Our Little Superman

It is estimated that Ethan will spend the next 11 weeks in NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). This is the standard answer to all parents of a preemie; expect your baby to stay until their due date. We are hoping for an earlier departure, but are trying not to get our hopes too high. Ethan is making it hard on us though. Ever since he was admitted, he has had almost all postive progress reports. In 12 days, he's gotten to the point that he's breathing on his own with only a small cannula that pushes air into his nose (to remind him to breathe) and has gotten rid of his billiband and blue light. Just today, he got to what the nurse called a 'full feed', which means he is no longer being fed through the IV that runs into his little arm, but getting all of his nutrition from milk. He cannot drink this on his own yet...it will take a few more weeks until his suck/swallow reflexes kick in, so he is being fed through a tube that runs down to his tummy. He loves it though and has been thriving, going into a little 'milk coma' after being fed. It's all very cute. All of these little steps forward are huge if you think that he should not even be breathing or digesting food on his own for another 8 weeks!

He has become a personaliy of sorts with the nurses in our NICU bay. Every day when we arrive, there is a new Ethan story. A couple of snippets for your amusement: On Sunday, he used his little super legs to push himself up to the top of his isolette, much to the doctors surprise. He also likes to turn his head by himself if he doesn't like the way he's positioned. If you try to keep him from doing so, he resists. It never fails to amaze me how much power the little guy has! He looks so fragile, but it's all a little ploy. Any my fav, if he's put on his stomach, he'll do a sort of downward dog position; he sticks his butt up in the air and wiggles it... already a little flirt. The nurses tease us that we will have our hands full once we get him home. I say, bring it.

We also get the standard stories I'm sure all parents go through in the beginning, but they still amaze us. He didn't poop the first full week of his life, all very normal for a preemie, but I was a little obsessed about it all. Finally, late last week, he had his first poop ever. Never to do things half heartedly, he then continued to 'blow out' two more times, to the point that the nurses had to change all of his bedding. I was dying when I found this out. Do all moms get so excited about poops? I just can't help myself :)

Our best moment yet was definitely last Friday, when we were able to kangaroo. This is the "technical term" for skin to skin contact. It was not only the best moment I've had since he was born, but the best moment of my life, period. I can't express how I felt when they laid that tiny little guy on my chest for the first time. I could feel his heartbeat and his warmth and I melted. My life changed forever. He seemed to like it just as much as his stats were perfect the whole time he was with me. Auntie Shell came over for a visit and we were able to surprise her with this big milestone. She was just as emotional as we were! I had good intentions of giving Jon half of the time, but couldn't bring myself to move. So, I promised Jon that he would be able to hold him next time, which happened to be the very next day, but again I couldn't keep the promise. Next time, hon, I swear...ok, maybe the time after that... :)

With such a big weekend...the kangarooing and getting rid of the billiband and the big nose tube...there has been a bit of weight loss over the last couple of days. He was down to 1lb 12oz today. Not a big deal as he had a lot going on, but when his weight goes down, we cannot hold him. So, it's been a long couple of days since the last kangaroo. We're patiently waiting for the next opportunity. Until then, we spend as much time as we can with him. I've become completed addicted to the little guy and can lose an hour just sitting by his isolette staring at him while he's sleeping. How life can change in a moment, right?

___________________________________________

February 3, 2009:

Jon and I just got back from our daily hospital visit. It continues to amaze me that there are changes in Ethan every single day. Today, we noticed that his hair has grown and his hairline is more prominent. I love that he has a full head of hair. I can't imagine how much he would have had if he went to full term!! His eyes are also more alert and bright. He still sleeps most of the day, but when he is awake, he is looking around and follows my voice. I swear he smiles when I talk to him... rationally, I know that is not possible yet, but sometimes being rational is boring. He also looks less 'wrinkly'. Although, I think the monkey look works for him (see pics from Feb 1: such a monkey!!)

On a progress report: they noticed bacteria in Ethan's urine. Before Ethan's birth, we found out that he had a multicyst dysplastic kidney, which basically means there is little to no functionality in the right one. At the time, little did we know that in a month's time, this would be the least of our concerns. But because of this, they are watching his urine output closely, thus the bacteria was noted. Either way, this won't be a huge issue, he'll just have to go on antibiotics again. They are not sure if this is a true reading or a contaminated test result, so our nurse, Jody, has been trying to get another urine sample. First,they tried a catheter...the poor guy, the tube was almost bigger than he was! So, attempt failed. Next, Jody tried putting a bag over his little unit. When she opened his diaper, he started peeing in her direction as if on cue. She quickly covered up and was thankful there was plastic wall between her and the stream coming right at her. She tried again, only to have him start peeing her way again. She closed it. 4 times in a row this happened before she finally got the bag positioned. :) Seriously, if we didn't know better, it would seem like he knew what he was doing. We hope this latest valiant attempt by Jody will work and if so, we'll have the test results tomorrow morning.

Visitors today: Auntie Shell.