Tuesday Evening, 8/15/00, 8:00 PM -- Well, we got him home yesterday. After a long weekend, we're happy to not have to keep going back to the hospital. Joseph was up to 6.5 pounds before we left, and we'll have to take him back for a follow-up tomorrow night, but he's eating well. We thought we had it pretty smooth. He was pretty quiet all afternoon and evening. Then it was bedtime! Bags under the eyes this morning. I hope Beth kept him awake all day today so we can sleep a little tonight. New pic's below!
Saturday Morning, 8/12/00, 10:00 AM -- A little sleep will do wonders. Here are last night's pictures. We called this morning and they've bathed him and weighed him again. Down to 6 pounds even, but 10% weight loss is normal. He's taking about an ounce at a time at feedings. We'll go visit later this morning and again this evening, so more updates later. New pic's below!
Friday Evening, 8/11/00, 10:00 PM -- Sorry, no pics tonight. I'm tired. Joseph has had his IV removed today and has been doing really well on the bottle. We were able to take him out of ICU for a little while tonight so Doug could see and hold him. The nurse said that they'll probably put him in a regular crib tonight or tomorrow and see how that's going, temperature, O2, ... Then we can start thinking about bringing him home. I'll put up some new pics tomorrow. TTFN
Thursday Evening, 8/10/00, 11:00 PM -- Joseph finally kicked the hood today. After several attempts during the night, they were able to keep him out from under the hood by Lunch time today. He still has an IV, in his arm now instead of the umbilical until they think he's eating well. Beth was able to hold him this evening and gave him his first bottle. I got to hold him a while too, but had to limit my time since Doug was out in the waiting room with Beth during my turn. He is looking really good and alert. No promises from anyone there, but our gut feeling is maybe by Saturday or Sunday we'll have him home. New pic's below!
Wednesday Evening, 8/9/00, 9:00 PM -- We're down to room level on the O2 and will most likely be out from under the hood by morning. They just wanted to keep him covered for a little while longer to make sure he stabilizes. I tried to get the nurse to give me an average time to release from this point, but she wouldn't commit to anything. We think we'll be able to hold him tomorrow AM. I guess we'll see.
Tuesday Evening, 8/8/00, 10:00 PM -- Yeah, I finally found a driver for the camera, so there are some new pictures tonight. Both here and in Doug's pictures. (Today was his birthday.) They've had Joseph's O2 at 30% while we were there tonight and as it seemed very quiet, we were able to sneak Doug in to see him for a VERY short visit. He wasn't quite sure how to react. Looked a couple of times and then pulled a shy routine. He did want mommy to write the baby's name on his Magnadoodle while daddy took some more pictures.
Monday Evening, 8/7/00, 9:00 PM -- As of this evening's visit, They have dropped Joseph's O2 level to 38% and were about to drop it again. We're still hoping for him to be off the O2 soon and that he might come home by the end of the week. Meanwhile, he's taking a pacifier aggressively, so we think he'll be easy to feed once we can get him out from under the hood. We'll have more pic's later. I borrowed a digital camera from some friends, but haven't been able to locate the drivers for it yet. If any of you have a Kodak DC25 and can load me the drivers, please let me know.
Sunday Evening, 8/6/00, 9:00 PM -- Joseph is off the ventilator. The impatience thing is starting to be a theme as he decided it was time and pulled the nasal tube out himself. Fortunately, the doctors had already decided to take it out and they just went ahead and finished the procedure for him. He is currently running at 50% O2 (normal is 22%) and the nurse thought that he might be out from under the O2 hood by tomorrow evening. Then they'll start doing all the normal things a newborn gets to do. (bathing, eating, ...) Check back for more updates later.
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So this is home? |
I'm not impressed! |
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UURP! |
Phew! Right up the nose. |
Oh, that's better. |
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8/11/00 -- No IV, no O2, no nurse. We were able to bring him out for Doug to see. |
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| Mommy got to give the first bottle. | |
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| 8/10/00 We finally got to hold him. | |
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| 8/8/00 Down to a single bulb Bili light, Likes that pacifier. | |
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| 8/7/00 Just on the Bili Light | |
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| Joseph before ventilator | |
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| Joseph with Mommy | |
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| Joseph with ventilator | |
Joseph's expensive toys
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Joseph with Mamaw |
