July 14, 2008 morning

Stu and I had a good visit with Brandon last night. He didn't desat at all when we were there last night. He managed to untape one side of his diaper from kicking so much before we got to the hospital. I got to change his diaper, clean his eyes and mouth, and lift him to weigh him. He was 880 grams (1 pound 15 ounces) so he didn't lose any weight from the day before. We also got to put eucerin cream on Brandon. We put it on his legs, arms, stomach, and back. The cream helps with his dry skin. Stu lifted him when I changed his bedding. We bought our own receiving blankets for his isolette so his isolette is styling.

I called Sue before I went to sleep and she said that everything was still good. When I called her this morning she said that he had a really good night. No problems and his oxygen was at 26 which is still minimal. She also said he finally got one eye open. Hopefully he will have it open sometime today when I am there. I can't wait to see what he looks like with them open.

One thing that Sue said last night when we were talking to her is preemies are very susceptible in their first year of life to something called RSV. A common cold in a baby can turn into pneumonia in a preemie. So they suggest not going to the mall or school settings in the first year but especially from October- April. Sue suggested looking for someone to come into our house to babysit Brandon the first year after I go back to work. We are going to have to see if we can find someone.

July 13, 2008 afternoon

I called to talk to Mark around 11:30 and Dr. Alimony got on the phone. He said that Brandon had a few desats so they changed the settings on the ventilator to give him more oxygen. When I talked to Mark, his nurse, he said that the desats happened after they were messing with him. He had a chest x-ray as well as an ultrasound from the cardiologist. It seems that Brandon does not like to be messed with and has desats when he is. When I called Mark at 1:30 he said that Brandon had been fine after he settled and Mark had turned down the oxygen level. Dr. Alimony said he would not get feedings today but he said they are hopeful to try tomorrow. I feel like we have been hearing that everyday for the last 3 or 4 days. Hopefully soon they really can start to feed him.

We were at the hospital this afternoon from 2:45-4:45. Brandon was fine most of the time we were there. The only time his numbers got wacky were when Mark flipped him over, took his temperature, and changed his diaper. Mark had to turn up the oxygen for that. Mark assured us that any baby would get angry at getting these things done. We talked to Dr. Alimony as well when we were at the hospital. He seemed pretty hopeful about trying to feed Brandon tomorrow. He will be fed milk into a feeding tube that will go down Brandon's mouth and into his stomach when he does get fed. Brandon is on an antibiotic but it seems to be more preventative. He will probably wind up being off of it tomorrow.

July 13, 2008 morning

I know I have said it in earlier posts but I want to say it again. Thank you to all of you who have been emailing us, calling us, and posting comments. It really means so much to us.

I talked to Sue this morning. Overall Brandon had a good night. At about 4:00 this morning they put his levels down on the ventilator and then Sue was suctioning Brandon which he did not like so he had a few desats. They wound up having to put the rate back up to 40. I am going to ask later but I think the 40 means how much it breathes for him. I think he is doing a little breathing on his own. She said the oxygen level was down to 23...room air is 21 so he is not requiring a high level of oxygen. I am going to call Mark, his day nurse, around 11:30 to see how he is doing and to see if they are going to try to feed him today.

My aunt and uncle are coming to visit today so we are going to take them to see Brandon this afternoon sometime and then we will go back tonight for a little while so that we can do the night time routines with Brandon.

Great Night Visit

Stu and I were with Brandon tonight from 7:45-9:45. We had a great visit with him tonight. I wasn't sure if we would be able to help with taking his temperature, weighing him, and changing his diaper since he is on the ventilator but we were able to do all of the things we did before. He was doing so well that Sue, his nurse again tonight, let us take a bunch of pictures with different things (Brandon's stuffed dog that we bought him, Stu's fire patch, Stu's wedding band around his foot) and let us leave the top of his isolette up for awhile. Brandon's oxygen level on the ventilator has been lowered twice since he went on so he is actually breathing a little on his own. The oxygen level is set at 24, room air is 21. So he is on very minimal oxygen. Sue believes he will only be on for a short time since they are still giving him caffeine. She said when they plan on leaving them on for awhile they stop the caffeine. Sue said she is happy to see him on the ventilator for a little while to give him a break. It seems like Brandon will probably get some milk tomorrow. The doctors will decide for sure on their rounds tomorrow and Sue said if they do decide that it is okay he will get his first feeding at 12:00. Brandon gained weight again tonight. He was 870 grams which is 1 pound, 15 ounces so he is an ounce more than when he was born.

July 12, 2008 afternoon

Dr. Alimony called around 11:30 this morning to tell me that Brandon had been put on a ventilator. He was having too many desats so they wanted to give him a chance to rest. We knew there was a good chance of him going back on the ventilator but it was still upsetting to hear. We went to the hospital a little after the call to see Brandon. Mark, his nurse, reassured us that he is doing well and that we knew there was a chance of him going back on. He said it is great that he made it a week without going back on. He said this will give him a chance to grow and hopefully start eating. As long as he remains stable he will probably start eating tomorrow. Mark also told us that Brandon is on the lowest level of oxygen. So I felt better hearing that. Hopefully this little guy of ours will continue to be a fighter.

July 12, 2008 Morning

When I called the hospital last night Sue said Brandon was going well. She was going to weigh him again at some point during the night since he had such a big weight gain to confirm that it was correct. She said she was going to put him on another scale and see if it said the same thing as the isolette scale. When I called this morning she said that it was the same so he nows weighs 820 grams which she says is almost his birth weight. She said that Brandon had a few desats during the night but pulled himself back up. She said it is just what Brandon does. The doctors make their rounds every day from 9:30-11:30 am so if Stu and I don't get to the hospital around lunch time I will call to see how he was. Stu and I are hoping they can start trying to feed him today.

July 11, 2008 night

Stu and I were at the hospital from 7:30 tonight until 9:30. Brandon had a pretty good night. Sue, the nurse from last night, was there again. It was nice to finally meet her. I love her. She talked to us a lot and really helped to put me at ease. Stu took Brandon's temperature and lifted him to weigh him. Sue actually had Stu weigh him twice since it was such a big gain. But both times it had him weighing 820 ounces. I got to lift Brandon when Stu and Sue put the blankets that Stu and I bought on Brandon's mattress and make a nest out of the blankets. I also got to put a new diaper on Brandon. Brandon's levels were pretty good. It took a little while for them to settle after he was weighed, changed, etc. but they finally did. The best thing is when we were there radiology called to say that Brandon's brain scan came out normal. So one less thing to worry about. I am going to call Sue in a few minutes to see how Brandon is and then I am going to go to sleep.