Lil Dude stayed in the clinic for a wee bit longer than I did. Due to logistics of getting to the clinic, dealing with Henlie, me not speaking Spanish, and not being able to do much with Andrew for awhile, we typically only went to visit him once per day. Then I'd post an update of his progress on Facebook. As the title indicates, this post is pretty much just going to be those status updates and pictures. Enjoy!
Thursday, March 19, 2015 at 12:28pm
I promise Dad gets to see Andrew too smile emoticon His status is pretty unchanged. They're taking the IV out of the umbilical cord and going to place a central IV in his arm. He still has discharge coming from his stomach. They think it's an infection, so they switched his antibiotic. Tomorrow they'll take an X-ray to check on the open valve. If it's healing on its own, then they'll probably just leave it. If not, they'll have to check into doing some direct medicine if his stomach doesn't clear up soon.
Thursday, March 19, 2015 at 7:37pm
Really wish we were in Utah right now.
Friday, March 20, 2015 at 6:34am
I changed Henlie myself for the first time since having Andrew. Friday,
Friday, March 20, 2015 at 10:45am
feeling grateful.
Friday, March 20, 2015 at 4:44pm
Friday, March 20, 2015 at 5:00pm
Oh! And I totally put on the booties at the nicu by myself today! I feel accomplished smile emoticon
Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 6:04pm
Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 10:33pm
Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 11:09am
Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 12:43pm
Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 12:50pm
I think I'll stop at his 1 week birthday since this is getting a bit long. More to come!
Friday, March 20, 2015 at 10:45am
Babycenter kindly reminded me that I should be 29 weeks pregnant today. Good news, I guess, it said he should be about 2.5 pounds... Andrew came into this world nearly a week ago at nearly 3 pounds. That's gotta be helpful, I'd think smile emoticon
— feeling grateful.Friday, March 20, 2015 at 4:44pm
The hospital is not good for my poor feet.
HOWEVER, Andrew is doing well. His stomach has seemed to have cleared up and they're trying him on some milk fortified with other nutrients again. They're hoping he will start pooping on his own again now that he's eating.
They've placed the IV.
They keep turning his oxygen support down. He's almost at room air.
His head looks good. (Recall how blue it looked in the first picture?) Apparently with 28 to 30 week babies, there is an 80 to 90 percent chance of hemorrhaging on the brain, so he has beaten those odds so far smile emoticon
They figured he was 30 weeks along based on his size and weight. That fits with the extra week the doctor who did his mid-pregnancy ultrasound gave him based on the measurements.
He has started gaining weight again. He's up 10 grams and currently weighs 1.1 kg. (He started at 1.34 kg for all of us who don't do metric.)
Doc today said if things keep going well, it would be a 4 to 6 week stay. Step 1 is breathing on his own. Step 2 is eating. Step 3 is gaining weight. After he weighs at least 1.7 kg, we can start learning to breastfeed together. After he gets off the cpap, we can hold him and do kangaroo care.
They are going to hold off on the X-ray of his valve as long as he stays stable. They are very much hands-off as long as he is doing fine. They may check it later after he has gained some weight.
I think we found our sweet spot for visiting. It was only about 30 minutes there and back today. We didn't have to wait forever to get into the nicu, and Matt really likes the afternoon nurse, Edith.
Unfortunately, it coincides with Henlie's ideal napping time. We're looking into finding a nanny/maid for the afternoons so she can stay home and get a nap. Today, Carmela kindly picked her up at the clinic to go play so Matt and I didn't have to take as much time taking turns going into the nursery.
Friday, March 20, 2015 at 5:00pm
Oh! And I totally put on the booties at the nicu by myself today! I feel accomplished smile emoticon
Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 6:04pm
I very much hate Peru right now. Okay, at least the clinic. As if it wasn't bad enough that Henlie made it so we left late because she was super upset, we've been waiting for nearly an hour to see Andrew. Matt went to find out how long it was going to be, and then like a minute later a nurse came out and said they needed a package of premature diapers. They don't have them at the pharmacy downstairs, and since we're waiting anyway, we should go get some. Let's just forget that I haven't seen my baby all day and have been waiting forever and have to pump in 30 minutes. I am so upset right now.
— at Clínica Ricardo Palma.Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 10:33pm
Updates - Andrew is basically unchanged today. He's off milk again. Apparently this is just what they do, give him a little to try to get him used to eating and digesting then take a day or two off until one day it clicks.
His color looks good. More like a white kid and not a pink baby lol.
His O2 sat. was better today than yesterday. He stayed in the 97 range today while I visited, even when stretching. Yesterday, he was in the 89 - 90 range usually.
Lil Dude opened his eyes a bit for me and reached his hand over. You bet I opened the incubator side to hold my guy's hand smile emoticon When I was getting ready to leave, he squeezed tighter on me. Manipulating Mommy already wink emoticon
As for me, my core is pretty displeased today, even through an extra pain killer. My feet and ankles still swelled up after the hospital, but even though they were painful, my legs and knees maintained some definition. I think I'm on the receding side of the swelling finally. I'm super excited for it to go away entirely.
Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 11:09am
Dropped Henlie off at church and came to the clinic. I'm hanging out pumping before we see Andrew. However, the doc just walked by and told Matt they are going to pull the cpap off to see how he does! I don't know if this means we'll get to hold him or not just yet, but it's exciting!
— with Matt Biggs at Clínica Ricardo Palma.Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 12:43pm
Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 12:50pm
They removed his cpap. There is oxygen in the tank, but nothing directly on his nose. smile emoticon Today is another milk trial. Almost done with Step 1 - breathing on his own. Hopefully I get to hold him sometime this week smile emoticon So happy to see his little face again!
— at Clínica Ricardo Palma.
I think I'll stop at his 1 week birthday since this is getting a bit long. More to come!
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