Things are going well with little Bumble B. He was measured and weighed last night and unfortunately it looks like they mismeasured his length at birth. He is 17 inches long instead of 18 1/2. Not that anything is wrong with that, I just wish it had been accurate from the start. He weighed 4lbs, 5oz! He has only lost 5 ounces! I think that's fabulous.
The first couple of days in the Level 2 nursery he was on IV fluids and not eating yet. He's now eating, and eating more than any of them can keep up with! He was at 12 ccs every 5 hours and 2 hours after one feeding he was begging for more and downed 19ccs! He is now on over an ounce every 3 hours! Which means he's pooping A LOT which is GREAT because it shows he's handling the milk fine and he has high bilirubin, so the more he poops the faster it'll get out of his system.
2 days ago his bilirubin was 8, yesterday it was 10, and today it is 15. So he's under a light and top of a blanket. I KNEW this would happen. It's SO common in even term babies, not even mentioning preemies. But of course when I saw him in the isolette with the lights and his little glasses I was so sad. I can't hold him today because he needs to be under the light, which is absolutely understandable. I did get to feed him. He was so so cute. He's had those glasses on his poor little eyes all day so when he got out he was looking around all over the place and SMILING so much. I don't think it's gas. I think it's real smiles :)
Right now we are so happy he's breathing fine on his own, he doesn't need any oxygen or IV fluids. Now we are just battling the jaundice and his temperature maintaining. He's staying in the high 97s, and we want him to keep his temp at 98.6. So that is the current prayers I'm BEGGING for. My little skinny man to keep his temps up and get this icky bilirubin OUT!
Also, if you have some spare prayers, please say a little one for me (and may be poor Christopher who is having to deal with me!). I am so incredibly blessed and thrilled to have my little man thriving in the nursery, but sometimes I have a really really rough time leaving him down there. If he's crying I can't leave him and sometimes when I leave him because he looks so happy I get upset as well. It's not natural to leave my baby anywhere. It's the most awful feeling I've ever had in my life. Plus the post-pregnancy hormones aren't helping a bit. I just need a little extra strength and peace in knowing that I am doing the right thing. Thankfully I am still in a courtesy room at the hospital, but as soon as they need the room, we will be kicked out. And if I have a hard time leaving him in the nursery to walk down the hall, can you imagine how hard it will be to pull away from this hospital? I'm not sure how NICU mommies do this for months, and I don't even want to imagine it.
6 comments:
Hang in there mama! Make sure to embrace these feelings, they are so natural-cry when you need to, scream when you need to, and laugh whenever you can! Try to reach out to other mamas in the NICU, as well as the nurses...they are such a great source of camaraderie and support! Make sure you are getting enough sleep, as well...you need to be the best mama you can for little Baby Bumble B!
I will say a prayer for all three of you. I have been following you on twitter and I really do think you have been handling everything in stride with much grace. If your little boy is half as strong as his mommy he will grow beautifully through all this. Keep taking care of yourself. I can imagine you are worn with the lack of sleep and the hormones.
Katie, you are all three in my prayers. Hang in there! God has great things in store for you guys! Enjoy!
Love ya,
Lisa Smith
We will be praying for your family. i knwo it is hard but it will get better.
Luv,
Emmie
adorable picture!
aww sweetie, I know that maternal instinct kicks in strong. I cried when they brought my baby boy into me after his circumsiscion. it was so hard knowing that his cries were from a pain that I couldn't do anything to alleviate (other than elect not to do the procedure, which for me wasn't an option). anyways...I'll say some prayers for you. you'll have your little guy with you 24 hours a day very soon (if not already ...i'm gong through your posts).
Post a Comment