Update and more pictures!

Hi everyone. Morgan is still doing well. He has come down on his ventilator settings over the past few days so hopefully that means he is on his way to coming off of it.

In the first two pictures Morgan was using the booties and blanket someone had knitted for him. I'm not sure who made them, the nurse just said they were in his Christmas stocking. In the third picture Morgan is sprawled out, he was stretching his arms and legs out at the same time, it was so funny. In the fifth picture the nurse was changing the stabilizer on his ventilator tube so we were able to see more of his face. The mark on his face is the residue from the glue the use to keep the stabilizer on.

Morgan is one month old today

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Brad came down to Charlottesville on Christmas eve to see Morgan and spend time with me. Brad got to hold Morgan for the first time on Christmas eve, he really enjoyed that. I have some pictures that I will upload later. We both went home Christmas afternoon to spend time with family. My sister and mom came down this morning to see Morgan, he has really grown. He is up to 2 pounds 15 ounces...almost 3 pounds! He is really filling out now. They started his feedings again yesterday and so far so good. I really think the next big hurdle is getting him off of the ventilator. His settings aren't as low as they would like but I guess they are slowly lowering them. The doctors seemed to be contemplating giving him a dose of steroids but are hesitant to do that if he is able to lower the settings and come off of the ventilator himself. That is about all that is going on here. I'll try to post pictures soon.

Update

Hi everyone. Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Things have been crazy! We went to closing on our new house in Bristow last Wednesday and have been painting, working on the house and moving since. I came home for a couple of days to help paint but Brad has had to do the moving on his own. He has done a really great job with taking care of everything back home!

Morgan is doing well. Today he was up to 2 pounds 10 ounces! I think he will gain and then lose a little, gain and then lose a little. He is definitely looking bigger though. It was really hard to be away from him for the 4 days I was at home. I called everyday to check on him. The second day I was home I called and the nurse had said that his left lung had collapsed and he was up on his oxygen which is something that happens with babies that have lung disease. One thing I didn't understand and am starting to realize is that most premature baby has lung disease just because their lungs are under developed. The severity of the disease varies with every baby. Morgan's chest xrays are looking better and he is down on his oxygen. I read on Webmd though that some children can out grow their lung disease which is hopeful. He will be on the ventilator for at least a couple of more weeks before they try to extibate him again.

The doctors also thought Morgan had some sort of intestinal infection because he had blood in his stool one day. They stopped his feedings and started him on antibiotics. They will start feeding him slowly again this Friday and see how he does. But other than those things he is doing well. He still looks great and is acting the same. The nurse also said that because he was still acting the same and responding to stimuli and opening his eyes that that was a sign that there are no neurological issues. It has definitely been a roller coaster ride so far but I feel that in the end it will all work out. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Update on Morgan's Progress

Morgan is still doing well. They are increasing the amount of breast milk he is eating. They feed him every two hours through his feeding tube and I believe are increasing the amount every twelve hours. He is tolerating the feedings very well and is pooping on a regular schedule which is a relief. As of yesterday he was up to 2 pounds 2.5 ounces and he does look like he is filling out and getting bigger. I got to hold him again yesterday for an hour and a half! He did really well when he was laying on my chest. He actually peed through his diaper and onto my shirt which was kinda funny. I felt like a true mom! Ok I'm off to the hospital again to see him.

More Pictures

Morgan surpassed his birth weight

Today started with my typical routine. I went to the hospital this morning and sat by Morgan's bedside for a while. I always check his weight on the spreadsheet every morning. This morning he weighed 1 pound 15 ounces...he surpassed his birth weight and is almost at 2 pounds!! My aunt and uncle (Barbara and Dave) and my paternal grandmother came to visit today. The "A" pod of the NICU where Morgan is was very busy today. It is now full with tiny babies. I kept feeling like we were in the way but the nurses and doctors are always happy to see family. After spending time with Morgan we all ate lunch in the cafeteria and then took a tour of the Ronald McDonald house.
We happened to be there when the doctors did rounds and overall Morgan is doing well. The value near his heart that had closed with medicine can reopen. They are going to do an echo to see if it has reopened. His last head scan on Monday looked good. He still isn't pooping like he should be but the nurse said that is also a common problem in premies. They are also going to check his biliruben levels to see if he is jaundice again, he may have to go back under the lights. Everyone warned me that it would be a roller coaster ride. Once one problem is corrected it can reappear later on but the nurses reassure me that this is normal with premature babies.

Well Morgan is 26 and 1/7 weeks today. He is still at 1 pound 11 ounces...hasn't gained any weight in the past two days, but he hasn't lost any either which is good. I spent the morning at the hospital with him. There are no significant changes to report. The doctors said it's good that things are boring. Boring is good in the NICU. They are continuing with feedings every four hours into his feeding tube. An xray of his bowels yesterday looked good. They did another head scan this morning, I should get he results of that tomorrow morning. That's all for now. Thanks again to everyone for the love and support!

Linda (grandma) came down last night and visited all day with me and Morgan. We hung out at Morgan's bedside for quite a few hours today. He is still doing well however they aren't feeding him large amounts of milk until he has large bowel movements. That is something they are going to keep an eye on over the next few days. I changed his diaper again today, I'm getting pretty good at it. Overall the doctors say he is doing well except for the pooping issue. Mom and I walked to and from the hospital a couple of times today, it is only a 5 minute walk which is really nice.

The Ronald McDonald house is really nice, it has all of the amenities of home including a washer, dryer, computer and a fully equipped kitchen. They also decorated the house for Christmas. Almost every night a different group makes dinner for us. Last night the local girl scouts brought dinner....ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, biscuits, jello salad and brownies...yum yum!!

That is all for now, tomorrow Daddy and Marcus come down to visit.

I got to hold Morgan today

Today was a good day. When I got to the hospital this morning they had just switched Morgan over to a regular ventilator instead of a oscillating ventilator which had been putting faster breaths into his lungs. He responded well to the new ventilator. The tubes for a regular ventilator are more flexible which meant I could hold him. I got to hold him on my chest for half an hour today and it was awesome. He was just relaxing and sleeping. I also got to change two of his diapers today which I hadn't gotten to do yet. When I left the nurses were trying to put a pick line into either his hand, foot or head (I know that sounds scary but they assured me that it can go there too). The pick line will replace the lines he has going into his belly button for his nutritional supplements. After a week of the lines going into his belly button the chance of infection increases because his belly button is supposed to be healing. I don't have any pictures of me holding Morgan right now, the nurse took some with the disposible cameras we had but I will have my camera the next time and post them on the blog.

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the love and support you have been showing me, Brad, Marcus and especially Morgan...we all appreciate it very much!!

He may be little, but he is just like you and me. While visiting on Tuesday, we saw him hiccupping, sneezing, yawning, and exercising. He completely ignored me but became very active at the sound of Amanda's voice. The doctors said he was acting like he was enjoying a day at the beach. Here is my favorite picture of him yawning.

Amanda and Morgan on Tuesday, Dec.2

Morgan's Progress

From the beginning, Morgan has exceeded the doctors' expectations. For the last 5 days he was breathing well with the help of a ventilator, which was now on the lowest setting. Because of his progress, at 3 pm on Tuesday, Dec. 2, the doctors decided to remove his breathing tube as a trial run. They warned that he might have to be reintibated but said that any break from the ventilator will help his lung development greatly.

It was exciting for us because as they were removing the tube and fitting his oxygen mask, Amanda and I got to see his whole face for the first time. I think he looks like Brad, but I guess only time will tell:).

Morgan did very well breathing with only the oxygen mask for the afternoon and all the tests of his respiratory system came back perfectly. They expected that after resting for the evening and overnight that Amanda would be able to hold him for the first time in the morning on Wednesday. However, because his little body doesn't have the stamina to continue breathing on his own, he was reintibated early this morning. While a little disappointing, it is not considered a setback because he is still doing extremely well for his age.

There is also other good news! Morgan had a brain scan done at one day old, last Friday, and the results indicated that he had bleeding on one side of his brain. We were all worried but found out on Sunday that the bleeding had resolved itself. However, yesterday the doctors reviewed the inital scan results again and determined that they were misread and that there had been little to no bleeding in his brain at all. Because the long term effects of any bleeding is not known, we were glad to hear that news.

Also, as most babies lose weight after birth, Morgan dropped down to 1 lb 8 oz. But as of Tuesday, he started gaining weight again and was at 1lb 10.5 oz. We can't wait for him to continue bulking up:).

Morgan's First Baby Picture 11/27/08

Welcome to Baby Morgan's Blog

Morgan Evan Bosarge was welcomed into this world by Amanda and Brad on November 27, 2008 at 1:19 p.m. He weighed 1 lb 14 oz and was 12.5 inches long and was born at the UVa Medical Center in Charlottesville, VA. Although he was born almost 16 weeks early, he is a little fighter and is doing very well.

Morgan will be staying in the NICU at UVa until his original due date of March 15. We will be updating his blog with his progress as he continues to get bigger and stronger over the next few months. Feel free to leave comments of love and encouragement to Amanda, Brad, Marcus and Morgan's extended family as he is loved by many!

Also, Amanda will be staying in Charlottesville with Morgan throughout his stay with Brad and Marcus visiting on the weekends. You can send any mail to Ronald McDonald House, c/o Amanda Bosarge, 300 9th Street SW Charlottesville, VA 22903.