Week 3

     Conner is still working on bottle feeding this week.  He started off the week doing well and hit a bit of a "preemie slump" and hasn't been feeding well the last part of the week.  The speech therapists recommended a barium swallow test to see if Conner was aspirating any of the milk into his lungs.  It turns out he wasn't aspirating, but there was a little bit of milk that was getting into his nasal passages while he was eating compromising his ability to breathe.  This may account for some of his drops in oxygen levels and heart rate.  The speech therapists recommended strict "pacing" with his feedings (even more than we were already doing), which means to pull back the bottle after 1-2 sucks to allow him to breathe.  I was concerned that it was going to take so long for him to feed that way that he would tire out before he could get his bottle down; however, when we tried it, he did much better since he wasn't having to work so hard to breathe and got his full bottle down!  It's great to see progress!  Hopefully we will keep moving in the right direction!  On a lighter note, Conner got his first tub bath this week and he grew to 5 lbs 9.8 oz and 18 3/4 inches long!

Week 2

    Conner made excellent progress this week!  He got off oxygen on January 19th and we began trying to bottle feed him again once per shift.  During evening rounds on January 24th, Dr. Sparks wrote an order that Conner could bottle feed anytime he was alert and ready to do so.  He took his first full bottle at his 11 pm feeding on January 24th.  At the end of this week, Conner weighed 5 pounds 2.6 ounces and was 17 3/4 inches long.  As soon as he can take a full bottle at every feeding, we are set to go home!

Conner's First Week

    Conner was placed in an oxygen tent when he was first born to help him breathe.  However, he continued to grunt and struggle to breathe.  Although his oxygen saturation was adequate, Dr. Carroll decide to put him on a cpap (continuous positive airway pressure) machine during his first night so he wouldn't have to struggle to breathe.

  

     On January 11th, Dr. Atkinson ordered an echocardiogram on his heart due to a couple abnormalities he had seen on my ultrasound Monday.  We worked on weaning his cpap today but didn't make much headway after he got upset during his echo.  He finished the day at 35% oxygen, after starting at 40% (21% is room air).  I got to hold my sweet boy for the first time tonight at his 9:00 pm feeding, and it was definitely the best moment so far!

   On January 12th, Conner did very well weaning off his cpap, going from 35% oxygen to 27%.  The results of the echo were normal, showing only that a valve in his heart hasn't closed yet.  This is called a PDA and is perfectly normal in pre-term babies, especially those delivered via c-section, and should close on its own in the next week or so.  Conner occasionally experiences something called periodic breathing, where he forgets to breathe for a short period of time; however, his oxygen saturation has not fallen during this time, only a slight drop in heart rate.  This is also very common in preemies and will correct itself as he gets older.

     On January 13th, Conner's oxygen on his cpap machine was weaned to 23% throughout the day and we did a room air challenge late in the evening.  Conner wasn't quite ready to breathe on his own, so the respiratory therapists put him on a nasal cannula for oxygen.  It's so nice to see his pretty little face better!

     On January 14th, Scotty and I got to give Conner his first bath and he loved it!  He also reached 45 milliliters on his feedings so the nurse was able to remove his IV.  Conner weighed 4 lb 12 oz today.

     Conner continued to do well on tube feedings and nasal cannula for the next couple of days.  We tried to bottle feed him for the first time on January 16th, but he wasn't quite ready to suck, swallow, and breathe all at once.  His oxygen saturation and heart rate fell a little bit during the feeding, so we put off bottle feeding for a little while longer.  Conner weighed 4 lb 9.9 oz and was 17 inches long on January 16th.

     On January 17th, we gave Conner his second bath and he didn't enjoy it quite as much as first, but he did great.  Some of our favorites nurses that took care of baby Conner throughout the week were Jodi, Tammy, Cindy, Briana, Alex and Stuart.

Surprise!

Wowsers....have we had an exciting and unexpected surprise this week?!  On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, at 8:40 pm, baby Conner made a surprise entrance into the world.  So......here is the story of Conner's birth.  I worked all day Tuesday, and coincidentally, called to schedule my maternity leave for February 10th since my c-section was planned around that time.  The man I spoke with specifically said if I wasn't sure Conner was coming then to wait to schedule my leave, I responded, "No I'm sure he will be here around the 10th."  Little did I know, I must have meant January 10th, not February!  At 6:30 pm, 30 minutes before closing, I grabbed a cart and took some dog food to my car for Duke.  When I came back inside I realized that I was bleeding.  I, of course, panicked, closed the pharmacy, and went to the hospital, where Scotty met me.  Upon arrival, they hooked me up to a fetal monitor where we heard Conner's heartbeat and I began to feel him move.....Scotty and I both cried with relief.  I was not in labor but I was contracting fairly regularly (which I hadn't noticed until they hooked me up to the monitor).  My doctor was in Hawaii, so Dr. Owen, who was on call came to tell me that they we're not sure why I was bleeding, but, at 33 weeks, they had to deliver me immediately via c-section.  It was a huge blessing that Dr. Owen was on call, because she was incredible, even though I was terrified.  Scotty's parents, grandparents, Aunt Glenna, Aunt Sherri, cousin Rachel, my friends Tiffany and Kelly, and Trey and Leslie, all rushed to the hospital.  Scotty called my parents and brother in Midland and they jumped in the car!  At a little after 8 pm, I was taken back to the operating room and Conner entered the world at 8:40 pm.  He was 5 lb. 0.4 oz. and 16 1/2 inches long.  All of the doctors and nurses were shocked he was just 33 weeks...big boy!  After Scotty held Conner for a couple minutes and let me give him a kiss, Dr. Carroll, the NICU doctor, took Conner and Scotty past the waiting room to see visitors and then straight to the NICU.  I was wheeled down the the NICU when I came out of recovery to visit my sweet baby boy.

Catch Up!

Since I've fallen down on the job of blogging, and Conner is going to be here is 5 short weeks, I figured I better recap my pregnancy quickly!  

Week 21

Week 22 - I felt Conner move for the first time!

Week 24

Week 28 - I began having heartburn and swollen ankles this week (very mild), and we had our baby shower this week!

Week 29

Week 30 - Conner measured 3 lb 10 oz this week (54th percentile). 

Week 31 - We started non-stress testing this week on a weekly basis as a routine precaution.  Conner passed with flying colors!

Week 32 - Conner measured 4 lb 5 oz this week (74th percentile) and we scheduled a c-section for February 10, 2012! 

Baby Shower

My baby shower was on December 20 in Midland!  Scotty and I are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives!  Conner is already spoiled even before he gets here :)

All of the beautiful hostesses

Aunt Kacy, Nana Jo, and Gram

Our group of girls is growing!

After the shower, about to go through all of Conner's goodies!

The nursery is finished!

Scotty and my father-in-law worked very hard on this!

Bedding is by Graham Kracker in Midland!

Scotty's sister, Kacy, made the letters and the box!

My mom made the curtains!