Yesterday the realization hit that Michael could be in the NICU quite a while longer; maybe as long as 2-3 weeks. The major hurdles have been met, but now he just needs more time to bake in the incubator while he develops his strength; a job that would have been much easier had he just decided to stay put a couple of weeks more before making his grand entrance.
Although he knows how to nurse, his little body is by no means ready to do it around the clock so today the doctor suggested giving him a break and only … Read the rest
Not exactly the Ritz Carlton, but the hospital stay has been going just fine. Thankfully I did have two sets of underwear so I could hand wash one pair at night time and wear the others during the day. Scrubs make ultra comfy pajamas and are so stylish. And I think stringy, greasy hair that hasn’t been washed in five days is making a come back; just consider me a trend-setter. But just to keep me humble and not too comfortable with my established routine, I have a neighbor bringing me a bag packed with all of the important modern-day … Read the rest
OK… The bigger kids are both sick (Isaac with a fever and an overly hefty dose of high drama), Michael is in the NICU about 30 miles away, I’m still fighting a cold that is taking its time going away, Liz is at the hospital with Michael, and now we’ve got almost 18″ of fresh snow on top of the 2 feet we already had. I can barely get the back door open far enough to let the dog out, and then he has trouble finding a place to go… he’s an 80lb dog… I’m glad he’s not an ankle-biter. … Read the rest
Michael has been completely off the oxygen for 18 hours; he is breathing on his own! He has completely stunned the nurses and doctors. Of course we have been reminded it is important to not be surprised if he does need to go back on it but we’ll take any success we can.
I’ll update some more later today after spending some time at the hospital.
Michael continues to improve steadily; his breathing is continuing to stabilize and he is requiring smaller amounts of oxygen to do well. He has been rather feisty and has yanked out his gavage tube a couple of times and is always grabbing at the various tubes and pieces of tape stuck to him. But this is actually good news because it means that his body has some energy for activities other than breathing.
Feeding has been going well and he is tolerating milk; while he takes his food through a tube I put his binky in his mouth so he … Read the rest
For those of you privileged to have access to this page we thought we’d share more detail and pictures.
He came out five weeks ahead of schedule weighing 5lbs, 8.1oz.
He had some trouble breathing, but thanks to the skilled pediatrician and nurses they were able to get him oxygenated enough to let Liz hold him for a short minute before they carted him of to the NICU. It wasn’t long enough, but we’ll take what we can get.
Because he was early, they started an I.V. to run fluids and prophylactic antibiotics. His lungs were poorly enough developed that
We had our baby boy very early this morning. Here are the stats:
Michael Arnold Johnson Feb. 17, 2011 12:14 AM 5 lbs 6 oz 18 3/4 in.
Just like our other kids, he showed up five weeks early and is staying at the local NICU for an undetermined length of time. Right now they are helping him with his lungs and making sure all the basic functions are working.
