8/12 Update

Brady had another good day and didn't need any oxygen today. Thank goodness! We hope tomorrow is more of the same. He weighed 5 lbs 10 oz last night and is getting stronger.

8/10 Update (2)

We had another great visit with Brady tonight - he ate well and didn't set off his monitors. However, he did set them off this afternoon while he was eating a bottle and his nurse had to give him some oxygen. This is very disappointing and frustrating. He hadn't done that since Saturday afternoon and we were hoping he was over it. The nurse hadn't been able to talk to the doctor since it happened, so we're not sure what it does to his plan to come home. Hopefully we'll find out tomorrow what the outlook is.

8/10 Update

We had a really great night with Brady last night. We were able to unhook him from all of his monitors and take him in to one of the family rooms in the nursery last night to feed him. It was the first time the four of us were able to be alone and it was really nice! The doctors are now letting him eat on demand - when and how much he wants. They won't let him go longer than 4 hours without eating and there is a minimum amount they want him to eat daily. As of last night, he had not set off any of his monitors in over 48 hours. We are really getting anxious to have him home and hope to have good news to report soon.

8/7 Update

Brady is doing pretty well. He has been taken out of his isolette and has slept in a regular crib for a couple of days now. The only thing he has to wear right now is the respiratory monitors. We love getting to look at him without anything on his face and down his nose! He is still eating well and gaining weight. He is also keeping his temperature up well. His only issue is keeping his oxygen level up while he is eating. Tonight when we fed him the monitors never went off so it was a very enjoyable night.

8/4 Update - One Month Old

In a way it's hard to believe Brady is a month old, but in many other ways this has been the longest month in history! Brady weighed 5 lbs 4 oz last night. He is now receiving all of his feedings by mouth, so no more feeding tube. The nurses say he is eating really well from a bottle and he nurses pretty well for me in the evenings. They are now putting clothes on him and slowly turning the temperature down in his isolette, trying to get him ready for an open air crib. Hopefully we are getting close to a homecoming, but it's really still too soon to predict.

7/31 Update

We had a really good visit with Brady today. My parents were here and went with us to the hospital this afternoon. I fed him a bottle and he at the entire amount. He even burped well without setting off his respiratory monitors. Tonight he weighed 5 lbs 1 ounce, so he is gaining. Carly tickled him and gave him lots of kisses. Jon also snuggled with him.

7/25 Update

Our visit with Brady today was filled with mixed emotions. He is now three weeks old and weighs 5 pounds! He nursed really well when we first arrived and was off to a great start. He was wearing his nasal cannula because they gave him some oxygen last night to help him breathe easier. They had the oxygen off today and were just giving him room air. After he ate he started setting his respiratory monitors off and he was making me nervous. By the time we left they had turned the oxygen back up and were watching him closely. His IV is gone for now, hopefully they won't have to restart it. His feedings are increasing steadily and for now he is not spitting up. I am anxious to see what tomorrow brings.

7/23 Update

Today Brady seemed to have improved. They took his oxygen off today and started feeding him 10 ccs (1/3 of an ounce) of milk every three hours. He is still receiving IV fluids and continues to gain weight. Last night he weighed 4 lbs 8 oz! We're hoping for more improvement tomorrow.

7/22 Update

Last night Brady weighed 4 lbs 6 oz and seemed to be doing really well, even having some success with nursing and a bottle. However, he had a rough day today and suffered a set back. I got a call this morning around 11 from his neonatologist saying that he wasn't acting like his usual self and seemed to not feel well. Around 9 this morning he had trouble with his breathing and the drs and nurses had to use the mask to get him breathing three times within one hour. This was unusual for him and concerning, so they stopped feeding him and ordered blood tests and a chest and abdomen x-ray. His blood tests all came back fine and the x-ray had one spot in the intestines that they weren't sure about. The dr told us that with preemies the intestines are one of the first things that they check for infection and blockage. They also put him back on his nasal cannula so they can give him a little oxygen and started an IV in his head. They will feed him some sort of IV fluids for at least a day or two to make sure his intestines are clear and he has no infection. They also started him on some IV antibiotics in case he is getting sick. They are repeating the x-ray tonight and we will call the nursery sometime after 10 to find out the results. While we were visiting him tonight, the monitors seemed to beep a lot and it made me nervous. We're thankful that he is receiving the care he needs, but we can't wait for him to be well and at home with the three of us.

PS - We now have Internet and a home phone! If you'd like our home phone #, just send me an email and I will send it to you. We are trying to keep our cell phone use to a minimum because with no home phone for so long we went through our minutes way too fast this month. If I don't answer my cell I apologize and I will try to get back to you if you leave a message. Thanks again for all the phone calls, emails, cards, and most of all prayers!

7/17 Update

We still have no Internet or phone at home . . . so Carly and I are having tea and a cookie at McAlister's while Jon is at the car wash. I have spent hours on the phone this week with our phone and Internet provider and no one can really give me any help. Who knows when we will ever be connected, I am getting pretty frustrated with the whole thing.

Brady is doing well. He has gained a couple of ounces over his birth weight. Thursday night he weighed 3 lbs 13 oz. The meds they are giving him to help with the spitting-up seem to be working and when he does spit-up it isn't near as forceful as it had been. His feeding tube is still all he has connected to his cute little face. His heart and respiratory monitors don't go off as much as Carly's did. She had trouble with her breathing when she ate. We'll see how he does when he is big/old enough to eat on his own.

July 12

I made it home last Thursday night and have enjoyed being there. We make at least one trip daily to the hospital. We are able to get Brady out of his isolette and hold him once per day. He also is able to try to nurse or bottle feed at that feeding. He is no longer on any oxygen through a nasal cannula, and he's doing well on room air. The only tube he has left is his feeding tube through his nose. I think he pulls it out at least once or twice per day. He has spit up a lot, so they started him on some meds last night to try to help him digest better. He showed improvement today and spit up less frequently.

We still have no phone or Internet access at home, so I am typing a quick update in the lobby at the hospital tonight. I will try to do better once we're connected at home. Thanks again for all the calls, thoughts, and prayers.

Update

Brady and I had a good day today. I was finally able to hold him for about an hour late last night, it was great! I also got to hold him this afternoon during a feeding. He is being fed through a tube down his nose and throat in to his stomach. As of tonight, he has lost about an ounce overall and the nurses say that is great. From what I understand he is no longer receiving any medications or nourishment through his IV, so it may go away in the next couple of days if he continues to do well.