Keep it up little man!

Our First Family Photo 5/1/09

We didn't make it in to see our man today because of the crappy weather, but we just got some good news! He is 680 grams! Thats 1 lb 8 oz!!! He is finally above his birthweight! And they are still hearing bowel movement so we are hoping for more good news when they do his obstrustion series tomorrow. He has been stable all day and night. He maintained his heart rate pretty well and all of his other levels look good. When I called to speak to the nurse, a technician was up there in the middle of a head ultrasound, so hopefully we'll have results sometime tomorrow afternoon. We are just so excited that he has finally passed that original birth weight! It is so amazing to see how much he has grown and changed in the little time he's been here with us. He is so beautiful and strong- we are just so fortunate to have him in our lives! Thanks so much for all your love everyone!

Today . . .

All is well so far for our man. All of his levels look good and he maintained his heart rate during cares last night and this morning. The nurse said that the obstruction series (abdominal x-ray) from yesterday must have been o.k. because they didn't order another one today. Also his belly is not as distended or discolored today. They are still pulling a little bile out of his stomach, but not much. They also heard a few bowel sounds this morning which is a good sign that things may be finally moving along. We wont know for sure until tomorrow when they do the next obstruction series. We're going in to see him a little later, so there may be more later.

Update

Sorry we didn't get a chance to update yesterday- we were in Philadelphia and didn't get back until late. Bryton is doing well. They've had to extubate and re-intubate him twice since Thursday- once because mucus was starting to clog the tube, and again because it started to come out on it's own. As of yesterday there were no changes in his bowel, but they did another x-ray this morning and we should have the results this afternoon. Also, sometime last night one of his IV sights wiggled it's way out so they had to stop the dopamine, however they were able to get another IV in this morning, and depending on his urine output, they will decide during rounds wether or not to start it again. There is another head ultrasound scheduled for next week, so pray for more good news everyone! So all is well and stable right now. I'm working on getting more pictures soon and I'll be sure to be back on to update later. And a special thanks to the Sanger Chapter of Team Bryton for the beautiful card- you guys are awesome!

Busy day today

Today has been busy for our man. This morning he had to be extubated and re-intubated because mucus was building up on the inside of the tube and it was making it hard for him to breathe. They did x-rays on his abdomen and nothing has changed yet. They also gave him a diuretic because it sounded like there was some fluid around his lungs and they stared the dopamine again to help his kidney function. He seems to be handling it pretty well, just napping for now. They wont be doing any x-rays again until saturday.   

More pics . . .

We just did his cares and everything is looking good. The little booger is already trying to get his hands down his pants when I change his diaper! Men!!! He is back up to 640 grams, about 1 lb 6 1/2 oz! The resident came and told me that they are going to take him off of one of the antibiotics because the Disease Control Specialist said that it's just not necessary at this point. He will however continue on the other antibiotic and the anti-fungal for the next 8 days. Go Bryton!!!!

As you all know . . .

We have spent a lot of time here in the NICU talking to all of Brytons Dr.'S and Nurses about what's going on with him and doing our very best to learn about his situation and the different ways they are taking care of him. We have done a lot of research on the internet and in various books to help us better understand what's going on right now and what we could be facing further on down the road. One website I've found to be particularly helpful is TheTinyMiraclesFoundation.com It offers a glossary of common NICU terms, a ton of different resources and links, and some other very helpful sections. I have used it frequently, and it has been a huge help, so if you're just interested or not sure of something I've posted, this is a great place to check.

Today . . .

He looks more pale in these pictures than he actually is. They just came out kind of dark and I lightened them. He actually has a better tan than mommy and daddy!

So we are looking good today, they haven't made many changes. The resident just came and spoke to me and they are officially calling his belly problems NEC but they are really not too worried about it at this point. His bowel just basically isn't working correctly, there is a pocket of air in his bowel that hasn't moved in a few days and all they can really do at this point is continue to treat the bacteria (Klebsiella) causing the abnormal bowel function with the antibiotics and keep an eye on it's progression. His blood cultures from the 24th and the 27th are still negative, so that's a really good sign. There are some very serious problems that NEC can cause, but at this point it doesn't seem to be getting any worse, and it wasn't very bad to begin with, but they will be keeping a very close eye on it. They will be doing x-rays everyday until the obstruction is gone. He is in his 6th day of the 2 week antibiotic treatment, and he is also on an anti-fungal as a preventative measure. He wont be getting fed at all during the antibiotic treatment, so they are going to increase the amount of calories, specifically glucose, in his Glorified Gatorade, as the nurses call it. He is also going to continue getting his lipids and fats. Even without the dopamine, he has continued to have a good urine output and tomorrow they'll be checking his kidneys and liver to make sure everything is ok. Being on the Glorified Gatorade over extremely long periods of time can potentially cause serious long term problems with the liver, but this is usually only after several months. They just want to check for certain enzymes that will tell if there is any damage being done, just to be safe. He wasn't weighed last night, so they'll do it today at about 4 p.m. and I'll be sure to update then.