Yesterday, Adrian had a few more chokes for his girlfriend Marcy. Nothing too bad, I guess, but obviously the issue was not completely resolved. So once again, Marcy saved the day and got the nose, throat, ear, whoever-they-are people to come look at Adrian. They swaddled him and stuck a scope down his throat to see what was going on. Judy told me last night that he was a good sport and took it like a champ. Unfortunately, he's used to being poked and prodded by now. Anyway, they found two things, both of which are common and minor and can be addressed.
First, he has a mild case of laryngomalacia, which is essentially a weak epiglottis. Here is more information since I am not versed enough myself to try to explain it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laryngomalacia
They also found signs of reflux, which apparently often goes hand-in-hand with laryngomalacia.
So, what does this mean? Basicially, they are giving him Prilosec with his bottle to treat the reflux and feeding him very carefully. The laryngomalacia should resolve itself with time. And, we think he may be able to come home Monday if all goes well. He did a little choking this morning for Marcy, but he didn't drop his heart rate and his oxygen saturation levels were fine. So that kind of choking is not ideal, but also shouldn't keep him in the hospital. Carlos and I have to learn from the nurses how to pace him and feed him to minimize his discomfort and sputtering.
So, all-in-all, I feel good. They've examined everything surrounding the problem and we have all the info we need now. After our experience at Mt. Auburn the other day, I'm grateful that they were able to address these things in the NICU instead of making me cart both boys to Children's or wherever once they are home.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Visit from Tia Mimi and Great-Nana
This Sunday Tía Mimi and Nana Banana came to visit us. They were enthralled with Sebastian. Nana didn't want to put him down. I love that the boys have 4 grandparents AND a great-grandmother. They are very lucky boys!
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| Sebastian was captivated with his beautiful Auntie Mimi. |
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| I think Nana's getting antsy to hold him here... |
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| And finally... |
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| 4 generations. This is a keeper--one to enlarge and frame. |
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Adrian's swallow test
Well, Adrian did really well in his swallow test today!!! Marcy took him over to Children's this morning in his little carriage. According to Carlos, who spoke to Marcy after the test, he did well and didn't choke or aspirate at all! I'll get the scoop directly from Marcy when I go to the NICU later today, but this is great news!!!
Even with a good swallow study, he'll still be in the NICU for at least another few days. They want to continue to observe him as he feeds now that he can bottle and breast feed again. If he is still choking, I imagine he'll stay more time and perhaps even have to repeat the swallow study. But let's hope he's resolved his issue.
The funniest part of all of this is that Carlos said Marcy told him that this morning Adrian ripped out his feeding tube. So she put it back in and gavaged him. Then he ripped the tube out again as soon as he was done being fed. He was ready for the boob and the bottle again and seems to have made his wish known. Way to go, Adrian!
Even with a good swallow study, he'll still be in the NICU for at least another few days. They want to continue to observe him as he feeds now that he can bottle and breast feed again. If he is still choking, I imagine he'll stay more time and perhaps even have to repeat the swallow study. But let's hope he's resolved his issue.
The funniest part of all of this is that Carlos said Marcy told him that this morning Adrian ripped out his feeding tube. So she put it back in and gavaged him. Then he ripped the tube out again as soon as he was done being fed. He was ready for the boob and the bottle again and seems to have made his wish known. Way to go, Adrian!
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| He's the world's best snuggler!! |
Sebastian's visit to the NICU
Yesterday we had to take Sebastian to Mt. Auburn for some routine blood work. The pediatrician wanted to check his red blood cell counts and make sure that his bone marrow had started to produce them on its own. (The marrow hadn't yet kicked in before he was discharged from the NICU, which is why he had to have a blood transfusion last month.) Let me just say that Mt. Auburn is nice and all, but what a pain in the butt!!! We waited for 2 hours to have his blood drawn! We went to the registration desk and waited for 10 minutes. Then we registered and were escorted to the lab, which by the way, was filled with snot-nosed, sick people who were just eying my little bundle in his car seat. I hope he's escaped catching their nastiness. After waiting over a half hour with the sick people, we were taken into a room where we waited another 10 minutes. Finally, the blood was drawn. Carlos could hear Sebastian screaming out in the waiting room, although, I think he did pretty well considering. He only shrieked for a few minutes. Poor thing. Then we were told to come back in 15 minutes to make sure the blood hadn't coagulated and that they could use it for the blood test. Luckily, the sample turned out fine and we were able to leave, but it took an hour and 55 minutes to finish up. Sorry, but Mt. Auburn is like driving a beat up old car after you've been riding around for a year in a top-of-the-line, tricked out sports car. I adore the Brigham. Thank God we didn't transfer the boys to the Mt. Auburn NICU. I'm positive they would have gotten great care, but I would have missed the Brigham and their primary nurses too much.
After that ordeal, we had Sebastian out and about anyway, and he was content and happy in his car seat. So we figured we'd go to the Brigham NICU to visit Adrian. Sebastian can't go back into the NICU where Adrian is, but they have a nice waiting area and pumping rooms where I could go to feed and change Sebastian. I was afraid to go, but Carlos convinced me. I'm glad he did.
When we got there, Carlos went in to see Adrian first, so I waited outside with Sebastian. As luck would have it, Alex, the nurse from the 8th floor that was with me when I finally went down to the labor floor because I was in actual labor, was outside the NICU. I met her 2 daughters and she met the infamous "Baby 2" who gave her a hard time on the monitors. It was great to see her!
Then Judy came out to see Sebastian. She held him for a few minutes, and Sebastian seemed very happy to see her. It made me happy to see them together! Judy doesn't like having pictures taken of her, so I don't have a picture to post, but they were very cute.
After a few minutes, there was a pumping room available so I went to feed Sebastian. There was a knock on the door--it was Marcy!! We didn't know she was scheduled to work yesterday afternoon. So she came in to see Sebastian. And they were equally as cute to see. Sebastian was very happy to be held by both of his favorite nurses and to get a break from his mother who is so clueless and clumsy compared to them!
After about an hour, Carlos and I switched and I went in to see Adrian. He looked so big....turns out he's over 8 pounds now! Wow! He and I had a nice little talk about his swallowing and his maturity. I think he got the message that it's time for him to come home.
All in all, despite our first hospital experience of the day, it was a nice day. The trip to the Brigham was a success. I was glad we did it. Sebastian was a good sport and slept soundly on the way home and last night. I think he was tired from the day, which meant a nice night of sleep for us!
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| With his "I love hugs" outfit waiting to be pricked in the heel... |
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| Poor guy had no idea what was coming! |
After that ordeal, we had Sebastian out and about anyway, and he was content and happy in his car seat. So we figured we'd go to the Brigham NICU to visit Adrian. Sebastian can't go back into the NICU where Adrian is, but they have a nice waiting area and pumping rooms where I could go to feed and change Sebastian. I was afraid to go, but Carlos convinced me. I'm glad he did.
When we got there, Carlos went in to see Adrian first, so I waited outside with Sebastian. As luck would have it, Alex, the nurse from the 8th floor that was with me when I finally went down to the labor floor because I was in actual labor, was outside the NICU. I met her 2 daughters and she met the infamous "Baby 2" who gave her a hard time on the monitors. It was great to see her!
Then Judy came out to see Sebastian. She held him for a few minutes, and Sebastian seemed very happy to see her. It made me happy to see them together! Judy doesn't like having pictures taken of her, so I don't have a picture to post, but they were very cute.
After a few minutes, there was a pumping room available so I went to feed Sebastian. There was a knock on the door--it was Marcy!! We didn't know she was scheduled to work yesterday afternoon. So she came in to see Sebastian. And they were equally as cute to see. Sebastian was very happy to be held by both of his favorite nurses and to get a break from his mother who is so clueless and clumsy compared to them!
After about an hour, Carlos and I switched and I went in to see Adrian. He looked so big....turns out he's over 8 pounds now! Wow! He and I had a nice little talk about his swallowing and his maturity. I think he got the message that it's time for him to come home.
All in all, despite our first hospital experience of the day, it was a nice day. The trip to the Brigham was a success. I was glad we did it. Sebastian was a good sport and slept soundly on the way home and last night. I think he was tired from the day, which meant a nice night of sleep for us!
Corrected age/Due date
Yesterday was my due date: 1/16/12. It seems to funny to me now to think that I was supposed to have these boys NOW, and not in November. I don't even want to imagine how ginormous (and uncomfortable!) I would have been if I'd lasted this long. Yikes.
Now that my due date has passed, I have to deal with actual age vs. corrected age. The boys were born 11/25/11, which would make them about 2 months old now in terms of actual days they've been out of the womb. However, they were preemies playing catch-up for those 2 months, and they are just now acting like a newborn baby would (at least in theory). So if I take them out in public and someone asks how old they are, it's much easier to say they are a few days old than to say 2 months. Because they don't look or act like 2-month-olds yet. Unless I want to explain the whole bed rest/NICU story to a stranger, it's easier to use the corrected age. Supposedly preemies catch up to full-term babies in terms of development around a year old, so by their first birthday, I can probably just say they are a year old and not say 10 months. Such a weird concept to get used to! I need to read up a bit more about it.
Now that my due date has passed, I have to deal with actual age vs. corrected age. The boys were born 11/25/11, which would make them about 2 months old now in terms of actual days they've been out of the womb. However, they were preemies playing catch-up for those 2 months, and they are just now acting like a newborn baby would (at least in theory). So if I take them out in public and someone asks how old they are, it's much easier to say they are a few days old than to say 2 months. Because they don't look or act like 2-month-olds yet. Unless I want to explain the whole bed rest/NICU story to a stranger, it's easier to use the corrected age. Supposedly preemies catch up to full-term babies in terms of development around a year old, so by their first birthday, I can probably just say they are a year old and not say 10 months. Such a weird concept to get used to! I need to read up a bit more about it.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Four hours of screaming
Sebastian looks cute. He IS cute. He may even fool you into thinking he's a sweet little boy--I mean, look at his curl!
But make no mistake, he's got a temper and can scream louder than I ever thought possible for a 6 pound 3 ounce baby. Last night, we heard the whole range of his vocal ability. For four whole hours.
Carlos fed him 130ML...the most he's ever eaten in one sitting...at around 8pm. He took it greedily, as if he'd never eat again. He burped, farted, burped, and farted again, but apparently, some of that plentiful gas remained trapped in that little tummy of his. He fussed and fussed and fussed some more. I was convinced it was gas and Carlos thought he just was hungry and needed to eat more. It was Carlos's "turn" to take care of Sebastian so that I could sleep a little (yeah right), so I didn't want to step in too much and interfere. That would be shooting myself in the foot for many reasons. Besides, Carlos is usually perfectly capable. But last night, even his magical "sexy voice" wasn't enough to get rid of Sebastian's tummy troubles. He couldn't get stubborn Sebastian to burp.
Finally, around midnight, he burped and spit up a bit and then settled down. (Sebastian, that is. Not Carlos.) Thank God, after that burp, Sebastian was good for me the rest of the night. He must have exhausted himself crying so much!
Today, I ordered two Miracle swaddling blankets today from Amazon, just in case. I'm taking no chances now. I'm going to feed him, change him, burp him, swaddle him, and shush him like no body's business!
But make no mistake, he's got a temper and can scream louder than I ever thought possible for a 6 pound 3 ounce baby. Last night, we heard the whole range of his vocal ability. For four whole hours.
Carlos fed him 130ML...the most he's ever eaten in one sitting...at around 8pm. He took it greedily, as if he'd never eat again. He burped, farted, burped, and farted again, but apparently, some of that plentiful gas remained trapped in that little tummy of his. He fussed and fussed and fussed some more. I was convinced it was gas and Carlos thought he just was hungry and needed to eat more. It was Carlos's "turn" to take care of Sebastian so that I could sleep a little (yeah right), so I didn't want to step in too much and interfere. That would be shooting myself in the foot for many reasons. Besides, Carlos is usually perfectly capable. But last night, even his magical "sexy voice" wasn't enough to get rid of Sebastian's tummy troubles. He couldn't get stubborn Sebastian to burp.
Finally, around midnight, he burped and spit up a bit and then settled down. (Sebastian, that is. Not Carlos.) Thank God, after that burp, Sebastian was good for me the rest of the night. He must have exhausted himself crying so much!
Today, I ordered two Miracle swaddling blankets today from Amazon, just in case. I'm taking no chances now. I'm going to feed him, change him, burp him, swaddle him, and shush him like no body's business!
The many faces of Sebastian...
Poor Sebastian constantly has my iPhone in his face. Adrian will have his turn...
Sebastian is always making funny faces. They never cease to amuse me. Actually, that's a lie--I'm not amused by his crying face. But anyway, one day, I managed to catch the whole range of funny pouts, smiles, and grimaces that he makes on a regular basis.
Friday afternoon after work, Uncle Jim, AKA Uncle Jimbly, stopped by to visit Sebastian. He held my preemie baby like an old pro and fed him a bottle like he's been doing it all his life! He's definitely ready to babysit...anytime you want, Jim!
Sebastian is always making funny faces. They never cease to amuse me. Actually, that's a lie--I'm not amused by his crying face. But anyway, one day, I managed to catch the whole range of funny pouts, smiles, and grimaces that he makes on a regular basis.
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| The lip-smacking face. (Look at the chins!!!!! Oink Oink!) |
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| Pucker up!!! |
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| Here he goes....This face is my LEAST favorite! |
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| The "kick-back and relax" pose. |
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| The half-smile or "Kirk smirk" |
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| Advanced pose: combining two looks together |
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| Here comes a big smile!! |
Friday afternoon after work, Uncle Jim, AKA Uncle Jimbly, stopped by to visit Sebastian. He held my preemie baby like an old pro and fed him a bottle like he's been doing it all his life! He's definitely ready to babysit...anytime you want, Jim!
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| These two were fast friends. Sebastian stared at him pretty much the whole time. |
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Video of Adrian
We have made some friends in the NICU that are from Turkey. They had twins, too--a girl and a boy--and they were born on the same day as ours. We were always visiting at the same time, and they were right across from us in the NICU. They are lovely, and I'm glad we've struck up a friendship. It will be invaluable to have people that understand what we are going through! They also work at Harvard and live in Cambridge, so it will be convenient to see them!
Their daughter went home the same day as Sebastian, and their son went home yesterday. We weren't at the NICU, but they took some pictures and sent us a priceless video of Adrian.
Their daughter went home the same day as Sebastian, and their son went home yesterday. We weren't at the NICU, but they took some pictures and sent us a priceless video of Adrian.
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| Adrian in his "pram." |
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| With his girlfriend, Marcy.
The best part of the video is the last line by Marcy...you almost can't hear it. Listen hard. It sums up both of my boys and what they do best...
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Sunday, January 8, 2012
Monkeying around
Not much news to report except that Carlos and I are sleep deprived, but doing fine. I went to see Adrian today, and it made me sad. The nurse (not one of his regular nurses) said that he was fussy when he was hungry because he wants a bottle or a boob--not a feeding tube. Fingers crossed he's maturing as I write. I hope he'll be so glad to have a nipple of some kind in his mouth in a week and a half that he'll miraculously figure out how to coordinate his sucking, swallowing, and breathing.
In the meantime, here are some pictures.
During the day, I played dress up a little with Sebastian. I put on his monkey outfit from my cousin Nancy. However, the top had short sleeves, so I put on a little sweater from my downstairs neighbor. I wanted to take pictures of him wearing it to show her. He was not happy to be the object of my clumsy dressing skills.
My mom came for the day on Saturday to bring Lexi up to be groomed. Once the dog looked and smelled nice, we tried to introduce her (for the second time) to Sebastian. She was fine when she could approach and sniff him. But when we were changing him or he was somewhere she couldn't check him out, she howled or barked. In a way, this is good--she's already looking out for him?! But we can't have her barking every time he cries or is somewhere she can't stick her wet beard all up in his business.
On Saturday, my mom also went to the hospital with Carlos and held Adrian for the first time. Hard to believe this was her first time holding him after all this time!! We didn't have visitors at the hospital for a long time while the boys were learning how to breast feed and we only had a short time frame each day with them to do it.
In the meantime, here are some pictures.
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| Wish it weren't blurry. Taken with my iPhone. But I love the face... |
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| His pants are literally "in a bunch." Oops. |
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My mom came for the day on Saturday to bring Lexi up to be groomed. Once the dog looked and smelled nice, we tried to introduce her (for the second time) to Sebastian. She was fine when she could approach and sniff him. But when we were changing him or he was somewhere she couldn't check him out, she howled or barked. In a way, this is good--she's already looking out for him?! But we can't have her barking every time he cries or is somewhere she can't stick her wet beard all up in his business.
On Saturday, my mom also went to the hospital with Carlos and held Adrian for the first time. Hard to believe this was her first time holding him after all this time!! We didn't have visitors at the hospital for a long time while the boys were learning how to breast feed and we only had a short time frame each day with them to do it.
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| For some reason when I look at Adrian's hand, I imagine him trying to figure out how to stick up just his middle finger at the camera. Like he knows that he wants to do but doesn't have the motor skills to do it yet... |
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| And here he is in his Greek philosopher pose again. He seems to like posing like an Ancient Greek dude. |
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Bath time for Sebastian and an update on Adrian
We just gave Sebastian his second bath at home. This one went much better than the first. He hates it, though. But now he smells sweet and is sleeping soundly. Finally!
On another note, my poor Adrian will be at the NICU for another 2 weeks...They did the swallow study this afternoon, and it confirmed what we already know. He's aspirating when he eats, but they don't want to push him because there can be negative consequences when babies get particles of formula in their lungs. So they decided to gavage him (tube feed) exclusively for the next two weeks until he is full term and then do the test again. At that point, they will try him with normal formula again. If he doesn't aspirate, he can come home. If he aspirates normal formula, they will give him a thickened formula or nectar-like substance. If he doesn't aspirate that, he can go home eating that for a while. If he aspirates both, then he stays in the NICU longer and they repeat the test in another few weeks. I am hopeful that the two weeks until my due date will be enough for him to make improvements and mature. In the end, I'm grateful this has been the boys' only issue so far. It's typical of preemies and resolves itself with time--there are plenty of other issues that could have arisen that wouldn't be so easily resolved. So I have to keep the big picture in mind.
I know he's in good hands with Marcy and Judy and the other NICU nurses, so it's just rough on us to go to the hospital every day. Adrian is getting so much attention from his favorite nurses that I'm not sure if he's aspirating on purpose so that he can stay with them!?!?
I don't like the idea of being in limbo for another few weeks because I will adjust to having Sebastian home only to have to adjust all over again with another baby. But looking on the bright side, it may also be easier to ease into having 2 babies at home this way--one at a time!
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| Love the robe...I put him in it for the pictures, and to keep him warm while I brushed his hair. Funny enough, he loved having his hair brushed! Carlos kept saying, "Don't brush out his curl!" |
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| He's clean and bathed. Too bad I'm not. |
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| Snug like a bug in a rug after his bath. |
On another note, my poor Adrian will be at the NICU for another 2 weeks...They did the swallow study this afternoon, and it confirmed what we already know. He's aspirating when he eats, but they don't want to push him because there can be negative consequences when babies get particles of formula in their lungs. So they decided to gavage him (tube feed) exclusively for the next two weeks until he is full term and then do the test again. At that point, they will try him with normal formula again. If he doesn't aspirate, he can come home. If he aspirates normal formula, they will give him a thickened formula or nectar-like substance. If he doesn't aspirate that, he can go home eating that for a while. If he aspirates both, then he stays in the NICU longer and they repeat the test in another few weeks. I am hopeful that the two weeks until my due date will be enough for him to make improvements and mature. In the end, I'm grateful this has been the boys' only issue so far. It's typical of preemies and resolves itself with time--there are plenty of other issues that could have arisen that wouldn't be so easily resolved. So I have to keep the big picture in mind.
I know he's in good hands with Marcy and Judy and the other NICU nurses, so it's just rough on us to go to the hospital every day. Adrian is getting so much attention from his favorite nurses that I'm not sure if he's aspirating on purpose so that he can stay with them!?!?
I don't like the idea of being in limbo for another few weeks because I will adjust to having Sebastian home only to have to adjust all over again with another baby. But looking on the bright side, it may also be easier to ease into having 2 babies at home this way--one at a time!
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