Hello everyone! We have a few days to catch up on and some good news to share!
October 20
Colby has officially been moved to a big boy bed! He is able to hold his own body temperature well enough now that he is in the little plastic tubs that they bring a full-term baby to your room in!!!! Whoo Hoo!!! The nurses have been working with him at feeding time and trying to get him used to drinking from a bottle! He is doing one feeding per day (trying to get him used to it) and he drank 7 CCs today!!! PRAISES!!! He is getting to be such a big boy! He weighed 4 pounds 7 ounces!!
October 21
Mommy got to feed Colby today and he drank about 5 CCs from his bottle. (I would blame most of this on Mommy since this is a little different than with Ainsley. I am still learning how to help him figure this out!) He was opening his eyes a bit more today. Dr. Parma stopped by and checked on his eyes---the right eye is getting better and the left eye is still the same. Yeah for the right eye!!! The dr said it could take up 3-4 weeks to see results in the left eye so please keep the prayers going!!! He was up to 4 pounds 8 ounces tonight!
October 22
Had a quiet visit today---he was sleeping so we just sat and talked with him. When I checked on him that night I talked with Brandi. She had given him his first real bubble bath in the little pink tubs!!! She unhooked him from everything for a little bit!!! Whoo Hoo! He wasn't very happy about the bath and cried for most of it. But she had him off the cannula for a little while and he did pretty good without it! BIG BABY STEPS!!! He was up to 4 pounds 9 ounces and Brandi was going to try and feed him with the bottle again at midnight.
October 23
Lots of visitors today! Don and Lewies came to visit for a few minutes. Lewies sang to Colby in his native language (Lewies is from South Africa) when he started to get fussy and Colby seemed to like it! Which doesn't bode well for Colby since I can't speak the language or even sing for that matter! Talked with Billie, his nurse, and found out that Colby drank 23 CCs with his midnight bottle and this morning he drank all 35 CCs with his therapist!!! WOW!!!! What a big boy! Now they are giving him two bottles each day I think??? Will have to check on that one. Grams went up after work and Colby had another bottle at 6pm and drank almost all of it!! So excited by this progress!
I AM GOING TO ADD SOME MORE PICTURES AS WELL SO MAKE SURE TO CHECK THOSE AND SEE HOW OUR BABY BOY IS GROWING!!!!
This last week and a half has been very hectic/stressful for me and I just want to thank all of you out there for the prayers and encouraging words. Seeing the comments on Facebook and on this blog are so inspiring for us. They are the best thing for me to go back and read when I am having a rough day. Please keep the messages coming---it fuels my heart and my faith!
God Bless,
Brie
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
Eye Update 2
I'm sorry we have not updated sooner. This is what is going on with Colby's eyes. When Dr. Parma performed the laser surgery last Friday he had a very hard time seeing what he was supposed to burn off because of a lack of pigment in Colby's retinas. Because of this and the severity of the ROP in Colby's eyes the laser was not as effective in his left eye as it was in his right eye. The vessels were continuing to grow angrily causing them to bleed and preventing the pupil from dilating so that Dr. Parma could get a good look at what needed to be done next. It put us in a situation where our only chance at stopping the vessels from causing retinal detachment was to give an injection of a IVAV (Intravitreal anti-VEGF) drug called Avastan.
When babies are born prematurely their bodies will sometimes stop producing the blood vessels that it needs to take oxygen to the retina for proper development. When the body realizes that it is not producing these vessels it creates a chemical called VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) so that it will start producing vessels. The problem is this chemical makes the vessels grow abnormal and then ROP sets in.
Depending on the severity of the ROP there are different treatments that can be done to stop the process. In Colby's since the laser surgery didn't work our next step is the injections.
The purpose of the injections is to do the same thing as the laser. It is supposed to kill of the VEGF hormone so that it will stop the blood vessels from growing out of control. Dr. Parma performed the procedure Thursday night and was successful in administering the drug. He will look again Sunday at both eyes to see if the left eye is responding to the injections and to make sure the right eye is still maintaining stability. There is still the possibility that the right eye will have the same problems as the left and require the injections. After his examination Sunday he will know a little more about the next steps, whether it be more injections or more laser surgery.
I know we have said it many times but I cannot express how grateful we are to be surrounded by so much love and support from family and friends. This journey has been so emotionally, physically and mentally exhausting and without you all we would never make it. We know God's plan is perfect and we pray everyday that His will be done.
When babies are born prematurely their bodies will sometimes stop producing the blood vessels that it needs to take oxygen to the retina for proper development. When the body realizes that it is not producing these vessels it creates a chemical called VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) so that it will start producing vessels. The problem is this chemical makes the vessels grow abnormal and then ROP sets in.
Depending on the severity of the ROP there are different treatments that can be done to stop the process. In Colby's since the laser surgery didn't work our next step is the injections.
The purpose of the injections is to do the same thing as the laser. It is supposed to kill of the VEGF hormone so that it will stop the blood vessels from growing out of control. Dr. Parma performed the procedure Thursday night and was successful in administering the drug. He will look again Sunday at both eyes to see if the left eye is responding to the injections and to make sure the right eye is still maintaining stability. There is still the possibility that the right eye will have the same problems as the left and require the injections. After his examination Sunday he will know a little more about the next steps, whether it be more injections or more laser surgery.
I know we have said it many times but I cannot express how grateful we are to be surrounded by so much love and support from family and friends. This journey has been so emotionally, physically and mentally exhausting and without you all we would never make it. We know God's plan is perfect and we pray everyday that His will be done.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Eye Update
Brie and I are at Dr. Parma's office this morning. Dr. Parma has informed us that Colby's left eye has not responded to the laser therapy as it should. His left eye has some hemoraging and the pupil will not dilate enough so that he can get a good picture of the retina. It also looks like the blood vessels are continuing to grow abnormally. We are here to discuss the use of injections in that eye to stop the abnormal growth. I will post again once we have more information.
Please pray now for continued healing. Please pray for wisdom for us and the doctor. Please pray for strength.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Playing Catch Up Again...
It has been awhile since I have had a chance to update but I have some people asking so I wanted to make sure I had time tonight. :) Here are some highlights for the last few days!
October 13, 2012
-Came off his ventilator and back onto his CPAP that morning and by that evening he was off that and back on his High Flow Cannula!!! He did such a good job of getting of the ventilator quickly.
-By the afternoon he was back to eating 10 CCs. By 9pm he had moved up to 20 CCs!!
October 14, 2012
-Up to 30 CCs of formula by 9am!!!! Yeah!!!
-Daddy and Mommy took Ainsley up to see Colby today. She had to wear a mask which she thought was weird and then decided it was fun. We got to hold a sleepy Colby who de-SATed and bradyed a few times.
-By the evening time they had upped his feedings to 35 CCs!!! Whoo Hoo!
-Colby decided to misbehave and he pulled his feeding tube out!! Silly boy!
October 15, 2012
-Colby was finally deciding to really wake up---it takes a few days after surgery for all the medicine to get completely out of his system. He had a really good day with very few de-SATs and bradys!
October 16, 2012
-Daddy took Aric to visit Colby today and when they got over to his bed he had pulled out his cannula and had it in his mouth chewing on it! :)
-Mommy went up later and got to hold him for quite awhile. He decided to brady while I was holding him and of course I freaked out. I tried patting his little bottom and talking to him and Elizabeth came over (calm as can be mind you) and just rubbed his head and talked to him and he started breathing again. The second time he did it, I was a little calmer and was able to bring him around.
-He was back to weighing 4 pounds 2 ounces! Whoo Hoo!
October 17, 2012
-Jason and I had a lovely visit today. He was very active while we were holding him. He was hungry and kept gnawing on his pacifier. We had to put him back in his bed so we could go back to work and I tried to make sure that he was situated so his pacifier would stay in but I don't think I did a good job!
Thank you for all your prayers. We are amazed daily when we hear about people following Colby's journey. He is such a blessing to our family!
Brie
October 13, 2012
-Came off his ventilator and back onto his CPAP that morning and by that evening he was off that and back on his High Flow Cannula!!! He did such a good job of getting of the ventilator quickly.
-By the afternoon he was back to eating 10 CCs. By 9pm he had moved up to 20 CCs!!
October 14, 2012
-Up to 30 CCs of formula by 9am!!!! Yeah!!!
-Daddy and Mommy took Ainsley up to see Colby today. She had to wear a mask which she thought was weird and then decided it was fun. We got to hold a sleepy Colby who de-SATed and bradyed a few times.
-By the evening time they had upped his feedings to 35 CCs!!! Whoo Hoo!
-Colby decided to misbehave and he pulled his feeding tube out!! Silly boy!
October 15, 2012
-Colby was finally deciding to really wake up---it takes a few days after surgery for all the medicine to get completely out of his system. He had a really good day with very few de-SATs and bradys!
October 16, 2012
-Daddy took Aric to visit Colby today and when they got over to his bed he had pulled out his cannula and had it in his mouth chewing on it! :)
-Mommy went up later and got to hold him for quite awhile. He decided to brady while I was holding him and of course I freaked out. I tried patting his little bottom and talking to him and Elizabeth came over (calm as can be mind you) and just rubbed his head and talked to him and he started breathing again. The second time he did it, I was a little calmer and was able to bring him around.
-He was back to weighing 4 pounds 2 ounces! Whoo Hoo!
October 17, 2012
-Jason and I had a lovely visit today. He was very active while we were holding him. He was hungry and kept gnawing on his pacifier. We had to put him back in his bed so we could go back to work and I tried to make sure that he was situated so his pacifier would stay in but I don't think I did a good job!
Thank you for all your prayers. We are amazed daily when we hear about people following Colby's journey. He is such a blessing to our family!
Brie
Friday, October 12, 2012
Post Surgery Report
Colby is doing well after the surgery. I only talked with Dr. Parma briefly after the surgery and got a quick explanation of the surgery and what will take place in the next few weeks.
To give a little background, all premature babies are at risk for ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). ROP is the abnormal blood vessel development in the retina of the eye in a premature infant. There are several stages of ROP ranging from mild abnormal growth to total retinal detachment. There are many other terms like "Plus Disease" and "Threshold Disease" which are factors in the severity of the ROP. When ROP is considered the eye is broken into three zones and depending on which zone the blood vessels get to before they begin to grow abnormally will help determine the severity of the vision loss.
In Colby's case his blood vessels got in to zone two of the eye and stalled. The stalling of growth is generally a good indicator that ROP is present and that some treatment will have to be done. That is when Dr. Parma started looking at Colby's eyes more regularly. This week Colby's eye rapidly moved into stage three ROP, which concerned Dr. Parma, and ultimately caused him to come to the conclusion that laser surgery was necessary. The laser surgery is used to stop the overgrowth of unhealthy vessels on the retina by making small burns on the parts of the retina that are affected by ROP. In order to preserve central vision, some periferal vision may be lost as a result of the laser surgery.
Colby went in to surgery today at 4:30 and it took more than an hour per eye to get the laser treatment completed. The surgery is normally a 20 to 30 min process but along with all the other things working against him, he has what is called a blonde fundus which made the surgery that much more difficult. Blonde fundus means the retina has less pigment than others making it much harder for the doctor to see what he needs to burn with the laser. At close to 7:00 tonight Dr. Parma called to say that the surgery was complete and that he believes that he got everything that he needed. He believes that after looking at Colby this week that he did the surgery at the perfect time for the best end result. When I talked to Dr. Parma it was one of those moments where all your are waiting for is him to say everything is OK. He did a good bit of explaining that I didn't fully grasp because I was waiting for the results. We will be talking to him further in the next few days so I will get a better explanation of everything later.
While we were visiting tonight we had the task of trying to wake him up from his sedation. We got to play with his hands and feet trying to get him to wake up. They had to put him back on the ventilator for the surgery and they want to get him back off as soon as possible so he doesn't get attached to it.
We give all the praise to God that Colby has come through this surgery with success. I want to thank Dr. Parma for taking great care of Colby. He is truly a man of God who cares deeply for the babies that he treats. I want to thank all the Baptist South NICU nurses who helped with the surgery and who take care of him everyday. We are truly blessed to have you all in our lives. I also want to thank all of our family and friends. The support we receive from you all lifts us up every day and keeps us going.
To give a little background, all premature babies are at risk for ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). ROP is the abnormal blood vessel development in the retina of the eye in a premature infant. There are several stages of ROP ranging from mild abnormal growth to total retinal detachment. There are many other terms like "Plus Disease" and "Threshold Disease" which are factors in the severity of the ROP. When ROP is considered the eye is broken into three zones and depending on which zone the blood vessels get to before they begin to grow abnormally will help determine the severity of the vision loss.
In Colby's case his blood vessels got in to zone two of the eye and stalled. The stalling of growth is generally a good indicator that ROP is present and that some treatment will have to be done. That is when Dr. Parma started looking at Colby's eyes more regularly. This week Colby's eye rapidly moved into stage three ROP, which concerned Dr. Parma, and ultimately caused him to come to the conclusion that laser surgery was necessary. The laser surgery is used to stop the overgrowth of unhealthy vessels on the retina by making small burns on the parts of the retina that are affected by ROP. In order to preserve central vision, some periferal vision may be lost as a result of the laser surgery.
Colby went in to surgery today at 4:30 and it took more than an hour per eye to get the laser treatment completed. The surgery is normally a 20 to 30 min process but along with all the other things working against him, he has what is called a blonde fundus which made the surgery that much more difficult. Blonde fundus means the retina has less pigment than others making it much harder for the doctor to see what he needs to burn with the laser. At close to 7:00 tonight Dr. Parma called to say that the surgery was complete and that he believes that he got everything that he needed. He believes that after looking at Colby this week that he did the surgery at the perfect time for the best end result. When I talked to Dr. Parma it was one of those moments where all your are waiting for is him to say everything is OK. He did a good bit of explaining that I didn't fully grasp because I was waiting for the results. We will be talking to him further in the next few days so I will get a better explanation of everything later.
While we were visiting tonight we had the task of trying to wake him up from his sedation. We got to play with his hands and feet trying to get him to wake up. They had to put him back on the ventilator for the surgery and they want to get him back off as soon as possible so he doesn't get attached to it.
We give all the praise to God that Colby has come through this surgery with success. I want to thank Dr. Parma for taking great care of Colby. He is truly a man of God who cares deeply for the babies that he treats. I want to thank all the Baptist South NICU nurses who helped with the surgery and who take care of him everyday. We are truly blessed to have you all in our lives. I also want to thank all of our family and friends. The support we receive from you all lifts us up every day and keeps us going.
Eye Surgery in Progress
The nurse called about 4:30 to let us know they were taking Colby back to start the surgery. Please pray that Colby behaves for Dr. Parma. Please pray for wisdom and focus for Dr. Parma and the nurses.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Please pray-Eye Surgery scheduled
Dr. Parma called me just a little while ago and informed me that he has seen a little growth in Colby's eyes (Praises!!!!! for even the little bit of growth that he saw) but that it was the time to do surgery. He is scheduled to have surgery tomorrow between 12 and 5:30...not sure when exactly. They will put him back on the ventilator for a short period of time and he will be put to sleep for about an hour to an hour and a half. The laser surgery itself will only take about 20 minutes but prepping and such will take a little longer.
Dr. Parma will actually be doing one surgery now and leaving some area untouched in the hopes that Colby's eyes will continue to grow a little bit more. Every little bit of growth helps with his peripheral vision and it is very important to give him as much of a chance as possible to see more.
We feel very comfortable with Dr. Parma and trust his decisions. Please pray for Colby---especially his eyes---over the next few days. We need our prayer warriors!!! :)
God Bless each and every one of you!
Brie
Dr. Parma will actually be doing one surgery now and leaving some area untouched in the hopes that Colby's eyes will continue to grow a little bit more. Every little bit of growth helps with his peripheral vision and it is very important to give him as much of a chance as possible to see more.
We feel very comfortable with Dr. Parma and trust his decisions. Please pray for Colby---especially his eyes---over the next few days. We need our prayer warriors!!! :)
God Bless each and every one of you!
Brie
Monday, October 8, 2012
Eye Update
October 5, 2012
-Took Grandma to see Colby and she got to hold him
-Dr. Parma had been there and so Karis filled me in on what was going on
---He has an infection in his right eye
---There was some bleeding in his eyes
---They were starting him on antibiotics and doing cultures to see if it is anywhere else as well
-Colby weighed 3 pounds 9 ounces
-He was having a few de-SATs and bradys but they were around feeding time and seems to be able to bring them up on his own
-Nighttime check had him at 3 pounds 10 ounces and they upped his feeding from 26 CCs to 28 CCs
October 6, 2012
-Called to check in and found that they had moved him to room #1 because of staffing
-Daddy went in to see Colby and met with Dr. Parma for a few minutes
-Dr. Parma isn't seeing what he wants to be seeing and he wanted to meet us at his office Monday morning
-Still going steady with 26% oxygen and de-SATing just a little
October 7, 2012
-Colby was holding steady at 3 pounds 10 ounces, 28 CCs of formula, and some de-SATs during feeding
-Took Ainsley up to visit with him for a few minutes
-Angela told us they were going to up his feedings to 30 CCs!!!! We finally hit 1 ounce of food at feeding time!
-Dr. Parma stopped by and then called us to set up an appointment for Monday morning
October 8, 2012
-Met with Dr. Parma this morning and he is going to be visiting Colby every two days from now on
-Dr. Parma thinks we will probably need to do surgery within the week---maybe next week
-He is trying to wait as long as possible so Colby will have the best chance to have the most periphial vision
-I am going to try and explain this: There are three stages that the nerves need to grow through. He has passed through stage one and has started into stage 2. This is a very important step. However, his nerves haven't grown as far into stage 2 as they should have by this age. The further out they grow---the better the periphial vision is. One of the main reasons why his nerves haven't grown like they should have---other than he was very early---is that your body grows those nerves to get oxygen to the eyes. Colby was on a ventilator so that oxygen was getting there much easier and so the nerves havent' grown. Now that he is off---there will be a time when his little body tries to catch up and so the nerves will grow fast. This is what Dr. Parma is looking for. He wants to let the nerves grow as much as possible but it they grow out of control they could block his vision so he wants to go in and do surgery right before that happens. Depending on how the surgery goes, Dr. Parma has been in contact with a specialist from Vanderbilt University about a procedure that he performs. Right now they both believe laser surgery is the first step that should be taken. Another thing that Dr. Parma mentioned is that Colby will probably need to be taken to Birmingham down the road to a pediatric optamologist to see if he needs glasses.
-We had a lovely visit with him this morning---got to hold him for a few minutes and then he got his breakfast. He was wide awake and just looking around!
-Jason called in this evening to check in and he was sleeping away! They have taken him down to 3 liters of flow! Another step in the right direction!
I am much calmer after meeting with Dr. Parma---I really have a peace about his love for these babies and trust that he will know what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. PRAYER!!!PLEASE---pray for Colby's eyes to grow and mature in the right way and pray for wisdom for Dr. Parma and all the other doctors and nurses that take care of these sweet babies! We just love them!
-Took Grandma to see Colby and she got to hold him
-Dr. Parma had been there and so Karis filled me in on what was going on
---He has an infection in his right eye
---There was some bleeding in his eyes
---They were starting him on antibiotics and doing cultures to see if it is anywhere else as well
-Colby weighed 3 pounds 9 ounces
-He was having a few de-SATs and bradys but they were around feeding time and seems to be able to bring them up on his own
-Nighttime check had him at 3 pounds 10 ounces and they upped his feeding from 26 CCs to 28 CCs
October 6, 2012
-Called to check in and found that they had moved him to room #1 because of staffing
-Daddy went in to see Colby and met with Dr. Parma for a few minutes
-Dr. Parma isn't seeing what he wants to be seeing and he wanted to meet us at his office Monday morning
-Still going steady with 26% oxygen and de-SATing just a little
October 7, 2012
-Colby was holding steady at 3 pounds 10 ounces, 28 CCs of formula, and some de-SATs during feeding
-Took Ainsley up to visit with him for a few minutes
-Angela told us they were going to up his feedings to 30 CCs!!!! We finally hit 1 ounce of food at feeding time!
-Dr. Parma stopped by and then called us to set up an appointment for Monday morning
October 8, 2012
-Met with Dr. Parma this morning and he is going to be visiting Colby every two days from now on
-Dr. Parma thinks we will probably need to do surgery within the week---maybe next week
-He is trying to wait as long as possible so Colby will have the best chance to have the most periphial vision
-I am going to try and explain this: There are three stages that the nerves need to grow through. He has passed through stage one and has started into stage 2. This is a very important step. However, his nerves haven't grown as far into stage 2 as they should have by this age. The further out they grow---the better the periphial vision is. One of the main reasons why his nerves haven't grown like they should have---other than he was very early---is that your body grows those nerves to get oxygen to the eyes. Colby was on a ventilator so that oxygen was getting there much easier and so the nerves havent' grown. Now that he is off---there will be a time when his little body tries to catch up and so the nerves will grow fast. This is what Dr. Parma is looking for. He wants to let the nerves grow as much as possible but it they grow out of control they could block his vision so he wants to go in and do surgery right before that happens. Depending on how the surgery goes, Dr. Parma has been in contact with a specialist from Vanderbilt University about a procedure that he performs. Right now they both believe laser surgery is the first step that should be taken. Another thing that Dr. Parma mentioned is that Colby will probably need to be taken to Birmingham down the road to a pediatric optamologist to see if he needs glasses.
-We had a lovely visit with him this morning---got to hold him for a few minutes and then he got his breakfast. He was wide awake and just looking around!
-Jason called in this evening to check in and he was sleeping away! They have taken him down to 3 liters of flow! Another step in the right direction!
I am much calmer after meeting with Dr. Parma---I really have a peace about his love for these babies and trust that he will know what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. PRAYER!!!PLEASE---pray for Colby's eyes to grow and mature in the right way and pray for wisdom for Dr. Parma and all the other doctors and nurses that take care of these sweet babies! We just love them!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Need Prayer and Give Praise!
October 3, 2012
Daddy had a luncheon to attend today so Mommy took Ms. Krissy and Ms. Chelsey to see Colby at lunch. He was wide awake when Krissy and I went in. Ms. Rosa was giving him his lunch. He sneezed 8 times in a row! By the time Ms. Chelsey came in, he had a full belly and was sleeping away. He didn't want to open his eyes for Chelsey at all!
Dr. Parma (Colby's eye doctor) called me later that evening. Colby's eyes are not developing the way that Dr. Parma would like to see by this point. He is going to start visiting Colby twice a week to keep a closer look at his eyes. Colby has a greater chance at this point of having the eye surgery...so Dr. Parma will be watching to see when/if that needs to happen. PRAYER---Please pray that Colby's eye continue to develop in the correct way and that his eyes do not need to have they surgery. (I know how far laser surgery has come---I have even decided that I want to get laser surgery---but there is something about my baby having it that takes it to a whole different level). IF Colby has to have surgery---please pray that it goes well and he is able to see as much as possible!
October 4, 2012
Mommy took Ms. Jill up to visit Colby today while we were waiting for Daddy to get there. His nurse, Carol, asked if I wanted to hold him and of course I said yes! I got to hold him while he ate his lunch. Then I let Jill hold him and then Daddy came in and he got to hold him while Colby finished his formula.
HIS NURSE INFORMED ME THAT HE ROLLED OVER!!! WHAT A WIGGLE-WORM!!! She had laid him on his front (or his back) and the next time she came back to check on him he had turned himself over the opposite way! PRAISE!!! My little one is already learning big boy tricks! What a way to bring a smile to this proud Mommy! I just hate that I missed it!
Grams went for a visit today and she said he was just a wiggling around and wouldn't settle down. He had moved himself out of the little bean roll that Carol had around him.
I called and talked to the night nurse and she said he hadn't held still--he was just moving everywhere. So she swaddled him and he has settled right on down. He apparently likes to have his head toward the back of the bed...silly boy! He was up to 3 pounds 9 ounces and was doing well with his formula. He was behaving for the most part. He had a couple of de-SATs but he brought himself out of those pretty quickly.
Thank you for all the continued prayers and good wishes from everyone. I was worried that after the initial "excitement" of his early arrival and him getting settled in that people would stop reading and sending encouraging thoughts our way on a regular basis. I know that it is a little selfishness on my part but your words help me get through these rough days. The sweet and kind words from a stranger remind me that God has a special plan for Colby and we just have to trust in that. The love from our friends reminds me that we don't have to do this alone. I know that Colby is in wonderful hands---I can truly say that these nurses and doctors make it much easier to be able to sleep at night, go to work each day, take care of my older baby, and keep going each day because I know they are there taking care of him. I ache to bring him home but I also know he isn't quite ready (and neither are we!) but I am so thankful for all his progress and I am so thankful that I have prayer warriors that we can count on to help us each and every day.
God Bless,
Brie
Daddy had a luncheon to attend today so Mommy took Ms. Krissy and Ms. Chelsey to see Colby at lunch. He was wide awake when Krissy and I went in. Ms. Rosa was giving him his lunch. He sneezed 8 times in a row! By the time Ms. Chelsey came in, he had a full belly and was sleeping away. He didn't want to open his eyes for Chelsey at all!
Dr. Parma (Colby's eye doctor) called me later that evening. Colby's eyes are not developing the way that Dr. Parma would like to see by this point. He is going to start visiting Colby twice a week to keep a closer look at his eyes. Colby has a greater chance at this point of having the eye surgery...so Dr. Parma will be watching to see when/if that needs to happen. PRAYER---Please pray that Colby's eye continue to develop in the correct way and that his eyes do not need to have they surgery. (I know how far laser surgery has come---I have even decided that I want to get laser surgery---but there is something about my baby having it that takes it to a whole different level). IF Colby has to have surgery---please pray that it goes well and he is able to see as much as possible!
October 4, 2012
Mommy took Ms. Jill up to visit Colby today while we were waiting for Daddy to get there. His nurse, Carol, asked if I wanted to hold him and of course I said yes! I got to hold him while he ate his lunch. Then I let Jill hold him and then Daddy came in and he got to hold him while Colby finished his formula.
HIS NURSE INFORMED ME THAT HE ROLLED OVER!!! WHAT A WIGGLE-WORM!!! She had laid him on his front (or his back) and the next time she came back to check on him he had turned himself over the opposite way! PRAISE!!! My little one is already learning big boy tricks! What a way to bring a smile to this proud Mommy! I just hate that I missed it!
Grams went for a visit today and she said he was just a wiggling around and wouldn't settle down. He had moved himself out of the little bean roll that Carol had around him.
I called and talked to the night nurse and she said he hadn't held still--he was just moving everywhere. So she swaddled him and he has settled right on down. He apparently likes to have his head toward the back of the bed...silly boy! He was up to 3 pounds 9 ounces and was doing well with his formula. He was behaving for the most part. He had a couple of de-SATs but he brought himself out of those pretty quickly.
Thank you for all the continued prayers and good wishes from everyone. I was worried that after the initial "excitement" of his early arrival and him getting settled in that people would stop reading and sending encouraging thoughts our way on a regular basis. I know that it is a little selfishness on my part but your words help me get through these rough days. The sweet and kind words from a stranger remind me that God has a special plan for Colby and we just have to trust in that. The love from our friends reminds me that we don't have to do this alone. I know that Colby is in wonderful hands---I can truly say that these nurses and doctors make it much easier to be able to sleep at night, go to work each day, take care of my older baby, and keep going each day because I know they are there taking care of him. I ache to bring him home but I also know he isn't quite ready (and neither are we!) but I am so thankful for all his progress and I am so thankful that I have prayer warriors that we can count on to help us each and every day.
God Bless,
Brie
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
More big news today!!!
AM Check-In:
Daddy called in the morning and our pumpkin was off the CPAP and on the high flow cannula!!!! PRAISES!!!!! Mommy has been looking forward to this---I missed seeing his hair and his face! He had gotten his shots last night and seemed to be doing well with that---no fever. They were going to do another gas at 4pm and if that looked, they would only be checking them once a day.
Visit
Our little man was doing good when we got there...just sleeping peacefully. Until we started talking to him :) but it was time to have a diaper change and eat so it was ok. Our nurse let us lift up the lid to his bed, turn him over, and change his diaper! He was a little fussy (he sounds like a little goat when he cries!) but I am sure that is because he wanted to eat. JoAnn told me to get a chair and she let me hold him while he ate! We worked on him sucking on the pacifier during lunch time. He does a really good job at sucking on the pacifier and seems to like it so we are hoping he is able to learn how to suck, swallow, and breathe in the right order when it comes time to bottle feeding.
PM Check-In:
***OUR BABY GRADUATED TO ROOM 3*** I am so excited!!!! ***HE HAS ALSO BEEN MOVED TO A BIG BOY BED!!!!*** So many wonderful things going on today!!! He is getting 26 CCs of 27 calorie formula now and they are going to be adding some rice cereal to it to thicken it up and they are going to put it on a pump so it will lengthen the amount of time it takes to get in him. He had a couple of de-SATs and bradys during feeding time. He weighed 3 pounds 6 ounces tonight!!!
PRAISES today! Your prayers are working---thank you for all you do for our family!
Brie
Daddy called in the morning and our pumpkin was off the CPAP and on the high flow cannula!!!! PRAISES!!!!! Mommy has been looking forward to this---I missed seeing his hair and his face! He had gotten his shots last night and seemed to be doing well with that---no fever. They were going to do another gas at 4pm and if that looked, they would only be checking them once a day.
Visit
Our little man was doing good when we got there...just sleeping peacefully. Until we started talking to him :) but it was time to have a diaper change and eat so it was ok. Our nurse let us lift up the lid to his bed, turn him over, and change his diaper! He was a little fussy (he sounds like a little goat when he cries!) but I am sure that is because he wanted to eat. JoAnn told me to get a chair and she let me hold him while he ate! We worked on him sucking on the pacifier during lunch time. He does a really good job at sucking on the pacifier and seems to like it so we are hoping he is able to learn how to suck, swallow, and breathe in the right order when it comes time to bottle feeding.
PM Check-In:
***OUR BABY GRADUATED TO ROOM 3*** I am so excited!!!! ***HE HAS ALSO BEEN MOVED TO A BIG BOY BED!!!!*** So many wonderful things going on today!!! He is getting 26 CCs of 27 calorie formula now and they are going to be adding some rice cereal to it to thicken it up and they are going to put it on a pump so it will lengthen the amount of time it takes to get in him. He had a couple of de-SATs and bradys during feeding time. He weighed 3 pounds 6 ounces tonight!!!
PRAISES today! Your prayers are working---thank you for all you do for our family!
Brie
Monday, October 1, 2012
October 1st already!!!
Wow...October is already here! Time is going by quicker than I thought it would! Only 44 more days until my due date! I am trying my best to be patient but I am so excited to see Colby making progress in all his different areas and I get eager to bring him home! I know that he still has a lot of progress to make and things to learn but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger and brighter!
Noontime Visit:
We went to see him this afternoon and he was fit to be tied! He was just a fussing (which I have to admit that I still love to hear! Sorry to all our fabulous NICU nurses! ) when we got there. He is still at 0 bump rate!!!! Since 4pm on September 30th!!! He is doing such a good job of breathing on his own. There are times when he de-SATs or bradys but he turns it around on his own without help from his nurses---which is good. He still tries to pull his tube out of his nose and put it into his mouth...he doesn't understand that it won't help him breath that way. :)
Evening Check-In:
-Back to 3 pounds 5 ounces
-Doing well with his 24 CCs of 27 calorie formula still
-His nurse had to give him tylenol tonight at 8pm because she was going to be giving him his first round of shots! :( Normally a baby gets 5 medicines at 6 weeks old and they combine them into 2 or 3 shots..our pumpkin has to get them all individually. He will get two right before his midnight feeding, 2 before his 3am feeding and the last one before his 6am feeding.
-He has been a good baby tonight--no bradys or de-SATs.
-He is 16 1/4" long---shrunk a little from last week! HA! Babies are hard to measure.
-Head circumference was 27
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers---we need them!
Brie
Noontime Visit:
We went to see him this afternoon and he was fit to be tied! He was just a fussing (which I have to admit that I still love to hear! Sorry to all our fabulous NICU nurses! ) when we got there. He is still at 0 bump rate!!!! Since 4pm on September 30th!!! He is doing such a good job of breathing on his own. There are times when he de-SATs or bradys but he turns it around on his own without help from his nurses---which is good. He still tries to pull his tube out of his nose and put it into his mouth...he doesn't understand that it won't help him breath that way. :)
Evening Check-In:
-Back to 3 pounds 5 ounces
-Doing well with his 24 CCs of 27 calorie formula still
-His nurse had to give him tylenol tonight at 8pm because she was going to be giving him his first round of shots! :( Normally a baby gets 5 medicines at 6 weeks old and they combine them into 2 or 3 shots..our pumpkin has to get them all individually. He will get two right before his midnight feeding, 2 before his 3am feeding and the last one before his 6am feeding.
-He has been a good baby tonight--no bradys or de-SATs.
-He is 16 1/4" long---shrunk a little from last week! HA! Babies are hard to measure.
-Head circumference was 27
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers---we need them!
Brie
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