Caringbridge Journal 2

Thursday, October 15, 2009
My little man is growing up! He got moved to a crib, so now it's much easier to touch him and pick him up. We also finally started breastfeeding! Brennan knew just what to do, he loves to eat! The nurses are impressed at how great he is doing. We've only done it a few times but he's really doing well. He also ate from a bottle this morning. He gets a little more that way, and I want him to take as much as he can orally so he can come home ASAP! Unfortunately he is still having quite a few 'spells' where he stops breathing. He can't come home until he stops doing that. Brennan is on caffeine to help with the apnea, and they upped his dose, but he's still having several spells a day. I've used my 'mom voice' on him already to tell him to knock it off!! The doctor also started Brennan on Zantac to help him be more comfortable while he eats. They are going to try and feed him more quickly so he no longer takes more than an hour to eat. Hopefully he'll continue doing great with that!
Brennan is also lifting his head up and when I change his diaper, he pushes off the bed and lifts his bottom up in the air. He's my strong little guy!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Not much has changed for Brennan, which is good in the NICU world! He is so darn cute! One of the nurses held him for an hour one night just because she thought he was so cute! That was good to hear - I like to hear he's being well taken care of when we are not there. Brennan is having much fewer spells, so now we just need to work on eating! He's pretty gung-ho about eating, but for a preemie it's so much work that he doesn't actually eat much at a time. He's fed orally 3 times a day and usually only takes 8-12 mls. His whole feedings are 42 mls, so he's got a way to go.
I got to give Brennan a sponge bath yesterday! His hair was so soft and fluffy afterwards. Also, he can roll over onto his side! I am so happy for my strong little man.

Sunday, October 25, 2009
Brennan will be a month old tomorrow! I can't believe how fast this is going. He's already over 5 lbs and has a double chin! Brennan hasn't had any apnea spells since the 18th, so the doctors will be weaning him off the caffeine! He still drops his heartrate and oxygen sats sometimes, especially when eating, but they aren't true 'spells' since they are so short and he pulls himself right out of it. It's something he just has to grow out of. He hasn't improved too much with his eating skills, but he's still working hard! An occupational therapist is helping out - they have ideas for different nipples and techniques to help Brennan eat better. The poor little guy is also struggling with motility issues - meaning he gets backed up, and it doesn't feel good! Last night he was screaming because of the pain, which was no fun to watch. They started giving him a little pear juice twice a day, as well as suppositories every 24 hrs - which, sadly, haven't been working too well. But if constipation is our biggest problem, then I can't complain!

Friday, October 30, 2009
Well, Brennan doesn't really want to come home. He hasn't made any progress with eating; in fact, he's a little worse. Because of his reflux, Brennan often drops his heartrate and stops breathing when he eats. When the milk comes back up, he doesn't know what to do, so he doesn't do anything - swallow or breathe. Also, it presses on his vagus nerve, which can lower his heartrate. He needs to be held upright when he eats, and you have to control how many times he sucks, because he won't do it himself. He didn't do very well when they took him off of the Zantac, so now he's on Protonix, which should help reduce the stomach acid and help with Brennan's pain and discomfort. He's not getting the practice sucking that he needs since he's not really taking much orally. He also gets tired very quickly. Poor guy is not having an easy time with this! He just needs to mature a little more. One of the nurses told me that sometimes it's just like a little lightbulb goes off, and suddenly they get it! Hopefully when the medicine kicks in, he'll be able to get a hang of it!

Friday, November 6, 2009
Brennan is getting the hang of things! He's doing much better than last week. The occupational therapist said he looked like a completely different baby - he's now doing all the things that he is supposed too. He's definitely excited about eating! He needs to develop the stamina he needs to get through a bottle. Right now he gets too tired about halfway through, and then he looses the coordination of suck/swallow/breathe. Instead he goes suck/I-don't-know-what's-next-so-I-will-do-nothing. Which means he doesn't breathe! So we have to remind him a little. We also help by pacing him - we let him suck twice and then tip the bottle up in his mouth so he remembers to swallow. We also only keep the nipple half full and hold him upright and on his left side while eating. It requires some coordination! We're also still working on breastfeeding, but I am sure you don't want as much detail on that. :) B is taking between 8-17% of his feedings orally. His hemoglobin is only 9.1 (it should be around 12), and that makes him a lot more tired. It should go up on its own, since he is making his own red blood cells now. If it doesn't go up by Monday (when they retest), and he hasn't perked up, the doctor might give him a transfusion. But he should be fine without it.
Other than that, he's just busy being cute! He still doesn't poop on his own, but as his muscles get stronger, it'll happen. The OT gave us all sorts of exercises to do with Brennan to help him get stronger. He's pretty stong - I am fairly sure at this point he could beat up a hamster, if no biting was allowed. I'll try and remember to take a video of him soon. I am usually too busy enjoying him to remember! All the nurses think he's adorable too. A lot of the nurses know us by now. I told Brennan that means he's been there too long!