Monday, August 31, 2009

Hey Guys,

Still good news here in Nashville, Parker is doing so good. He has gained 20 more grams, he's still 1lb. 10 oz. but he's at the higher end of that. He is tolerating his feeding better and digesting them more. Yesterday Landon and I learned infant massage, and Landon gave Parker his first one. He seemed to really enjoy it. I got to hold him again yesterday, it's so wonderful, but those 20 minutes seem to go by so fast and before I know it the nurse peeks in and says, OK it's time to put him back. But I know they are doing what is best for him, I could just hold him all day and never want to put him back :) After the morning visiting Landon and I went to Centennial Park, it's right next door to our apt. It is so beautiful, I really still didn't feel up to walking that much, but Landon insisted, he's about to go crazy in this apartment. About 5 times a day, he will say, so is this what people in apartments do? I just couldn't live in an apartment, I'd go crazy lol. It's so funny, I've lived in several apartments before so it's nothing new to me. So we walked all around the park, there is a huge pond in the middle of it and people were fishing, riding bikes, walking, running, taking pictures, you name it. They had this flower garden we went to and it smelled so good and was so pretty. By this time I had forgotten how I didn't want to walk and was really enjoying being outside, and just spending some time with Landon. After the park, we went to Nashville's version of the Parthenon and took a tour. It was very interesting. After that we went back for the afternoon visiting in the nicu and I got to hold then. When we left there we had big plans to come to the apt and cook dinner, but instead opted for pizza and just picked it up, I have not cooked in over a month, and it's so strange, b/c I'm use to cooking every night. I actually miss it. After that Landon and the nurse I spoke with talked me into instead of going back at 8pm for visiting to just stay in tonight and rest. I did not want to but did agree to it. It was hard and a handful of times last night started to just go to the nicu and peek on him a min. But I called and Rachel assured me she was taking good care of him and for me to go to sleep. So we watched tv and then went on to bed. It was nice to get some rest even if I did miss him like crazy. Well this morning I have another appt with the Dr. then we will be back at the nicu. I spoke with the nurse this morning and things were going very well. We are so thankful for all this progress he is making. We just can't wait to take him home. I will update again soon. Thanks to everyone who continues to pray, keep it up!! We need it still.
Bye Everyone!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

I'm behind on the blogging, but the past 2 days have been wonderful. Yesterday we went late, around 11pm while it was quiet so we could kangaroo. It as amazing, I love holding that sweet baby. Today he had a wonderful day, we got to help April give him a soap bath, he hated it as usual :) But we loved every minute of it. They gave Landon some information on infant massage, they like for the moms to do the holding and the dad's to do infant massage, it's all about baby and parent bonding. So tomorrow Landon will be giving little Parker his first infant massage, it's suppose to help with all kinds of things. We are about to leave to go back to the nicu now and I might get to hold him again. He digested all of his food today, so maybe his digestive system is getting use to all the changes. Everyone keep praying, we just can't wait to take that little boy home. He still has a long way to go, but he is doing great. Thanks everyone for all of your support, it is much needed and appreciated. Goodnight!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Nothing really new today, but that is a good thing, Parker gained a little weight, only 20 grams, but that's something! He is still having a little trouble digesting his food, but it is getting better. As far as everything else going on he is doing really well so far. We had a real good, and very much appreciated visit from Anthony Potts today, he is the pastor at First Baptist Church St. Joseph, TN, Landon and I had started going there some. It's a great place, and having Anthony there today really meant alot to us. We visited some, and then he prayed with us at Parker's bedside. We got to hold him again tonight, well I say we, but that really means me :) It was actually Landon's turn, but when she asked if we wanted to hold him apparently I had a sad look on my face b/c I knew it was his turn, so Landon told me to go ahead and hold him. Having that sweet boy in my arms is the best feeling in the whole world. He just looks up at you so sweet. And he's just so fragile, and innocent, and he is completely reliant on others for care. It's just so amazing that he is "ours" and that in a couple of months we get to actually take him home and keep him, I just get butterflies thinking about it. I just can't wait....Well sorry the blogs have been short here lately, but not much to say, but no news is good news!! Thanks everyone for the continued prayers, don't stop now!!!
Goodnight
Crystal
Hey Guys,
Just a real quick update this morning, I didn't update last night b/c after I took a shower, I was so sleepy I couldn't hold my eyes open, I asked Landon to do it, but he said he wasn't a "blogger", so as you see I am doing it this morning :) Anyway, Parker had another good day yesterday, the only problem he had was he wasn't digesting his breast milk very well yesterday. The nurses think this is the result of so many changes to his milk yesterday. They added that fortifier which is basically calories to it, then yesterday they increased the amount per feeding and added a multi-vitamin, they also put caffeine in it once a day to keep his heart rate up, so he had quite a bit left over in his tummy yesterday after each feeding, but this morning when I called that had gotten a little better. So keep praying for good digestion of his milk. That breast milk is medicine to him and he needs it sooooo much. Other than that, they say he is doing great, just needs to grow. Thanks for all they prayers, and I will update more tonight. Oh yeah, he got his first "soap" bath yesterday too. And he got so mad, he started crying out, it was the first time we got to hear an actual good cry from him, while it still sounds so tiny almost like a little kitten, it was wonderful to hear it.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Holding my sweet boy!

Hey Everyone,
Today has been absolutely wonderful, we walked into the nicu this morning to our baby on room air...no oxygen!! He had kind of a busy morning, they did another head ultrasound and we should know the results of that sometime tomorrow. We stayed most of the morning until they closed for lunch at 12:30. April his nurse told us to be back at 1:30 ready to do kangaroo care(this is a way of holding a baby this small and has many benefits, I'll explain at the end)anyway, needless to say we were there with bells on! Holding that sweet angel was the most wonderful experience of my entire life, I just cried and cried and cried. They put him down inside my shirt, he just fit right in there, he's so tiny. While holding him, he would make these sweet little noises that sounded like squeeks, his oxygen went up and his heart rate too, he didn't have any dips in his heart rate, so maybe he was enjoying it as much as I was. They put a little crocheted hat on him to keep his head warm, and we just sat there rocking and snuggling for 20 min. The best 20 minutes of my life!! I never knew I could love someone so much. It's like this feeling of infinite love, and then every time I see him, I just love him more. We get to do kangaroo care once a day for 20 minutes as long as he is stable. If all goes well tomorrow then maybe Landon will get to hold him. Secretly I think he was a little jealous during all of mine and Parker's snuggle time :) He kept getting in our faces while we were trying to love lol, but it was so precious! Landon is going to be the best daddy. He just wants to help do everything, he's so good. Tonight when we went back, they had weighed him and he is now 1pound 10ounces, they started adding fortifier to his breast milk, it's just extra calories. The Dr. said he was doing so good, and now we just needed to "pork" him up, so she added that today. I have an appt with my hematologist in the morning again, maybe we will make this one without any excitement or er trips. Well we are off to bed, Goodnight Everyone!!

Here is some info on kangaroo care:

The Benefits of Kangaroo Care

Kangaroo Care has been studied in depth since 1983 when neonatologists Edgar Rey and Hector Martinez first implemented it in Bogota, Columbia. Kangaroo Care consists of placing a diaper clad premature baby in an upright position on a parent's bare chest - tummy to tummy, in between the breasts. The baby's head is turned so that the ear is above the parent's heart. Due to lack of power and reliable equipment, Kangaroo Care was found to be an inexpensive and very beneficial experience to babies in Bogota. The mortality rate fell from 70 % to 30 %.

Most studies have proven that Kangaroo Care has a major, positive impact on babies and their parents; some studies have proven there is no change; but no study has proven that Kangaroo Care has hurt either parent or baby. In this article, my goal is to inform parents, nurses, and doctors on the benefits of Kangaroo Care. I have selected one study or article in each group that best sums up all the studies done to date. If anyone wants a complete copy of all Kangaroo Care research, please feel free to E-mail me at krisanne@ris.net.

Sleep Time/Colic

Researchers have come a long way in determining the major cause of colic. The common conclusion in 1999 is that colic is caused by a baby's (whether premature or full term) inability to transition from one sleep state to another - like from an alert state into a sleep state and back again. The gas associated from colic is caused by the excess of crying during these transitions. Kangaroo Care performed in a quiet, low light environment with ANY baby has been proven to reduce crying and help the baby learn to transition from one sleep state to another. A study done by Patricia Messmer, et al (Pediatric Nursing,23 (4): 408-414) in 1997 found a significant increase in sleep time for the neonates during Kangaroo Care. I want to impress upon all that Kangaroo Care works just as well with full term infants as it does with premature infants.

Apnea, Brady, O2 Saturation, Respiration and Heart Rate

The newest studies that are being done in Sweden and other countries concentrate on full term babies in respiratory distress. They take these babies, who would normally be put on respirators, and place them on the mom's chest immediately after birth in the Kangaroo Care position. Babies stayed on mom until the respiratory distress was gone - within 48 hours for most babies. Oxygen hoods and canulas were used if needed. In preterm babies, the effects of Kangaroo Care on these functions is just as dramatic. In 1998, Susan Ludington (Acta Paediatrica,87 (6): 711-713 ) found a four-fold decrease in apnea during Kangaroo Care and mechanically ventilated babies were able to tolerate transfer and position changes without increased oxygen requirements. In 1997, GM Cleary, et al (J. American Osteopathic Assoc., 97 (8): 457-460) concluded there was no increase in bradycardia episodes during Kangaroo Care. In 1998, Gay Gale and Kathleen Vandenburg (Neonatal Network, 17 (5): 1-3) concluded that the heart rate was more regular for Kangarooed infants. All-in-all, the baby fared much better when placed in Kangaroo Care. With my own ventilated preemie (1 pound 12 ounces at birth) I noticed a 50% reduction in oxygen requirements, no apneas or bradys, more stable heart rate, and more spontaneous respiration when I held her skin-to-skin.

Body Tempature and Lactation

I believe this is truly the most amazing benefit of Kangaroo Care. In 1990, Susan Ludington (Heart and Lung, 19 (5): 445-451) concluded that mothers showed thermal synchrony with their babies. A recent study placed babies in Kangaroo Care position on the mother's chest and temperatures were taken periodically of both the mother's chest and the baby. The study concluded that when the baby got cold, the mother's body temperature would increase to 'warm' the baby up. The reverse was also true. Given a suggestion of "Your baby looks warm to me" by a nurse, the mother's chest temperature would decrease within minutes to compensate. Extra blankets and monitoring of baby's temperature might be needed when Dad or others practice Kangaroo Care, but in 1997, Karl Bauer, et al (Journal of Pediatrics, 130 (2): 240-244) concluded that one hour of skin-to-skin contact (Kangaroo Care) was no cold stress to preterm infants.

In 1998, Papi A Gomez, et al (An Esp Pediatr 1998 Jun;48 (6): 631-633 - Spanish) found infants in Kangaroo Care for > 50 minutes were 8 times more likely to breast feed spontaneously. Kangaroo Care allows for easy access to the breast, and the skin-to-skin contact increases milk let-down. A receiving blanket, strategically placed to catch extra milk is extremely helpful - especially if the baby is unable to breast feed.

Weight Gain/ Shorter Hospital Stay

Holly Richardson (Why Does it Work? International Midwife Winter. 1997.) concluded that more rapid weight gain was observed in Kangarooed infants. The NICU is a busy, noisy place. Kangaroo Care allows the baby to fall into a deep sleep, there by conserving their energy for far more important things. Left alone on a warming table, a baby cries more and sleeps less.

This increased weight gain also leads to shorter hospital stays. N Charpak, et al (Pediatrics, vol. 100 #4: Oct 1997, pg 682-689) showed a shorter hospital stay in the Kangaroo Care group; primarily in infants -/<1800 grams. Kangarooed infants can have as much as a 50% shorter hospital stay than babies who aren't Kangarooed. This in turn means less expense for the hospitals and/or parents.

Conclusion

In 1998, Gay Gale and Kathleen Vandenburg (Neonatal Network, 12 (6): 49-57) found an increased intimacy and attachment between baby and parent. Kangaroo Care was found to help a parent feel connected. Eye contact led to an experience of "knowing" infant.

I wish that every doctor and nurse in this country could experience Kangaroo Care themselves. As a Mom who was able to Kangaroo her little 1 1/2 pound miracle for two hours every day, I have few words to describe my experience so that others can truly understand. You can liken it to a full term delivery where the baby is immediately placed on mom's chest, kicking and screaming, then quieting to look into mom and dad's face with wonder. Holding that tiny body next to mine, feeling her little hand clutch my collar bone, feeling her drift off to sleep in my arms.... truly the most amazing experience of my life. I hope that soon, VERY soon, all parents of premature infants will be able to experience the same.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Trip to the ER

Today has been another eventful, but wonderful day. We started off today with an appointment with my hematologist. We got and made our morning phone call to the nicu to check on how Parker did throughout the night. They said he had a real good night, so we started getting ready for the appt. I put on my pants and walked to the bathroom to pull my hair up, about a second later I started feeling something very hot in my pants...I was standing in front of the mirror and I just pulled the top of my pants down a little and there was blood everywhere, not only was it everywhere but I could see it still steadily trickling out from my incision. So needless to say we didn't make our appt instead we ended up in the emergency room this morning. Apparently when putting on my pants I pulled something and tore my incision open some. It was just a tiny tear but with me being on blood thinner it gave the impression of a huge tear and about scared me to death. All I could think is "No No No I do not have time for this, I have a baby in the nicu!!" But the er doc said it was ok once the bleeding stopped and he sent us on our way and told me I have been doing too much and I needed to take it easy. Easy for him to say is what I thought. Anyway, I have tried to rest more today, only I was having withdrawls b/c it was 2pm before I got to finally see my sweet boy today. Landon's mother, dad, and grandmother Dean came to visit today and we had a good visit with them. But as far as Parker is concerned he had another great day, they have turned his high flow nasal cannula down from 5 liters to 4 liters, and his oxygen when we left tonight was down to 24% (and remember we breathe 21% room air) so that's not much. Tonight was so sweet with him, we didn't have any visitors tonight so Landon and I got a little alone time with him, he was resting so peacefully and every so often he would open his eyes, I had my hand on his head in what they call a containment hold(we have certain ways we can touch him so not to stimulate him too much b/c preemies just can't handle it yet) and I would just talk to him real soft and he was just looking at me so precious and he would just smile. It made my heart just melt. I could just sit and look at him all day and all night. He is just so beautiful. Anyway, just a quick update tonight. I am absolutely exhausted tonight. But I am so very thankful for the progress Parker has made. God is good! I have a sweet baby that is doing well, and the most wonderful husband anyone could ask for, he takes care of me! Please continue to keep us in your prayers. And thank you to all have been praying we appreciate it so much.
Goodnight
Crystal :)

Parker is 1 week old today!!!!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Off the vent!!

Thank you everyone for all of the prayers and prayers, I would not be on here giving you good news like I have without all of those wonderful prayers everyone is sending up for our sweet boy. Today, they did some more blood gases and told us they were great so they were gonna take him off the vent around 1:30. This is the most scared I have been since we have been here, I have just cried all day. He just seems so tiny to be breathing on his own. And my biggest fear, was they take him off and he doesn't breathe, ugh, it's so hard. I know I'm a nurse but when it has came to this little guy I have caught a big case of stupid. It's like I don't know anything anymore, I just panic about everything, maybe it will get better. Since they have taken him off he has been doing great, at this last visit he was on 27% oxygen(we breathe 21% so this isn't much)and is on 5 liters per minute on what they call a high flow nasal cannula, it basically pushes air into his nose, and he can choose to breathe it in or not, so the breathing now is strictly up to him. He is doing great so far, the nurses say that in these preemies that their nervous system is not yet developed so sometimes they "forget" to breathe and their heart rate drops some, when this happens we or the nurse has to touch him or poke him a little bit to stimulate him and remind him to breathe, then all is well again, so we have been doing that today. They say this will keep getting better with time, until he doesn't do it anymore. Before I left tonight I left him strict instructions to breathe breathe breathe and to NOT forget :) I told him if he never listens to another things I tell him to do, it's especially important that he do this. Maybe he will listen! I have an appointment in the morning with my hematologist then we will go back to the nicu. Please continue to pray for our sweet baby. And we appreciate all our friends and family that are giving us so much love and encouragement. Goodnight Everyone!!

Oh and tomorrow is a milestone, Parker will be 1 week old!!!