Exciting Times

Hi all! Well Morgan is doing AWESOME! He was extubated again on Wednesday January 21st and has done awesome since then. I was a little nervous because the last time didn't go so well but this time he is doing much better. Yesterday the nurse took off his CPAP helmet so we could see his whole face. He did pretty well with nothing but he was working too hard at breathing. Today while my mom and I were holding Morgan the nurse put him on just the nasal cannula so we could see his face again and he did well on that too. They still put his CPAP back on after we were done holding him because they don't want to push him too fast to prevent a major set back. I am so relieved his breathing is improving because I knew that would be his biggest hurdle. He is still eating well and is up to 4 pounds 2.5 ounces and 15 inches long. He might soon graduate to another NICU pod where the "big boys" are where the main focus is eating and getting bigger to get ready to go home. He still won't come home until March but we are getting there! Other big new is that Brad got to change his first diaper for Morgan.

There was a new born baby next to Morgan when Brad and I went to visit him Friday night that ended up not making it. I am not sure how old the baby was, it looked small but it was a reminder how lucky we are that Morgan is doing well. I added the pictures I took this weekend. There is also a video of Morgan hiccuping, it was hilarious, it was so high pitched. It might be a little hard to hear because the doctors were talking in the background.

Hi everyone. Here are some more pictures. The date on some of them is wrong, I forgot to reset the date on my camera. Morgan is up to 3 pounds 14 ounces....almost 4 pounds!!! He is still doing very well. The big news is they tried extubating him on January 14th but they had to reintubate him on the 15th because he required too high of an oxygen level and he was working too hard at breathing. He just needs more time before they try again. That is going to be the biggest hurdle for him....getting off of the ventilator, but he will get there eventually. The top picture is of him with his CPAP mask on when they tried extubating him. Other big new is that he now gets to wear clothes. He is wearing an outfit in a couple of the pictures above. Also, my mom got to hold him yesterday when she came down.

Hi everyone. Morgan would have been 31 weeks today but he is 6 weeks and 3 days. He was up to 3 pounds 11 ounces, but he is down to 3 pounds 7 ounces because they have stopped his feeds again. Yesterday he was showing signs of an infection so he was started on antibiotics and his feeding was stopped. The doctors said by the time he is full term he will have the immune system just like any other baby born at full term. He will be more susceptible to respiratory bugs and we will need to keep him away from highly populated areas for a while. Hopefully they will start feeding him again tomorrow...it kills me to think he is hungry, but he might not be feeling very hungry if he isn't feeling well. He was very lethargic yesterday but was more himself today by moving around more. They have also started him on another medication to help his lungs and it might be making a difference because for the past two days he has only needed around 22% oxygen which is good, he was up around 35-45%. He is still sensitive to people messing with him but he seems to be getting a little better with that. Hopefully this "attitude" isn't a sign of things to come when he gets older! I really can't wait until he is off of the ventilator. It kills me to see him crying but he can't make any sound. The ventilator blocks the vocal cords. I got to hold him again the other day for 3 hours. That is about all for now. Hope everyone is doing well!

Update

Hey everyone. Well lets see....Morgan is up to 3 pounds 8 ounces!!! He is getting huge which I am so excited about. He is tolerating his feeds very well so he should keep putting on more weight. They decreased his ventilator settings again today so he is on the right track. We found out the other day that he has a hernia on one side for now, that they will just keep an eye on and operate on right before he goes home.

Unfortunately I will have to go back to work on January 22nd, my maternity leave is over and I want to save my paid time off for when he comes home. I also get 10 working days of parental leave which I can take when he comes home. So starting the end of January I will go down maybe one weeknight and then on weekends to see him. I know he is in good hands with the doctors and nurses down there and I will be ready here to take care of him when he comes home.