Length :15 1/2 inches
Head circumference: 11 1/2 inches
Weight: 1645 grams or 3lbs 10 oz

6 more ounces away from 4 lbs! They weren't lying when they said once they start to gain, they just keep on going! Lucas in now up to 30 ml feeds over a 30 minute period. We're still working on the bottle feeding and have incorporated some breast feeding today and yesterday-- although this will be hard to do when I'm back to work Wednesday. Baby boy is doing really good, with some fussy moments. He's a big boy now -- off the cushy Z-Flo they use to position preemies to mimic the womb. Today he gave me some worries with his heart rate drops and oxygen saturation drops occurring frequently all day. When I get my update tomorrow I'm sure the doc will mention this. He had another eye exam today leaving baby's eyes red and swollen. They found that his Retinopothy of prematurity (ROP) is a little worse than last week but not so severe that they're recommending surgery yet. I read that 90% of these cases self resolve- so we're praying for that. Baby is happy daddy is back from his little Vacation and is enjoying time with his family. I'll post more pictures soon.

More info on ROP:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002585/

More info on Z-Flo

http://www.sundancesolutions.com/literature/TherapeuticPositioningBrochure.pdf

First Bottle... well sorta

Lucas had his first bottle today... well 5 units out of 25 ain't bad for a first time! He did really good at first but fell asleep rather quickly and didn't finish. Who could disturb such peacefulness :) He has been moved onto a feeding path that involves increasing how many times he's offered a bottle/breast for feedings starting with 4 times a day. Eventually babys work towards 6-8 feedings a day. Lucas is making great strides and gaining weight well. He's at 3 lbs 3 oz as of yesterday and I wouldn't doubt he's gained more since then. We're working on the feedings and hoping for good news from next week's eye exam. This week's exam showed a negative change in the growth of the blood vessels in his eyes so the next exam will help determine if Lucas needs corrective measures. I've learned that our little roo isn't very fond of rock-a-bye baby song (posted below). I'm back to work next week -- a bitter sweet occasion, but I am happy in a way that this time has gone quickly. When he comes home-- Father time--- you can slow WAY down!

Growing like a weed!

Lucas's measurements:
Length :14 5/8 inches
Head circumference: 11 1/4 inches

Weight: 1425 grams or 3lbs 2 oz
Yay! We made it to 3 lbs already! His swelling came down right away once they increased his diuretics yesterday morning. He looks really good and has had two relatively calm days. His heart rates seem to be sitting a bit lower except when he is upset and all in all he's doing fantastic! He had another eye exam today, but I won't hear the results until later.

8 weeks old!

Chillaxin with mamma
Do I look puffy to you? Oh my!

Baby Lucas is now 8 weeks old today! Yay! Its been a long and trying two months, but my little man is growing and doing way better than we ever expected. Everyone's prayers and best wishes have worked there magic thus far and warmed our hearts. We appreciate them all! Lucas has been having more and more episodes it seems with his heart rate dropping and with his heart rate staying high above the 180s. The doctors have given him caffeine to help and are watching him closely but don't seem overly concerned. My biggest concern today is Lucas's sudden weight gain and his puffiness. He's so swollen today and gained 100 grams. This puts him at 3 lbs 1 oz which is a very significant gain and almost certainly mostly water weight. I'm hoping they put him on a different or higher dose of the diuretic so he can lose some of the water and go back to looking like a non- state puff marshmallow baby :)

But holding him was really fun today!!!!

More pictures...

That doesnt taste like milk... I'm very expressive! Cheese...
Daddy says "Rock on," Mommy says "Call me"

Getting Bigger!

My binky is bigger than my hand!

Still diggin tummy time...

ahhh, good stuff

Lucas was measured again on Sunday and he has grown an inch since last Sunday! He is 13.75 inches long and his head is 10.5 inches in circumference. He weighed 2lbs 9 oz (1160 grams). Baby boy is too small for his full size preemie outfits, but he's still really adorable in them. He's been very fussy the past few days and his heart rate has been pretty high. The nurse, Amy said yesterday that they are probably going to do an EKG to look at his heart's electrical activity. Lucas is off of the methadone medication now and finishes the dexamethasone steroid treatment today. He's been enjoying being held by mommy and daddy -- mommy and daddy are enjoying it too. Its so nice when he is awake and looking at us, but his heart rate is lower when he's sleeping, so my favorite time is when he's asleep being held.

By the end of the week he should be switched to being fed just once every 3 hours. We're 9 Oz away from three pounds! He just needs to keep growing.

Lucas is still doing really great. He has the most interesting expressions and noises which I'm sure any first time parent discovers. Its awesome seeing his tiny face! He has already switched off the high flow oxygen down to the low flow oxygen at room % and is expected to remain on it for some time. This is also great news because he's progressed so well in just a week. He will finish his steroid treatment on Tuesday. The doctor stated that some baby's have to go up on their oxygen and support needs when this happens (back to high flow possibly) but Lucas is doing so well that I have high hopes he won't have to. Soon they'll be switching him back to feeding only once every three hours. After he is 34 weeks old, we will start working towards bottle/breast feeding. Lucas weighed in at 1080 grams or 2.38 pounds ( 2 lb 6 oz). He's getting bigger too!

first onesie, first bath

Uh Oh, I lost my feeding tube! Baby's First Bath
Baby's first onesie- mommy does love him!

Lucas came off the ventilator yesterday afternoon and has been doing really, really well! He was in his first onesie when we got to the hospital today. This was super exciting for Brandon and me. We helped with cares today and the asked i we wanted to give him his first bath... well of course!

Jan 9th Update:Stinky Diapers

Lucas has been doing much better on his ventilator settings since starting the steroid- dexamethasone. He is now up to 7 ml per hour on his continuous feedings as of 5 minutes ago. He will continue to get increased feedings based on his size, but soon will probably be switched off the continuouse feeding and just recieve one feeding every 3-4 hours like a newborn would. The doctor said that because of how well he is doing, they will likely try him off the ventilator early tomorrow morning. I hope that he does really well and can stay off this time. He had his first eye exam today. This one was just an initial screening-- the doctor said his eyes are immature-- I knew that :) But, it will help him see the progress between today and the next one. He did more kangaroo care with daddy tonight and I got peed on for the first time today changing his diaper. I'll get used to changing a boy's diaper eventually. I'm looking forword to those moments when getting to hold Lucas is nothing newsworthy and stinky diapers are common place.

I will update on his progress tomorrow.

Jan 6. - 6 Weeks old

Lucas turned 6 weeks old this morning. He has had a better than expected run for being a tiny and sick little boy. He's grown over an inch and a half and almost gained a whole pound since his birth day. He is doing so well with his feedings, now at 5.5 ml over an hour, and giving the nurses, mommy and daddy some nice stinky surprises regularly. I think we have been lucky so far in what we've gone through during his stay in the NICU. I know he could have been sicker and had a worse outcome so far. He hasn't needed surgery yet as the PDA remains small to moderate and is not impacting his lung functioning as it was. However, since Lucas has been back on the ventilator, he has been experiencing more and more episodes where his heart rate & blood oxygen levels plummet suddenly- most likely due to his throat spasming around the vent tube. The nurses and doctors again explained that they don't fully know what causes this and that it doesn't happen with a lot of babies. Lucas is still being weened off the methadone for pain and as a result is more awake than ever. Perhaps this is why he is having problems.

The treatment for this is to give my sweet little boy steroids that are supposed to help the lungs develop better so he can be removed from the ventilator. I don't remember the name of the steroid being used, but the doctor explained to me this morning that the risks of the steroids are that they may impact both growth and brain development. Studies have shown that steroids like this can cause severe developmental delays later in life but the studies refer to infants receiving the drug very early on after birth and being given the drug over extended periods (like 4 weeks). Because of this, Lucas will receive the treatment for only 10 days and they held off until he was 6 weeks old. This is a benefit/risk situation. As he remains on the vent, keeps having episodes and needs to be "bagged" as explained in an earlier post, he is needing more ventilator support which may impact other areas such as damage to his lungs, eye development, etc. Lucas is already at risk of having a lower IQ and developmental delays because of being born so early, but the steroids add to this risk, though is not a certainty. Either way, the goal is for a healthy little boy and to do that, he needs to get off the ventilator. If he turns out to be a short little boy, well, at least I won't take all the blame :) (if you didn't get that, I'm 5 feet tall). My hope for him right now is that he can come off the ventilator soon, keep growing and stay infection free!

2 Pounds! Yay!

Baby boy Lucas reached his two lb mark! He was at 900 grams yesterday and weighed 933 grams tonight. We are very excited to meet this milestone. He handle kangaroo care very well yesterday with daddy and tonight with me. Lucas is being weened slowly on his ventilator settings, he is at 5 ml over an hour on feedings and they are adding the milk fortifier to bring it up to 26 calories. i've come to the conclusion that updates done on daddys phone is very hard so I'll keep this one short. Roo is doing well! His lungs are still raspy because of the ventilator but they're keeping a close eye on him.

Jan 2 -Happy New Year

Lucas had a rough day yesterday on the ventilator - his heart rate & oxygen levels kept dropping. But today, was a good day. His ventilator settings have been adjusted down again today and he was taken off the Verced pain medication. He is still on a small dose of Fentanyl, but will probably be off that real soon. His feedings were increased again to 4.5 ml over 1 hr. Its pretty possible they will be taking him off the ventilator again. The pain meds have a suppressing affect the respiratory system, so he should do better if he's not on them. I got to hold him for 2 hours tonight and it was great as usual. He was very awake this time and enjoyed a few rounds of twinkle twinkle little star as well as Mary had a little lamb. Now he just needs to get bigger!

The nurse said that the babies don't move to the crib from the isolette until they are 4lbs (1800 grams) so Lucas is going to be in the isolette for a while. He was 1 lb 12oz last night. They're adding a breast milk fortifier to add calories and help him gain weight. He says Hi and Happy New Year to everyone.