Losing Patience

After staying with Lucas the past few nights, I'm starting to lose my patience. I want to bring him home now. I love the NICU and the staff that have cared so well for him the past seven weeks...but now I want to take care of him here at home like normal parents get to.

But I have to be patient. Luke did not do well with feeding last night and today. When we left him this afternoon, he was drinking only a third of his bottle and his oxygen saturation was inconsistent. He was probably tired since they had increased his bottle feedings to every meal (46cc's (1-1/2oz) every 3 hours), but it's frustrating. I want the little guy to do well, but then he loses interest after 10 minutes and stops eating. I don't know if something's wrong with him, if he's tired, bored, or lazy...there's about a thousand thoughts running through my mind when he doesn't do well. I hope that I'm not coming across as being selfish, I don't intend to be, but perhaps I am a little bit. I just want life to be normal again (as normal as it can be for a family with a 5-year old and a newborn).

Please pray that Lukes stamina increases so he can drink all of his milk and hold his oxygen steady. Please pray this so that he can come home to our family soon. But ultimately, please pray that he stays healthy - even if has to stay in the NICU for a long time - I can wait.

I love you Lucas,
Colin

Any Day Now

The anticipation is starting to build now...Lucas could come home any day now! Pretty much all he has to do is take a full bottle at every feeding - only he doesn't always take them very well. I can't stand the wait!




Last night went well...he ate well and was a poop factory. It was pretty disgusting. I slept decently except for the monitors going off all of the time...beep...beep...beep. Whenever Lucas's went off, I'd have to get up to see what was going on because his monitor screen was pointing out to the door. Wendy and I are both sleeping over tonight which should be fun...now we can start negotiating over who will get the next feeding and who gets to sleep.

His weight is now up to 5lbs 6oz, but he's still struggling with his oxygen and as stated above - his feedings. Please pray that his bottle feedings and oxygen saturation improve. Thanks again for your blessings and prayers - they mean very much to us.

Cheers,
Colin

Overnight

I'm typing this post from Luke's hospital room tonight - yep, it's my turn to spend the night with him. I'm really grateful that we have this awesome children's hospital so close to home. What's even better, it's the only hospital in California that features private rooms. These private rooms allow parents to stay with their preemie overnight - something that must be invaluable for new parents. Imagine you've never had a kid - and then you have a preemie with a bunch of special care - I imagine it can be pretty intimidating. So it's pretty cool that parents can get used to the care (and late night feedings) with the assistance of nurses.

Luke had a pretty good day today, he's up to 5lbs 4 oz, but he still needs to poop. He also got a bath today. Finally, Luke had a hearing test today, which he passed!Don't ask me how you do a hearing test on a preemie(we couldn't even do one on Jake at his last appointment.


See you in the morning!

Cheers,
Colin

Big Brother

I got lucky today...Wendy and Jake stayed late today so we got to be together. The best part was that Jake asked to hold Luke for the first time. We've asked him a few times, but he's always said no. Jake is going to be a good big brother - he looked so big holding Luke in his arms. It was great.



Luke hit a big milestone today...the big chunk hit 5lbs 2oz! That means he's pretty much good to go home as soon as he gets his feedings down. He needs to drink a full 2-ounce (60-cc) bottle at every feeding...currently he's drinking from a bottle every other feeding (and he's usually only getting about 80% down). He's actually doing pretty good for a 34 weeker, the nurses said they typically start bottle feeding preemies at 33-34 weeks so he's still ahead of the game.

Please pray that Luke's feedings continue to improve and that he remembers to poop.

Cheers,
Colin

Full Bottle

Luke did awesome today...he drank a whole bottle for both Wendy and I. It was awesome. It seems kind of funny that I think this is so amazing...it's just a bottle feeding, every baby does it.

Wendy had a good first night with Luke...I guess he sleeps really well and makes a lot of cute noises.

Luke didn't gain any weight last night, but it's probably due to the extra calories he's burning while bottle feeding. His breathing was also much better, but he remains on the oxygen.

Sorry for the brief report...i'm falling asleep.

Good night,
Colin

Endeavor

Today was one of those days we've been waiting for...Luke moved into the new Endeavor wing in the NICU. Endeavor consists of brand new private rooms where the parents can room in with the baby. It's the last step before going home! Granted, there's quite a few more milestones he needs to reach before coming home. There's a slight chance he can come home by Christmas, but we don't want to set our hopes to high - he'll come home when he's ready.


So Wendy's spending the night with Luke tonight. It's interesting to see her mothering instincts kick into high gear now that she can stay with Luke overnight. She's an awesome mom. Due to work, I'll only be able to stay on weekend nights - I'm jealous.

As for Lucas, they had to put him back on the oxygen today - he was just swinging too much. We weren't surprised since it seemed like they backed off the oxygen kind of quickly. He's also only drinking about half of his bottle during the feedings, but he'll do better. One things for sure, we are learning a lot about patience!

Thanks again for your prayers!

Cheers,
Colin

On His Own

Well, as of now, Luke is officially doing everything on his own now. The nurse turned his oxygen off this afternoon and so far he's doing OK. He's still swinging (oxygen saturation is either too high or too low), but it's not too bad. We're a little worried that they're making him work too hard too so, but he should do fine. If he gets bad, they'll just turn the oxygen back on - no big deal.

So now he's breathing, eating (more or less), and pooping on his own. Not bad for 33 weeks! His weight is also up to 4lbs 11oz....I can't believe he's almost 5 pounds!

As for the family, we're hanging in there...but I think we're all a bit exhausted. The daily trips back and forth to the hospital are tiring, but I love spending time with him. He helps me forget about all of my worries...

Please pray that the little guy (and us) stays healthy and that he breathes well on his own. Thanks again for your prayers and encouragement!

Cheers,
Colin