Today was a sad day for me, because, for the first time since he was born, I wasn't able to see Maksim. I have been sick and running a fever, and I just don't want to risk getting him sick. It has been rough. I didn't even get to go to rounds. Thankfully, Logan is better, and he got to go see him a couple of times. Milyn is also still really sick, and I think she enjoyed having some mommy time today.
There were no new orders today, but Maksim had his follow-up eye exam this morning. I was sad to learn that more ridges were discovered in both of his eyes. Most of them are small, but he has some in zone 1, which is his central vision. We continue to pray that these will somehow resolve and/or move towards his visual periphery.
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Thursday, March 7, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Day 61
Well, it turns out that Maks' big day yesterday was just a little too much for him to handle. He had kind of a rough day today full of bradys and desats. :( He was just exhausted from everything. I forget how fragile he is when he has so many good days in a row. Days like today bring me back to the reality and gravity of the situation he is in and of the long road we have ahead of us.
I went to the hospital this morning for rounds, but didn't get very close because I woke up with a head cold. I guess it was inevitable, considering Logan and Milyn have both been sick for the past couple of weeks. I also didn't go this evening to hold him, because I didn't want to risk getting him sick, and because I wanted him to be able to rest. We also held off on giving him a bottle today. I did, however, bring some breast milk in from this morning and yesterday, because I know it is full of the antibodies my body is producing against this virus. Hopefully it will help boost Maksim's immunity!
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I went to the hospital this morning for rounds, but didn't get very close because I woke up with a head cold. I guess it was inevitable, considering Logan and Milyn have both been sick for the past couple of weeks. I also didn't go this evening to hold him, because I didn't want to risk getting him sick, and because I wanted him to be able to rest. We also held off on giving him a bottle today. I did, however, bring some breast milk in from this morning and yesterday, because I know it is full of the antibodies my body is producing against this virus. Hopefully it will help boost Maksim's immunity!
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Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Day 60 - two months old
Maks is two months old today! Look how much he has grown! He now weighs 3lbs 11oz and is 15 3/4 inches long. He is finally bigger than his monkey.
He had a busy day today! Because he is two months, he had to get his first immunizations. He had two shots, and he was a trooper. It was probably a breeze compared to everything else he has been through.
He had another big milestone today; he took a bottle for the first time! I was sad I wasn't able to be there, but they wanted to try it at a time when he was really awake, and unfortunately I was working. The nurse was kind enough to snap a few pictures for me. He is up to 35ml every three hours on his feeds, and I was amazed to learn he took all but 7ml through the bottle! Isn't that incredible?! They will continue to give him one bottle a day for a while, then they will go to one every shift, and increase from there.
He also got a bath, I held him a couple times, and Logan held him once. Needless to say, he was tuckered out by this evening! The night nurse said he completely slept through his 8pm cares. Hopefully he has a good night! Happy two month birthday, Mr. Maks!
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He had a busy day today! Because he is two months, he had to get his first immunizations. He had two shots, and he was a trooper. It was probably a breeze compared to everything else he has been through.
He had another big milestone today; he took a bottle for the first time! I was sad I wasn't able to be there, but they wanted to try it at a time when he was really awake, and unfortunately I was working. The nurse was kind enough to snap a few pictures for me. He is up to 35ml every three hours on his feeds, and I was amazed to learn he took all but 7ml through the bottle! Isn't that incredible?! They will continue to give him one bottle a day for a while, then they will go to one every shift, and increase from there.
He also got a bath, I held him a couple times, and Logan held him once. Needless to say, he was tuckered out by this evening! The night nurse said he completely slept through his 8pm cares. Hopefully he has a good night! Happy two month birthday, Mr. Maks!
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Monday, March 4, 2013
Day 59
Maks is doing great! Since he is now 34 weeks corrected gestational age, they discontinued the caffeine. He is officially off his last medication! The only thing he takes now is the multivitamin.
Due to the "ridge" in his right eye, the doctor increased his oxygen goals. Instead of having a goal to maintain oxygen saturations between 85% and 95%, they now want them to be between 90% and 98%. Apparently studies have been done that show that increased oxygenation after a certain gestational age can improve the ridges in the eyes. Whatever works, I guess. He is tolerating the change well but is naturally requiring a slightly higher flow to maintain the higher saturations.
Logan and my dad gave Maks a Priesthood blessing of healing tonight. It was comforting to hear the words of a loving Heavenly Father tell Maks that he will need his sight to accomplish his purposes on this earth, and promise him that he will have the vision necessary to do so.
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Due to the "ridge" in his right eye, the doctor increased his oxygen goals. Instead of having a goal to maintain oxygen saturations between 85% and 95%, they now want them to be between 90% and 98%. Apparently studies have been done that show that increased oxygenation after a certain gestational age can improve the ridges in the eyes. Whatever works, I guess. He is tolerating the change well but is naturally requiring a slightly higher flow to maintain the higher saturations.
Logan and my dad gave Maks a Priesthood blessing of healing tonight. It was comforting to hear the words of a loving Heavenly Father tell Maks that he will need his sight to accomplish his purposes on this earth, and promise him that he will have the vision necessary to do so.
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Sunday, March 3, 2013
Day 58
Today was a sad day because we didn't get to see Maks for very long. Milyn woke up in the middle of the night throwing up and saying her hair hurt and her tongue hurt. It turns out she has a fever, double ear infection, and pharyngitis. She was started on an antibiotic, and hopefully it will start working soon.
I was able to go see Maks for a minute this morning, but I was afraid to open the incubator because I didn't want to get him sick. I planned on going to see him again this evening, but we ended up taking Milyn to Redicare to get checked out, and there were germs and contaminants everywhere. I knew without a shower, I wouldn't feel safe going into the NICU, and since I had to work tonight, I just ran out of time. :(
When I went this morning, he was doing really well. No new orders were written, and he was maintaining his oxygen sats at 3L and 27% oxygen. I hope he knows how much mommy and daddy missed him today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!
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I was able to go see Maks for a minute this morning, but I was afraid to open the incubator because I didn't want to get him sick. I planned on going to see him again this evening, but we ended up taking Milyn to Redicare to get checked out, and there were germs and contaminants everywhere. I knew without a shower, I wouldn't feel safe going into the NICU, and since I had to work tonight, I just ran out of time. :(
When I went this morning, he was doing really well. No new orders were written, and he was maintaining his oxygen sats at 3L and 27% oxygen. I hope he knows how much mommy and daddy missed him today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!
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Saturday, March 2, 2013
Day 57
Maks is 8 weeks old today. He weighs 3lbs 5oz, and is about 15.5 inches long. He is so stinking cute, and it is getting even harder to leave him at the hospital. Logan and I are both just ready for him to be home so our family can feel complete. I think we are both just feeling like something is missing with him not here. It has been a very long eight weeks, and I know the next month or two isn't going to be any easier. Please pray for all of us to have the patience to get through the next several weeks.
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Friday, March 1, 2013
Day 56
Maks finally got rid of his oral-gastric tube! I guess he pulled it out this morning, and Dr. Jenkins decided to give the nasal gastric tube a try. I am so excited. He looks so good, and we can finally see his cute lips!
He had some labs drawn this morning. His hematocrit was 35, which is good. Hopefully that will continue to stay up so he won't have to have any more transfusions. His bilirubin was also good. It has gone down slightly since they stopped the Actigall.
In rounds today, Dr. Jenkins talked a little about the results of Maks' eye exam. I guess there are different stages of ROP, and Maks has stage 2 retinopathy in zone two. I don't really understand much about what all of the terminology means, but it is enough to make me nervous. There is a slight chance it could move to zone three, which apparently isn't as bad, and an even slighter chance it could resolve on its own. If laser treatment is required, which would stop further progression of the retinopathy, he will permanently lose sight in that particular field of vision. I know this seems so minute compared to the many complications he could have faced up til now, but I still worry about it. We pray that Maks can have the least amount of complications as possible, and that we will be blessed to witness many more miracles on his behalf.
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He had some labs drawn this morning. His hematocrit was 35, which is good. Hopefully that will continue to stay up so he won't have to have any more transfusions. His bilirubin was also good. It has gone down slightly since they stopped the Actigall.
In rounds today, Dr. Jenkins talked a little about the results of Maks' eye exam. I guess there are different stages of ROP, and Maks has stage 2 retinopathy in zone two. I don't really understand much about what all of the terminology means, but it is enough to make me nervous. There is a slight chance it could move to zone three, which apparently isn't as bad, and an even slighter chance it could resolve on its own. If laser treatment is required, which would stop further progression of the retinopathy, he will permanently lose sight in that particular field of vision. I know this seems so minute compared to the many complications he could have faced up til now, but I still worry about it. We pray that Maks can have the least amount of complications as possible, and that we will be blessed to witness many more miracles on his behalf.
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