Today was another great day!!
We arrived at the hospital around 2:30 and Emerson was swaddled and fast asleep. Nikki, the daytime nurse, updated us that Emerson had gavage feedings all day because he hasn't been that alert. The drainage from his eye seemed to move to the left eye today. Nikki had Dr. Boxwalla take a look at it and he didn't think it was bacterial, but they were going to keep an eye on it.
We did notice that the temperature in his isolette was down today. Nikki said that it is almost at the temperature where the top of the isolette would come off and he would be in an open crib. There are other factors in that as well, like his vitals are consistently stable, and he is taking consistent bottle feedings. One thing at a time, right? :) We want everything to happen at his pace. And don't want him burning too many calories at once. All in due time.
Jill was in the area so stopped by for a visit shortly after we arrived. Even though Emerson was sleeping I think he might have gave her one little peek. He definitely showed her some of his dreaming facial expressions :) She told us the cutest story about how Makenna (her daughter) took a preemie onsie to school to share as one of three important things in her life. So sweet! Warmed my heart <3
I seemed to have developed what I thought might be an infection from my incision. The area above and below my incision was really itchy the last couple days, so in the shower I peeled off my steri strips. The area the strips were on was red, itchy, swollen, and some parts looked like a really bad sun burn. Everything I read said that if it the area is hot that its probably infected. I was so concerned so talked to Nikki about it. Labor and Delivery were swamped so I thought I might have to go to the ER to get it checked out. But when one of the nurses stopped in with a baby Nikki got her to take a look at it. She said my incision looked great and the area above looked like just a bad allergic reaction to probably the glue. Phew! She said just keep some cortisone on it and it should clear up. Thank you Nikki!
Emerson started waking up just before his 5pm feeding. Once Nikki came in to check his vitals, she said this was the most alert he had been all day! So we were definitely going to attempt a bottle feeding. She asked if I would like to feed or her, and I said her. I wanted to watch her to gain some pointers! He started off strong, taking 10cc right away! Than another 10cc! And before you know it he bottle fed 26cc!!! A full feeding!! Way to go little man!!!! I was so happy Grant and I were there to see this HUGE milestone at 33 weeks gestation! All three of us were so ecstatic!
After his feeding I asked Nikki if we could try skin to skin. I've been nervous to do skin to skin because Emerson's so small and Im just starting to get comfortable holding him and supporting his head. But I have read such great things about skin to skin for baby and mommy, so it was definitely time! She undressed him and helped position him on my chest and covered us with a blanket. I just had him on top of my tank top, but it was low enough where his upper body and head were on my skin. What an incredible moment. To hold him so close to me and just rub his back had me so emotional! My baby boy is here and he is OK! :) He was a little squirmish and squeaky as he adjusted to this new experience too. He kept lifting his head up so he could look at me. Literally melted my heart as our eyes met. There were a few times that he started to settle down and fall asleep, but it only lasted for a minute or so. His lips kept quivering too, and I thought he was cold. But later I found out that quivering lips is normal for a preemie. I was worried I was stimulating him to much so after 20 minutes Grant helped me put him back in his isolette. Tammy, the night nurse, talked about Kangaroo Care with me later in the night. How to position him, how my body heat will regulate his, what to wear, how long to hold him, benefits for Emerson and Me, etc. So looking forward to adding in this to our nightly ritual. :)
After we put Emerson back in his isolette he was pretty fussy. Grant and I both tried to settle him down, back rubs, pacifier, swaddled, unswaddled, but couldn't find anything that would work. Tammy came in and suggested we put him on his tummy because maybe its gas. Of course normally at home we wouldn't put him on his tummy to sleep, but since he is on monitors in the NICU, it would be okay for a little bit to help settle him down. When she opened up the isolette she said, Daddy couldn't you smell that?! LOL Of course, the one thing we didn't check this time was his diaper! How are we going to make it without our wonderful nurses?! LOL A full bottle feeding leads to a big stinky poop! Not sure how someone so small can poop that much! LOL After a clean diaper and snuggled on his tummy, baby boy was out!
Yesterday was the first day that his weight dropped a little, which is expected in a preemie, so we were anxious to see what his weight was tonight. Tammy started his 8pm vital checks and we were happy to see his weight was back up to 3lbs 6 oz :) Emerson started to become more alert through his vital check, and Tammy asked what type of feeding we would prefer. He reached a major milestone today, so we don't want to push him to much, so decided to stick to a gavage feeding. We stuck around a little bit more and chatted with Tammy. We had a great conversation about the Down syndrome diagnosis and special need children in general. I really love how personal our nurses are with us. Its been great getting to know them. They are so compassionate and I feel so lucky to have them mentoring us through this new stage of our lives!
Notes from MyPreemieApp:
September 18, 2013 – Today Emerson Robert Goulet is 1 week and 4 days old and weighs 3 lbs 6 ozs. The nurses taking care of Emerson Robert Goulet are Nikki and Tammy.
Something happened for the first time. Kangaroo Care: Mommy and Emerson had their first partly skin to skin <3
We made progress. First Full Bottle Feeding: Emerson took a full bottle feeding of 26cc!!!
Another big event. Visitor: Jill
Melissa is feeling Proud.
Melissa is looking forward to: More kangaroo care tomorrow. :)
Melissa is grateful for: I've said it before and will probably say it again, the special care nurses are AMAZING! Emerson is in great hands :)
We arrived at the hospital around 2:30 and Emerson was swaddled and fast asleep. Nikki, the daytime nurse, updated us that Emerson had gavage feedings all day because he hasn't been that alert. The drainage from his eye seemed to move to the left eye today. Nikki had Dr. Boxwalla take a look at it and he didn't think it was bacterial, but they were going to keep an eye on it.
We did notice that the temperature in his isolette was down today. Nikki said that it is almost at the temperature where the top of the isolette would come off and he would be in an open crib. There are other factors in that as well, like his vitals are consistently stable, and he is taking consistent bottle feedings. One thing at a time, right? :) We want everything to happen at his pace. And don't want him burning too many calories at once. All in due time.
Jill was in the area so stopped by for a visit shortly after we arrived. Even though Emerson was sleeping I think he might have gave her one little peek. He definitely showed her some of his dreaming facial expressions :) She told us the cutest story about how Makenna (her daughter) took a preemie onsie to school to share as one of three important things in her life. So sweet! Warmed my heart <3
I seemed to have developed what I thought might be an infection from my incision. The area above and below my incision was really itchy the last couple days, so in the shower I peeled off my steri strips. The area the strips were on was red, itchy, swollen, and some parts looked like a really bad sun burn. Everything I read said that if it the area is hot that its probably infected. I was so concerned so talked to Nikki about it. Labor and Delivery were swamped so I thought I might have to go to the ER to get it checked out. But when one of the nurses stopped in with a baby Nikki got her to take a look at it. She said my incision looked great and the area above looked like just a bad allergic reaction to probably the glue. Phew! She said just keep some cortisone on it and it should clear up. Thank you Nikki!
Emerson started waking up just before his 5pm feeding. Once Nikki came in to check his vitals, she said this was the most alert he had been all day! So we were definitely going to attempt a bottle feeding. She asked if I would like to feed or her, and I said her. I wanted to watch her to gain some pointers! He started off strong, taking 10cc right away! Than another 10cc! And before you know it he bottle fed 26cc!!! A full feeding!! Way to go little man!!!! I was so happy Grant and I were there to see this HUGE milestone at 33 weeks gestation! All three of us were so ecstatic!
After his feeding I asked Nikki if we could try skin to skin. I've been nervous to do skin to skin because Emerson's so small and Im just starting to get comfortable holding him and supporting his head. But I have read such great things about skin to skin for baby and mommy, so it was definitely time! She undressed him and helped position him on my chest and covered us with a blanket. I just had him on top of my tank top, but it was low enough where his upper body and head were on my skin. What an incredible moment. To hold him so close to me and just rub his back had me so emotional! My baby boy is here and he is OK! :) He was a little squirmish and squeaky as he adjusted to this new experience too. He kept lifting his head up so he could look at me. Literally melted my heart as our eyes met. There were a few times that he started to settle down and fall asleep, but it only lasted for a minute or so. His lips kept quivering too, and I thought he was cold. But later I found out that quivering lips is normal for a preemie. I was worried I was stimulating him to much so after 20 minutes Grant helped me put him back in his isolette. Tammy, the night nurse, talked about Kangaroo Care with me later in the night. How to position him, how my body heat will regulate his, what to wear, how long to hold him, benefits for Emerson and Me, etc. So looking forward to adding in this to our nightly ritual. :)
After we put Emerson back in his isolette he was pretty fussy. Grant and I both tried to settle him down, back rubs, pacifier, swaddled, unswaddled, but couldn't find anything that would work. Tammy came in and suggested we put him on his tummy because maybe its gas. Of course normally at home we wouldn't put him on his tummy to sleep, but since he is on monitors in the NICU, it would be okay for a little bit to help settle him down. When she opened up the isolette she said, Daddy couldn't you smell that?! LOL Of course, the one thing we didn't check this time was his diaper! How are we going to make it without our wonderful nurses?! LOL A full bottle feeding leads to a big stinky poop! Not sure how someone so small can poop that much! LOL After a clean diaper and snuggled on his tummy, baby boy was out!
Yesterday was the first day that his weight dropped a little, which is expected in a preemie, so we were anxious to see what his weight was tonight. Tammy started his 8pm vital checks and we were happy to see his weight was back up to 3lbs 6 oz :) Emerson started to become more alert through his vital check, and Tammy asked what type of feeding we would prefer. He reached a major milestone today, so we don't want to push him to much, so decided to stick to a gavage feeding. We stuck around a little bit more and chatted with Tammy. We had a great conversation about the Down syndrome diagnosis and special need children in general. I really love how personal our nurses are with us. Its been great getting to know them. They are so compassionate and I feel so lucky to have them mentoring us through this new stage of our lives!
Notes from MyPreemieApp:
September 18, 2013 – Today Emerson Robert Goulet is 1 week and 4 days old and weighs 3 lbs 6 ozs. The nurses taking care of Emerson Robert Goulet are Nikki and Tammy.
Something happened for the first time. Kangaroo Care: Mommy and Emerson had their first partly skin to skin <3
We made progress. First Full Bottle Feeding: Emerson took a full bottle feeding of 26cc!!!
Another big event. Visitor: Jill
Melissa is feeling Proud.
Melissa is looking forward to: More kangaroo care tomorrow. :)
Melissa is grateful for: I've said it before and will probably say it again, the special care nurses are AMAZING! Emerson is in great hands :)
Leave a comment
Please login with your Facebook account if you wish to leave a comment.