Big Boy

Tucker is really starting to act like a big boy. He is now up to 4 lbs 14.4 oz. He had to get another blood transfusion today because he is growing faster than his little body can keep up with producing blood.  He is now waking up hungry and wanting to eat for his feedings during the day.  He took 3 whole feedings by bottle today. The nurse told us tonight that once he can take all of his feedings by bottle for a 48 hour period we will talk about going home. It seems as if that day is getting closer and closer.

Bottle Feeding

Last night we attempted bottle feeding. Our favorite nurse, Kayla, showed us how to feed him first. He was sucking away and then she noticed that the nipple was flat, it was not working right. She took the bottle away and changed the nipple but he wouldn't have much to do with it after that. He seems to be grasping the concept and will get better at it with more practice.

4 Weeks Old

Happy 4 Week Old Birthday Tucker

It doesn't seem like it has been 4 weeks since Tucker joined us and made us a family of 3. We are so thankful for our little blessing.

It seems as if we are now out of the preemie slump, YEAH! Last night they took him off the oxygen again and he seems to be doing very well without it. Yesterday they started to introduce bottle feeding. He wasn't very interested the first feeding but he did take 10 cc's (about 1/4 of his feeding) at his feeding this morning for his nurse. Mommy and Daddy are going to get to try bottle feeding with him tonight. He hasn't been spitting up as much since being put on the Zantac but is still having tummy issues. The doctor decided to change up his formula to see if that will help.  As of his 12:00 feeding he is on half sensitive and half soy. He is still growing, he is up to 4 lbs 7 oz now. It seems as if going home won't be too far in the future.

 

 

 

Preemie Slump

Last week we reached a point called the preemie slump. Tucker had been doing great but then that started to change. On Thursday night his breathing started getting very fast and his tummy seemed to be bothering him a lot. Late that night Dr. Sparks made the call to put him back on oxygen. They did blood work and some x-rays of his tummy and everything came back looking good. Dr. Sparks decided to put him on Zantac because his tummy seems to be bothering him and he drops his oxygen level mostly when he is eating and it seems that he is refluxing. Dr. Sparks spoke with us on Friday night and said that he is acting like a typical preemie and said it is normal for this to be happening because he still needs to grow more and learn to do everything he is supposed to be doing. He said that even though this is typical he knows how hard it is on mom and dad for this to be happening because he had been doing so well. Mom and Dad have been having a very hard time with dealing with this preemie slump. Since being put on the Zantac he is not spitting up as much and it seems that his tummy isn't bothering him as much. He is still having some spells with his breathing and heart rate dropping but not as much as before.

Tucker is now up to 4 lbs 4.9 oz and 17 inches.

3 Weeks Old

Happy 3 Week Old Birthday Tucker

We celebrated his 3 week old birthday with being able to wear clothes for the first time. 

He is doing very well holding his own temperature since being taken off the warmer.

Thank you Mimi for my 3 week old birthday outfit.



1 Ounce To Go!

One of our favorite nurses, Kayla, weighed him tonight while we were there so that we could see what he had gained today.
He is up to 3 lbs 15 oz....only 1 oz to go until we are at 4 lbs. Kayla said she will probably put him in clothes tonight if the doctor gives the okay. Our little guy might be in clothes when I go see him tomorrow, YEAH!

Do you see his smile? He was smiling at mommy lots this afternoon when I went for his feeding.

19 Days Old

I am 19 days old today. Here are some updates on me.......

• I now weigh 3 lbs 13.6 oz
• I have grown a 1/4 an inch in length, up to 16 1/2 inches
• I am up to 38 cc's on my feedings
• I am still having some trouble remembering to breathe sometimes, especially when I am eating. Please be praying for me that I'll remember to breathe because until I can do that I won't be able to bottle feed and that is the last step we must accomplish before we get to go home along with keeping my oxygen and heart rate up.



Just a few quick updates on Tucker......

• He is 17 days old.
• He is up to 37 cc's on his feedings. His final goal is to reach 40 cc's.
• They are switching his formula from sensitive to normal and so far it is a 50/50 mix and he is doing very well with it.
• He is up to 3 lbs 11.7 oz. It looks like we'll start getting to wear clothes this week when we reach 4 lbs, yeah!

2 Weeks

Yesterday Tucker turned two weeks old.

Here are some updates on him......

• He now weighs 3 lbs 8.7 oz, growing more every day.
• Once he reaches 4 lbs he'll be able to wear clothes and see if he can maintain his own temperature.
• He is up to 35 cc's for his feedings (30 cc's = 1 oz).
• His cord fell off and hopefully in the near future when it is his bath day he'll get a big boy bath in a tub.

Daddy Time

Tucker loves when Daddy comes in the evening to spend time with him. He was wide eyed the whole time that Daddy was holding him last night.

Tuckers Nursery

When my mom was here after Tucker was born she helped, well pretty much did all of the preparation, to get his room ready for when he comes home. Here are a few of the pictures of his nursery.

Monday Measurements

Every Monday they measure the babies in the NICU to see how much that they have grown. Here are the measurements from the first Monday and today.

Head 10 5/8 in to 11 1/4 in
Chest 9 5/8 in to 9 6/8 in
Belly 10 1/4 in to 11 1/4 in
Length 15 1/2 in to 16 1/8 in

And the weight....we are up from yesterday to 3 lbs 6.6 oz. He gained 1.5 oz today!

Happy Easter

Happy First Easter Tucker

For his First Easter Tucker gained more weight....he is up to 3 lbs 5.1 oz!

Mimi

On Day 9 my Mimi finally got to hold me when I was being fed. 

I was very comfortable all wrapped up in the blanket that she made for me.

Can you see the difference?

Look closely at the first and second pictures....can you see the difference?



Picture 1

Picture 2

Did you figure it out?

No more nasal canual which means he is no longer on any oxygen. They took him off at 3:00 today and he seems to be doing just fine without it.

And Mommy's favorite part of the day, getting to do the kangaroo hold with Tucker, who now weighs 3 lbs 3.1 oz.

One Week Old

Tucker is One Week Old

He has gone up in his weight again...he is now 3lbs 2.1 oz

He is up to 30 cc's (1 oz) for his feedings.

He is on 30% oxygen and on only 1% of his nasal canual.

There is talk that he will be moved out of his private "suite" because he is doing so well. The nurse told us that they put him in there because they thought he'd need more help being so early but he didn't, Praise the Lord! She said they like to keep one private room open in case their is a very critical baby that comes in, she said not to be suprised if it happens within the next few days.

Last night when we went to visit him for his one week birthday he had no AB spells. 

This made for a very happy mommy.

I'm one week old!

In the NICU

our son is known as the Super Star as told to us by the NICU doctor, Dr. Sparks, because he is doing so amazingly well for being 10 weeks early.

We talked with the doctor about how his heart rate keeps dropping (apnea bradycardia) and he basically said that it is common with all preemies because they think they should still be inside mommy and she should be doing all the work for them, it isn't a concern because it is something that he should grow out of when he gets a little bigger.

Every Ounce Counts

Tucker has gained 2.3 ounces since he was born.

He is up to 3 lbs 1.3 oz.

Daddy holding Tucker for one of his feedings.

First Bath

Tucker had his first bath today. Mommy assisted the nurse with picking him up during certain times but was a little apprehensive of washing him herself.

He loved having a bath, he was very calm throughout the whole thing.

My little guy has already grown 1/2 in. in 5 days. We are up to 15 1/2 inches!

If all goes well today he will be taken off his nasal canual. The IV in is belly button was removed this afternoon because he is doing so well with his feedings and doesn't need to be feed through an IV anymore. By his 6:00 feeding tonight he will have reached his feeding goal already of 27 cc's.

We are thanking God for him doing so well, He most certainly is in control.  We've got at least 4 more weeks there so he can grow and be able to bottle feed before we go home. We are very thankful that he has made so much progress in the 5 days he has been here.

A Big Day

Day 4 was a very big day for us. Tucker is no longer on the CPAP machine. He is on a nasal canual that helps with breathing and is oxygen was lowered to 32%. He is also over halfway to his goal for his feedings. Since he got taken off of the CPAP machine Mommy got to hold him for the first time. I can't even explain the joy I had holding my son for the first time. We left him at the hospital which was probably the hardest thing we've ever had to do.

A Little Scare

Tucker gave Mommy and Daddy a little scare last night. When Mommy was in the room with him by herself his heart rate dropped to 46. The nurse came in right away and stimulated him to get his heart rate to go up again. She said that he is having trouble with remembering to breathe while he is eating. Daddy went to check on him later and he had done the same thing several times again. The NICU doctor decided to put him on a heart medicine that basically acts like caffeine to remind him that he needs to keep his heart beating. The nurse said that this is very common with little guys who are so small and that they usually grow out of it but need some help when they are still so new. Mommy and Mimi went to check on him at his 3 am feeding and he was doing so much better after being put on the medicine. The nurse said that he is like a whole new baby now.

A few other updates....

• He is up to 14 cc's on his feedings.
• His CPAP machine was lowered to a 3 and there is talk that he will be removed from it today which means Mommy will get to hold him in the very near future.
• He is now only receiving 36% oxygen down from 40%.

I'm 3 days old!

He had his eyes open when Mommy and Mimi were talking to him.