Day 4 in the NICU

We headed to Atlanta yesterday to visit our little warrior. As soon as we got there the top to the incubator was lifted up. Nurse Vicky said that he was keeping his own body temperature so they didn't need to keep the heat lamps on him anymore. YAY! He was sleeping when we got there, and as soon as he woke up we took his temperature. She said as long as it was above 36.5C then he could be put in a regular nursery crib. We watched the numbers rise on the thermometer and kept cheering him on as the number got higher. At 36.4 I thought my heart would burst if the thermometer beeped before it got to 36.5. It finally went up and even went to 36.6 before beeping! YAY! I'm so proud of my little Deagan!

After that we changed and fed him. I decided to wait until his IVs are out to attempt breastfeeding again. But I've been pumping every 3 hours in the day and every 4 hours at night. His biliruben level went from 9 to 11, which still isn't high enough for the phototherapy. Nurse Vicky doesn't think he'll need it unless his numbers today are above 16. She said at midnight he should be moving to the nursery if the kid that was in that spot would ever go home. Apparently that baby is a fickle one and likes to pop up with a new issue every day keeping him from going home. But she did say that if someone else needed a NICU bed he could be moved right then. So after we held him for about 2 hours we put him in his nursery crib. They just rolled it in the same room. She showed us how to get to the nursery he'd be in today if we walked in the NICU and he was already moved.

Depending on his biliruben levels today we'll see if the IV can come out. I hope they can because that mean we could possibly bring him home today or tomorrow! We have to bring in our carseat and base so they can do a carseat test. Bascically he has to be in the carseat for twice the amount of time it takes to get home. So he's got to sit in there for two hours without any problems to pass. They also will figure out which position the base needs to be that would best suit him when riding.

After we left Bobby and I decided that we needed to do something fun to relieve some built up stress from the past week. We went to eat at our favorite place in Kennesaw and then went to see Fast & Furious. (If you're a fan of these movies then I strongly suggest you go see it!) It was nice to just get lost in something other than my own thoughts and worries for a while. However, this little date night had a price... I made the mistake of not pumping for 2 sessions. I skipped my 4pm and 7pm sessions. NOT A GOOD IDEA!! Never again... but the time we were almost home I was in the passenger seat holding my rock hard boobs and sobbing. I had to get in the shower and let them drain a little before attempting to pump again. I'm sure Bobby enjoyed it just a little bit, even though I was in pain. He said that I had "porn star boobs". Lol. I filled up an entire 80ml container just from one boob. Ouch... I had to keep stopping to massage then go again. I usually do 10 minutes each side, but last night I kept going until the flow slowed. I think I probably did 15-20 minutes each side. All I can say is - never again. You only have to experience that once to kick your butt into gear.

Day 3 in the NICU and Pics

Yesterday Bobby and I headed down to the hospital around 2pm. The nurse updated us on how he was doing. His vitals are improving by the hour, he's starting to be weened off of the IV and increasing his bottle intake, and his biliruben level was at a 9 (higher than before but not enough for phototherapy yet). They are hoping he will be completely off the IV very soon. In that case, as long as he can maintain his body temperature by himself then he can be moved to the regular nursery. Everytime we ask when he can come home, it's always a different response that usually starts with "Well, depending on how he does..." The nurse said he just keeps surprising her. She'll come in after the night shift and he'll be doing much better than when she left the night before. She said he's a funny little guy... if she said two days, it would be a week, if she said a week it would be two days. She thinks he's out to prove her wrong no matter what, lol.

Oh.... and I'm not the ONLY one he likes to pee on, it's everyone, lol. We got to hold him quite a bit. From his 5pm feeding until his 8pm feeding he was in either mine or Bobby's arms. The nurse also said that his endurance level needs some improvement. As soon as he gets a bottle down he's tired out until the next feeding. They did say that since he's the most stable baby they have, if they got another baby that needed a NICU bed, then he would be able to go to the nursery. He still needs some help, but so far he is just flying by all the medical team's expectations.

I try to make these updates as positive as possible, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared and sometimes angry. I hate that I have to drive an hour to see my son, I hate that our carseat is empty on the way back from every trip. I can't wait for the day when all I have to do to see my baby is go to his room, or look down in my arms. It's been a rough road, but hopefully it's almost over and we can bring him home.

Sleepy little boy...

The piece my heart that I have to leave every day. :o(

Daddy and Deagan

Lunch time.

Day 2 in the NICU

Yesterday we spent a good portion of the day getting the rooms (mine and the nursery) ready. We hadn't even built the changing table, so that got done. My mom and I cleaned and disinfected just about anything and everything. We headed down to see Deagan around 3pm. We walked in and he had the breathing tube out and is now 100% on his own. We are SOOO proud of our little guy. He's doing so much better in just the 18 hours we were away! I got to feed him with a bottle yesterday and we also got to give him some of my colostrum with a syringe. I only managed about 3.5cc, but that's half a feeding for him. I'm starting to get more and more every time I pump, so that's a great sign.

I changed my VERY FIRST diaper too! And got peed on! Lol. I thought he was done and once I pulled the old diaper away he went at it again. How can something that tiny pee so much?! Lol. The nurse said that he may be able to go to a regular nursery today, YAY! I would be ecstatic if he was making that leap in progress already. Depending on how all his feedings went last night we're going to see if he'll tolerate me feeding him from my breast today. He was having some issues learning the suck, swallow and breathe all at the same time, so we'll see how it goes. He was taking a pacifier beautifully though. His respiration count didn't even go down when we put it in. We were concerned that he would be relying on breathing through his mouth too much, but like always, he did wonderful! They also said he might need some phototherapy since he was looking like he was starting to get jaundice-y.

I can't wait to bring my little man home and be able to hold him and kiss him any time I want! He is just the cutest kid, and I love him SOOOO much! Briana - I totally get the heart swelling up and bursting with love thing now... We'll be going back up today, not sure exactly when, but I'm sure I'll either update again later today or tomorrow morning.

Labor Pics

Bobby cutting the cord.

My adorable baby boy!

The Walden Family

Gettin a suntan.

Breathing treatments in the NICU.

Happy Birth Day Deagan!!

Hey guys, well it's been an eventful couple of days since Thursday morning. I promise I will have the entire story on here when I get some time. Here's the gist of it:

Deagan was born on Thursday, April 2nd at 7:51pm. He weighs 5lb and 15oz and was 4 weeks early. He's having some respiratory system issues, but nothing that a little bit of therapy can't fix. He had to be transferred early Friday morning to Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta to the NICU since Cartersville Medical Center doesn't have the proper equipment to treat him. He is a little fighter and is kicking this treatment's ass every hour he's there. I'll post more about his condition when I get some more time. We've been getting the house ready for him to come home, so time is something I don't have a whole lot of. We're going back to the hospital tonight to check on our little man.

BBQ Time!

Bobby and I are off to his former boss' house for BBQ. I had a big breakfast around 11:30 this morning. I made pancakes, and I actually did pretty good! But nothing since, so I'm starving! I can;t wait to eat some good food. Tara's an excellent cook. And she's had 3 boys and 1 girl so I totally plan on asking her every question in the book about labor and newborns. Her little girl was born in November, and her youngest boy the year before that. Well... we're off. :o)

Kay

I figured it out... wow. That was scary... maybe I won't try that again. Myspace is so much easier.

Ok, I guess I need to start over...

I'm trying to change my background so bare with me...

Uh-Oh

I think I messed up and lost my entire blog... I'm gonna have to fgure this out.

YAY!

Our changing table/dresser is here!! Well, technically it's still on the front porch because there's NO WAY I could even attempt to move it. But just as I suspected, the FedEx guy just dropped it off and hopped in the truck and left. I heard the truck and tried to make my way downstairs so maybe I could get him to put it in the garage, but he was back to the truck by the time I got to the door. I did get a wave though... thanks dick. Anyway, I'm just glad it's here so Bobby can put it together tomorrow while he's off.