Little Man, Big Changes

So many things have happened in the last two weeks with Alex. I recovered from my cold and was able to see Alex after 8 days of staying away from the NICU. I wore a mask for a few days when I first went back, just to be sure he'd be safe.

Alex still loves his baths and loves to be held. He doesn't enjoy certain aspects of his cares, like getting his temperature taken, having his tummy felt, measured, or any kind of handling. As the development specialist has begun to examine him weekly, she has shown us his stop signs when he's bothered. Like putting his hands out, putting them together, yawning, hiccups - things like these that we didn't realize were his signals for us to stop or slow down - we just thought he was being cute. That has been extremely helpful for us to realize that he is bothered, so we can take our time in his handling. When he gets very bothered, it affects his oxygen saturation and heart rate.

We love this outfit we received from a friend.
His shoes are so cute!

About a week and a half ago, he was considered stable enough to be transferred from Room 1 in the NICU, and is now in Room 3. Room 1 is for babies who need much more critical care. This was a very happy day for us! But it quickly went from feeling like he was a big fish in a little pond to a little fish in a big pond. The babies in the other rooms are babies that cry, and many are in open beds instead of isolettes. Babies that eat at least in part from a bottle or breastfeeding.

This has made us feel like our NICU stay will not actually last an eternity. Seeing other families going home with their babies, seeing Alex growing into a baby that needs his mommy and daddy in different ways than before. The first two months of Alex's life whizzed by for us, when he needed such critical care, and we could do hardly anything for him. Now that he's currently 4 lb 7 oz, things have changed drastically. He knows when we're there, and cheers up significantly. He seems more like a real baby to us now, and just about drives us crazy with how cute he is.

The most exciting for me, was when we started doing non-nutritive breastfeeding, where I would pump, and then he would practice sucking. He did this for about a week, and loved it! Whenever he was a little stressed or not too happy, it would cheer him right up, and help him relax. I have seriously loved that closeness to him, and to be able to offer him something more motherly. He smiled a lot when we did this. After meeting with the development specialist and the doctor, it was decided he'd be able to try actual breastfeeding. His first real breastfeeding session was awesome. I've been able to do it with him a couple of times a day, and he's gotten very good at it. It's been almost a week since we started doing that. Eating is a very difficult skill to learn, and requires a lot of work. Learning to suck, swallow, breathe, repeat. He will often forget to breathe while sucking, and this is the main issue. But for the most part, I have been extremely impressed, and very proud of this little guy. He's learning to do it so well. He loves it, and so does his mommy.

When Alex reached 1800 grams (almost 4 lbs), he was switched to an open crib. Hooray! No more isolette. He's done pretty well maintaining his temperature, while still gaining weight. It's fun to have such easy access to him.

Along with being in Room 3, he is also in his very own private suite, an isolation room. We love this. It's much more secluded, and he still needs his ears protected from much stimulation. With the noisier babies in the other rooms, this is really nice.

We've been told by the doctors to not be surprised if Alex goes home after his due date (February 24th), and to expect that he will go home on oxygen. So even though he's made so much progress and has done very well, he still has a long way to go yet. It isn't the size that determines when babies can go home, but their ability to maintain their temperature without losing weight, and they need to be able to go 48 hours being fed completely by breast or bottle, without being supplied any through the tube. Doesn't sound like much, but it can keep babies in the NICU for a very long time.  So we're happy to continue the journey, and will just be patient. Alex is the one who will determine when he's ready to go home, and we'll give him all the time he needs!

Alex has had further eye exams, which have shown us that his eye development has gotten worse, and he has mild ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). He will have another followup exam on Saturday, and if it has gotten worse again, then he will need treatment to prevent loss of vision. The treatment would be a shot in each eyeball to help the affected blood vessels normalize. We are hoping that there will be improvement before Saturday, but we will see.

Steven and I attended a class for Infant Massage at the NICU, and Steven gave Alex his first massage this week. He loved it! He loved the time with his Daddy, and was very relaxed and happy.

Alex has had many de-sats (de-saturation, when his body isn't getting enough oxygen) and bradys (drop in heart rate) in the last week, since they took him off the caffeine which they use to keep preemies' minds alert enough to remember to breathe. The need for caffeine is something they eventually just grow out of.

Our concern for Alex has lessened significantly from where it was a month ago, but is still there. We of course want him to be comfortable and happy, not ever be sick, not have bad days, and be ready to leave next week! But overall, life is so much easier now than it was even a few weeks ago. In looking back at our experience, we had no idea how dire his situation was in the beginning. Seeing other families and their experiences and other 23 week babies has been both sobering and miraculous. We are grateful for his progress and very happy to have our little tiny baby boy. He's still so little, and will be for a good while. But his growth has been amazing to see, and his spirit is so big. He's pretty great. And wonderfully adorable.

Teeny Little Super Guy