Monday, September 25, 2006
Beach blanket bingo
Griffith preparing for when the nurses (and student nurses) come over for volleyball.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Here we remain
Allan is still in the hospital and will be for a few more days at least. He has been doing better today -- breathing easier and generally acting more like himself. The pulmonologist examined him today and reviewed his records, etc., and came in and had a heart-to-heart with Big Al about staying home. It would be nice to be able to say that the doctor immediately identified Allan's problem and the fix for it. Unfortunately, he can't really explain why he seems to be having the trouble that he is having. There are 3 theories: 1) that he is micro-aspirating (getting formula down the wrong pipe); 2) that he is just getting overloaded with fluid; and/or 3) that he just has crappy little lungs that he is going to have to outgrow. Since we can't really do anything about no. 3 we are working on the other two. With respect to no. 1, they are going to do x-rays of him while he bottle feeds to see if he is getting some of it in his lungs. With respect to no. 2, they are going to start him back on inhaled steroids, start a 5 day course of oral steroids and adjust some of his other medicines slightly. The goal being, of course, to get him home for longer than 5 days. The only good that has come of this whole mess has been that the opthamologist came over to do his follow-up eye exam and we are discharged for 3 months. As a result of the eye exam, though, Allan has been worn out and sleeping all afternoon. This effectively means that there will be no bottle-feeding this afternoon so the microaspirate issue will simply have to wait for another day. Allan's girlfriend Phyllis has managed to secure one of the coveted bird mobiles and brought that to him this afternoon so he'll have that to look forward to tonight. Allan has once again made himself the center of attention. His girlfriends from the NICU (Sarah, Cheryl, Alissa, and Jennie) have been to visit and fawn over him which he loves. The opthamologist was glad to see him and said he was the sweetest, best-natured baby (She also asked immediately how Griffith was doing and commented that it always surprised her that they reacted so differently to her. She says Griffith really got the Aries personality.)
Griffith is doing great. He is taking nearly 3 ounces of formula per feeding and is sleeping for longer periods of time. He is dropping a feeding, but last night it was the 9 p.m. one. For whatever reason, he really isn't inclined to stop the 3 a.m. one. He has one of those mats that lays on the floor and has toys hanging from it. Flora hit upon the idea of putting him underneath it on his sleeping wedge and that was a big success. He swatted the inflated ball within a ball over and over again. He found it pretty startling when it bounced back but that really didn't deter him. He was a little like Rocky (the boxer, not the flying squirrel) working the punching bag.
Griffith is doing great. He is taking nearly 3 ounces of formula per feeding and is sleeping for longer periods of time. He is dropping a feeding, but last night it was the 9 p.m. one. For whatever reason, he really isn't inclined to stop the 3 a.m. one. He has one of those mats that lays on the floor and has toys hanging from it. Flora hit upon the idea of putting him underneath it on his sleeping wedge and that was a big success. He swatted the inflated ball within a ball over and over again. He found it pretty startling when it bounced back but that really didn't deter him. He was a little like Rocky (the boxer, not the flying squirrel) working the punching bag.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Return of the Butter Bean (part II)
Well, here we are back in the hospital. Again. Allan has built up too much fluid. Again. We had to make an ER run at 3 a.m. (It was 10 or 11 the first time.) He's doing fine, but will likely be here for a couple of days while they work on his medicine cocktail. Again.
I will try to blog tonight once I am home, but that will depend on how cooperative Griffith is and there is really no predicting that.
I will try to blog tonight once I am home, but that will depend on how cooperative Griffith is and there is really no predicting that.
Monday, September 18, 2006
The Return of the Butter Bean
Two and a half days in to the return of Allan to the homeplace. So far, so good. He has had a couple of good nights with only a few alarms. He seems to be eating better, too. He's still not rocking it out or anything but he's eating about 2 ounces at a go during the days. He's still on the continuous feeds at night. His weight gain is steady and he is up to a solid 10 pounds and 5 ounces as of today. We made it to the pediatrician's office today and the doc says he looks good. We go back on Thursday to make sure that we keep a handle on this fluid thing. We also have an opthalmologist's appointment on Friday. With any luck we will be discharged from her care until February.
We took our first big family stroll last night in the great big double stroller. We didn't go too far afield -- just around the neighborhood, but a good time was had by all. Allan slept most of the time. Griffith was wide awake and taking it all in. (He's helping type right now, so forgive the misspellings. I would put him down but a) he cries and b) I hardly get to hold him when Flora is here. Basically I have to wait for her to put him down to go to the bathroom to even have a shot.)
Griffith's major recent accomplishments are that he is learning to blow spit bubbles and also to coo. (Not at the same time. Yet.) He doesn't seem to have control of either, really and the cooing sometimes comes as a complete shock to him. He has also managed to master peeing out the back of his diaper. Neither Flora nor I are sure how he's doing it but he's done it to both of us. His front will be completely dry and his back will be utterly soaked.
Allan's major accomplishments include doing little, bitty baby push-ups while on his stomach. He has also taken to waving his arms around. Not nearly as much as Griffith does, but he is doing it more all the time and he definitely does it more when the two of them are lying next to each other. They still seem pretty unimpressed with each other. They are both very interested in the elephant/mirror/mobile-thingy that plays songs and lights up when it picks up vibrations. Dad is going to have to replace the batteries in the bassinet. It plays music and vibrates, but, of late, it sounds like a drunken gypsy or a broken calliope. And the vibration seems to have slowed to a jiggle. We certainly don't want to have a break down in the middle of the night. That would be a Major Disaster.
We are now looking forward to a couple of days of just being home and getting settled down and settled in. We'll see how Flora manages with two. She was telling me today just how spoiled Griffith is. As if she is part of how he got that way. She and Allan had a good long snuggle this afternoon while Griffith took a nap, but there will come a day when he is awake and realizes that someone else is sitting in his Flora's lap and I'm not sure any of us are prepared for what will follow.
We took our first big family stroll last night in the great big double stroller. We didn't go too far afield -- just around the neighborhood, but a good time was had by all. Allan slept most of the time. Griffith was wide awake and taking it all in. (He's helping type right now, so forgive the misspellings. I would put him down but a) he cries and b) I hardly get to hold him when Flora is here. Basically I have to wait for her to put him down to go to the bathroom to even have a shot.)
Griffith's major recent accomplishments are that he is learning to blow spit bubbles and also to coo. (Not at the same time. Yet.) He doesn't seem to have control of either, really and the cooing sometimes comes as a complete shock to him. He has also managed to master peeing out the back of his diaper. Neither Flora nor I are sure how he's doing it but he's done it to both of us. His front will be completely dry and his back will be utterly soaked.
Allan's major accomplishments include doing little, bitty baby push-ups while on his stomach. He has also taken to waving his arms around. Not nearly as much as Griffith does, but he is doing it more all the time and he definitely does it more when the two of them are lying next to each other. They still seem pretty unimpressed with each other. They are both very interested in the elephant/mirror/mobile-thingy that plays songs and lights up when it picks up vibrations. Dad is going to have to replace the batteries in the bassinet. It plays music and vibrates, but, of late, it sounds like a drunken gypsy or a broken calliope. And the vibration seems to have slowed to a jiggle. We certainly don't want to have a break down in the middle of the night. That would be a Major Disaster.
We are now looking forward to a couple of days of just being home and getting settled down and settled in. We'll see how Flora manages with two. She was telling me today just how spoiled Griffith is. As if she is part of how he got that way. She and Allan had a good long snuggle this afternoon while Griffith took a nap, but there will come a day when he is awake and realizes that someone else is sitting in his Flora's lap and I'm not sure any of us are prepared for what will follow.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Home again (part II)
Allan made it home (again) today. So far, so good. His doc says he "believes" we can "probably" manage his fluid overload on an outpatient basis. No word on whether we are talking a 51/49 probability or a 90/10. Not sure we really want to know or if it would make a bit of difference. The longer we stayed, the more paranoid we were that we were going to catch something worse by being in the hospital. By the end of the week, we were willing to take our chances at home.
Allan has done very well since he got home. He stayed wide awake most of the day which is unusual for him.
Right now, Allan is sleeping in the crib, Griffith is sleeping in his car seat and we are all hanging out in the nursery having listened to UK win the first SEC opener since 1987. Big night all around.
Time to feed Griff and listen to Wildcat round-up. We will post more later.
Enjoy all of the photos!
Allan has done very well since he got home. He stayed wide awake most of the day which is unusual for him.
Right now, Allan is sleeping in the crib, Griffith is sleeping in his car seat and we are all hanging out in the nursery having listened to UK win the first SEC opener since 1987. Big night all around.
Time to feed Griff and listen to Wildcat round-up. We will post more later.
Enjoy all of the photos!
Griffith - shocked that Allan is back
Griffith, hardly able to believe that we have brought that other kid back in again.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Baby steps
We are still here. Allan's lungs sound better but his potassium is still high and so they have decided to hold off on starting him back on one of the diuretics. They'll check him again in the morning and decide what to do about that. I suspect that means that we will be here through the weekend. We would love to be able to go home, but we want to make sure that we go home and stay there.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Holding pattern -- part iii
Well, it seems like a little more of the same today. Allan had lost a little (water) weight last night, but his potassium levels kept coming back high which apparently is a bit of a mystery. So they were going to do a "deep vein stick" to try to make sure that the results they were getting were accurate. And they were going to hold the diuretics until they got that result back. This was the plan at 10 a.m. What with one thing and another, they didn't do the stick until nearly 5 so I'm pretty sure that we have not advanced the ball much (if at all) today. My guess is that nothing much will come of the results until tomorrow -- at which time they will start tinkering with the meds and the feeds again. We don't have an ETA for Allan, but we aren't thinking that he's getting home for several days at least. The silver lining is that they have done an echo on Allan's heart (again) and it is fine (still). So we've got that going for us, which is nice. We watched the Man United versus Celtic soccer match today so we have our cultural fix for the day.
Griffith had a good day with Miss Flora. He missed her yesterday and was awfully glad to see her this morning. We took a big walk this afternoon and he stayed wide awake for all of it. Then we got home and watched the BBC World News because those people talk funny like Daddy. He is starting to make noises that are more than just grunts and managed to surprise himself with a coo or two this evening. We are thinking about watching Project Runway tonight, but Mama thinks that it is probably on too late. We may just have to see who is auf'd tomorrow on reruns.
Griffith had a good day with Miss Flora. He missed her yesterday and was awfully glad to see her this morning. We took a big walk this afternoon and he stayed wide awake for all of it. Then we got home and watched the BBC World News because those people talk funny like Daddy. He is starting to make noises that are more than just grunts and managed to surprise himself with a coo or two this evening. We are thinking about watching Project Runway tonight, but Mama thinks that it is probably on too late. We may just have to see who is auf'd tomorrow on reruns.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Holding pattern (part II)
Not much to report one way or another today. Allan is still in the hospital. It seems that the doctors are tweaking his medicines and formula. As someone said, this is all more art than science. They've changed up his diuretics and are adding canola oil to his formula (to add calories without adding much additional fluid). We'll see how that works and probably change it all again tomorrow. Still, Allan is working on charming the peds ward now. He feels fine and has been very awake and alert. Jennifer came and loved on him for about 3 hours today. Dr. Desai came for a visit, too. Then, late in the afternoon, two student nurses (Whitney and Kristen) came for a visit. (The only thing that may be better than nurses is student nurses. Griffith would be jealous if he knew.) Everyone agrees that he is beautiful, sweet and charming. He is doing better with his bottle feeding and, given enough time and proper distraction, manages about 2 ounces at a go.
Griffith had a good day, too. Aunt Kathy came up for a visit and fell in line with Caitlin, Angie, Cheryl, etc. etc. I'm not sure that she did any thing other than hold him all day. Unfortunately, we are going to have to limit her exposure to him because when I got home they were watching Kato Kaelin's show An Eye for an Eye. This is not exactly the mental stimulation we were looking for. Even Dr. Phil would have been an improvement. It was too cool and rainy to go for a walk but we sat on the front porch in the swing and watched the rain while singing camp songs. We had a pretty good time but I'm not sure the neighbors appreciated my tuneless rendition of Rise and Shine and Boom, Boom. Last night we tried the skip-the-three-o'clock again. It is a slow process. He had his nine and then didn't go to sleep until nearly 11. I didn't get him up for midnight and, when I awoke at 3 and he hadn't stirred, I was convinced that he had died in the night and woke him (abruptly). We'll give it another crack tonight.
Griffith had a good day, too. Aunt Kathy came up for a visit and fell in line with Caitlin, Angie, Cheryl, etc. etc. I'm not sure that she did any thing other than hold him all day. Unfortunately, we are going to have to limit her exposure to him because when I got home they were watching Kato Kaelin's show An Eye for an Eye. This is not exactly the mental stimulation we were looking for. Even Dr. Phil would have been an improvement. It was too cool and rainy to go for a walk but we sat on the front porch in the swing and watched the rain while singing camp songs. We had a pretty good time but I'm not sure the neighbors appreciated my tuneless rendition of Rise and Shine and Boom, Boom. Last night we tried the skip-the-three-o'clock again. It is a slow process. He had his nine and then didn't go to sleep until nearly 11. I didn't get him up for midnight and, when I awoke at 3 and he hadn't stirred, I was convinced that he had died in the night and woke him (abruptly). We'll give it another crack tonight.
Monday, September 11, 2006
A, B,C....
Dad and Griffith and Dr. Seuss's ABC's.... Silly Sam sipped 26 sodas and got sick, sick, sick....
In a holding pattern...
For starters, Allan is doing fine. Not great or fabulous but fine. We got a new doctor today -- once you are out of the NICU, you can't go back. So Allan is on a regular peds ward in a very big, metal crib (it really looks like a monkey baby ought to be in it). The educated guess seems to be that he overloaded on fluids (although they are doing a few tests to rule out some other possibilitites) and that they need to adjust his meds to get him back to where he ought to be. Then they need to figure out how to keep him there. The truth of the matter is that it is going to be a delicate balance with him. Very small changes make a big difference and it is going to be like that for a while. It is going to take a day or two to get this sorted out and then we'll be homeward bound again. He has had a steady stream of visitors. Caitlin came by last night. Then Jenny and Sarah came by this morning before Dad left for work. Gerry came in the early morning hours. Then Alissa came by before lunch. And then they came back by in the afternoon. Cheryl and Jennifer both called in to check on him, too. If TLC makes any difference at all, he is going to be better in no time.
Since Griffith hasn't been eating a whole lot at his 3 a.m. feeding, we got the go ahead from the pediatrician to see if we could back off of that one. If he wakes up for it, fine, but otherwise, just let it ride. Sounds great in theory. Last night, I put him to bed after his nine and decided to let him wake me for the midnight feed. He didn't get up until nearly 1:30 (and he was in NO mood to wait for his dinner). As I put him back down about 2 a.m. I was congratulating myself thinking that we would make it to 5:30 or nearly 6 a.m. before he woke again. No dice. He was still determined to get in 3 night feeds regardless of how I felt about it. We were up again at 4 and then again at 6. I'm not really sure what I think I accomplished. We'll give it another go tonight and then decide whether this is worth it or not. Miss Flora arrived at her usual time this morning, but Griffith was still asleep. I guess he wanted her to be sure that she knew that he was well and truly over her. He had waited Saturday and Sunday and his patience (what little he has) was at an end. When I left this morning she swore that she had decided this weekend that she would make a concerted effort to put him down. Of course, when I stopped by at lunch, she and Griffith were where I had left them at 8 a.m. And that's where Jay found them at 6, too. She had charted when she laid him down, though, just to prove that she did (on occasion) put him in his pack 'n' play. As if we really care. Once I got home and Dad headed back to the hospital (after putting Griffith in charge as the man of the house), all I did was hold him, too. We watche a little Dirty Dancing, ate 2nd dinner, burped (him, not me)(much) and went to bed (him, not me)(but soon). Dad just checked in and he and Allan have read The Foot Book (thanks, Cheryl!) and Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? (ditto -- dibble, dibble, dopp, dopp). I have abandoned the kids' lit for the moment and have been doing the best I can with The Memory Keepers' Daughter with both of the boys (only so much rhyming one can do before one loses one's mind, after all.)
Miss Flora has to go with her husband tomorrow for some tests so Aunt Kathy is coming to hang out with Griffith so that Mom can go and be with Allan.
Since Griffith hasn't been eating a whole lot at his 3 a.m. feeding, we got the go ahead from the pediatrician to see if we could back off of that one. If he wakes up for it, fine, but otherwise, just let it ride. Sounds great in theory. Last night, I put him to bed after his nine and decided to let him wake me for the midnight feed. He didn't get up until nearly 1:30 (and he was in NO mood to wait for his dinner). As I put him back down about 2 a.m. I was congratulating myself thinking that we would make it to 5:30 or nearly 6 a.m. before he woke again. No dice. He was still determined to get in 3 night feeds regardless of how I felt about it. We were up again at 4 and then again at 6. I'm not really sure what I think I accomplished. We'll give it another go tonight and then decide whether this is worth it or not. Miss Flora arrived at her usual time this morning, but Griffith was still asleep. I guess he wanted her to be sure that she knew that he was well and truly over her. He had waited Saturday and Sunday and his patience (what little he has) was at an end. When I left this morning she swore that she had decided this weekend that she would make a concerted effort to put him down. Of course, when I stopped by at lunch, she and Griffith were where I had left them at 8 a.m. And that's where Jay found them at 6, too. She had charted when she laid him down, though, just to prove that she did (on occasion) put him in his pack 'n' play. As if we really care. Once I got home and Dad headed back to the hospital (after putting Griffith in charge as the man of the house), all I did was hold him, too. We watche a little Dirty Dancing, ate 2nd dinner, burped (him, not me)(much) and went to bed (him, not me)(but soon). Dad just checked in and he and Allan have read The Foot Book (thanks, Cheryl!) and Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? (ditto -- dibble, dibble, dopp, dopp). I have abandoned the kids' lit for the moment and have been doing the best I can with The Memory Keepers' Daughter with both of the boys (only so much rhyming one can do before one loses one's mind, after all.)
Miss Flora has to go with her husband tomorrow for some tests so Aunt Kathy is coming to hang out with Griffith so that Mom can go and be with Allan.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Saturday night on the town
Let's start off by saying that everything and everyone is all right. That said, we had our first trip to the hospital last night. I'm sure it won't be the last. Something tells me that we'll be frequent flyers over the years with this one having fallen off (or having been pushed) off of the roof and that one having shoved a peanut up his nose or some such nonsense. Last night it was Allan (Griffith gets a bad rap for being the problem child). Allan hasn't quite settled down with his oxygen since we got home, but he's been doing all right. Yesterday, though, he kept dropping his sats -- the oxygen level in his blood was lower than it is supposed to be. It is supposed to be at 92% or so and his kept dipping in to the mid-to-low 80's, some times in to the 70s and, once, in to the high 60s. We kept having to turn up his oxygen and hold him upright on our chests to get him back in to the range that he needed to be in. About 7:30 or so (after I had just told Cheryl that he was doing great and seemed to have settled down), he started doing it again. Although he wasn't in any distress, he was outside of the numbers that the pediatrician had set for us as acceptable without letting him know. Just to be on the safe side (and because he knew we would drive ourselves nuts watching the monitor all night), he sent us to the ER -- who knew such mayhem was going on in our little town? Fortunately for us, Angie had brought dinner over so we could just leave Griffith with her while we headed out. Allan seemed to enjoy all of the attention -- a whole new set of doctors and nurses to pet him and tell him what a pretty boy he is. And, of course, as soon as we arrived at the hospital, his heart rate had returned to normal and he began satting exactly as he was supposed to (still on too much oxygen though.) They admitted him to the hospital and he is probably there until tomorrow. Dad spent the night and just talked to the doctor. They think that Allan may be a little "wet" and are restricting his fluids to see if that helps. They are also going to talk about adjusting his medications for reflux as well because that could be causing some problems, too. At any rate, he's where he needs to be and with any luck he will be home in a day or two, good as new. Allan is getting good care. Jay likes the peds nurses and some of the folks in the NICU already have been over to check as well (the transport team spotted us in the ER about 20 minutes after we got there). So far Cheryl has stopped by twice and Jennifer came by early. Allan is very popular for someone who has not mastered speech yet.
As far as our other boy, he has been the golden boy. When I got home Angie had been in charge of Griffith for about 3 hours. Although she is an otherwise competent, professional, modern woman, he had defeated her utterly. She reported that she was unable to get any thing done other than hold him (continuing the pattern set by Cheryl, Caitlin and Flora). She tried to clear the table and load the dishwasher, but he became enraged and she had to pick him up. Every time she tried to put him down it was the same thing, so she gave up. Smart girl. Resistance is futile. We had a pretty good night on our own -- he did manage to pee through one outfit and spit up on 3 more. And then he screamed at me as if my changing him was causing him actual physical pain. Still, golden.
As far as our other boy, he has been the golden boy. When I got home Angie had been in charge of Griffith for about 3 hours. Although she is an otherwise competent, professional, modern woman, he had defeated her utterly. She reported that she was unable to get any thing done other than hold him (continuing the pattern set by Cheryl, Caitlin and Flora). She tried to clear the table and load the dishwasher, but he became enraged and she had to pick him up. Every time she tried to put him down it was the same thing, so she gave up. Smart girl. Resistance is futile. We had a pretty good night on our own -- he did manage to pee through one outfit and spit up on 3 more. And then he screamed at me as if my changing him was causing him actual physical pain. Still, golden.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Last night was a pretty good night. Both of the boys slept pretty well, if only for brief periods of time. The new monitor seems to have made a difference.
Allan is eating better. We are now trying to feed him 4 bottles during the day, but in smaller amounts. He managed a whole bottle last evening and has eaten most of the two we have fed him today. He is struggling a bit with the one that Jay is feeding him now, but he was sound asleep and we woke him to feed so you can't expect him to be too excited.
The boys had their first fight last night. Dad was holding both of them and Allan (sweet, laid-back Allan) began rooting and pushing at his brother until he had him off of Dad's chest entirely. It was sort of like sumo wrestling -- he just kept pushing with his chest until he had
Griffith out of his way. Poor little Griff didn't stand much of a chance against his bruiser of an older brother. As you can see from the photos, though, they made up this morning and were holding hands, if only briefly. And while they were both asleep. I'm sure we won't catch them doing that again any time soon.
Allan is eating better. We are now trying to feed him 4 bottles during the day, but in smaller amounts. He managed a whole bottle last evening and has eaten most of the two we have fed him today. He is struggling a bit with the one that Jay is feeding him now, but he was sound asleep and we woke him to feed so you can't expect him to be too excited.
The boys had their first fight last night. Dad was holding both of them and Allan (sweet, laid-back Allan) began rooting and pushing at his brother until he had him off of Dad's chest entirely. It was sort of like sumo wrestling -- he just kept pushing with his chest until he had
Griffith out of his way. Poor little Griff didn't stand much of a chance against his bruiser of an older brother. As you can see from the photos, though, they made up this morning and were holding hands, if only briefly. And while they were both asleep. I'm sure we won't catch them doing that again any time soon.
Griffith wailing
Griffith, having finally realized that his brother is here to stay, begins to wail.
Dad and his boys
This was right before Allan deciding to root around and push his brother off of Dad's chest.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Friday - September 8th
Everything seems rosier today. Nothing like a full night's sleep to put everything in perspective.
Allan's first two days and nights at home were a little rocky. His sat monitor (which shows you how much oxygen he has in his blood) kept going off. He wasn't in danger but he was having a harder time than he should have been and just generally not acting like himself. So we called Allan's girlfriend, Jennifer, come over to check him out (since there was no water involved we thought it would be safe). Jennifer, realizing that Momma (if not Dad) needed some reassurance, came over in a flash, checked him out and pronounced him "just fine" which eased our minds considerably. In retrospect we realize that Allan had had a big week with the discharge and the doctor's visit and was probably just worn out. We also decided that his monitor was dodgy (as Dad might say) and swapped machines. And, last night Caitlin (little miss up all night) came over, took care of the boys and let the parents get a complete night's sleep. It has been a good combination. Allan's pediatrician was pleased with him -- he's up to 9 and a half pounds. We go back on Tuesday for another check-up.
This morning for the first time Griffith wasn't fussing for Flora. Apparently he had such a good night with Caitlin that he was over Flora. She has spent all day trying to get ahead of Caitlin, but Griff is having none of it. He is completely out of sorts with her. He has fussed and kicked and squirmed and hasn't let her put him down all day. And it isn't going to get any better because Cheryl is on her way over and she will no doubt want to hug on her boys, too. I'm not sure what we are going to do this weekend.
Allan's first two days and nights at home were a little rocky. His sat monitor (which shows you how much oxygen he has in his blood) kept going off. He wasn't in danger but he was having a harder time than he should have been and just generally not acting like himself. So we called Allan's girlfriend, Jennifer, come over to check him out (since there was no water involved we thought it would be safe). Jennifer, realizing that Momma (if not Dad) needed some reassurance, came over in a flash, checked him out and pronounced him "just fine" which eased our minds considerably. In retrospect we realize that Allan had had a big week with the discharge and the doctor's visit and was probably just worn out. We also decided that his monitor was dodgy (as Dad might say) and swapped machines. And, last night Caitlin (little miss up all night) came over, took care of the boys and let the parents get a complete night's sleep. It has been a good combination. Allan's pediatrician was pleased with him -- he's up to 9 and a half pounds. We go back on Tuesday for another check-up.
This morning for the first time Griffith wasn't fussing for Flora. Apparently he had such a good night with Caitlin that he was over Flora. She has spent all day trying to get ahead of Caitlin, but Griff is having none of it. He is completely out of sorts with her. He has fussed and kicked and squirmed and hasn't let her put him down all day. And it isn't going to get any better because Cheryl is on her way over and she will no doubt want to hug on her boys, too. I'm not sure what we are going to do this weekend.
Friday - September 8th
Everything seems rosier today. Nothing like a full night's sleep to put everything in perspective.
Allan's first two days and nights at home were a little rocky. His sat monitor (which shows you how much oxygen he has in his blood) kept going off. He wasn't in danger but he was having a harder time than he should have been and just generally not acting like himself. So we called Allan's girlfriend, Jennifer, come over to check him out (since there was no water involved we thought it would be safe). Jennifer, realizing that Momma (if not Dad) needed some reassurance, came over in a flash, checked him out and pronounced him "just fine" which eased our minds considerably. In retrospect we realize that Allan had had a big week with the discharge and the doctor's visit and was probably just worn out. We also decided that his monitor was dodgy (as Dad might say) and swapped machines. And, last night Caitlin (little miss up all night) came over, took care of the boys and let the parents get a complete night's sleep. It has been a good combination. Allan's pediatrician was pleased with him -- he's up to 9 and a half pounds. We go back on Tuesday for another check-up.
This morning for the first time Griffith wasn't fussing for Flora. Apparently he had such a good night with Caitlin that he was over Flora. She has spent all day trying to get ahead of Caitlin, but Griff is having none of it. He is completely out of sorts with her. He has fussed and kicked and squirmed and hasn't let her put him down all day. And it isn't going to get any better because Cheryl is on her way over and she will no doubt want to hug on her boys, too. I'm not sure what we are going to do this weekend.
Allan's first two days and nights at home were a little rocky. His sat monitor (which shows you how much oxygen he has in his blood) kept going off. He wasn't in danger but he was having a harder time than he should have been and just generally not acting like himself. So we called Allan's girlfriend, Jennifer, come over to check him out (since there was no water involved we thought it would be safe). Jennifer, realizing that Momma (if not Dad) needed some reassurance, came over in a flash, checked him out and pronounced him "just fine" which eased our minds considerably. In retrospect we realize that Allan had had a big week with the discharge and the doctor's visit and was probably just worn out. We also decided that his monitor was dodgy (as Dad might say) and swapped machines. And, last night Caitlin (little miss up all night) came over, took care of the boys and let the parents get a complete night's sleep. It has been a good combination. Allan's pediatrician was pleased with him -- he's up to 9 and a half pounds. We go back on Tuesday for another check-up.
This morning for the first time Griffith wasn't fussing for Flora. Apparently he had such a good night with Caitlin that he was over Flora. She has spent all day trying to get ahead of Caitlin, but Griff is having none of it. He is completely out of sorts with her. He has fussed and kicked and squirmed and hasn't let her put him down all day. And it isn't going to get any better because Cheryl is on her way over and she will no doubt want to hug on her boys, too. I'm not sure what we are going to do this weekend.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Well, here we are on day two of the rest of our lives....
We have managed to string together two fairly sleepless nights. We estimate that we (the parents) got about 2-3 hours each night in no more than 45 minute stretches. Allan has had some issues with settling in and we have had some equipment issues. We traded out our monitor so we hope that addresses part of the problem. We go back to the pediatrician tomorrow so that may help with our other concerns. No one is in particular distress. We just need to adjust to be home and having new doctors, etc.
More tomorrow when we have more to report and more rest.
We have managed to string together two fairly sleepless nights. We estimate that we (the parents) got about 2-3 hours each night in no more than 45 minute stretches. Allan has had some issues with settling in and we have had some equipment issues. We traded out our monitor so we hope that addresses part of the problem. We go back to the pediatrician tomorrow so that may help with our other concerns. No one is in particular distress. We just need to adjust to be home and having new doctors, etc.
More tomorrow when we have more to report and more rest.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
So far, so good. Weve made it 24 whole hours (more actually) as a family unit. We haven't misplaced either of the boys and, so far, they are both just fine. If this is short, it is only because I am typing with 1 hand. Allan is laid out in the crook of mt left arm. Griffith is racked out in his crib and we are listening to the "Be Creative" CD of classical music.
Last night was kind of long for all involved -- we were pretty keyed up just to have Allan home. Well, Jay and I were. Griffith could have cared less. There was the getting used to his monitors and equipment. And making sure that we got all of his meds delivered in the right amounts and at the right times. His alarm didn't go off all that much, but enough that we really couldn't relax. I doubt if Jay or I slept more than 45 minutes at a stretch all night. Allan was awake most all night, too. Every time we checked, he was wide awake. He wasn't fussy or any thing. He was just hanging out, looking all around. He seems to be doing the same tonight and may have his days and nights confused. Just what we need. One who is up all day and one who is up all night.
We made it to the pediatrician's office for both boys -- both are just fine. We go back for Allan on Friday to keep a check on his progress. Griffith is doing just great -- he is 6 pounds 12 ounces which means he has gained nearly 2 pounds since he was discharged.
It is getting late -- nearly time for Griff to eat so we will cut it off here, but will try to add more tomorrow.
Last night was kind of long for all involved -- we were pretty keyed up just to have Allan home. Well, Jay and I were. Griffith could have cared less. There was the getting used to his monitors and equipment. And making sure that we got all of his meds delivered in the right amounts and at the right times. His alarm didn't go off all that much, but enough that we really couldn't relax. I doubt if Jay or I slept more than 45 minutes at a stretch all night. Allan was awake most all night, too. Every time we checked, he was wide awake. He wasn't fussy or any thing. He was just hanging out, looking all around. He seems to be doing the same tonight and may have his days and nights confused. Just what we need. One who is up all day and one who is up all night.
We made it to the pediatrician's office for both boys -- both are just fine. We go back for Allan on Friday to keep a check on his progress. Griffith is doing just great -- he is 6 pounds 12 ounces which means he has gained nearly 2 pounds since he was discharged.
It is getting late -- nearly time for Griff to eat so we will cut it off here, but will try to add more tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Allan and his accessories
Allan and his O2 tank (we now have a smaller one) and his bag with the monitor in it.
Allan and Dr. Rao
Allan and his buddy, Dr. Rao, who gets the prize for finallly discharging the little malingerer.
Welcome home, Allan!
Well, we made it. This blog is coming to you from the nursery -- Allan is in his crib, listening to Baby Mozart. Griffith is hanging out in the living room with his dad, probably watching sports of some sort. So far we are just keeping pace with the boys. (Actually, they are probably slightly ahead.) Of course, we had Miss Flora until six and then Kim came over about 7:30 or so with dinner. So, here we are at nine, finally going one on one with our boys. The first night Griffith came home we had a big thunderstorm and, coincidentally, there is one blowing up right now. Maybe it is a good omen. So far we have managed okay with the oxygen compressor, the feed pump and the O2 monitor. That'll last as long as it takes Allan to pull out one tube or the other. I ended up putting a sock on his right hand because he kept tugging on his NG tube and I figure that although we've both put it in before, there really isn't any real reason to start out with that on the first night.
Allan had his occupational therapy evaluation to assess whether he has an oral aversion (funny to think of eating as an occupation, but apparently it is if you do it right). Anyway, he doesn't have an oral aversion. What he has done is actually pretty clever. According to the OT, Allan has only limited resources for eating and breathing. Clearly he has to do both and, by throwing back his head, he has found a way to maximize both. We are to let him continue to do so. So we bottle-feed 3 times a day for 30 minutes. If he finishes the bottle, perfect. If he doesn't, then we feed the remainder through the NG tube. Then at night, he is hooked to a pump that delivers a set amount of food per hour for 12 hours to ensure that he gets the proper nutrition. As he gets bigger and stronger, we should be able to increase bottle feeding and eventually discontinue the pump.
Miss Flora was very impressed with our other boy and set about spoiling him as rotten as Griffith. She was supposed to get here at 7:30 this morning and Griffith was sleeping like an angel until about 7:28 at which point he began to wail like someone was killing him. That's how I had to greet Flora. This only confirmed her suspicions about how mistreated her boy is. After she took him, he proceeded to wimper to her like he was telling her all about how awful it had been without her. Ingrate.
Once again, the boys are completely unimpressed with each other. Neither of them will look at the other. Everyone said that they'll entertain each other, but, so far, no dice.
Tomorrow we head out for the pediatrician's. It should be big fun taking this show on the road.
I'll try to post lots of pictures of the homecoming for your entertainment.
Allan had his occupational therapy evaluation to assess whether he has an oral aversion (funny to think of eating as an occupation, but apparently it is if you do it right). Anyway, he doesn't have an oral aversion. What he has done is actually pretty clever. According to the OT, Allan has only limited resources for eating and breathing. Clearly he has to do both and, by throwing back his head, he has found a way to maximize both. We are to let him continue to do so. So we bottle-feed 3 times a day for 30 minutes. If he finishes the bottle, perfect. If he doesn't, then we feed the remainder through the NG tube. Then at night, he is hooked to a pump that delivers a set amount of food per hour for 12 hours to ensure that he gets the proper nutrition. As he gets bigger and stronger, we should be able to increase bottle feeding and eventually discontinue the pump.
Miss Flora was very impressed with our other boy and set about spoiling him as rotten as Griffith. She was supposed to get here at 7:30 this morning and Griffith was sleeping like an angel until about 7:28 at which point he began to wail like someone was killing him. That's how I had to greet Flora. This only confirmed her suspicions about how mistreated her boy is. After she took him, he proceeded to wimper to her like he was telling her all about how awful it had been without her. Ingrate.
Once again, the boys are completely unimpressed with each other. Neither of them will look at the other. Everyone said that they'll entertain each other, but, so far, no dice.
Tomorrow we head out for the pediatrician's. It should be big fun taking this show on the road.
I'll try to post lots of pictures of the homecoming for your entertainment.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Labor Day
It is hard to believe that it is Labor Day already. Summer is over. Football season is here (as if that's something to look forward to as opposed to something to be endured). Time has flown.
Allan is still scheduled to come home tomorrow sometime. There's still a fair amount of stuff to get sorted out, but it looks like we are good to go. He has done much better with his bottle-feeding this weekend. Jay has discovered that if you lay him back on a pillow with his head thrown back over your knees that Allan will eat. But you can't pay any attention to him or talk to him. In fact, he likes it best if there are two people talking around him. No kidding. I have no idea how any one would swallow in that position, much less someone who has breathing issues, but there you have. Don't argue with success. Of course, he may stop doing that today. He's like that. Contrary. And he can't be coaxed, wheedled or bullied. Jay has to admit that Allan has his disposition. Apparently one of Jay's bosses once told him that he had only two speeds: dead slow and stopped. Allan is apparently Jay's pay back. Despite his eating issues, Allan continues to make progress in the growth department. As of last night he is a solid nine pounds.
Griffith continues to make progress, too. As of Friday, he weighed in at 6 and a half pounds. Very respectable. He has spent the weekend meeting and greeting Uncle Eddie (my oldest brother), Aunt Clara (his wife) and his cousins, Jennifer, Eric, Kim, and Charles. Today he is going to meet Uncle Tim (middle brother) and Aunt Lisa (his fiance). So far all reports on him are favorable so Jay and I believe that we will keep him. Although if he keeps his dad awake from 3 to 5 a.m. for a whole lot longer, we may be interested in working out a time-share arrangment with someone. Someone who doesn't need rest.
Allan is still scheduled to come home tomorrow sometime. There's still a fair amount of stuff to get sorted out, but it looks like we are good to go. He has done much better with his bottle-feeding this weekend. Jay has discovered that if you lay him back on a pillow with his head thrown back over your knees that Allan will eat. But you can't pay any attention to him or talk to him. In fact, he likes it best if there are two people talking around him. No kidding. I have no idea how any one would swallow in that position, much less someone who has breathing issues, but there you have. Don't argue with success. Of course, he may stop doing that today. He's like that. Contrary. And he can't be coaxed, wheedled or bullied. Jay has to admit that Allan has his disposition. Apparently one of Jay's bosses once told him that he had only two speeds: dead slow and stopped. Allan is apparently Jay's pay back. Despite his eating issues, Allan continues to make progress in the growth department. As of last night he is a solid nine pounds.
Griffith continues to make progress, too. As of Friday, he weighed in at 6 and a half pounds. Very respectable. He has spent the weekend meeting and greeting Uncle Eddie (my oldest brother), Aunt Clara (his wife) and his cousins, Jennifer, Eric, Kim, and Charles. Today he is going to meet Uncle Tim (middle brother) and Aunt Lisa (his fiance). So far all reports on him are favorable so Jay and I believe that we will keep him. Although if he keeps his dad awake from 3 to 5 a.m. for a whole lot longer, we may be interested in working out a time-share arrangment with someone. Someone who doesn't need rest.
Griffith and Uncle Eddie
Griffith was a little uneasy with Uncle Eddie. They say that children and animals are good judges of character....
Friday, September 01, 2006
Give me back my son!
Well, we are having the usual hiccups and snafus prior to coming home. This is further complicated by the fact that this is a long holiday weekend and the end of the month (which means that we are changing attendings). Allan is coming home with 1) oxygen 2) an NG tube and 3) an apnea monitor. And he'll be getting nine (9!) medicines. You have to love it when the docs ask you how you feel about that -- What.Ever. If I tell you that this is really sh*tty and, to paraphrase Bartleby, we would prefer not, does that mean that we can go home without this stuff? Because, if that's an option, sign us up. Otherwise, don't ask. If this is what we have to do, this is what we will do. Thank goodness that Cheryl went to bat for us on the formula. Because he was small and they wanted him to gain weight, they sent Griffith home on 24 calorie formula. This means we came home with regular formula but we mix it differently from the directions so that we have a higher caloric content. Straight breast milk is 20 calories per ounce so every ounce of the formula that we give Griffith has 4 extra calories. Well, because Allan was "too fat," he was on 22 calorie formula. So we would have had to have mix up different formula for each baby. The last attending essentially brushed off my inquiry about sending Allan home on the same formula as Griffith. The point apparently being that is was a minor inconvenience (the definition of "minor inconvenience" being one that plagues us rather than the doctor, apparently). Honestly, even minor inconveniences when you have a half dozen (or more) of them can become problematic. Anyhoodle, the new attending was more sympathetic and so we are going home on 24 cal but with less volume. Which seems to make sense since the kid won't actually EAT any of it. Allan is still piddling around with his bottle feeds so they are getting an occupational therapist to come in and evaluate him for an oral aversion. I can't remember if I've explained this before. If I have, you can skip the next part. Because of the vent tubes and other stuff that they shove down preemies' throats, some of them begin to associate things in their mouths with bad things. So they don't want to suck on a bottle. Because he will sometimes do great with his feeds, they haven't thought that he had an oral aversion, but we are kind of down to what harm will it do to have him evaluated? Maybe they'll see something that someone has missed and we will be able to jumpstart his bottle-feeding.
Griffith is doing great. He got a little stomach bug last night (which he gave to Momma) so we went to the pediatrician this morning. He is just fine and seems to be on the mend. Aided in part by Miss Flora who has spent all day (again) spoiling her precious little angel. Honestly, the kid won't have any sense at all if he listens to all her sweet-talking. We weighed this morning and Griff is a solid 6 and a half pounds. He won't catch Allan (8 pounds 12 ounces) any time soon, but he is definitely holding his own.
We are looking forward to a good weekend and tying up loose ends before Tuesday. Dad and Griff are going to watch the UK game on Sunday. Might as well introduce him to the concept of "hope springs eternal" and "just wait until basketball season" early.
Griffith is doing great. He got a little stomach bug last night (which he gave to Momma) so we went to the pediatrician this morning. He is just fine and seems to be on the mend. Aided in part by Miss Flora who has spent all day (again) spoiling her precious little angel. Honestly, the kid won't have any sense at all if he listens to all her sweet-talking. We weighed this morning and Griff is a solid 6 and a half pounds. He won't catch Allan (8 pounds 12 ounces) any time soon, but he is definitely holding his own.
We are looking forward to a good weekend and tying up loose ends before Tuesday. Dad and Griff are going to watch the UK game on Sunday. Might as well introduce him to the concept of "hope springs eternal" and "just wait until basketball season" early.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Thursday - August 31st
Griffith and I are hanging out at home tonight. Kim came over and baby sat so that I could meet Jay at the hospital before shift change and then we got take out Thai. (Griff had formula for dinner instead.) He charmed Kim completely. When I got home, she was holding him and I suspect that she had been doing just that since Miss Flora left. Right now, he's swinging and we are both catching up on reruns of Grey's Anatomy. Actually, he's just fallen asleep. All this being loved on wears a boy out.
Allan had a good day. He had another eye exam and still has one spot in one eye that they want to look at so we haven't gotten discharged from opthamology like we had hoped. As with every thing else, Allan is taking his own sweet time. Still we are supposed to be going home on Tuesday although there is a bit of confusion about monitors and such that we have to get sorted out. Still, we are all preparing for a homecoming. Last night Allan said goodbye to Catilin and tonight he said goodbye to Alissa. The weekend will be bittersweet, too, because he has to say farewells to Krista, Ellie, Sarah and Jennifer. Even though he knows that it is time to go home and that he will see all of them again, it still makes him a little sad. Anyway, all we have to do now is make it through the weekend without him catching on that they are going to send him home and then we are outta there.
Allan had a good day. He had another eye exam and still has one spot in one eye that they want to look at so we haven't gotten discharged from opthamology like we had hoped. As with every thing else, Allan is taking his own sweet time. Still we are supposed to be going home on Tuesday although there is a bit of confusion about monitors and such that we have to get sorted out. Still, we are all preparing for a homecoming. Last night Allan said goodbye to Catilin and tonight he said goodbye to Alissa. The weekend will be bittersweet, too, because he has to say farewells to Krista, Ellie, Sarah and Jennifer. Even though he knows that it is time to go home and that he will see all of them again, it still makes him a little sad. Anyway, all we have to do now is make it through the weekend without him catching on that they are going to send him home and then we are outta there.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
wednesday - august 30
Well, we are still on target for a Tuesday homecoming. Allan still hasn't shown all that much interest in eating from the bottle. He didn't really do any thing at the 10 a.m., took about 40 at 2 and did the same at 6. Caitlin was showing me how to work the feeding pump tonight and, of course, there was some malfunction with the machine and it kept stopping. I told her that this was not at all comforting to me considering how close we were to going home and we were laughing about how awful it would be to get home and not be able to get the darned thing working. Allan bobbled his head around and got the most alarmed look on his face. He may not want to eat from a bottle but he wants to make darned sure that the current delivery system stays functional. He's such a little faker with the bottle though. He'll suck some down and then cough and hack like he has emphysema. I had thought that he was having genuine trouble coordinating the suck-swallow-breath thing until tonight. Right before I left, he started smacking his lips like he wanted to suck, so I gave him his pacifier. He sucked a couple of times and then either spit it out or just lost his grip on it. Since I couldn't tell which, I gave it back to him. Apparently he didn't want it because he turned red, spit it out and hacked and coughed and gagged like he had sucked a gallon of water. I guess that's just his way of saying "no more."
Griffith had another excellent day. Miss Flora likes nothing better than to hold a baby and sweet talk and Griffith likes nothing better than to be doted on. So that's working out well for him - at the moment any way.
Griffith had another excellent day. Miss Flora likes nothing better than to hold a baby and sweet talk and Griffith likes nothing better than to be doted on. So that's working out well for him - at the moment any way.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
He is coming, R U ready
Well, it looks like we may be nearing the end of this part of this little adventure. Word is that Allan is being transferred (we aren't using the h-o-m-e word because of how Griffith reacted to it). We are shooting for Tuesday. He's going to be coming home with some accessories -- oxygen, monitor, feeding tube, kitchen sink. The only thing holding him back has really been this whole inconsistent eating-from-a-bottle thing. Since he's still pretty random and up-and-down on it, we are going with Plan B (or Double Y or Triple P or whatever -- we've had a lot of plans.) Any way, the current plan is that we try to bottle feed during the day and let him take what he does or does not want. Then, at night, we hook him up to the NG tube and feed him whatever the balance of that day's nutrition would have been. It isn't any wonder that the poor little fellow is having problems -- after all the talk of how fat he was, it shouldn't be a wonder that he has an eating disorder. Anyway, he is doing very well, other than being uncooperative. As an example of what a little twerp he is, Allan wouldn't take from his bottle yesterday, but last night was whiny and wriggly until he got a pacifier which he sucked on like a demon. A pretty, uncooperative demon.
Griffith and Miss Flora have taken to each other. She started yesterday and by ten a.m. Griffith had already managed to show her who was boss. She didn't move fast enough while she was changing him and he did a geyser on her just like he had done on me on Friday. She just laughed because she knew better than to leave a little boy armed and ready. After that, they got along just fine. I'm not sure she put him down all day and she sweet-talks him constantly. He loves it. I'm afraid that he isn't going to remember that his name is Griffith. All he hears all day long is Precious and Angel (which he particularly likes). Whatever else you can say about him, Griffith has a way with the ladies. He had a pretty good night tonight, too. He managed to find his thumb and has been working it over quite a bit. We haven't told him about Allan yet. We aren't sure that he is going to react well to having to share attention. Guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
Griffith and Miss Flora have taken to each other. She started yesterday and by ten a.m. Griffith had already managed to show her who was boss. She didn't move fast enough while she was changing him and he did a geyser on her just like he had done on me on Friday. She just laughed because she knew better than to leave a little boy armed and ready. After that, they got along just fine. I'm not sure she put him down all day and she sweet-talks him constantly. He loves it. I'm afraid that he isn't going to remember that his name is Griffith. All he hears all day long is Precious and Angel (which he particularly likes). Whatever else you can say about him, Griffith has a way with the ladies. He had a pretty good night tonight, too. He managed to find his thumb and has been working it over quite a bit. We haven't told him about Allan yet. We aren't sure that he is going to react well to having to share attention. Guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Sunday 8/27
All in all we are having a pretty good run of days. Thursday night was a little long, especially for
Dad. He blames Caitlyn. Griffith refuses to sleep during the hours of 2:30 a.m. to about 4 a.m. This cuts in to Dad's sleep time considerably. He thought he was doing pretty well with it all -- until Cheryl pointed out that he had arrived at the NICU on Friday morning with his shirt inside out. Some days are better than others.
Griffith had a very good weekend despite the fact that my pride and joy and I didn't get started of on the right foot. On Friday morning, Rosa was coming to visit so that Mom could go to the hospital during the day. As I was changing his diaper and trying to get ready to go, he decided for the first time in ever to pee. And not just a little. A veritable geyser that hit me in the face, all down my shirt, all over the changing table. (He also hit himself in the face which served him right, little twerp.) So we both had to have a bath. Oh, well, as a result, he was wide awake and smelling like a rose when Rosa arrived. He seemed glad to see her -- she was pretty glad to see him, too. I'm not entirely certain, but I think she held him the whole time I was gone and kept telling him how handsome he is. Child will have no sense at all.
When I arrived at the hospital, Allan was sitting in his bouncy seat transfixed by the birds on the new mobile Cheryl found for him. He looked a little startled by them (a common reaction for Allan). The little birds were really quite charming -- think Disney bluebirds of happiness -- but he seemed skeptical. It just takes him a while to get used to new things. Allan hasn't been doing so well with the bottle-feeding. He had a couple of good days, but, then, lost interest or energy or something. He wasn't taking in enough by mouth so yesterday they put the NG tube back in. They will let him bottle feed for 30 minutes every 3 hours and what he doesn't take by mouth they will give him through the tube. We aren't quite sure how this is going to impact his coming home. They had been talking about next week, but this could delay it. How long we don't know. He could come home with an NG tube, although that would not be ideal. Even so, he has to be taking a certain amount by mouth before the docs would be comfortable sending him home. And some docs won't send him home with an NG regardless. And, of course, we are at the end of another month so the attending doctor will be changing. Again. No one seems to think that this sluggish eating is anything other than an annoyance that Allan will outgrow with time. What we are all coming to appreciate is that he seems to be content to putter along in first gear.
Yesterday, Cheryl came for a visit so that Mom and Dad could have a little time out. We had a nice leisurely lunch and did a little shopping. Just generally acted like real people. A welcome break. And, as much as I am sure that he missed us, Griffith seemed more than content to catch up with Cheryl.
In other news, we think that we have found someone to come and help take care of the boys. Miss Flora is a retired LPN who worked labor and delivery and in the nursery at a local hospital, had 5 kids of her own and has experience caring for multiples - twins, triplets and even a set of quads. Surely our two little ones will pose no great challenge to her. Anyway, she is going to start tomorrow. Once we are all used to each other, this should make it a lot easier for me to get back and forth to see Allan. And, just maybe, take a nap.
Dad. He blames Caitlyn. Griffith refuses to sleep during the hours of 2:30 a.m. to about 4 a.m. This cuts in to Dad's sleep time considerably. He thought he was doing pretty well with it all -- until Cheryl pointed out that he had arrived at the NICU on Friday morning with his shirt inside out. Some days are better than others.
Griffith had a very good weekend despite the fact that my pride and joy and I didn't get started of on the right foot. On Friday morning, Rosa was coming to visit so that Mom could go to the hospital during the day. As I was changing his diaper and trying to get ready to go, he decided for the first time in ever to pee. And not just a little. A veritable geyser that hit me in the face, all down my shirt, all over the changing table. (He also hit himself in the face which served him right, little twerp.) So we both had to have a bath. Oh, well, as a result, he was wide awake and smelling like a rose when Rosa arrived. He seemed glad to see her -- she was pretty glad to see him, too. I'm not entirely certain, but I think she held him the whole time I was gone and kept telling him how handsome he is. Child will have no sense at all.
When I arrived at the hospital, Allan was sitting in his bouncy seat transfixed by the birds on the new mobile Cheryl found for him. He looked a little startled by them (a common reaction for Allan). The little birds were really quite charming -- think Disney bluebirds of happiness -- but he seemed skeptical. It just takes him a while to get used to new things. Allan hasn't been doing so well with the bottle-feeding. He had a couple of good days, but, then, lost interest or energy or something. He wasn't taking in enough by mouth so yesterday they put the NG tube back in. They will let him bottle feed for 30 minutes every 3 hours and what he doesn't take by mouth they will give him through the tube. We aren't quite sure how this is going to impact his coming home. They had been talking about next week, but this could delay it. How long we don't know. He could come home with an NG tube, although that would not be ideal. Even so, he has to be taking a certain amount by mouth before the docs would be comfortable sending him home. And some docs won't send him home with an NG regardless. And, of course, we are at the end of another month so the attending doctor will be changing. Again. No one seems to think that this sluggish eating is anything other than an annoyance that Allan will outgrow with time. What we are all coming to appreciate is that he seems to be content to putter along in first gear.
Yesterday, Cheryl came for a visit so that Mom and Dad could have a little time out. We had a nice leisurely lunch and did a little shopping. Just generally acted like real people. A welcome break. And, as much as I am sure that he missed us, Griffith seemed more than content to catch up with Cheryl.
In other news, we think that we have found someone to come and help take care of the boys. Miss Flora is a retired LPN who worked labor and delivery and in the nursery at a local hospital, had 5 kids of her own and has experience caring for multiples - twins, triplets and even a set of quads. Surely our two little ones will pose no great challenge to her. Anyway, she is going to start tomorrow. Once we are all used to each other, this should make it a lot easier for me to get back and forth to see Allan. And, just maybe, take a nap.
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