![[image]](http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee287/5littlesmilies/wub.gif)
They said when we come back in July, if the EEG goes well, then we'll start weaning him off of the medication at that time as well
Monday, April 28, 2008
All is well!
Everything went great!! He was supposed to have an EEG and up his medication today, but they were so happy with his progress that they rescheduled it for July and decided to leave his medication alone They said when we come back in July, if the EEG goes well, then we'll start weaning him off of the medication at that time as well
They said when we come back in July, if the EEG goes well, then we'll start weaning him off of the medication at that time as well
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Bye bye umilical cord :)
The rest of Zach's umbilical cord FINALLY fell off tonight :) The majority had fallen off when he was 12 days old, but since they'd had an umbilical line in it for so long, it took a while longer for the rest to fall off. It looks so gross lol I'm glad it fell off though.
We go back to the neurologist on Monday. I'll update y'all as to what they had to say when we get back :)
We go back to the neurologist on Monday. I'll update y'all as to what they had to say when we get back :)
Friday, April 18, 2008
I know it's not really possible
but I swear that Zach LAUGHED today! He was sleeping, and he freaking smiled and laughed! It was crazy! I know that babies supposedly can't smile or laugh until much later, but I kid you not, this kid does! I hope I can catch it on video sometime to show y'all because if I hadn't seen and heard it myself I'd never believe it either!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Zach's Doctor's Appointment
We went to see Dr. O today (his new pediatrician) today for a hospital follow up combined with a 2-week visit, since he's 12 days old today. It went well. It was just a basic "let's establish care" visit for the most part.. Dr. O wants us to come back in 6 weeks for his 2 month checkup unless of course something comes up which of course we're hoping like heck that it doesn't.
We still have the follow up visit with Dr. W (the neurologist) on the 28th :)
But get this.
He was 8lb 8oz and 19.5 inches long at birth (that was on the 5th for those keeping score)
Today, at just 12 days old, Boobie Monster is 9lbs 11oz and 21 inches long I even made them remeasure lol
I freaking TOLD Mike he was going through a growth spurt! :P
One of my friends on James' birth board said that when her son had seizures when he was little, he had a heck of a growth spurt at that time as well, and his docs had said that there was a possibility that they were somehow related to the growth spurt. Crazy, huh? I'm definitely going to mention that to Dr. W and see what he says.
I've got some more pictures, but I'm waiting until I get his birth announcements done before I show anyone since family checks this blog as well :P In the meantime, these will have to tide you over
And my favorite,
We still have the follow up visit with Dr. W (the neurologist) on the 28th :)
But get this.
He was 8lb 8oz and 19.5 inches long at birth (that was on the 5th for those keeping score)
Today, at just 12 days old, Boobie Monster is 9lbs 11oz and 21 inches long I even made them remeasure lol
I freaking TOLD Mike he was going through a growth spurt! :P
One of my friends on James' birth board said that when her son had seizures when he was little, he had a heck of a growth spurt at that time as well, and his docs had said that there was a possibility that they were somehow related to the growth spurt. Crazy, huh? I'm definitely going to mention that to Dr. W and see what he says.
I've got some more pictures, but I'm waiting until I get his birth announcements done before I show anyone since family checks this blog as well :P In the meantime, these will have to tide you over
And my favorite,
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
We're home!!
Sorry it took so long to update :D We've been enjoying being home and hanging out with James some :)
Then there was a mixup at the stupid pharmacy and they didn't have Sprout's phenobarb ready and Mike ended up having to go back and forth between two pharmacies and almost didn't get his medication. Ug. We finally got it though, and were able to give him his medicine on time :) He's sleeping now, and James is running around like a madman.. God I've missed him :D
Anyway, I'll try to update on how we're doing as time goes on :D I just wanted to say thank you so much for everyone's thoughts and prayers.. They've obviously worked! :D Thank you!
*kisses*
Then there was a mixup at the stupid pharmacy and they didn't have Sprout's phenobarb ready and Mike ended up having to go back and forth between two pharmacies and almost didn't get his medication. Ug. We finally got it though, and were able to give him his medicine on time :) He's sleeping now, and James is running around like a madman.. God I've missed him :D
Anyway, I'll try to update on how we're doing as time goes on :D I just wanted to say thank you so much for everyone's thoughts and prayers.. They've obviously worked! :D Thank you!
*kisses*
And we're FREEEEE!
Just got the discharge papers and we're on our way out the door! We've still got to stop by Ron's House, get some lunch, and some gas before we head on out, but I'll update again when we're home! :D
Almost done here
They've finished up the discharge summary and are just waiting for them to process it. We've got an appointment with Dr. O at 10:15 Thursday to establish care at the kid's clinic back home... Dr. Wilson wants to see us back in two weeks at which time he'll get a repeat EEG, and they've faxed in the prescription of the phenobarb so that it'll be ready by the time we get home. It's 2.5ml twice a day, same as he's been getting here.
That's all the news we have so far! I'll post right before we leave and then again when we get home (after I've snuggled with my Doodle some! I've missed my other little fella something fierce! :D)
That's all the news we have so far! I'll post right before we leave and then again when we get home (after I've snuggled with my Doodle some! I've missed my other little fella something fierce! :D)
We're Comin Home!!
YEA! I just got word that we've been cleared to come home today!! They've still got to do rounds at 9, at which time he'll get his last hospital does of phenobarb, and then of course there's all the paperwork and follow up scheduling and calling in the prescriptions and such, but we're hoping to be out of here by around 2 or 3 this afternoon (ok ok we're hoping to be out by 11, but I'm a realist :P)
Mike's busy at Ron"s House packing everything up, and I've already got almost everything here packed up (as much as I can without having a car to pack lol)
And for something completely unrelated to anything, have you ever noticed how all the hospitals have the same blankets? This hospital has the blankets with the feet like they had back home when James was born, and I'm watching one of those baby shows on Discovery Health and they have the same striped blankets that they had in our hospital at home when Sprout was born. Funny how that works.
Anyway, I'm gonna go feed Boobie Monster before they do their rounds so hopefully he'll be able to keep his medicine down this time. The neon green spitup is getting old lol
I'll update when I hear something :)
Mike's busy at Ron"s House packing everything up, and I've already got almost everything here packed up (as much as I can without having a car to pack lol)
And for something completely unrelated to anything, have you ever noticed how all the hospitals have the same blankets? This hospital has the blankets with the feet like they had back home when James was born, and I'm watching one of those baby shows on Discovery Health and they have the same striped blankets that they had in our hospital at home when Sprout was born. Funny how that works.
Anyway, I'm gonna go feed Boobie Monster before they do their rounds so hopefully he'll be able to keep his medicine down this time. The neon green spitup is getting old lol
I'll update when I hear something :)
Monday, April 14, 2008
10pm update
So, my little Boobie Monster nursed for about an hour and a half before I got worn out and gave him his paci long enough for me to catch a quick shower. Sure enough, I get back out and little Muncher Butt decides it's time to eat again, so back on the boobie he went. I finally got him to sleep, and the nurse came in. He was so far asleep that he didn't even wake up when she took his blood pressure! lol So then she went to get his medicine and it took her a good 5 minutes to get him to take it, and then he was so full he prompty threw some of it up. :-/ Luckily though he seems to have gotten most of it down... I went ahead and cleaned him up, changed his bum, and nursed him back to sleep, and he's over there snoozing so good that he's drooling lol
Dr. S just came in and spoke to me. He's the other pediatric neurologist here, and he told me that he and Dr. W were just completely flabbergasted. He said they both agreed that Zach's case is probably the most perplexing case that they've ever seen, and that they'd seen thousands of cases of newborn seizures. He said that he originally thought it might be the Fifth Day Seizures, but that normally those have a specific metabolic profile that Zach simply doesn't have. He said that the familial seizures (BFNC) is the only explanation left, but admitted that it was a bit of a cop-out, and that they really have no clue as to why he had the problems that he did. Zach has had, in Dr. S's words, "more tests in the past few days than most people will have in a lifetime", but that they've all come back clean with the exception of the abnormal EEG (which was of course to be expected), and that the repeat EEG was a very dramatic improvement, and so he pretty much has no idea what's wrong.
He and Dr. W want to follow up soon, and do another EEG at that time, and they'll be in direct communication with our pediatrician back home to make sure that Zach is still doing well.
He also said that unless something happens tonight, he sees no reason why we can't leave tomorrow :D
And in completely unrelated news, they have me right near the helipad, and I seriously thought that a helicopter was about to come in the window just a minute ago lol Let's hope they don't have any strong wind hmm?
Well, that's all the update I have. I'm going to try to catch some z's so that I won't be a zombie in a few hours when Boobie Monster over here wakes back up :D
Dr. S just came in and spoke to me. He's the other pediatric neurologist here, and he told me that he and Dr. W were just completely flabbergasted. He said they both agreed that Zach's case is probably the most perplexing case that they've ever seen, and that they'd seen thousands of cases of newborn seizures. He said that he originally thought it might be the Fifth Day Seizures, but that normally those have a specific metabolic profile that Zach simply doesn't have. He said that the familial seizures (BFNC) is the only explanation left, but admitted that it was a bit of a cop-out, and that they really have no clue as to why he had the problems that he did. Zach has had, in Dr. S's words, "more tests in the past few days than most people will have in a lifetime", but that they've all come back clean with the exception of the abnormal EEG (which was of course to be expected), and that the repeat EEG was a very dramatic improvement, and so he pretty much has no idea what's wrong.
He and Dr. W want to follow up soon, and do another EEG at that time, and they'll be in direct communication with our pediatrician back home to make sure that Zach is still doing well.
He also said that unless something happens tonight, he sees no reason why we can't leave tomorrow :D
And in completely unrelated news, they have me right near the helipad, and I seriously thought that a helicopter was about to come in the window just a minute ago lol Let's hope they don't have any strong wind hmm?
Well, that's all the update I have. I'm going to try to catch some z's so that I won't be a zombie in a few hours when Boobie Monster over here wakes back up :D
We've moved!
We're moved into the Pediatric wing now! It's right around the corner from our old room on the same floor :) The upside is that we have a private bathroom and shower.. the downside is that there's no big person bed, only a little loveseat. Mike is going to spend the night at Ron's House while I stay here. Boo on him for being able to get a full night's sleep! :P
But Zach is sleeping comfortably in his new crib :) It's nice not to have him in that warmer unit!
They didn't hook him up to any monitors, so I can only assume that they're just going to let us hang out until morning, make sure he's still feeding well and not having any episdoes, and then letting us schedule a followup visit with Dr. W and the go home! Yea!!
Here's a couple of pictures to tide you over
This is Zach sleeping happily on Daddy's shoulder earlier this morning
This is him happily sleeping in the new pediatric unit
And in case you're wondering why I only have pictures of him sleeping, it's because he's a little piggy butt and if his eyes are open, then his mouth is also full :P
Well, that's all for now! I'll update when I know more :)
But Zach is sleeping comfortably in his new crib :) It's nice not to have him in that warmer unit!
They didn't hook him up to any monitors, so I can only assume that they're just going to let us hang out until morning, make sure he's still feeding well and not having any episdoes, and then letting us schedule a followup visit with Dr. W and the go home! Yea!!
Here's a couple of pictures to tide you over
This is Zach sleeping happily on Daddy's shoulder earlier this morning
This is him happily sleeping in the new pediatric unit
And in case you're wondering why I only have pictures of him sleeping, it's because he's a little piggy butt and if his eyes are open, then his mouth is also full :P
Well, that's all for now! I'll update when I know more :)
One step closer...
Well, we're still waiting on a regular room in the pediatric wing... We were joking with the nurse that we can tell he's much better because nobody's in a hurry any more :D
But they took all of his monitors off :D IDK if they'll be putting new ones on in the new room or not, but it was SO NICE to have nothing on him but the heparin lock!
But, they're here to move him so I have to jet :D I'll update when we get settled,
But they took all of his monitors off :D IDK if they'll be putting new ones on in the new room or not, but it was SO NICE to have nothing on him but the heparin lock!
But, they're here to move him so I have to jet :D I'll update when we get settled,
Morning!
He's doing so well that they canceled the EEG! They want to move us to the regular pediatric unit for observation to make sure his O2 stats are good and that he's tolerating his medication well and then Dr. K seems to think we can go ahead and set up our consult with Dr.W and then go home! :D Yea!! So keep your prayers and good thoughts coming and cross your fingers that his O2 stays good and that he tolerates his medicine well!
Overwhelmed by everyone's kindness
I'm seriously just overwhelmed by how much people have done for us since this happened. It's like Mike said to me yesterday -- if you'd asked me a week ago if I had more friends or acquaintances, I'd have said acquaintances, but now I see just how wrong I was in that assessment. Whether it be prayers, good thoughts, uplifting text messages, phone calls, offers of financial assistance, or physically doing tasks for us or bringing us gifts, I can't begin to say just how touched and thankful we are for everything that everyone has done for us :D
First with all the phone calls, emails, text messages, and message board posts asking about how Zach is doing, about how I'm doing, and about how James and Mike are holding up... The concern and love expressed by all those things are truly what have helped us to get through this scary time :)
Then with the Anna and the March '06 board getting together and getting us those things to help us take our minds off the day to day worries and focus on getting Zach healthy again, even though I'm not even a member of their board.
And I have to mention my neighbors back home..
They're an older couple that we'll call Mr. and Mrs. B.... Mr. B and Mike have talked and so they know we're between jobs...
Monday, the day we got home from having Zach, Mr. B brought us a bunch of stuff -- he brought James an outfit and a stuffed elephant, and brought Sprout several outfits and a couple blankets. Then he stopped by later that night with a pack of diapers for Sprout and a pack of pull-ups for James
Well, my mom caught him outside and told him about Zach being in the hospital, and how we're hoping to be home by Tuesday... He and his wife got together and brought more clothes and toys for both James and Zach, and then brought several bags of groceries over as well.. It seriously makes me cry to think about it :'(
And of course, I have to mention my parents and my in-laws! My mom and mother-in-law have both taken off of work so that they could alternate taking care of James while we're up here... My parents are helping us out financially even though they're not in the best situation themselves, and even offered to mortgage their house to help us with medical bills back before we knew that we were eligible for Medicaid... It's so amazing all the things that they have done for us during this time.
And all the comments left on this blog! It means so much to us to know that y'all are thinking of us and following Zach's story! I know that all the prayers and positive thoughts have not fallen on deaf ears, and that's why Zach has recovered so dramatically in such a short amount of time :) How could he not with so many people from all over the world pulling for him?!
So to everyone who has been thinking of us, I just wanted to say Thank You! You have no idea what it means to us :)
First with all the phone calls, emails, text messages, and message board posts asking about how Zach is doing, about how I'm doing, and about how James and Mike are holding up... The concern and love expressed by all those things are truly what have helped us to get through this scary time :)
Then with the Anna and the March '06 board getting together and getting us those things to help us take our minds off the day to day worries and focus on getting Zach healthy again, even though I'm not even a member of their board.
And I have to mention my neighbors back home..
They're an older couple that we'll call Mr. and Mrs. B.... Mr. B and Mike have talked and so they know we're between jobs...
Monday, the day we got home from having Zach, Mr. B brought us a bunch of stuff -- he brought James an outfit and a stuffed elephant, and brought Sprout several outfits and a couple blankets. Then he stopped by later that night with a pack of diapers for Sprout and a pack of pull-ups for James
Well, my mom caught him outside and told him about Zach being in the hospital, and how we're hoping to be home by Tuesday... He and his wife got together and brought more clothes and toys for both James and Zach, and then brought several bags of groceries over as well.. It seriously makes me cry to think about it :'(
And of course, I have to mention my parents and my in-laws! My mom and mother-in-law have both taken off of work so that they could alternate taking care of James while we're up here... My parents are helping us out financially even though they're not in the best situation themselves, and even offered to mortgage their house to help us with medical bills back before we knew that we were eligible for Medicaid... It's so amazing all the things that they have done for us during this time.
And all the comments left on this blog! It means so much to us to know that y'all are thinking of us and following Zach's story! I know that all the prayers and positive thoughts have not fallen on deaf ears, and that's why Zach has recovered so dramatically in such a short amount of time :) How could he not with so many people from all over the world pulling for him?!
So to everyone who has been thinking of us, I just wanted to say Thank You! You have no idea what it means to us :)
3am mini-update
Well, I don't think they ever checked his blood levels, but he hasn't had any suspicious activity, so maybe, just maybe, he doesn't really need all that phenobarb after all.... Obviously we're still going to keep him on it, but that does help ease my mind about what would happen if he spit it all up at home :)
But she just weighed him, and he's up to 9lbs 3.3 ounces! Not too shabby seeing has how he was 8lbs 8 ounces at birth, and he went almost two full days with no food! My little fatty fat really likes his Mama Milk huh? :D
But he's back asleep so I should probably try to catch some z's as well. I'll update in the morning as soon as I know something! :)
But she just weighed him, and he's up to 9lbs 3.3 ounces! Not too shabby seeing has how he was 8lbs 8 ounces at birth, and he went almost two full days with no food! My little fatty fat really likes his Mama Milk huh? :D
But he's back asleep so I should probably try to catch some z's as well. I'll update in the morning as soon as I know something! :)
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Ewww spitup lol
Poor little guy. He nursed so well and then they gave him his phenobarb... This was the first time that they'd given it to him without his feeding tube, and about 10 minutes later he spit up all his medicine :( So that was an adventure cleaning all that up. I'm not sure what they're going to do about his medicine. I'm thinking they'll give it a while to digest then will check his blood levels and re-dose him. Poor fella :( I'm worried that this might happen when we're home again, because there, we can't exactly check his blood levels and re-dose him later.
Bye Bye NG Tube!
No more feeding tube for my little guy! :D As of right now, the only thing he's hooked up to are the heart, breathing, and oxygen monitors!! It just keeps getting better and better, because originally they didn't want to take it out until morning :)
So he's got an EEG tomorrow morning, and then we go from there.. (Dare I hope we might go home tomorrow?! I'm trying not to get too excited!)
So he's got an EEG tomorrow morning, and then we go from there.. (Dare I hope we might go home tomorrow?! I'm trying not to get too excited!)
Pictures!
Okay here's the pictures I promised you from yesterday :D
This is Dr. F (the pediatric ophthalmologist) checking out his eyes. Notice the shorts lol He wasn't the typical "doctor type" I tell ya :D
Here's Mike holding him for the first time :D He tries to be all big and bad, but he missed his little guy :)
And this is Zach passed out from all the nummy Mama's Milk he's been getting today, since nursing is going absolutely perfectly :D
He's been nursing REALLY well today, and I was joking with Belinda that he must be making up for lost time lol
And now for something completely different.
Last night while one of the nurses was trying to get a urine sample, Zach peed all over her, the floor, the chair, and himself lol But, being the quick thinker that she is, Rosie (the nurse) was smart enough to kind of catch some in mid stream :P It was hysterical :P
Also yesterday, Mike had a new can of soda sitting on the counter, unopened. He grabbed the can and went to turn in his chair to place it on his dinner tray, and caught the can on the corner of the computer station and it punctured the can and soda spewed out all over everything! It was so funny because we both just sat there for a second and looked at it before we were able to react and cover the can! So Mike had to run out and get the nurses to bring him some towels to clean up the mess! :P Poor Mike!
Well, that's about it for now. Mike should be back soon (he ran to Ron's House to get my pajamas), so I'm going to try to catch a quick nap. I'll update again as I know more :)
This is Dr. F (the pediatric ophthalmologist) checking out his eyes. Notice the shorts lol He wasn't the typical "doctor type" I tell ya :D
Here's Mike holding him for the first time :D He tries to be all big and bad, but he missed his little guy :)
And this is Zach passed out from all the nummy Mama's Milk he's been getting today, since nursing is going absolutely perfectly :D
He's been nursing REALLY well today, and I was joking with Belinda that he must be making up for lost time lol
And now for something completely different.
Last night while one of the nurses was trying to get a urine sample, Zach peed all over her, the floor, the chair, and himself lol But, being the quick thinker that she is, Rosie (the nurse) was smart enough to kind of catch some in mid stream :P It was hysterical :P
Also yesterday, Mike had a new can of soda sitting on the counter, unopened. He grabbed the can and went to turn in his chair to place it on his dinner tray, and caught the can on the corner of the computer station and it punctured the can and soda spewed out all over everything! It was so funny because we both just sat there for a second and looked at it before we were able to react and cover the can! So Mike had to run out and get the nurses to bring him some towels to clean up the mess! :P Poor Mike!
Well, that's about it for now. Mike should be back soon (he ran to Ron's House to get my pajamas), so I'm going to try to catch a quick nap. I'll update again as I know more :)
YEA!
His urinalysis came back normal! So it's NOT a metabolic issue and I can keep nursing him!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D
The doc wants me to nurse him every three hours or on demand (whichever is soonest), and they're going to monitor his output and if he does well, then they'll take out the feeding tube tomorrow...
He also said that he thinks we'll be going home by Tuesday!! :D :D :D :D
So I'm going to try to catch a catnap because it's going to be a long day of nursing :D
I'll update if we get any news, and I'll try to get those pictures of Mike holding Sprout up sometime today :)
Jess
The doc wants me to nurse him every three hours or on demand (whichever is soonest), and they're going to monitor his output and if he does well, then they'll take out the feeding tube tomorrow...
He also said that he thinks we'll be going home by Tuesday!! :D :D :D :D
So I'm going to try to catch a catnap because it's going to be a long day of nursing :D
I'll update if we get any news, and I'll try to get those pictures of Mike holding Sprout up sometime today :)
Jess
Zach's hospital pics are up
Here's the link if anyone is interested in seeing Chubby Butt in his 24 hour hospital pic
http://tinyurl.com/5aum4p
http://tinyurl.com/5aum4p
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Night time update
Last update for the night. We're going to try to get some decent sleep tonight since he's doing really well so far :)
I was able to nurse him successfully this time :D :D :D He was a bit more awake this time, and we just kept the blow-by oxygen handy for the couple times when his O2 dropped a bit. The respiratory therapist said that even healthy babies have moments, especially while eating, where their oxygen will drop, and it's just that we don't have O2 monitors on them to know it.
But he nursed really well for about 5 minutes, which is HUGE considering that earlier today he just barely latched on for a few seconds before falling asleep :D So they did go ahead and give him 100cc's in the feeding tube to make sure he got enough, but I was so proud of my little man :D
So now the big thing is waiting on the results of the urinalysis tomorrow. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and cross your fingers that it comes back negative so they don't have to start him on that yucky formula and he can keep getting Mama Milk :)
Well, I'm gonna go shower and try to get some sleep :) I've got some sweet pictures of Mike getting to hold Sprout for the first time since all this started, and hopefully I'll get a chance to process and post them tomorrow :D
G'night!
I was able to nurse him successfully this time :D :D :D He was a bit more awake this time, and we just kept the blow-by oxygen handy for the couple times when his O2 dropped a bit. The respiratory therapist said that even healthy babies have moments, especially while eating, where their oxygen will drop, and it's just that we don't have O2 monitors on them to know it.
But he nursed really well for about 5 minutes, which is HUGE considering that earlier today he just barely latched on for a few seconds before falling asleep :D So they did go ahead and give him 100cc's in the feeding tube to make sure he got enough, but I was so proud of my little man :D
So now the big thing is waiting on the results of the urinalysis tomorrow. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and cross your fingers that it comes back negative so they don't have to start him on that yucky formula and he can keep getting Mama Milk :)
Well, I'm gonna go shower and try to get some sleep :) I've got some sweet pictures of Mike getting to hold Sprout for the first time since all this started, and hopefully I'll get a chance to process and post them tomorrow :D
G'night!
Mini-update
Hi hi!
The ammonia levels in the repeat lab were normal :) So it was just a screwup in the first one (which is what Dr. K2 said he thought it was anyway) :) We still have to wait until tomorrow for the urine test to see if he's spilling milk sugar or not, but at least his ammonia is good.
I got to nurse him earlier for a few minutes. Poor buddy! It's just so much work getting Mama's milk straight from the tap :D His little throat is still all swollen from crying and from the intubation and from the NG tube that it's a little hard for him to swallow at the moment, and his O2 level kept dropping because he would hold his breath. Considering though that he hasn't nursed in several days and all that he's been through, I think he did just beautifully :D
The pediatric opthomologist just left. He was checking Sprout's eyes to make sure that their anatomy was normal, because apparently there are some eye conditions that can cause seizures in little ones, but he said that his eyes are fine *whew*
They did give him sugar water and a soothie which is strange to me since James never took either of those, but they said the sugar water helps them deal better with pain and that the eye doc might have to put in some eye drops that sting (luckily it turns out that he didn't need to after all), and we didn't want him to hurt :)
They put some pajamas on him too :) It's so cute! His little tootsies were cold so they put some socks on him and then double bagged him as I call it in some pajamas :) He's looking more and more normal every day :D
He's over there napping right now (which is what I was doing earlier and why it took so long to update haha), and the dinner trays just got here, so I'm going to go enjoy some gourmet hospital food and update later on tonight :)
The ammonia levels in the repeat lab were normal :) So it was just a screwup in the first one (which is what Dr. K2 said he thought it was anyway) :) We still have to wait until tomorrow for the urine test to see if he's spilling milk sugar or not, but at least his ammonia is good.
I got to nurse him earlier for a few minutes. Poor buddy! It's just so much work getting Mama's milk straight from the tap :D His little throat is still all swollen from crying and from the intubation and from the NG tube that it's a little hard for him to swallow at the moment, and his O2 level kept dropping because he would hold his breath. Considering though that he hasn't nursed in several days and all that he's been through, I think he did just beautifully :D
The pediatric opthomologist just left. He was checking Sprout's eyes to make sure that their anatomy was normal, because apparently there are some eye conditions that can cause seizures in little ones, but he said that his eyes are fine *whew*
They did give him sugar water and a soothie which is strange to me since James never took either of those, but they said the sugar water helps them deal better with pain and that the eye doc might have to put in some eye drops that sting (luckily it turns out that he didn't need to after all), and we didn't want him to hurt :)
They put some pajamas on him too :) It's so cute! His little tootsies were cold so they put some socks on him and then double bagged him as I call it in some pajamas :) He's looking more and more normal every day :D
He's over there napping right now (which is what I was doing earlier and why it took so long to update haha), and the dinner trays just got here, so I'm going to go enjoy some gourmet hospital food and update later on tonight :)
Mornin'!
Mornin' y'all!
We came in this morning to see the most wonderful sight: Zach had his eyes open and was wiggling around! They took out his oxygen, unhooked his IV (though the heparin lock is still there) and have increased his feeds all the way up to 25cc/hr :D
Dr. K2 wants to switch him over from continuous feeds to bolus feeds, which just means that instead of having a continuous drip into his belly, they'll do one big feed then not feed for a couple hours, then do another big feed, just as he would get if he were nursing. If he tolerates the first one (or maybe two, not quite sure yet) well, then he wants me to actually nurse him every other feeding!
And now for the possibly slightly upsetting news. Now, they don't know anything yet, so Dr. K2 told us not to get all excited about it (yeah right lol). His blood work this morning came back with his ammonia level being high. He said that his ammonia level could be high due to a procedural error (he said the test itself can be kind of tricky), so he came in and repeated the lab himself, and we're waiting on it to come back. On top of that, his urine from last night had what's called "reducing agents" in it. Basically, he's spilling sugar into his urine, but rather than it being glucose like adults have, it's milk sugar. That means that there is a possibility that he's having trouble digesting the milk :( Now, he did say that he's gotten a lot of false positives on that test lately, so he's repeating it tomorrow. IF it comes back positive tomorrow, he wants to switch Zach to a soy based formula until he can get back a metabolic panel (?) on him, which "could take a while". If that happens, he still wants me to pump every 3 hours like I've been doing to maintain my supply just in case it's not a metabolic disorder, so that I can switch him back to milk at that time. Now, like I said, that's not certain, and it's only if the test comes back positive tomorrow, so there's really no way to know as yet.
I just want to say that would suck. Those who know me know just how much that would suck. That's all I'm going to say about that.
But, he's over here meowing at me so I'm going to go hang out with my fella :)
I'll update later :)
We came in this morning to see the most wonderful sight: Zach had his eyes open and was wiggling around! They took out his oxygen, unhooked his IV (though the heparin lock is still there) and have increased his feeds all the way up to 25cc/hr :D
Dr. K2 wants to switch him over from continuous feeds to bolus feeds, which just means that instead of having a continuous drip into his belly, they'll do one big feed then not feed for a couple hours, then do another big feed, just as he would get if he were nursing. If he tolerates the first one (or maybe two, not quite sure yet) well, then he wants me to actually nurse him every other feeding!
And now for the possibly slightly upsetting news. Now, they don't know anything yet, so Dr. K2 told us not to get all excited about it (yeah right lol). His blood work this morning came back with his ammonia level being high. He said that his ammonia level could be high due to a procedural error (he said the test itself can be kind of tricky), so he came in and repeated the lab himself, and we're waiting on it to come back. On top of that, his urine from last night had what's called "reducing agents" in it. Basically, he's spilling sugar into his urine, but rather than it being glucose like adults have, it's milk sugar. That means that there is a possibility that he's having trouble digesting the milk :( Now, he did say that he's gotten a lot of false positives on that test lately, so he's repeating it tomorrow. IF it comes back positive tomorrow, he wants to switch Zach to a soy based formula until he can get back a metabolic panel (?) on him, which "could take a while". If that happens, he still wants me to pump every 3 hours like I've been doing to maintain my supply just in case it's not a metabolic disorder, so that I can switch him back to milk at that time. Now, like I said, that's not certain, and it's only if the test comes back positive tomorrow, so there's really no way to know as yet.
I just want to say that would suck. Those who know me know just how much that would suck. That's all I'm going to say about that.
But, he's over here meowing at me so I'm going to go hang out with my fella :)
I'll update later :)
Friday, April 11, 2008
Whoohoo!
I got to hold my Booger Butt!! :D
We had to wait for his stats to stabilize for a good while, as well as for his antibiotics to finish running, but I finally got to hold him for a good 30 minutes :D It was wonderful :) I just kissed on him and loved on him the whole time, and I swear he was smiling :) Folks may say that babies that young can't really smile, but I don't believe it :D
His little eyelids are so swollen from all the IV fluids that I honestly thought that he couldn't open his eyes, but after we'd put him back in the bed, he woke up right before we left and he looked right at me and I got really close so he could see me and I just talked to him and petted him, and his O2 saturation went up to 100%, his heartrate went up, and his breathing did too :) He recognized me I think.... I was on one side of the bed and Mike was on the other, and I told him that I'd be right back (I had to go put some milk in the fridge before it sat out for too long), and as soon as I turned my back, he made this pitiful little mewling sound (he lost his voice from crying so much combined with the intubation so that's all he can do is mewl) and so I came right back over and let him know I was still there and he quieted right back down *happy sigh*
Of course, a few minutes later, the nurse came in and gave him his phenobarbital for the night, which put him right back to sleep, but it felt SO GOOD knowing that he recognized me and that I was the last person he saw before he drifted off to sleep :D
Here's a sweet picture of him napping earlier today
Here's Belinda getting him ready to hand to me
Here's me holding my Booger Butt
And here's him smiling about it :D
I'll update in the morning as I get more news :)
We had to wait for his stats to stabilize for a good while, as well as for his antibiotics to finish running, but I finally got to hold him for a good 30 minutes :D It was wonderful :) I just kissed on him and loved on him the whole time, and I swear he was smiling :) Folks may say that babies that young can't really smile, but I don't believe it :D
His little eyelids are so swollen from all the IV fluids that I honestly thought that he couldn't open his eyes, but after we'd put him back in the bed, he woke up right before we left and he looked right at me and I got really close so he could see me and I just talked to him and petted him, and his O2 saturation went up to 100%, his heartrate went up, and his breathing did too :) He recognized me I think.... I was on one side of the bed and Mike was on the other, and I told him that I'd be right back (I had to go put some milk in the fridge before it sat out for too long), and as soon as I turned my back, he made this pitiful little mewling sound (he lost his voice from crying so much combined with the intubation so that's all he can do is mewl) and so I came right back over and let him know I was still there and he quieted right back down *happy sigh*
Of course, a few minutes later, the nurse came in and gave him his phenobarbital for the night, which put him right back to sleep, but it felt SO GOOD knowing that he recognized me and that I was the last person he saw before he drifted off to sleep :D
Here's a sweet picture of him napping earlier today
Here's Belinda getting him ready to hand to me
Here's me holding my Booger Butt
And here's him smiling about it :D
I'll update in the morning as I get more news :)
Thank you to March '06
When Mike and I got back to the Ronald McDonald House tonight, the lady at the front desk stopped us and said that she had a bag for us.
Turns out Anna (wildernessgirl on PW) and the March '06 board had gotten us a really awesome goodie bag :)
They not only paid for a night at the RMD House, but they also got us gift cards to two different local restaurants, and a gift card to BP for gasoline for when we get to take Sprout home :D
I can't begin to tell you how overwhelmed we've been with everyone's kindness and generosity towards us since poor Sprout got sick. We are truly blessed to have so many people who care about us and who are praying for us and thinking about us.
Thank you so much to everyone, and again, thank you to Anna and the March '06 board for all of your kindness towards us!
:D
Turns out Anna (wildernessgirl on PW) and the March '06 board had gotten us a really awesome goodie bag :)
They not only paid for a night at the RMD House, but they also got us gift cards to two different local restaurants, and a gift card to BP for gasoline for when we get to take Sprout home :D
I can't begin to tell you how overwhelmed we've been with everyone's kindness and generosity towards us since poor Sprout got sick. We are truly blessed to have so many people who care about us and who are praying for us and thinking about us.
Thank you so much to everyone, and again, thank you to Anna and the March '06 board for all of your kindness towards us!
:D
Hurry up and wait
Well, they finally got some blood out of the umbilical line... Then they did take that out, and they took out his catheter. But, he'd gotten too cold while they were messing with all that, and his breathing and heart rate dropped some, so now we're just hanging out waiting to make sure it'll stay up and stable on its own. So far so good for the most part. He had a couple times where his O2 saturation dropped a bit (not too terribly far but enough to piss off the monitor), but for the most part all it took was me talking to him and rubbing his head to get it back up :)
So, we're just waiting. They're giving him another couple rounds of antibiotics. The chicken pox culture came back negative so they've stopped the acyclovir... There was a blood culture that came back positive but Dr. K seems to think that it was a contaminated sample rather than an infection. But when the antibiotics are done, then we'll see about me maybe holding him.
Dr. K also said that if he tolerates his feeds well, then sometime this weekend I might even get to nurse him :) I'm not getting too excited though because I haven't even gotten to hold him yet.
Right now there's another trauma patient coming in so he's a bit on the back burner for a few (totally understandable!)
I'll update when I can :)
So, we're just waiting. They're giving him another couple rounds of antibiotics. The chicken pox culture came back negative so they've stopped the acyclovir... There was a blood culture that came back positive but Dr. K seems to think that it was a contaminated sample rather than an infection. But when the antibiotics are done, then we'll see about me maybe holding him.
Dr. K also said that if he tolerates his feeds well, then sometime this weekend I might even get to nurse him :) I'm not getting too excited though because I haven't even gotten to hold him yet.
Right now there's another trauma patient coming in so he's a bit on the back burner for a few (totally understandable!)
I'll update when I can :)
Y'all are going to get sick of me updating :P
They couldn't get a vein so they put in some stuff in his umbilical tube to break up the clots (they said they would do that earlier but didn't lol), and now we're just waiting for that to work so that we can go ahead and get the bloodwork done. They're checking his ammonia level and blood gases as well as his.... Oh gosh, what did she call it? Bleeding rate? Something like that. They just basically want to make sure he's clotting fast enough while not clotting too fast :)
So again, we have to hurry up and wait ;)
I don't mind it but so much because Mike is at Ron's House doing laundry (he's so domestic :D) and I did want him to be here when I get to hold him the first time :D
My parents are on the way too, so they might be here in time to see it as well.
But they did check his belly to make sure he's digesting the milk, and he's doing great, so they went ahead and increased his feedings from 5cc/hr to 9cc/hr. It's not a big increase, but the more they increase, the closer we are to going home :D
So again, we have to hurry up and wait ;)
I don't mind it but so much because Mike is at Ron's House doing laundry (he's so domestic :D) and I did want him to be here when I get to hold him the first time :D
My parents are on the way too, so they might be here in time to see it as well.
But they did check his belly to make sure he's digesting the milk, and he's doing great, so they went ahead and increased his feedings from 5cc/hr to 9cc/hr. It's not a big increase, but the more they increase, the closer we are to going home :D
Poor buddy :(
Poor thing :( He's such a hard stick and they pretty much blew all the veins they had. They just tried a scalp one and it didn't work *sigh* He's trying to cry but he's so hoarse he can't :( I just want to cry for him :'(
I'm so impatient
So Belinda's taking blood right now, then she's going to remove the belly button line, and then the catheter and THEN, freaking FINALLY, I get to hold him!!!
She's taking too long lol I told her she shouldn't have told me ahead of time that I get to hold him when she's done :P
She's taking too long lol I told her she shouldn't have told me ahead of time that I get to hold him when she's done :P
Pictures and other randomness
So while we're passing the time until they can take out the belly button tubing and start feeding him, I thought I'd post some pictures :)
Here's from them getting him ready and taking him down to his MRI yesterday
And we saw this on the way back up from MRI and for some reason it made me giggle :P
These are from late last night :) If you notice one of his toes glowing, that's the pulse/ox monitor lol It looks funnier in pictures than it does in person for some reason.
And, of course, my favorite pictures thus far.. Notice anything missing? :D
:D
And now for the randomness...
Some random things I've learned while here.
The main difference between the NICU and the PICU when concerning a newborn like Zach is whether or not the child has been discharged. With a baby his age, had he not been discharged from the hospital already when this happened, he'd be in the NICU (which btw would suck even worse because you can't "room in" there and can only go up four times a day. Yikes!)
The main elevators here have no fourth floor listed, but they do have a 13th floor. I thought that was weird seeing as how I've always heard it was bad luck to have a "13th" floor. I'm still not sure why they have a 13th, but I did find out that the reason they don't have a 4th floor is because the 4th floor is surgery :) We found that out because we took the staff elevator back up here from MRI and saw that it had a 4th floor listed and asked some of the people in the elevator with us lol Yes, we're dorks.
I had more but I forget what it was.
Ooooh! They're here with the boob juice, so I gotta run :) They're going to start off with a tiny tiny bit and then increase it throughout the day. As she increases the feeds, she'll decrease the IV fluids :)
They're not taking out the umbilical line just yet. First she wants to see if she can get blood from it. If not, she'll flush the line with a clot busting solution (hey, that's what she called it lol), and then she'll do labs at 2, and THEN she'll see about taking it out :D
I'll update again when I get new info!
Here's from them getting him ready and taking him down to his MRI yesterday
And we saw this on the way back up from MRI and for some reason it made me giggle :P
These are from late last night :) If you notice one of his toes glowing, that's the pulse/ox monitor lol It looks funnier in pictures than it does in person for some reason.
And, of course, my favorite pictures thus far.. Notice anything missing? :D
:D
And now for the randomness...
Some random things I've learned while here.
The main difference between the NICU and the PICU when concerning a newborn like Zach is whether or not the child has been discharged. With a baby his age, had he not been discharged from the hospital already when this happened, he'd be in the NICU (which btw would suck even worse because you can't "room in" there and can only go up four times a day. Yikes!)
The main elevators here have no fourth floor listed, but they do have a 13th floor. I thought that was weird seeing as how I've always heard it was bad luck to have a "13th" floor. I'm still not sure why they have a 13th, but I did find out that the reason they don't have a 4th floor is because the 4th floor is surgery :) We found that out because we took the staff elevator back up here from MRI and saw that it had a 4th floor listed and asked some of the people in the elevator with us lol Yes, we're dorks.
I had more but I forget what it was.
Ooooh! They're here with the boob juice, so I gotta run :) They're going to start off with a tiny tiny bit and then increase it throughout the day. As she increases the feeds, she'll decrease the IV fluids :)
They're not taking out the umbilical line just yet. First she wants to see if she can get blood from it. If not, she'll flush the line with a clot busting solution (hey, that's what she called it lol), and then she'll do labs at 2, and THEN she'll see about taking it out :D
I'll update again when I get new info!
GOOD MORNING!
:D
Goooooood Morning! :)
Zachary had a very uneventful night with no episodes, so they're getting ready to extubate him!!! And, if he does well until noon, then they'll take the umbilical line out and then start giving him breast milk through his tube! YEA!
I will update as I get more info :D
Goooooood Morning! :)
Zachary had a very uneventful night with no episodes, so they're getting ready to extubate him!!! And, if he does well until noon, then they'll take the umbilical line out and then start giving him breast milk through his tube! YEA!
I will update as I get more info :D
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Sorry I took so long to update :) Apparently, if I sit still too long, I fall asleep lol!
Alrighty, let's see... He had the MRI, and we just now talked to the pediatric neurologist who said the MRI was clean -- no tumors, no blood clots, no hemorrhages, etc., so that's excellent news :D He did say that since BIL had seizures as a newborn, that there are familial types of newborn seizures that pretty much they don't know why they happen but that they go away on their own (which would be AWESOME!).
The second EEG was "better" than the first (I'm not sure what constitutes a good EEG so I can't really give you the details on there, but I'll take "better" any day!)
He hasn't had any more episodes since this morning, though he did get a really big dose of phenobarbital this morning to help prevent breakthrough seizures.
The neurologist said that they want to continue on the phenobarbital but that they're going to try to wean him off of all of his anticonvulsive meds and "see what happens" (in other words, hope that he has no more seizures without the meds, but be prepared that he might).
They did get the IV in his arm, which seems to be working much better... It's bigger so they're able to give him his medications more quickly which is great. They haven't removed the belly button one yet though because they were still using it to get blood, but unfortunately Melinda (our awesome day nurse) couldn't get any more out of it so she had to do a heel stick. That's one of the sucky things about taking out the umbilical line -- while it's better for whenever I will get to hold him (!), it means that when they have to take blood, they have to stick him :(
So, I'm trying to remember if I forgot anything. Big things were he got his IV in, MRI came back clear, EEG looked "better", they want to wean him from his meds starting in the morning, they're hoping to have the vent out tomorrow or Saturday, and they want to start feeding him through his tube tomorrow.
Okay if I think of something else, I'll post :) And I'll also post those pictures I was talking about (but be forewarned, they're not great -- I was trying to stay out of the way so I couldn't get a good shot since they weren't actually concerned with catering to a momarazzi lol)
Quick edit: I was just eavesdropping on the nurses and they seem pretty confident that barring any complications, they should be able to extubate him tomorrow, since he's only on a rate of 5 (which is really low) on the vent anyway! So, cautiously optimistic :D
Alrighty, let's see... He had the MRI, and we just now talked to the pediatric neurologist who said the MRI was clean -- no tumors, no blood clots, no hemorrhages, etc., so that's excellent news :D He did say that since BIL had seizures as a newborn, that there are familial types of newborn seizures that pretty much they don't know why they happen but that they go away on their own (which would be AWESOME!).
The second EEG was "better" than the first (I'm not sure what constitutes a good EEG so I can't really give you the details on there, but I'll take "better" any day!)
He hasn't had any more episodes since this morning, though he did get a really big dose of phenobarbital this morning to help prevent breakthrough seizures.
The neurologist said that they want to continue on the phenobarbital but that they're going to try to wean him off of all of his anticonvulsive meds and "see what happens" (in other words, hope that he has no more seizures without the meds, but be prepared that he might).
They did get the IV in his arm, which seems to be working much better... It's bigger so they're able to give him his medications more quickly which is great. They haven't removed the belly button one yet though because they were still using it to get blood, but unfortunately Melinda (our awesome day nurse) couldn't get any more out of it so she had to do a heel stick. That's one of the sucky things about taking out the umbilical line -- while it's better for whenever I will get to hold him (!), it means that when they have to take blood, they have to stick him :(
So, I'm trying to remember if I forgot anything. Big things were he got his IV in, MRI came back clear, EEG looked "better", they want to wean him from his meds starting in the morning, they're hoping to have the vent out tomorrow or Saturday, and they want to start feeding him through his tube tomorrow.
Okay if I think of something else, I'll post :) And I'll also post those pictures I was talking about (but be forewarned, they're not great -- I was trying to stay out of the way so I couldn't get a good shot since they weren't actually concerned with catering to a momarazzi lol)
Quick edit: I was just eavesdropping on the nurses and they seem pretty confident that barring any complications, they should be able to extubate him tomorrow, since he's only on a rate of 5 (which is really low) on the vent anyway! So, cautiously optimistic :D
Mini - update
Sprout's downstairs getting his MRI right now :) We decided to just come back up to the room since the MRI waiting room is really crappy lol They said it should be about 30 minutes for the test, then they'd try to get it read sometime this evening and they'd probably let us know the results tonight or first thing in the morning.
We've already decided that we're going to hang out here and then just go to Ron's House at around 11 if everything is going smoothly, and try to get some sleep so we can think clearly tomorrow :)
They never did the peripheral IV. Turns out that she still didn't think she could get a line in (and God bless her for not trying unless she was sure she had a good vein) because she couldn't find a vein that hadn't been stuck already :'( My poor baby :( :( :(
So anyway, she thinks she found a good one in his scalp, but since he had an MRI coming up, she's just waiting until he gets back.
I have some pictures of them transporting him down to MRI but I have to process them real quick so they'll fit in the blog lol
I'll update as soon as something changes :)
We've already decided that we're going to hang out here and then just go to Ron's House at around 11 if everything is going smoothly, and try to get some sleep so we can think clearly tomorrow :)
They never did the peripheral IV. Turns out that she still didn't think she could get a line in (and God bless her for not trying unless she was sure she had a good vein) because she couldn't find a vein that hadn't been stuck already :'( My poor baby :( :( :(
So anyway, she thinks she found a good one in his scalp, but since he had an MRI coming up, she's just waiting until he gets back.
I have some pictures of them transporting him down to MRI but I have to process them real quick so they'll fit in the blog lol
I'll update as soon as something changes :)
So now they're changing out his feeding tube and putting a new one in his nose, because they said that when he wakes up, they don't want it to fall out.
Also, it turns out that his urine output is just fine, but the catheter tube was messing up, so they fixed that.
And finally, they're going to try to put in a peripheral IV and take the one out of his belly button so that they can get a bigger line in :) they said it shouldn't be ANYWHERE near as difficult as it was last time because he was pretty dehydrated (not to mention squirmy) when they tried last time.
But, since they don't need us here until 2, we're going to scoot and get a shower and something to eat before the MRI :) No really, this time we're actually going ;)
Also, it turns out that his urine output is just fine, but the catheter tube was messing up, so they fixed that.
And finally, they're going to try to put in a peripheral IV and take the one out of his belly button so that they can get a bigger line in :) they said it shouldn't be ANYWHERE near as difficult as it was last time because he was pretty dehydrated (not to mention squirmy) when they tried last time.
But, since they don't need us here until 2, we're going to scoot and get a shower and something to eat before the MRI :) No really, this time we're actually going ;)
The MRI is scheduled for around 3.. The doc is scheduling the neonatal transport team now and double checking with the MRI people to make sure. So we're going back to Ron's House to get a shower and a bite to eat.
They're a little concerned that Zach isn't peeing enough even though he's got a catheter in, but we're still waiting to see what, if anything, they want to do about it.
We talked to the man from EAS and filled out a few forms for Medicaid. He said he really didn't foresee us not being able to get at least Zach on Medicaid, and that we could probably also get James on there too (which is awesome since that would mean we could drop COBRA and just get a cheapy little individual plan for me an Mike). Plus, Medicaid would be retroactive and cover everything for Zach from birth until whenever :) That is SUCH a relief you have no idea. Now we can stop worrying about how we're possibly going to pay for everything and focus completely on getting our little man well again :)
So that's it for now. I'll update just as soon as I know anything new :)
They're a little concerned that Zach isn't peeing enough even though he's got a catheter in, but we're still waiting to see what, if anything, they want to do about it.
We talked to the man from EAS and filled out a few forms for Medicaid. He said he really didn't foresee us not being able to get at least Zach on Medicaid, and that we could probably also get James on there too (which is awesome since that would mean we could drop COBRA and just get a cheapy little individual plan for me an Mike). Plus, Medicaid would be retroactive and cover everything for Zach from birth until whenever :) That is SUCH a relief you have no idea. Now we can stop worrying about how we're possibly going to pay for everything and focus completely on getting our little man well again :)
So that's it for now. I'll update just as soon as I know anything new :)
So he had another small episode this morning where he had what looked like hiccups only his eyes were deviating, so they gave him a dose of Ativan around 6am. But, as much as it sucks that he had another one, I do feel a LOT better knowing that it took three nurses and a respiratory tech to be able to be certain that it really WAS a seizure and not hiccups, since they all agreed that they looked like hiccups with one or two of the signs of a seizure. That helps relieve a tiny (tiny) bit of the Mommy Guilt I have about thinking that they were just hiccups at first :)
So they're doing a repeat EEG now, and they did an x-ray around 730 (I presume they're double checking his umbilical line and his respirator positioning, but I really have no idea to be honest).
Not sure what the next step is, but I'll definitely keep y'all in the loop as much as possible :)
ETA: Here's a pic of him getting his EEG
So they're doing a repeat EEG now, and they did an x-ray around 730 (I presume they're double checking his umbilical line and his respirator positioning, but I really have no idea to be honest).
Not sure what the next step is, but I'll definitely keep y'all in the loop as much as possible :)
ETA: Here's a pic of him getting his EEG
Small update
Well, nothing much to add at the moment. He’s stable and resting well... He did have a small seizure tonight but the nurses didn’t seem terribly concerned... They did say that if he does it again, they’ll go ahead and give him some more Ativan (he’s scheduled to get more Phenobarbital in the morning anyway)... He’s breathing on his own but is still intubated, and he’s had a couple alarms since around 11 which mean that his tube was getting clogged with mucous (the respiratory threrapist said it was actually a good sign?).
They did give him some vitamin B6 in case it was a vitamin deficiency but they won’t know if that’s the case until they do the repeat EEG tomorrow.
On the bright side, he opened his eyes for us today! :D It was so nice to see him look at me, though I know that at 5 days old he really can't see me that well. It felt good to be able to talk to him and know he was conscious enough to hear me :)
We have to go talk to the Eligibility Assistance Services people tomorrow to find out if we qualify for Medicaid or any of the charity assistance programs... We’re REALLY hoping that we can get him on Medicaid because as many of you know, Mike recently lost his job and hasn’t been able to find anything yet. We do have COBRA, but that in itself is $474 a month, and we have a $6000 deductible which is pretty hard to pay when you have no income...
I feel pretty confident that we’ll be able to get the hospital here to write off at least a portion of the bill, but there’s also D’ville doctors, ER charges, x-ray/CT techs, radiologist, etc, and then the doctors, x-ray/CT/EEG techs, radiologist, and neonatal transport that we have to pay for as well. Not to mention all the labwork they’ve done and the medication he’s received.
But anyway, thank you all for your prayers (and please keep them coming!). I’m going to try to get some sleep while Mike keeps an eye on him. I’ll be back later when Mike goes to get his (much needed haha) beauty rest
They did give him some vitamin B6 in case it was a vitamin deficiency but they won’t know if that’s the case until they do the repeat EEG tomorrow.
On the bright side, he opened his eyes for us today! :D It was so nice to see him look at me, though I know that at 5 days old he really can't see me that well. It felt good to be able to talk to him and know he was conscious enough to hear me :)
We have to go talk to the Eligibility Assistance Services people tomorrow to find out if we qualify for Medicaid or any of the charity assistance programs... We’re REALLY hoping that we can get him on Medicaid because as many of you know, Mike recently lost his job and hasn’t been able to find anything yet. We do have COBRA, but that in itself is $474 a month, and we have a $6000 deductible which is pretty hard to pay when you have no income...
I feel pretty confident that we’ll be able to get the hospital here to write off at least a portion of the bill, but there’s also D’ville doctors, ER charges, x-ray/CT techs, radiologist, etc, and then the doctors, x-ray/CT/EEG techs, radiologist, and neonatal transport that we have to pay for as well. Not to mention all the labwork they’ve done and the medication he’s received.
But anyway, thank you all for your prayers (and please keep them coming!). I’m going to try to get some sleep while Mike keeps an eye on him. I’ll be back later when Mike goes to get his (much needed haha) beauty rest
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Sprout is in the hospital!
It's been a hell of a night. Zach had a couple little episodes yesterday that we initially thought were hiccups or just normal newborn weirdness, but that started to progress into something that was a little more worrisome looking, so I took this video:
http://www.dropshots.com/xoliandra#date/2008-04-08/11:58:28
I posted it on a couple boards and the overwhelming response was that they were hiccups or reflux (and absolutely NO hard feelings to anyone who told me that, seriously, because I thought the same thing!), and since we were going to the doc the next day (I guess today) then we just decided to wait it out and see if it got any worse before taking him to the ER. Obviously, they got worse.
I'm too tired to retype so I'm c/ping from another board I post on:
Zach is doing better. Not fine, but better. He's stable and they stopped the seizures, though he still looks so pathetic. They gave him phenobarbytol (sp?) and ativan (sp?) and he's still intubated. They said he's trying to breathe on his own and they're basically waiting for him to get pissed off (more responsive) before they dope him up again.
The whole night was a nightmare and when I can get my mind together a little I'll tell the whole story. Just the basic gist is he'd gone a long time without eating (he slept almost all day) and so I pumped a bottle and basically just shoved it in his mouth to get him to eat something so he wouldn't get dehydrated, then he had another fit and stopped breathing and I had to breathe for him so my mom came flying over and we went to the ER and it obviously went downhill from then. Took them over an hour of trying to get an IV in him (over 40 sticks *sob*) before they gave up and put a line directly into the bone in his leg -- which promptly came loose and they couldn't use it. So the transport team from the picu (I called it nicu but it's picu so whatever) came and had to have a line before they could transport them so it took like two hours and minor surgery and they got a line into what tiny bit was left of his umbilical cord (good thing I hadn't done the alcohol like they'd told me to huh?)
*sigh*
So anyway, they're doing an assload of tests, pumping him full of antiseizure medication, antibiotics, and cyclicsomethingorothers (the doc thinks I may have chicken pox? how the hell does that happen??) to see if any of it helps. Head CT came back clear (though they said he may have a hairline skull fracture from birth -- but no visible brain trauma), I think they said the EEG was clear, and the spinal tap (!) was clear but they're still waiting on the blood cultures from that to rule out a virus.
Here's him from this morning
Mike and I are staying in the Ronald McDonald house which is a few blocks from the hospital. It's a really nice place and the staff is super considerate and helpful (and it's only $15/night, and they said if God Forbid our stay becomes extended, they can waive the fee for us if it becomes a burden, which hopefully won't happen but I though that was pretty awesome)
I don't normally trust doctors but I REALLY like Zach's doctor. He's very very down to earth and patient and I can tell he really does care about Zach (rather than one of those docs who's just there to do his job and go home -- you know the type)
Anyway, I'm going to go get a shower and maybe get something to eat and head on back up to the hospital. I think they have internet there so I'll update when I can.
Jess
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Sprout's Birth Story!
So, Friday, April 4th I woke up at 6am with some pretty wicked contractions. I was able to use my Hypnobabies all day to cope with them.. While they were regular, they were still only about 10 minutes apart, so I took the day to just kind of relax and gave Mike a big list of last minute stuff to do around the house.
We ended up going to bed around midnight, and I woke up at 3am and wow. Yeah, there was no question I was in labor. I was having a TON of bloody show -- so much so that I honestly thought my water had broken.
So around 11 am on Saturday the 5th, I was timing the contractions at anywhere from 2-4 minutes apart lasting over a minute each. So we called L&D and they talked to my OB and he said come on in and get checked. So we call my mom to come watch James, and head on down to L&D. We get there around 12:35pm, and get all situated in a room to be checked about 30 minutes later (btw, the nurses LOVED the oatmeal cookies and the brownies that we brought them!)
So they checked me, and it turned out my water hadn’t broken at all! I was 3-4 cm dilated, and they went ahead and monitored me for 30 minutes then said since they were very regular and strong, they would admit me.
I have to give them SO much credit -- they followed my Birth Plan to the letter -- no IV, no restriction of movement, no restriction of food and drink, nothing!
So I’m starting to get uncomfortable (and the Hypnosis, while helping me to relax, was NOT giving me the “pain free childbirth” that we were aiming for lol More on that later), so they put me in the tub. It was HEAVEN. I soooo want a jaccuzi for my house!
Anyway, while in the tub, I was getting very very uncomfortable with the contractions -- as in, it was hard to focus through them.
So after 30 minutes I got out of the tub and my wonderful nurse (Lynn -- I’m SO sending her flowers when I get out of here -- she was a GODSEND!) checked me and said I was still a 4.. So she hooked me up to the monitors again (Sprout’s heart rate kept dropping and they just wanted to keep an eye on it) and I hung out in the rocking chair.
Well, by this point, my contractions were regular and YEOWCH! Just.. Seriously, they rocked my world. So much so that my hypnosis was doing NOTHING and I had to literally get Mike right in my face to remind me to breathe and tell me how wonderful I was doing and how I could do this and how I WAS doing this and so forth just to keep from throwing myself in the floor. I kept stealing a glance at the monitors and saw that these contractions, which were agonizing, were registering as a 2 or a 3 on the monitor, and I just knew, deep down, that if I was struggling that much on mild contractions, stalled at 4 cm, I was going to be too exhausted to be able to push Sprout out on my own.
So heartbroken, I asked him if he would think less of me if I got an epidural. He said he was proud of me no matter what, and his only fear was that I would blame him for not standing up for me (there’s history there -- I felt like he failed me at James’ birth, but that’s a WHOLE nother story) .. So after sobbing through about three more contractions, I had him go ask the nurse to bring in the epidural video (you have to watch this dumb video before they’ll let you get an epidural lol).
So I watched the video and the whole time I was just sobbing because I felt like such a failure. I had planned and worked SO hard to have a natural childbirth, and here I was giving up at a lousy 4 cm because of some level 2-3 contractions. Lynn came in and saw how upset I was and asked me if it was my discomfort or something else (YES! She even called it discomfort rather than pain just like my birth plan requested! I love her so much). Anyway, I tearfully told her that I was a failure and it made me really sad. So she offered to check me, even though she’d just checked me 35 minutes earlier and I had been a 4.
Um. Yeah. I was a 7.
Lol Turns out, the damned monitor wasn’t reading my contractions right due to my position, and when she readjusted them, they were registering anywhere from 7-9 on the monitor! I literally GRINNED through my next two contractions, even though I had to huff and puff through them because I was SO FREAKING HAPPY that I was at a 7! I knew that being a 7 there was really no point in an epidural, and Lynn even told me that she would do whatever I wanted but that from everything she’d learned about me in these few short hours, she really felt like I should “go for it”!
So, we did! Hypnobabies went out the window, and I had to potty, and while I was on the toilet trying to empty my bladder, I had to call Mike in there (ok how embarrassing is THAT?!) so that I could lean on him and get him to tell me I could do it. Then I yelled “I can’t do this any more!” and immediately burst out laughing and said “Yea! I must be in transition!” lol Sure enough, I was. Lynn checked me at 3:50 and I was an 8, and then I had back to back contractions until she checked me again at 4:30 and I was a 9.
I started having back labor, so she had me get on my hands and knees (and between contractions we laughed about how it’s a good thing I’m not modest -- there I was with nothing on but a tank top with my giant white bum up in the air)… Two contractions later I screamed “I HAVE TO PUSH” and God Bless her she said “honey you do whatever your body tells you to do!” so I did! AHHHHH It felt SOOOOOOO effing good to push! I was like a crazy woman. I was just….. Roaring is the only word that accurately describes it, and after one good push at 4:45 SPLASH! My water just exploded out all over everything (ew lol).
So right after that they called the doc in, and after I whined a bit about not wanting to change positions (*pout* I really wanted to deliver on my hands and knees -- it felt SOOOOO good!), I started pushing as I wanted to (NO PURPLE PUSHING!!!) and Sprout was born at 5:05 pm! The cord was wrapped around Sprout’s neck, so the APGAR was only 7 since it took a bit of work to get some crying going, but Dr. B. waited until the cord stopped pulsing to clamp it, Mike cut it, and I was able to nurse my baby within just 15 minutes of birth (I had to wait until I delivered the placenta since I requested no traction it took a few minutes). The repeat APGAR was a 9, and the pediatrician has already checked Sprout and said there doesn’t appear to have been any issues from the cord being like that.
But they didn’t even give me that routine shot of pitocin to stop the bleeding! The nurse handed the shot to Dr. B. and he gave it right back saying “No, she said she wanted to nurse right away -- that should be more than sufficient”. I tell ya, I didn’t like him AT ALL at James’ birth but he TOTALLY redeemed himself in my eyes tonight!
So, now that you’ve all probably scrolled past all that for this part, I’ll give you the goods.
Zachary Thomas Elliott Richardson was born at 5:05 on April 5, 2008, weighing in at 8lb 8oz and 19 ½ inches long. He’s PERFECT, and nursed like a champ for a good 45 minutes before they took him to do the eye goop and such (by law they have to do it within the hour here).
I’m fine. Sore, but fine. I pushed so hard I bruised my bum, but only got one stitch (for a “skid mark” as Dr. B. put it).. I do have a fever that they’re watching but they think that’s just from childbirth in general combined with the fact I didn’t get an IV.
It’s SO NICE to not be treated like I’m sick! The nurses have been just FANTASTIC here, and it’s funny -- I had four nurses come to my room just to see the girl who did it au natural!
So there it is. Hope you enjoyed the tale :D I REALLY hope the net connection gets better because I’ll likely be here until Monday..
Oh, and had Sprout been a girl, the name we chose was Alexandra Natalie Sophia :)
Jess
We ended up going to bed around midnight, and I woke up at 3am and wow. Yeah, there was no question I was in labor. I was having a TON of bloody show -- so much so that I honestly thought my water had broken.
So around 11 am on Saturday the 5th, I was timing the contractions at anywhere from 2-4 minutes apart lasting over a minute each. So we called L&D and they talked to my OB and he said come on in and get checked. So we call my mom to come watch James, and head on down to L&D. We get there around 12:35pm, and get all situated in a room to be checked about 30 minutes later (btw, the nurses LOVED the oatmeal cookies and the brownies that we brought them!)
So they checked me, and it turned out my water hadn’t broken at all! I was 3-4 cm dilated, and they went ahead and monitored me for 30 minutes then said since they were very regular and strong, they would admit me.
I have to give them SO much credit -- they followed my Birth Plan to the letter -- no IV, no restriction of movement, no restriction of food and drink, nothing!
So I’m starting to get uncomfortable (and the Hypnosis, while helping me to relax, was NOT giving me the “pain free childbirth” that we were aiming for lol More on that later), so they put me in the tub. It was HEAVEN. I soooo want a jaccuzi for my house!
Anyway, while in the tub, I was getting very very uncomfortable with the contractions -- as in, it was hard to focus through them.
So after 30 minutes I got out of the tub and my wonderful nurse (Lynn -- I’m SO sending her flowers when I get out of here -- she was a GODSEND!) checked me and said I was still a 4.. So she hooked me up to the monitors again (Sprout’s heart rate kept dropping and they just wanted to keep an eye on it) and I hung out in the rocking chair.
Well, by this point, my contractions were regular and YEOWCH! Just.. Seriously, they rocked my world. So much so that my hypnosis was doing NOTHING and I had to literally get Mike right in my face to remind me to breathe and tell me how wonderful I was doing and how I could do this and how I WAS doing this and so forth just to keep from throwing myself in the floor. I kept stealing a glance at the monitors and saw that these contractions, which were agonizing, were registering as a 2 or a 3 on the monitor, and I just knew, deep down, that if I was struggling that much on mild contractions, stalled at 4 cm, I was going to be too exhausted to be able to push Sprout out on my own.
So heartbroken, I asked him if he would think less of me if I got an epidural. He said he was proud of me no matter what, and his only fear was that I would blame him for not standing up for me (there’s history there -- I felt like he failed me at James’ birth, but that’s a WHOLE nother story) .. So after sobbing through about three more contractions, I had him go ask the nurse to bring in the epidural video (you have to watch this dumb video before they’ll let you get an epidural lol).
So I watched the video and the whole time I was just sobbing because I felt like such a failure. I had planned and worked SO hard to have a natural childbirth, and here I was giving up at a lousy 4 cm because of some level 2-3 contractions. Lynn came in and saw how upset I was and asked me if it was my discomfort or something else (YES! She even called it discomfort rather than pain just like my birth plan requested! I love her so much). Anyway, I tearfully told her that I was a failure and it made me really sad. So she offered to check me, even though she’d just checked me 35 minutes earlier and I had been a 4.
Um. Yeah. I was a 7.
Lol Turns out, the damned monitor wasn’t reading my contractions right due to my position, and when she readjusted them, they were registering anywhere from 7-9 on the monitor! I literally GRINNED through my next two contractions, even though I had to huff and puff through them because I was SO FREAKING HAPPY that I was at a 7! I knew that being a 7 there was really no point in an epidural, and Lynn even told me that she would do whatever I wanted but that from everything she’d learned about me in these few short hours, she really felt like I should “go for it”!
So, we did! Hypnobabies went out the window, and I had to potty, and while I was on the toilet trying to empty my bladder, I had to call Mike in there (ok how embarrassing is THAT?!) so that I could lean on him and get him to tell me I could do it. Then I yelled “I can’t do this any more!” and immediately burst out laughing and said “Yea! I must be in transition!” lol Sure enough, I was. Lynn checked me at 3:50 and I was an 8, and then I had back to back contractions until she checked me again at 4:30 and I was a 9.
I started having back labor, so she had me get on my hands and knees (and between contractions we laughed about how it’s a good thing I’m not modest -- there I was with nothing on but a tank top with my giant white bum up in the air)… Two contractions later I screamed “I HAVE TO PUSH” and God Bless her she said “honey you do whatever your body tells you to do!” so I did! AHHHHH It felt SOOOOOOO effing good to push! I was like a crazy woman. I was just….. Roaring is the only word that accurately describes it, and after one good push at 4:45 SPLASH! My water just exploded out all over everything (ew lol).
So right after that they called the doc in, and after I whined a bit about not wanting to change positions (*pout* I really wanted to deliver on my hands and knees -- it felt SOOOOO good!), I started pushing as I wanted to (NO PURPLE PUSHING!!!) and Sprout was born at 5:05 pm! The cord was wrapped around Sprout’s neck, so the APGAR was only 7 since it took a bit of work to get some crying going, but Dr. B. waited until the cord stopped pulsing to clamp it, Mike cut it, and I was able to nurse my baby within just 15 minutes of birth (I had to wait until I delivered the placenta since I requested no traction it took a few minutes). The repeat APGAR was a 9, and the pediatrician has already checked Sprout and said there doesn’t appear to have been any issues from the cord being like that.
But they didn’t even give me that routine shot of pitocin to stop the bleeding! The nurse handed the shot to Dr. B. and he gave it right back saying “No, she said she wanted to nurse right away -- that should be more than sufficient”. I tell ya, I didn’t like him AT ALL at James’ birth but he TOTALLY redeemed himself in my eyes tonight!
So, now that you’ve all probably scrolled past all that for this part, I’ll give you the goods.
Zachary Thomas Elliott Richardson was born at 5:05 on April 5, 2008, weighing in at 8lb 8oz and 19 ½ inches long. He’s PERFECT, and nursed like a champ for a good 45 minutes before they took him to do the eye goop and such (by law they have to do it within the hour here).
I’m fine. Sore, but fine. I pushed so hard I bruised my bum, but only got one stitch (for a “skid mark” as Dr. B. put it).. I do have a fever that they’re watching but they think that’s just from childbirth in general combined with the fact I didn’t get an IV.
It’s SO NICE to not be treated like I’m sick! The nurses have been just FANTASTIC here, and it’s funny -- I had four nurses come to my room just to see the girl who did it au natural!
So there it is. Hope you enjoyed the tale :D I REALLY hope the net connection gets better because I’ll likely be here until Monday..
Oh, and had Sprout been a girl, the name we chose was Alexandra Natalie Sophia :)
Jess
Friday, April 4, 2008
Ow.
Woke up at 6 with contractions. They kinda puttered out but now they're back (I think?) lol It's been so long since I had James that I really don't remember what they felt like. This is a tightening/pulling/pressure feeling in my hips.
I'm trying to decide if it's real contractions or not because I don't want to discourage them if they are, but if they're not, they suck and I want them to stop! lol!
I'm trying to decide if it's real contractions or not because I don't want to discourage them if they are, but if they're not, they suck and I want them to stop! lol!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
NST Update
Well, it was an adventure lol
I get in there, they put the belts on me, and within seconds, Sprout is LITERALLY rolling around and kicking and punching and literally knocked the monitor clear off my belly twice lol Then, we couldn't find the heartbeat again (I knew it was there because I was still getting kicked lol) and they FINALLY found it and the little brat sat perfectly still for 30 minutes lol The doctor came in and was getting ready to write up an order to send me to L&D for more "intensive" monitoring when Sprout FINALLY decided to move, and we got a "beautifully reactive strip" within three minutes :-D
So, no induction for me thus far!! :-D I'm so incredibly happy that we were able to get a reactive strip, because as sure as I was that not inducing was the right choice for us, there's always that little nagging doubt in the back of my mind that I'm putting Sprout in danger somehow, and the fact we got a reactive strip means that the placenta is fine and my risk of stillbirth due to placental breakdown (which is a concern when you're past 40 weeks) is very very low :) I feel SO much better about our decision not to induce :)
Jess
I get in there, they put the belts on me, and within seconds, Sprout is LITERALLY rolling around and kicking and punching and literally knocked the monitor clear off my belly twice lol Then, we couldn't find the heartbeat again (I knew it was there because I was still getting kicked lol) and they FINALLY found it and the little brat sat perfectly still for 30 minutes lol The doctor came in and was getting ready to write up an order to send me to L&D for more "intensive" monitoring when Sprout FINALLY decided to move, and we got a "beautifully reactive strip" within three minutes :-D
So, no induction for me thus far!! :-D I'm so incredibly happy that we were able to get a reactive strip, because as sure as I was that not inducing was the right choice for us, there's always that little nagging doubt in the back of my mind that I'm putting Sprout in danger somehow, and the fact we got a reactive strip means that the placenta is fine and my risk of stillbirth due to placental breakdown (which is a concern when you're past 40 weeks) is very very low :) I feel SO much better about our decision not to induce :)
Jess
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
40w6d Appointment
My poor doctor... I just know that I'm giving that man more gray hairs
Everything's fine, measuring right on target, heartbeat great, movement great, blood pressure perfect, didn't gain any weight, and still refusing an induction
I'm so mean.
So he goes into this schpeal about how the baby's just getting bigger and blah blah blah and I'm at a higher risk for a c-section if I don't give birth soon (to which I literally snorted and asked "and you're saying I'm not at a higher risk for a c-section having an induction with a Bishop score of 4?!") Even Mike was laughing because he started backtracking over what he'd said when it became obvious that I too knew what I was talking about and that my decision not to induce until (God forbid) 42 weeks was an educated and informed one.
So, as a compromise, I agreed to go back tomorrow (at 10 freaking 30 in the MORNING!
Yikes!) for an NST. If it comes back normal, he'll see me next Wednesday at which time I will get an internal (I refused one today -- didn't see the point since I'm refusing induction) and IF it's favorable (Bishop score of 6+), I will be induced shortly thereafter. Of course, hopefully I will go on my own before then, but, I've just about given up hope on that lol
Jess
Everything's fine, measuring right on target, heartbeat great, movement great, blood pressure perfect, didn't gain any weight, and still refusing an induction
I'm so mean.So he goes into this schpeal about how the baby's just getting bigger and blah blah blah and I'm at a higher risk for a c-section if I don't give birth soon (to which I literally snorted and asked "and you're saying I'm not at a higher risk for a c-section having an induction with a Bishop score of 4?!") Even Mike was laughing because he started backtracking over what he'd said when it became obvious that I too knew what I was talking about and that my decision not to induce until (God forbid) 42 weeks was an educated and informed one.
So, as a compromise, I agreed to go back tomorrow (at 10 freaking 30 in the MORNING!
Yikes!) for an NST. If it comes back normal, he'll see me next Wednesday at which time I will get an internal (I refused one today -- didn't see the point since I'm refusing induction) and IF it's favorable (Bishop score of 6+), I will be induced shortly thereafter. Of course, hopefully I will go on my own before then, but, I've just about given up hope on that lolJess
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