Six Weeks

Dash is officially six weeks old.  I almost can't belive everything that has happened in those six weeks.  He has been gaining weight and doing very well.  He still has some reflux but the meds have helped.  At his last appointment he had gained 14.5 ounces making him 5 lbs 14.5 oz.  He has an ROP check tomorrow.  That is the vision issue that affects preemies, Amaree has this issue so we are anxious to have some results for Dash.  Hopefully he won't have this issue.  He has also been able to turn the oxygen down a little so hopefully he will be off of that soon too!

Tummy time!  Dash can hold his head up for quite a few seconds and uses his head turning ability to look at everyone.

Amaree has been a super helper and loves her brother.  She did finally say she was a little bored and wants to know when he will be able to play, specifically he needs to be able to splash in his bath.  He will be able to play soon enough and then she will complain that he is playing with her toys!  She does love to be able to give him anything she thinks he needs, pacifier, diaper, wipes, blankets, toys, to be bounced, etc.  She is a great big sister!

And We're Home!!!

Whoa, wait, what?!?  I know, it is crazy!  We were not expecting to be able to come home so soon, but our little Dash suprised us and met all the requirements to come home.

We actually get to leave the hospital!!!

Last week we were trying to plan a way for Amaree to come stay with us longer and to arrange Andrew's work schedule so I asked an NNP to find out what Dashiell needed to do to go home.  She looked and said he could go home tomorrow.  I was shocked.  After much hustle and bustle and arranging, it actually took another day but we were discharged!  There has been so much to do trying to get him ready and we were not prepared.  Coming home to the house and then having to get ready for the baby with him here has been entertaining.

When they weighed him the night before he was discharged he weighed 4 lbs 13 oz.  That is the same weight that Amaree was when she came home!  How crazy is that?

When we arrived, we took Dashiell to his peditrician, and he checked the O2 saturation levels.  Dash had to have the oxygen turned up so he was saturating appropriately but eventually we will be able to wean him back down.

We have been adjusting to the addition of our family and I have loved just being back in my own house, in my own bed, and my own space.  The last few days have been wonderful, it is a blessing to have my family together again!

100 Days

Today we have spent a total of 100 days in the NICU.  Amaree spent 77 days and Dashiell just made 23.  It is a really big milestone for us.  I have mixed feelings about it. It is really hard to say that you have spent 100 days in the hospital, I feel like I should get a medal or a badge or something.

We have learned so much and have grown more than we could ever have imagined.  We have had to work so hard to have our two little miracles.  It is bittersweet because these 100 days are totally worth it to have them the rest of their lives.

Yesterday I listened to a nurse explain things to a new Dad.  "This monitor does that, this machine does that..."  All of that is completely standard for us now.  Things that freaked us out in the beginning with Amaree don't even phase us now.  There are things that we don't know, which is fine...We don't need to experience every bad thing that happens to preemies.

There are things I feel like I have had to go the the NICU to learn, like how to swaddle a baby, (I totally suck at it) you shouldn't rock a baby that has reflux in a rocking chair, and how to properly label your milk.  Joking aside, what we have learned is patience, how blessed we are, how much we are loved by those around us, the power of prayer and the priesthood, the blessings of being a member of the church, how much we miss home, to accept the service of others, to be humble, accepting the circumstances that we are in, to count our blessings, how much our faith supports us, the strength of our relationship, how precious each life is, and our own strength.  There are many more things that words can't describe and we haven't recognized or even realized yet.

If you have followed our journey, thank you.  We appreciate the love, prayers,  phone calls, comments, texts and even thoughts that have been sent our way.   It has helped make our journey easier.  You have no idea what it has meant to us and helped us keep going.  We have felt your love.

Weight 4 lbs 13 oz

Back on Oxygen and starting to eat!

Monday Dashiell kept having "periodic breathing".  Basically that means that he would drop in his O2 saturation levels and was having a hard time maintaining the appropriate levels.  We were really disappointed that he had to go back on the oxygen but we knew that he would be on oxygen when he gets to go home because we have to go over a mountain pass that is 8200 feet in elevation and we live at almost 2000 above what the elevation is in Grand Junction.  We were just hoping that he could stay off of it. 

He still tries to pull the cannula out of his nose all the time!

 

On Tuesday they let him try to eat all by himself.  He did great so now he is getting two oral feedings a day.  This is really great news because this is the hardest thing he has to learn to do.  If he can keep doing the two and gain weight he will get to move up to a few more a day.  Once he can eat all of his meals orally and not have any A&Bs for five days then we can come home!  I have been praying that we can be home by Valentines day.  However, if he gets tired then he can easily backslide and we will be waiting for him to continue.

 

Andrew was able to give him his first bottle and he gives him the bottle every time we are doing an oral feeding.  The nurses seem to be surprised that he is so willing to do it, apparently very few Dads here are that active in the feeding process for their babies.  He gave Amaree her first bottle and Dashiell his first bottle so that was a neat thing for us. 

 

His first bottle!

 

Dashiell loves his Dad.  After his bottle today, Andrew was burping Dashiell and had him resting on his chest.  Dashiell looked up and just stared at him for a long time, then he fell asleep.  He really loves his dad!

 

 

Weight:  4 lbs 5 oz







Rosehill Hospitality house

Where do you stay when you are in another state and don't know anyone?  How do you manage to stay with your child while they are in the hospital?  In SLC we stayed at a friend's house and then at the Ronald McDonald House.  Here they have a Hospitality house called Rosehill.  You can read about it here.

It is really great to stay here.  It is so close to the hospital I can walk and if it is really late or l can't walk, like right after the surgery, the hospital security will give you a ride.  There is a simple room with a bathroom and there is a common kitchen and living area.

Most of the people here are dealing with hard things.  I think there are three NICU moms here right now.  Some of the people are getting cancer treatments.  Some just have relatives in the ICU.  We are all trying to survive the experience and get our loved ones home.  The staff have been wonderful and it is really nice to have a place to stay and not have to worry about how much it is going to cost and where we can rest.

We did have an adventure the other day, we woke up to the smoke alarms going off.  My Mom, Amaree and I gathered our things and went out into the cold with everyone else.  The fire department came and security showed up to make sure we were all okay.  Eventually they cleared the house and we were all able to go back in.

 I tried to get Amaree to take a picture with the fire fighters, but she was too shy. So I am sorry I don't have any pics for this post.  I am just so greatful we have this place to stay.  I don't  what we would do without it.

Amaree gets to see her brother!

My parents brought Amaree again this weekend.  She is so spoiled to have grandparents that will drive her four hours to see her mom.  We had a special surprise for her.  The nurse said if Dashiell was doing well enough, he could go to the room with a window and see his sister.  He was doing great so when they arrived we had Amaree wait on the other side of the glass and opened the curtain.

Amaree and Dashiell touch hands through the glass

It was really special for her to get to see him.  She tried to touch him and they touched hands through the glass.  She had been car sick on the way over but it made her day to finally see her brother.

Big Boy Bed (Roller coaster going up!)

Dashiell has to decided that he is way to cool (warm) to be in one of those silly isolettes.  He has mastered maintaining his own body temperature and has been moved to the open crib.  It is much nicer for mom and dad because it is much smaller so more space to move about in the room and he can be taken in and out much easier.  This is a major step and milestone.  One more closer to going home!

Dashiell has also been doing much better digesting his food rather than spitting it up.  They have put him back on fortified breast milk to give him the calories that he needs to grow.  It seems as though Dashiell just struggles a bit with re-flux.  They have discontinued Dashiell daily caffeine (Mt. Dew).  Caffeine is used as a respiratory stimulant but it also linked to re-flux.  Having discontinued the caffeine there is a risk that he may have to go back on breathing support but there is no sign of  that after day two without caffeine.  

If things continue to go well the plan is to begin the process of learning to eat next week.  This is going to be one of the most difficult things he is going to have to do.  Learning to eat is the biggest thing he has to do before going home.  There are a few smaller things he still has to accomplish, but this will be the largest mountain we will have to climb.  It is a really important process and takes a while to learn.  Hopefully it will click soon!

Life in the open cradle!

Going to town on the binkie!  Ready to learn to eat! 

Weight:  3 lbs 15 oz