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The first of probably many references to Star Wars, but I think it fits. Luc and I met face to face for the first time today. What a great feeling! He is one tiny little dude, but strong for his size. He grabbed a handful of chest hair and gave it quite the tug. I was able to hold him for about an hour before he had to go back into his isolette. I am looking forward to doing it again. We bonded.
Health wise, he seemed to being doing better. He had been taken off the Lasix, and his lungs seem to be sounding better today. The nurses are slowly weaning down his respirator levels in preparation for taking him off the vent in the near future. We’re hoping that will happen sometime in the coming week. His weigh-in today was promising. He tipped the scale at 2lb 2oz. Only one ounce to go until we get back to his birth weight! The nurses said at the outset that they hope was to have him there by week 2. Hopefully, that will be the case tomorrow. Luc’s digestive system is performing nicely. They’re continuing to increase his food intake. He’s made to 13 cc’s. Not a bad little feat when you consider that he stared out at 1.7. As a result, he had what can only be described as a ‘blowout’ in his diaper. The nurses seemed to be very excited by it, although I’m not sure that was the case for Kate as she was responsible for the clean up.
John-o headed back to Syracuse this afternoon. It was a short trip and I was bummed that I didn’t get to see him. We just couldn’t get it together this time around. |
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To my disappointment, Luc’s vent settings had to be increased today. His blood gas last night showed increased CO2 levels so the team decided to increase his breath rate from 22 to 28. The Dr’s and Nurses think this is because Luc has secretions in his lungs and needs to take bigger, deeper breaths which he has not doing on his own. The increase in secretions can be caused by infection or from irritation caused by the tube. Thankfully the nurses don’t think Luc has an infection because he is still feisty and isn’t acting sick. They are going to give him a dose of Lasix to help with the secretions. As always, the nurses say “this is totally normal for a baby of his size.” That is mine and Beau’s favorite NICU saying.
In other more uplifting news, Luc’s feedings continue to go smoothly. He is up to 10 CC’s of breast milk and weighs 2 lb 1 oz, down a little from yesterday because Lasix is a diuretic. Luc will have another blood gas checked tomorrow, hopefully the CO2 levels will be down and we will be able to start weaning him off the vent. Keep your fingers crossed! Tomorrow, Beau kangaroos for the first time, which is sure to be an exciting day for all of us. |
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Somebody’s Comin’ to Our House.mp3
I’ve been waiting for a lull in the action and looking forward to this post since last week. No picture today, just raucous fun! As some of you may or may not know, my father is quite the aficionado on the piano- and his flavor is rag. He was mentored by two of the best- his mother Lil, and the last of the true great ragtime players ‘Ragtime’ Bob Darch. To know Bob was to love him. He was a man with a story and a song for every occasion. He passed away not long ago and I still find myself hearkening back to his broken, soulful melodies. My eyes lit up when I saw the subject line of my father’s email with this song attached. I had heard it many times before but not with this twist. It was our second day in the hospital and it kinda choked me up if truth be told.
Thanks, Dad. |
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After two failed attempts, the nurses were able to finally get a PICC line into Luc. We were starting to get a little worried. Had the staff not been able to get the line in, Luc would have been transferred to Children’s Hospital across the street where a direct line would have been surgically implanted into his shoulder. Not the kind of alternative course of action that parents like to hear about. Nonetheless, everything went off swimmingly.
When we arrived to Luc’s room tonight, he was already in the midst of his Cares. He was weighed and transferred back into his isolette. He broke the 2 lb. mark for the first time since his birth. We had been looking forward to this milestone. He was taken off of the bilirubin lights earlier in the afternoon and his skin is looking much like a normal baby boy. Also, his feedings have begun again in earnest. He’s now receiving 5 cc’s (about 1 teaspoon) of breast milk every 4 hours. Way to go Luc! His little face is starting to fill out nicely as a result. Kate and I were attempting to identify family features as we looked at him. He definitely has my head and hairline (poor little guy). Kate thinks he has the Hebert head with a McLellan nose- that should be interesting, if true. As we move through the days, he is definitely starting to gain more character both physically and in spirit.
I head back to the office full time tomorrow. It’s been nice to have been by both Kate and Luc’s side during this time, but I think that I am looking forward to getting back into the routine. My work is close to the hospital and I plan on visiting as much as I can. |
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 Not much to report for today. Unfortunately, the Nurse Practitioner that was on duty last night was not able to put in Luc’s PICC Line. She said that she had a hard time finding the vein because he is so small. They will try again tomorrow and if that doesn’t work they may have to send him across the street to Children’s Hospital to have it put in by a pediatric surgeon. At this point I just want the darn thing in… Everyday the Intravenous Line stays in, the higher the chance for an infection.
He is still on the ventilator but the nurses have resumed his feedings which I am happy about. He continues to hover around 1 lb 15.4 oz. We are trying to get over that 2 lb mark. I am returning to work tomorrow. I have mixed emotions about this, but I think it is for the best. Luc will be happier to have all my attention when he comes home from the hospital rather than while he is there sleeping and growing.
In other news… I got to hold Luc for an hour, skin to skin. They call this practice Kangaroo Care. Luc really seemed to enjoy it, although I think it was more therapeutic for me than him. Up until that point I was feeling pretty down. Nothing like holding your son to get rid of the blues. It was magical to feel him breath and to feel his little arms and legs move. Luc had his arm up on my neck squeezing my skin for almost the entire hour. It was really a miraculous feeling holding my son that close. I think he and I both needed it… |
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 Our day started out at church. You can probably imagine what our prayers were for. On that note, Kate and I would like to thank everyone out there for the wonderful thoughts and prayers that have been coming our way. We have heard so many touching stories about the different ways that family and friends alike have been keeping vigil with us. We can definitely feel your warm wishes and loving thoughts. Thank you!!!
After church, we went to the hospital. Kate and I were shocked at what we saw. Luc looked great! We secretly joked that someone had switched out our baby overnight. His skin was looking better and he even looked as if he may have grown a little. It was really nice to see the effects of his well deserved rest taking effect.
Luc had been placed back under the bili light but this was due more to the fact that he had not been eating. One way that preemies expel bilirubins is to poop. Being that he hasn’t been eating, this is completely normal. If all goes well, and Luc continues to look better, they will start feeding him later tonight. Also tonight, the nurse practitioner is to remove the intravenous line in his belly button and replace it with peripherally inserted central catheter or PICC line. The one in his belly has a lifespan of about a week to ten days before it can potentially become infected. So, the staff would like to replace it with a PICC within the next couple of days. We hope all goes well.
We are anticipating a tough week on the home front. Both Kate and I start back at work this week - Kate on Wednesday and me tomorrow. It seems it’s been enough to remember where either of us has placed our heads lately let alone some of the tasks that we’ll have to perform at work. While it will be tough getting back into the groove, we are looking forward to establishing some sort of a routine again. For starters, we had our first sit down dinner since Luc was born. The weather was nice so we decided to cook out. It was great! I did manage to forget not to touch hot things, though, and burned my fingers quite severely on the grill. Oh well…. |
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 1 week ago today, our lives changed quite unexpectedly. It’s only been seven days, and we already can’t imagine a life without Luc. He is resting comfortably today and looks much, much better. He is breathing well but the respirator seems to be doing a lot of the work. The nurses keep reminding us that this is not a bad thing. The goal is to get him rested up and to start putting some meat on his bones- and this is just the thing to get him there. His feedings have been suspended temporarily and the nurses have extended his Care times to every 6 hours until he has some more reserves. All in all he had an extremely long week but a good one at that.
 Grandmas Brandy and Hebert left for home today. It was sad to see them go and we want to thank them for all of their help while they were here. There’s nothing like having family around and having them here made all the difference in the world. Thank you Vicki and Linda, we couldn’t have gotten through this without you!!! Chris also left later in the afternoon. We were not the best company in the world as we were pretty much dead to the world. Sorry, Chris.
I think the operative word for today is rest- for the whole family.
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