Chapter 7: Week Seven

Sunday  4/15/12

My, how the time flies!  It's hard to believe that Isaac is already 6 weeks old!  He's getting bigger and stronger every day, and we're told that he might be weaned to the ventilator tomorrow if he continues doing as well as he is.  We're a little nervous, considering the events of the last week, but hopeful that his body is healing enough to welcome the change.  We'll know soon!

Squeezing Daddy's finger for good luck

Monday

Today's story:

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Isaac.  He was bored from laying around in his incubator all the time with nothing to do.  He wanted to try something new.

"I know," said his nurse.  "Let's see if he's big enough for a preemie pacifier!"

But Isaac was skeptical.  "What about this tube in my mouth?" he asked.  "Won't it get in the way?"

"Don't worry," the nurse replied.  "These pacifiers are designed to fit around the tubes."

"Okay," said Isaac.  "I'll give it a try."  At first, he needed Mommy's help to keep it in.

But pretty soon he got the hang of it, and could do it all by himself!  Isaac loved his new pacifier!

Soon he was tired, so Daddy tucked him in, he said his prayers, and Isaac drifted off to sleep.

Sweet dreams, little boy.  We love you.

The End.

Today was actually a big day in more than one way.  Not only did he have his first pacifier success, Isaac was also officially weaned to the ventilator.  So far, he's a regular little champ and doing very well.  They've already been able to decrease his settings quite a bit on the vent, and he's handling every change splendidly.  We were excited to see him awake and active during our visit, comfortable on the (much quieter) ventilator, and absolutely thrilled about the pacifier.  Hopefully his week is off to a good start.


Tuesday

Talk about surprises and more surprises!  Today we were informed that Isaac is doing so well on the vent, and weaning his oxygen levels so quickly, that they're hoping to transfer him to the CPAP tomorrow.  This is completely unexpected and extremely exciting, because it would mean more opportunities to hold him on a regular basis, including skin to skin kangaroo care (  http://www.prematurity.org/baby/kangaroo.html  ), which is extremely beneficial to the health of the baby and bonding with the parents.  This said, we decided to take a lot of photos today, because we're told the CPAP covers the top half of the head, so it may be a while before we can get full face photos again.

Hi Mommy!

I'm ready for my close-up!

High five Daddy!

Wednesday

Woo hoo!  Isaac's officially on the CPAP and doing well!  We received positive reports throughout the day and were told by his nurse, "He's a regular little rock star!"  I may be a bit partial, but I thought he looked pretty adorable sporting his new head gear.

The real surprise was when we walked in for our visit and his nurse asked, "Who's first?"  She had just finished changing his diaper, so we were baffled by what she meant.  Before we could ask, she pulled over a chair, raised the lid off Isaac's incubator, and looked at us.  "Who's first?"  I started gasping, beside myself at what this meant.  "We can hold him?  Today?  Now?"  "That's the plan."  Since neither one of us were expecting this, we weren't dressed for kangaroo care, but we could hold him!  We each had a solid 40 minutes of Isaac cuddle time, then it was time for him to get tucked in for the night.  This is turning into an amazing week!

Thursday

Thursday was bath day!  I went down to the NICU for a couple hours and got to help give Isaac a bath, assisted in the dressing change for his pic line, and then was able to hold him for a little bit while his nurse exchanged his old incubator with a new one.  I even had the opportunity to snap a couple of quick pictures of his face while his respiratory therapist was making some adjustments to his CPAP.

 Getting set up for Bath Time

 Face Photo

After all the excitement, he was tuckered out and slept soundly for the rest of the day, which rested him up nicely for kangaroo care time with Daddy in the evening.

 
It was a great day for baby bonding, including our first family photo!

Our Family

Friday

Friday was Mommy's turn at kangaroo care.  I cuddled with Isaac for a full hour, and we were both extremely content.  Both of us were very sleepy; one of us even fell asleep.

If he continues along his current path of health and stability, we can plan on kangaroo care every day during his stay in the NICU.  I am addicted to my son, love being a parent, really enjoy this kangaroo care cuddling, and look forward to the day I can make it a full time gig, diapers and all. 


Saturday

So many new things are happening this week.  Apparently, Isaac had decided that he's not a fan of the CPAP, and has been learning how to dislodge it for his own comfort.  He doesn't quite seem to understand that it's mandatory for his ability to breathe, so his respiratory therapist decided on an alternative option so that everybody wins.  Now he's on a high-flow nasal cannula, which still provides the pressurized oxygen and a high level of humidity, but is more comfortable to wear.  It's not quite as measured in the pressure provided, so if his saturation levels drop, he may find himself back on the CPAP again in the near future, but we're going to give it a try to see how he does with it.  He seems happy because it means he can sleep on his face, which he has taken a liking to.  He might as well enjoy it while he can, because once he comes home, he'll be sleeping on his back.

They need a lot of extra tape to help hold the tubing in place, because with his baby skin and high humidity in the incubator, it tends to peel off.  So far, he doesn't seem to mind, so we're really hoping that the cannula is a success.

I still can't believe that on Sunday, he was on the oscillator, and within six days he has been weaned  three times!  We've experienced an amazing week of victories, now we're just holding our breath and saying prayers that he can continue along this path in the weeks to come.