton had in his lungs and the determined that he had a bit more than anticipated and would probably need 48 to 72 hours for the fluids to dry out. That was hard news for me because I haven't seen him at all at this point since we were in the recovery room. Finally at 8pm I was taken to see him. Everything was looking good. They had him on the oxygen nostril things to help dry out his lungs and make sure he was maintaining good oxygen in his blood. That had to remain at a 92 or above. All was good, he was maintaining the levels he needed so they let me hold him. Thats when the NICU nurses took a picture of the three of us and printed it out for us. It was our first family photo. We left thinking that he would more than likely be moved to our room that next morning.
Bad news coming: Around 3:30am, we received a phone call from the NICU. Colton had apparently developed a tear in his lung causing his lung to collapse. They needed to put him in an oxygen bin so that the increased oxygen can help heal the tear. We asked if we could see him. They suggested we wait about an hour because they were working to get him calm and relaxed while under the oxygen bin. We waited an hour and went to go see our little guy. We asked how this happened. They said that it can just happen. They believe that Colton's lungs are about two weeks behind the rest of his body. The lungs appeared to be acting as if they were 36 weeks. They are sticking together rather than staying apart and having to work extra hard to breathe thus causing a tear.
More bad news coming: We finally got in to see him and they were trying to determine how to remove the air that has leaked in from the tear. Normally they would insert a tube but they didn't want to do that in his case. They told us the tear was in his left lung which is the same side of the heart. They were afraid to use a pump in fear they could nick the heart or something like that. So they decided to eliminate the air by a needle and hoped that the tear was healing so that more air didn't leak in. Finding out that it was his left side instead of the right side opened another door of tears for us. We have now gone to a week or longer of potentially being in the NICU.
Worst news coming: We spent Tuesday afternoon in tears and fear. The dr came in to give us an update. Colton has been diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension. Basically it stemed back to his lungs. From what I understood, his blood pressure was unbalanced in his lungs which causes an unbalance within the heart. One side of the heart has to work harder and causes that side of the heart to enlarge. He has been deemed very sick and in critical condition. She said the fact that he is considered a full term baby gives him great odds and is confident he will be okay. He should be able to withstand the treatments they needed to do more than a premie baby would be able to. They needed to insert a ventilator and warned us that it could harm the tear in his lung. He will also being getting several iv inserts and to prepare him being all wired up. They also are putting a lamp on him to help treat a mild case of jaundice. This was the least of our worries as many babies develop jaundice and is not critical. We are now looking at ???? of how long he will be in the NICU. As they day went on, we learned the tear on his lung was unaffected and healing just fine. (Finally a bit of good news!!) But then a nurse came in shortly thereafter, asking us to sign a form granting permission to give Colton a blood transfusion. They've been taking so much blood for lab work that his little body just can't reproduce enough blood fast enough and they want to make sure that he has enough blood to keep his body strong. So of course we gave permission. That evening they allowed me to wrap a blanket around me for a while and then placed it around him to sleep in. Besides, pumping like a mad women and storing milk for when he gets to eat, it was all I had to hold onto in a form of trying to help him. You feel so helpless and like your letting them down when they are sick like this. The way I was feeling is something that I cannot be put into words. This was a very scary day!!!
Good news coming: The next morning (Wednesday), they told us that they have actually been able to reduce the amount of antibiotics for his sickness. That was great news because he is starting to be able to maintain some balanced pressure levels himself. Their plan for the day was to let him rest and relax. He had a big day the day before with a lot of poking, xrays, labs, diagnosing, etc. Then that evening, he was close to being completely off the meds. That night we refreshed him with another blanket that I wrapped around my body for a couple of hours.
More good news coming: The next morning (Thursday), he was completely off that medicine. His echocardiogram showed his heart was normal size and working appropriately and his lungs were maintaining a balanced pressure all on their own. It was a shock and surprise to us and the dr's. They were highly impressed with how well he was doing and so quickly. Maybe I'm wrong but I truly believe or want to believe that the blankets helped him feel close to what he knew and that is me. The goal for the day is to continue to get his lungs to mature. He is on steriods for that, a ventilator, oxygen, IV for nutrition, lamp for jaundice, and other things that I'm just not familiar with. They started giving him some breast milk through a line that goes directly into his stomach. It basically builds his stomach up to be able to accept it. Thankfully his body had no problems digesting it. As the day went on, his oxygen levels were slowly coming down and he was picking up breathing more and more over the ventilator. He was being strong and heading in the right direction. I was able to check his temperature, change his diaper and hold his hand for a while. Late the evening and into early, early Friday morning he was maintaining normal levels. Needless to say we went to bed extremely happy that night!
More good news: I should have been released yesterday from the hospital but my dr said that technically with a c-section insurance will pay up to four days so that meant I could be discharged today instead. So I was discharged at 3pm but because the maternity floor had low attendance and empty rooms, they allowed us to stay as a courtesy. Basically we are here but not here. We are on our own for food, my medicine, etc. As long as the room is not needed, we can stay while he is in NICU. They think that we are good through Sunday and maybe possibly Monday. I cannot tell you how thankful I am for this. I prefer being down the hall much more than across town. Friday morning visit we learned he maintained normal levels all night. So we were waiting for his neonatelist specialist to get in and see what she wanted to do. Next thing we knew, she was in our room and giving us an update. They took the ventilator off because his breathing was fantastic and put the nasal thing in to continue oxygen for a bit and then will be taking the oxygen away with leaving only the air pressure for a while. They plan to continue to feed him thru the stomach line today and will be taking another line out of his belly button shortly that was used to draw blood so that he didn't have to be sticked so many times. Once that line comes out, we will be able to hold him. She anticipated that by 3:00 we should be able to hold him. Out came tears of joy and happiness!! I could not wait for 3:00 to get here. When it finally got here and they laid him in my arms I just cried and cried. It was the best feeling in the world. He immediately started turning his head towards me to start rooting. We got good giggles out of that. His feeding times are 9, 12, 3, and 6 so she put some breast milk into his stomach line and within minutes he was smiling and going to sleep. He loves to be swaddled and in mommy's arms. During feeding times I get to also check his temperature and change his diaper. We also introduced the pacifier to him and let me tell you he loves that thing. He never wants to take it out, lol! So needless to say I made every feeding time except for the 3am one. I was convinced that I needed to sleep between the 12 and 6 feeding times. It took some convincing but I finally agreed, lol. He also managed to go all day without oxygen and was only using the air pressure. I guess the pressure is used to remind the baby to breathe...basically it's just part of the weaning process.
Saturday morning, Colton continued to stay off the oxygen all night and maintain good levels. So they took the nasal thing off. They also took one of his iv's out since he no longer needs any meds. He still has an iv in his foot for the fluids they are using to offset the milk amount he is getting. Today we started bottle feeding. They said it may take some time for him to catch on since he didn't get to develop those instincts right after birth. He is doing pretty good with it. He is getting a small amount for now but is able to get is all down with some coaxing. Him loving the pacifier is helping him get it down faster. Tomorrow the milk portions increase which means the iv fluid reduces. And we also have our first breast feeding attempt tomorrow at 3. We gave him a bath and that was fun for me...not so much for him. But after we had him swaddled he was a happy camper. So basically at this point all we are waiting on is the jaundice to away and him eating good. They seem to think about one more day under the jaundice lights and the eating....well that is up to Colton. They will then release him and we spend an overnight here in a room together then go home. We are getting very, very close!!!!
Colton has had many people praying for him. All I can say is thank you! Thank you so much for praying for our little guy. Those prayers cannot be thanked enough. Colton felt the love because he recovered much faster than we all anticipated. Fellowship Church has also been a huge help and pray group for us. My greeter team has been praying like crazy and we have had a few visitors from the pastor group come here to pray with us in our room.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Baby Shower Pictures - March 19, 2011
The beautiful hostess
Teal, Me, and Mom
Another shot of us 3
Cake
Gift Table
Inside Table & Diaper Cake
2nd Diaper Cake
Bear's Big Brother Shirt
Anna's The Big Sister
Table Decor
Blanket that has Bears & Rocking Horses on it
Little Camo Boots - Colton's ready to go hunting
Gotta fix that earring
Me
Close up me
What you say?
So many gifts to open - Good thing I have Anna & Bear to help
Cute little hat
Anna Banana helping me
Love to laugh
Mini Pooper Shirt!
Teal & Bear Bear
Teal & Riley
Thursday, April 28, 2011
4 Days To Go
Yesterday was our last dr appointment. Colton will be here on Monday, May 2 at 8:00am. She gave us the do's and don'ts about things to do the night before, things to bring, etc. We have to be at the hospital at 6am for all the prep work. Brian was like man thats early. I said whatever, I will be awake eagerly awaiting for the clock to hit, lol. I know I won't be able to sleep Sunday. I am so freaking excited I can hardly contain myself.
I've been so bored this week at home. I'm not a good sit at home and do nothing person. Thank goodness for facebook and words with friends. Those two things have helped keep me entertained. Oh, and the Oprah Network channel. I've learned a lot about The Judds this past week. Poor Naomi had a rough life growing up.
We traded in my car for a small suv earlier this week. We decided to go with the GMC Terrain. We went to look at the GMC Acadia and it looked to mini vanish for me. I just can't go there yet..if ever, lol. So then I was between the Terrain and the Cadillac SRX but after comparing prices and options we went with the Terrain. I was able to keep every option I had my in Lexus IS and actually gain a few more and the best part, my payments went down. That was nice since we have child care around the corner. We didn't need anything big like a Tahoe because Brian has a big truck and need something with good gas mileage. The Terrain is big enough that we can all fit comfortably and even one more kiddo if we choose to have another. The dealership had to search long and hard to find the exact one I wanted. I was extremely picky on the options I wanted and of course wouldn't settle for anything but one specific color. They finally found one in Louisianna and did a dealer change. We picked it up on Tuesday night. I cried all the way to the dealership. It's not so much of giving up my car which I loved to death but more about the reality of this all. Our lives are fixing to change dramatically, for the good of course, but it's a change that brings so many unknowns. Brian was laughing at me and saying we can keep the car, you don't have to get rid of it. Between sobs I'd try to say it's not just about the car, lol. I did love that car, loved it so much that I had two of them in a row but it really isn't just about the car. I guess I'm just extremely hormonal with fear and happiness all at the same time.
Anyways. I hope these last four days go fast. This pregnancy road has been stressful, fun, and exciting all at the same time but I am so over it at this point. I am ready to finally meet and hold Colton. I've had several people ask which hospital we will be at. We will be at Baylor in Grapevine. It's right at the Highway 26 exit off 114. We will be there Monday thru Thursday morning so come see us and meet Colton!!! Hopefully my next post will be with pictures of our little prince!!!
I've been so bored this week at home. I'm not a good sit at home and do nothing person. Thank goodness for facebook and words with friends. Those two things have helped keep me entertained. Oh, and the Oprah Network channel. I've learned a lot about The Judds this past week. Poor Naomi had a rough life growing up.
We traded in my car for a small suv earlier this week. We decided to go with the GMC Terrain. We went to look at the GMC Acadia and it looked to mini vanish for me. I just can't go there yet..if ever, lol. So then I was between the Terrain and the Cadillac SRX but after comparing prices and options we went with the Terrain. I was able to keep every option I had my in Lexus IS and actually gain a few more and the best part, my payments went down. That was nice since we have child care around the corner. We didn't need anything big like a Tahoe because Brian has a big truck and need something with good gas mileage. The Terrain is big enough that we can all fit comfortably and even one more kiddo if we choose to have another. The dealership had to search long and hard to find the exact one I wanted. I was extremely picky on the options I wanted and of course wouldn't settle for anything but one specific color. They finally found one in Louisianna and did a dealer change. We picked it up on Tuesday night. I cried all the way to the dealership. It's not so much of giving up my car which I loved to death but more about the reality of this all. Our lives are fixing to change dramatically, for the good of course, but it's a change that brings so many unknowns. Brian was laughing at me and saying we can keep the car, you don't have to get rid of it. Between sobs I'd try to say it's not just about the car, lol. I did love that car, loved it so much that I had two of them in a row but it really isn't just about the car. I guess I'm just extremely hormonal with fear and happiness all at the same time.
Anyways. I hope these last four days go fast. This pregnancy road has been stressful, fun, and exciting all at the same time but I am so over it at this point. I am ready to finally meet and hold Colton. I've had several people ask which hospital we will be at. We will be at Baylor in Grapevine. It's right at the Highway 26 exit off 114. We will be there Monday thru Thursday morning so come see us and meet Colton!!! Hopefully my next post will be with pictures of our little prince!!!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Date Is Set
Today's sonogram was mind blowing. Colton weighs approximately 6 lbs 13 oz and is in the 78th percentile. His head measures 39 weeks 3 days (OH LORDY) and the rest of his body is at 37 weeks 3 days. Today we are 36 weeks, 3 days. He is a big baby boy!! I am soooo glad he is still breech because the idea of pushing that head terrifies me! haha The poor little guy takes up my whole stomach. I bet he is tired of being scrunched up with his legs being over his head. I feel bad that I don't have any more room to give him.
The fluid levels are normal and there is no protein in the urine but my blood pressure is running high. The last few days I've been feeling weird, not really bad but just not normal. We have hit that time frame that issues can start to develop. So she has ordered me to be on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. She specifically said no more work or working out. It doesn't appear preclampsia has set in but she wants me to rest and relax to help prevent it. They took blood work that will for sure determine that I don't have preclampsia. Those results will be here tomorrow. She said that she will only call if results are not good. So no call is good! Pray for no call. All else is perfect. She asked us what day we'd like to do the c-section during that first week in May and we said Monday, May 2. So Monday, May 2 is the day our big guy will be here. They will set it up with the hospital and then let us know the time of day at our next appointment which is on Wednesday. So I only have to be on bed rest for about a week & half which is not to bad. Makes you wonder how much more he will grow this last bit. Could you imagine if he had the full 3 1/2 weeks to grow...oh man.
Can you believe that in a week and half we will have a baby?! We are so excited and cannot wait to meet our big guy. Time has gone so fast. I think I will have to go back and read all my posts to reflect over all of this while I am "resting" this next week.
Tonight I had my last hair appointment before he is here and tomorrow I am suppose to test drive a new vehicle. I'm not sure where that falls into the resting bit but she did say do the things you need to do and that is something we need to do. We learned last weekend that my car is no bueno with the car seat. It is much to small for all of us. With Brian being 6'6" no one can sit behind him and with the car seat behind me, my knees are nearly to my chest. And because the back doors don't open all the way, it's an act of Congress to get the seat into the base without feeling like you will be jostling the baby all around. So Brian will do all the driving to the dealership and back home. I will test drive and I guess sign my name on the paperwork if I like it. Otherwise that is all we have to do but wait for his arrival.
Here is a picture of the belly we took on Tuesday night, it was 36 weeks, 1 day. I still can't believe an almost 7 pound baby is in there right now...crazy!!!
We hope everyone has a great Easter weekend!
xoxoxo
The fluid levels are normal and there is no protein in the urine but my blood pressure is running high. The last few days I've been feeling weird, not really bad but just not normal. We have hit that time frame that issues can start to develop. So she has ordered me to be on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. She specifically said no more work or working out. It doesn't appear preclampsia has set in but she wants me to rest and relax to help prevent it. They took blood work that will for sure determine that I don't have preclampsia. Those results will be here tomorrow. She said that she will only call if results are not good. So no call is good! Pray for no call. All else is perfect. She asked us what day we'd like to do the c-section during that first week in May and we said Monday, May 2. So Monday, May 2 is the day our big guy will be here. They will set it up with the hospital and then let us know the time of day at our next appointment which is on Wednesday. So I only have to be on bed rest for about a week & half which is not to bad. Makes you wonder how much more he will grow this last bit. Could you imagine if he had the full 3 1/2 weeks to grow...oh man.
Can you believe that in a week and half we will have a baby?! We are so excited and cannot wait to meet our big guy. Time has gone so fast. I think I will have to go back and read all my posts to reflect over all of this while I am "resting" this next week.
Tonight I had my last hair appointment before he is here and tomorrow I am suppose to test drive a new vehicle. I'm not sure where that falls into the resting bit but she did say do the things you need to do and that is something we need to do. We learned last weekend that my car is no bueno with the car seat. It is much to small for all of us. With Brian being 6'6" no one can sit behind him and with the car seat behind me, my knees are nearly to my chest. And because the back doors don't open all the way, it's an act of Congress to get the seat into the base without feeling like you will be jostling the baby all around. So Brian will do all the driving to the dealership and back home. I will test drive and I guess sign my name on the paperwork if I like it. Otherwise that is all we have to do but wait for his arrival.
Here is a picture of the belly we took on Tuesday night, it was 36 weeks, 1 day. I still can't believe an almost 7 pound baby is in there right now...crazy!!!
We hope everyone has a great Easter weekend!
xoxoxo
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