Monday April 07, 2008 | « April 2008 » | ||||||
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | ||
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 19 | |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
28 | 29 | |||||
| Today | ||||||
LINKS
CONTACT
Torquil's News
template by
Helquin
All
|
General
Monday April 07, 2008
Monday March 31, 2008
He's a chunky monkey!
Okay, so I ran out of music lyrics. I couldn't think of any song lyrics relating to the topic except Weird Al Yankovick's "I'm Fat," and I already promised that I would avoid any more Weird Al songs. Why is it that his songs just seem to fit so well? Maybe it's because he and Jay have the same maturity level... who knows.
We have exciting news!! Jay went to the pediatrician today and he weighs a whopping 10 pounds 7 oz.! Yes, that means he's regained his birthweight and put on some extra. Feeding went really well over the weekend. He's pretty consistently getting 3 oz. per feeding, and thanks to the greatest lactation consultant on the planet, he's also attempting to breastfeed as well. (Thank you Moira!) While he's not getting enough to sustain him on breastfeeding exclusively, when you add the bottles that he's getting to the nursing, he's really eating like a champ. (Knock on wood that it lasts!) We go back again next Monday, so we'll have a better idea how well he's keeping that weight on.
Today is the first day that Jay and I are totally on our own, and I must say that I'm pretty proud of myself that I got him up and dressed, along with getting myself up and dressed (with a shower, no less!), and to the pediatrician by 10 a.m. So, maybe I can do this baby thing! He's sitting here beside me in the swing he borrowed from his good buddy Preston, and he is LOVING it. (Many thanks, Bethany! This thing rocks - literally!) My mom kept telling us that the bouncy seat was not enough and that we needed to get a swing - and she was right. (Yes, I was wrong and Mom was right - hard to admit, but sometimes it's true.)
Happy Monday, everyone!
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 31 2008, 04:04:18 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [2]
Okay, so I ran out of music lyrics. I couldn't think of any song lyrics relating to the topic except Weird Al Yankovick's "I'm Fat," and I already promised that I would avoid any more Weird Al songs. Why is it that his songs just seem to fit so well? Maybe it's because he and Jay have the same maturity level... who knows.
We have exciting news!! Jay went to the pediatrician today and he weighs a whopping 10 pounds 7 oz.! Yes, that means he's regained his birthweight and put on some extra. Feeding went really well over the weekend. He's pretty consistently getting 3 oz. per feeding, and thanks to the greatest lactation consultant on the planet, he's also attempting to breastfeed as well. (Thank you Moira!) While he's not getting enough to sustain him on breastfeeding exclusively, when you add the bottles that he's getting to the nursing, he's really eating like a champ. (Knock on wood that it lasts!) We go back again next Monday, so we'll have a better idea how well he's keeping that weight on.
Today is the first day that Jay and I are totally on our own, and I must say that I'm pretty proud of myself that I got him up and dressed, along with getting myself up and dressed (with a shower, no less!), and to the pediatrician by 10 a.m. So, maybe I can do this baby thing! He's sitting here beside me in the swing he borrowed from his good buddy Preston, and he is LOVING it. (Many thanks, Bethany! This thing rocks - literally!) My mom kept telling us that the bouncy seat was not enough and that we needed to get a swing - and she was right. (Yes, I was wrong and Mom was right - hard to admit, but sometimes it's true.)
Happy Monday, everyone!
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 31 2008, 04:04:18 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [2]
Sunday March 30, 2008
Don't tempt me...
...I'm where I wanna be
Cause on the 8th day
God made Sweet Tea
Last night was an exciting night in Jay's life - his first time with a babysitter. My favorite band from our college days, Cravin' Melon, played their last show before splitting up about 7 years ago. Cravin Melon is a great live band - lots of energy and a ton of fun to watch. They played a reunion show last night at the Lincoln Theatre and we bought tickets way back before Jay was born. We figured he'd be at least a month old and we'd be perfectly happy to leave him with Jen's folks for an evening. We of course didn't expect that we'd have only had him home for a little over a week! I was a little nervous about leaving him with my folks. It's been 30 years since they had babies - would they remember what to do? They can't remember where they left their keys - would they forget where they left my kid? (Just kidding, Mom & Dad!)
But since this concert was truly a one time opportunity, we decided that Lala and Grandpa Mike could handle any eating issues as well as we could, and we headed out around 8 p.m. last night. I realized that this was the first time I'd been away from Jay since he was in the PICU. And I really was pretty good about being apart - I only made Derek check his phone (JUST IN CASE he'd missed it actually ringing!) about 15 times. That's not so bad, right? And I even allowed us to have a conversation about something other than milk, spit-up, or diapers. We talked about the fun times we had going to Cravin Melon shows in college, Derek's plan for going back to work this week, and taking Jay to the doctor. (Okay, so that last topic wasn't exactly romantic, getting away from the stress of baby conversation. We couldn't exactly go cold turkey thinking about something else!)
And you know what? We actually had fun. I heard someone say that the best thing you can do for your child is to spend time away from him to nurture your relationship with your spouse. And while it's so hard to find that time, I believe that's true.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 30 2008, 07:56:33 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [2]
...I'm where I wanna be
Cause on the 8th day
God made Sweet Tea
Last night was an exciting night in Jay's life - his first time with a babysitter. My favorite band from our college days, Cravin' Melon, played their last show before splitting up about 7 years ago. Cravin Melon is a great live band - lots of energy and a ton of fun to watch. They played a reunion show last night at the Lincoln Theatre and we bought tickets way back before Jay was born. We figured he'd be at least a month old and we'd be perfectly happy to leave him with Jen's folks for an evening. We of course didn't expect that we'd have only had him home for a little over a week! I was a little nervous about leaving him with my folks. It's been 30 years since they had babies - would they remember what to do? They can't remember where they left their keys - would they forget where they left my kid? (Just kidding, Mom & Dad!)
But since this concert was truly a one time opportunity, we decided that Lala and Grandpa Mike could handle any eating issues as well as we could, and we headed out around 8 p.m. last night. I realized that this was the first time I'd been away from Jay since he was in the PICU. And I really was pretty good about being apart - I only made Derek check his phone (JUST IN CASE he'd missed it actually ringing!) about 15 times. That's not so bad, right? And I even allowed us to have a conversation about something other than milk, spit-up, or diapers. We talked about the fun times we had going to Cravin Melon shows in college, Derek's plan for going back to work this week, and taking Jay to the doctor. (Okay, so that last topic wasn't exactly romantic, getting away from the stress of baby conversation. We couldn't exactly go cold turkey thinking about something else!)
And you know what? We actually had fun. I heard someone say that the best thing you can do for your child is to spend time away from him to nurture your relationship with your spouse. And while it's so hard to find that time, I believe that's true.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 30 2008, 07:56:33 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [2]
Saturday March 29, 2008
If I could save time in a bottle...
...The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day
Til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you
I can't believe we haven't posted on the blog since Monday - it is just amazing how fast the days go by. I start out each morning with a goal of something I want to accomplish for the day. These are NOT big goals, mind you - they are things like put away the laundry or unload the dishwasher. Then I blink my eyes and the day is gone and the pile of laundry is bigger than ever and there are even more dishes in the sink. I know that exhaustion is taking over when I can't remember the last time I brushed my teeth. (I know I have brushed them, I just can't remember actually doing it!) Everyone tells me that it gets better once he starts sleeping through the night, but I fear that is still a long way away! But I try to remember that the time when he'll wrap those tiny little fingers around mine is short and to enjoy these moments while I can (even the 4 a.m. feedings!)
Jay is still struggling to eat enough, and we're still working on getting him to eat like a 10 pounder. He is gaining weight, just VERY slowly. He saw his cardiologist again yesterday, and he seemed quite pleased with how he's doing. His heart is looking great and we're very thankful for that. He was also very optimistic that the laryngeal paralysis will improve on its own and that was certainly reassuring.
Several of you have asked about the name of the blog "Torquil's news." I didn't realize that my older posts disappeared after a certain amount of time. I started this blog early in my pregnancy before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl. You can find the original post that explains the name Torquil here. If you want to see other previous posts, you can click on the calendar at the top right to go back to earlier months.
Here's a new picture so you can see our eating struggles.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 29 2008, 08:11:04 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [2]
...The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day
Til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you
I can't believe we haven't posted on the blog since Monday - it is just amazing how fast the days go by. I start out each morning with a goal of something I want to accomplish for the day. These are NOT big goals, mind you - they are things like put away the laundry or unload the dishwasher. Then I blink my eyes and the day is gone and the pile of laundry is bigger than ever and there are even more dishes in the sink. I know that exhaustion is taking over when I can't remember the last time I brushed my teeth. (I know I have brushed them, I just can't remember actually doing it!) Everyone tells me that it gets better once he starts sleeping through the night, but I fear that is still a long way away! But I try to remember that the time when he'll wrap those tiny little fingers around mine is short and to enjoy these moments while I can (even the 4 a.m. feedings!)
Jay is still struggling to eat enough, and we're still working on getting him to eat like a 10 pounder. He is gaining weight, just VERY slowly. He saw his cardiologist again yesterday, and he seemed quite pleased with how he's doing. His heart is looking great and we're very thankful for that. He was also very optimistic that the laryngeal paralysis will improve on its own and that was certainly reassuring.
Several of you have asked about the name of the blog "Torquil's news." I didn't realize that my older posts disappeared after a certain amount of time. I started this blog early in my pregnancy before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl. You can find the original post that explains the name Torquil here. If you want to see other previous posts, you can click on the calendar at the top right to go back to earlier months.
Here's a new picture so you can see our eating struggles.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 29 2008, 08:11:04 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [2]
Monday March 24, 2008
I like big butts and I cannot lie...
Unfortunately, Jay's rear end is not a big butt. And none of his other parts are getting big either. He's still not putting on weight like he should and hasn't regained his birth weight yet. In a normal baby, the fact that he's still below birth weight at 2 weeks old wouldn't be a huge problem. But in a baby whose body is healing from major surgery, he needs more calories than he's getting for his body to recover.
So we are starting a two part approach - part one is adding powdered formula to the breastmilk he's already getting to add some calories. But part two is the fun stuff ... baby torture to keep him awake during feedings! My mom always says "Never wake a sleeping baby." Unfortunately, we're gonna have to wake him up if he's going to chunk up. We've already tried the easy approaches including mid-feeding diaper changes and frequent burping/position changes to try & keep him alert. Now we're moving on to the big guns - cold washcloths, naked feeding and toe tickling. Don't YOU want to sit there naked, shivering, and being tickled while you try to eat your breakfast?! Let the fun begin!
In other news, Jay went to his first party yesterday to celebrate Easter with his Raleigh extended family. He behaved like a champ! He didn't seem to care that we passed him from one person to another all afternoon/evening, and he happily sat in his carseat while we ate our Easter dinner. He made flirty eyes at all the ladies who would look his way. He's gonna be a party animal.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 24 2008, 05:50:01 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [4]
Unfortunately, Jay's rear end is not a big butt. And none of his other parts are getting big either. He's still not putting on weight like he should and hasn't regained his birth weight yet. In a normal baby, the fact that he's still below birth weight at 2 weeks old wouldn't be a huge problem. But in a baby whose body is healing from major surgery, he needs more calories than he's getting for his body to recover.
So we are starting a two part approach - part one is adding powdered formula to the breastmilk he's already getting to add some calories. But part two is the fun stuff ... baby torture to keep him awake during feedings! My mom always says "Never wake a sleeping baby." Unfortunately, we're gonna have to wake him up if he's going to chunk up. We've already tried the easy approaches including mid-feeding diaper changes and frequent burping/position changes to try & keep him alert. Now we're moving on to the big guns - cold washcloths, naked feeding and toe tickling. Don't YOU want to sit there naked, shivering, and being tickled while you try to eat your breakfast?! Let the fun begin!
In other news, Jay went to his first party yesterday to celebrate Easter with his Raleigh extended family. He behaved like a champ! He didn't seem to care that we passed him from one person to another all afternoon/evening, and he happily sat in his carseat while we ate our Easter dinner. He made flirty eyes at all the ladies who would look his way. He's gonna be a party animal.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 24 2008, 05:50:01 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [4]
Sunday March 23, 2008
Country road, take me home...
...Back to the place where I belong.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 23 2008, 12:10:36 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [1]
...Back to the place where I belong.
So maybe I-40 isn’t a country road, but it did take us back home from Duke again. This stay was much shorter—we left mid-afternoon on Saturday, after they were sure that Jay was eating well. That meant Jay and Derek got to spend the evening watching the NCAA tournament on the couch instead of a hospital bed.
The EKG on Saturday looked better than on Friday, so the docs at Duke were very confident that any troubles he was having were unrelated to his heart. They actually said that his heart couldn’t look any better to be a week after surgery. So we’re not sure what the problem was earlier in the week, but it seems to be better now. Let’s just hope it stays that way.
He is continuing to eat well at home, and we’ll head back to the pediatrician on Monday to see how he is doing. Maybe he’ll have broken the 10 pound barrier again.
We are now off to take our first outing to somewhere other than a doctor—we’re heading to Great Aunt Jeannette’s house for Easter Dinner. Say a prayer for us and our fellow diners!
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 23 2008, 12:10:36 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [1]
Saturday March 22, 2008
Second verse, same as the first...
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 22 2008, 07:54:34 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [5]
A little bit louder and a little bit worse. (That's
from Henry VIII by Herman's Hermits for those of you who enjoy having oldies
stuck in your head.)
So, we just keep adding to the number of doctors that Jay has seen in his short
little life. We had a follow up appointment Friday morning at 9:30 a.m.
with the surgeon at Duke. We fully expected that they would check his
incision, remove the stitches where his drainage tube was, say he looks good
& send us on our way. We thought we'd be back home by lunchtime.
Not so much. Let's just say I'm writing this post from the hospital and
we're expecting the Easter Bunny to visit us here on Sunday.
The night before his appointment (Thursday night) was horrendous for all of
us. Jay had a screaming fit that lasted from about 6 p.m. until about 1
a.m. It was clear that he was hungry, but when he went to eat, he would
get so exhausted that he could eat less than an ounce. (He had been
eating 3-4 oz. per feeding in the prior days.) Then he'd fall asleep, and
sleep for about 15 minutes. Then he'd wake up screaming and hungry and
start the process over again. He never really would eat a full meal and
he struggled to breathe even when he wasn't eating. Let me say that there
is nothing scarier in the world than watching your child struggle to breathe,
and seeing that every breath takes all the energy that he has.
So we discussed the problem with the nurse practioner today, and she was
concerned that the tiring out was due to changes in his heart rather than the
vocal cord paralysis. Apparently, his EKG looks different, and in some
ways worse, than it did BEFORE surgery. That's not to say that the
surgery didn't work, but that his heart may have had some additional damage
during surgery or since then. Just to be sure that his aorta was still
looking open & flowing freely, they did another echocardiogram.
Unfortunately, he was moving around and they wanted more detail than they could
get with him wriggling. So they wanted yet another echo, this time under
sedation. But they really wanted to be certain that under sedation, he
wasn't going to have any additional breathing problems. So, it's back to
the PICU again.
He did great on echo #2 (this is probably his 7th in 2 weeks!) and woke up with
no breathing issues and hungry. So the nurse fed him 3 oz and they sent
him out of ICU & back up to a private room. Luckily, this time they
kept him in ICU long enough for us to go home and get a change of clothes (and
of course the laptop - our only lifeline to the outside world!).
He did great last night - eating like a champ and very minimal breathing
issues. I know the doctors think we're crazy, but the struggles he had to
breathe on Thursday night were really awful. And while I didn't ever want
a return trip through this place, I'm glad they're checking out everything to
make sure that he's okay. I just hope he starts gaining weight soon - He
dropped from his birth weight of 10 lbs 4 oz to 9 lbs 13 and can't quite seem to make it back up over the 10 mark. Please think
hungry thoughts for us!
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 22 2008, 07:54:34 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [5]
Thursday March 20, 2008
When you breathe...
...I wanna be the air for you
I'll be there for you
So you'll all be proud to know that we made it up and out of the house this morning in record time - only 2 and a half hours. (Of course beating yesterday's record of 4 hours wasn't THAT hard to top, but who's counting?)
Today's trip to the pediatric ENT was a little disappointing. One of the risks of any surgery near the aorta is damage to the laryngeal nerve, including paralysis of the vocal cord(s). Apparently the laryngeal nerve goes from the brain, down around the aorta, and back up to the vocal cords. In moving it out of the way to repair the aorta, it's easy to get damaged. At the ENT, the doctor ran an endoscope up Jay's nose & down his throat to get a good look at his vocal cords. Jay was none to happy about this particular bit of fun (and who would be?!), but it is actually important for him to cry during the procedure so that the doc can see his vocal folds in action. Apparantly, one of Jay's is completely paralyzed, which explains his difficulty breathing, particularly when trying to coordinate breathing with swallowing.
There's really nothing they can do at this point - some kids resolve on their own, others don't. Those that don't can usually still talk, but typically have very soft, breathy voices. Sometimes the problem can be improved with speech/voice therapy. Surgery is another option, but not one they would consider until he's much older. One positive sign is that the doctor was impressed with Jay's loud cry. (Yeah, our neighbors are impressed at 3 a.m. as well.) That's a sign that he may still have a fairly normal voice when he does begin to talk.
And while I'm glad to have an explanation for his swallowing & breathing struggles, it doesn't really make feeding, especially nursing, any easier at this point. So far he's been unable to breastfeed and has been eating only pumped milk from a bottle. And while there are certainly advantages to bottle feeding, namely that I'm not the only one who can feed him, I was really looking forward to breastfeeding as a bonding experience.
I guess for me the hardest thing is that this is just one more issue that we have to deal with. All of the cardiologists/surgeons indicated that once the aorta was repaired, he'd pretty much be a normal kid - and I wholeheartedly believed that. In fact, his positive prognosis is really what has kept me going throughout the past 2 weeks. (Has it really been 2 weeks since he was born?!) But this is just another layer of medical issues that could very well follow him for life. And while I'm not really too disappointed that his career as a professional opera singer is probably over, I worry about him struggling to talk. The playground is a tough enough place for a "normal" kid, much less one who talks funny.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 20 2008, 08:29:25 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [3]
...I wanna be the air for you
I'll be there for you
So you'll all be proud to know that we made it up and out of the house this morning in record time - only 2 and a half hours. (Of course beating yesterday's record of 4 hours wasn't THAT hard to top, but who's counting?)
Today's trip to the pediatric ENT was a little disappointing. One of the risks of any surgery near the aorta is damage to the laryngeal nerve, including paralysis of the vocal cord(s). Apparently the laryngeal nerve goes from the brain, down around the aorta, and back up to the vocal cords. In moving it out of the way to repair the aorta, it's easy to get damaged. At the ENT, the doctor ran an endoscope up Jay's nose & down his throat to get a good look at his vocal cords. Jay was none to happy about this particular bit of fun (and who would be?!), but it is actually important for him to cry during the procedure so that the doc can see his vocal folds in action. Apparantly, one of Jay's is completely paralyzed, which explains his difficulty breathing, particularly when trying to coordinate breathing with swallowing.
There's really nothing they can do at this point - some kids resolve on their own, others don't. Those that don't can usually still talk, but typically have very soft, breathy voices. Sometimes the problem can be improved with speech/voice therapy. Surgery is another option, but not one they would consider until he's much older. One positive sign is that the doctor was impressed with Jay's loud cry. (Yeah, our neighbors are impressed at 3 a.m. as well.) That's a sign that he may still have a fairly normal voice when he does begin to talk.
And while I'm glad to have an explanation for his swallowing & breathing struggles, it doesn't really make feeding, especially nursing, any easier at this point. So far he's been unable to breastfeed and has been eating only pumped milk from a bottle. And while there are certainly advantages to bottle feeding, namely that I'm not the only one who can feed him, I was really looking forward to breastfeeding as a bonding experience.
I guess for me the hardest thing is that this is just one more issue that we have to deal with. All of the cardiologists/surgeons indicated that once the aorta was repaired, he'd pretty much be a normal kid - and I wholeheartedly believed that. In fact, his positive prognosis is really what has kept me going throughout the past 2 weeks. (Has it really been 2 weeks since he was born?!) But this is just another layer of medical issues that could very well follow him for life. And while I'm not really too disappointed that his career as a professional opera singer is probably over, I worry about him struggling to talk. The playground is a tough enough place for a "normal" kid, much less one who talks funny.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 20 2008, 08:29:25 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [3]
Wednesday March 19, 2008
Doctor, doctor! Gimme the news...
...I've got a bad case of Baby Blues!
Since he was caught by the obstetrician at 2:30am on March 7th. Jay has seen a total of 17 different doctors and 3 med students. There will be 3 more added to that total before the weekend is over. Just our little contribution to keeping the health care system running and educating the future of the medical profession (several of the doctors we saw at Duke were interns, residents, and fellows).
Today was his first trip to the pediatrician. Yeah--a regular newborn checkup!. This was our first attempt to get somewhere on time with Jay in tow. The appointment was at 10am, so we got up at 6am to get started. Seriously, we got up 4 hours before his appointment. Now you'd think the pediatrician was in Greensboro, but no he is very close to where we work. So that means to get to work by 8am and get him to daycare first, we'll have to start about 3am!
Unfortunately, his regular newborn checkup was not just a regular newborn checkup. He has had some raspy breathing--sort of Darth Vader-ish--for a while now. The folks at Duke said it was normal newborn sounds--they have small noses, don't cough very well, and can't blow their nose--but now he has gotten worse. Our pediatrician agreed that it does sound like normal newborn grunts and groans (who knew that newborns snore like 50 year old men with deviated septums?) but he shouldn't do it all the time. So guess what, we got to see doctor number 17 today--a radiologist for chest xrays and a look at his trachea. Well, apparently the time he spent on the ventilator at Duke may have led to some irritation of his trachea and now it is swollen. This apparently is what croup looks like on x-rays, and while he doesn't have croup, he does sound very similar when breathing. There is also a chance his vocal cords are irritated, so that warrants a trip to see doctor number 18 tomorrow--a pediatric ENT. Please keep sending those positive thoughts and prayers our way. Maybe we'll only have to see his pediatrician and cardiologist before too much longer.
Due to popular demand by our far away friends and family, here are a couple more pictures.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 19 2008, 04:32:37 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [6]
...I've got a bad case of Baby Blues!
Since he was caught by the obstetrician at 2:30am on March 7th. Jay has seen a total of 17 different doctors and 3 med students. There will be 3 more added to that total before the weekend is over. Just our little contribution to keeping the health care system running and educating the future of the medical profession (several of the doctors we saw at Duke were interns, residents, and fellows).
Today was his first trip to the pediatrician. Yeah--a regular newborn checkup!. This was our first attempt to get somewhere on time with Jay in tow. The appointment was at 10am, so we got up at 6am to get started. Seriously, we got up 4 hours before his appointment. Now you'd think the pediatrician was in Greensboro, but no he is very close to where we work. So that means to get to work by 8am and get him to daycare first, we'll have to start about 3am!
Unfortunately, his regular newborn checkup was not just a regular newborn checkup. He has had some raspy breathing--sort of Darth Vader-ish--for a while now. The folks at Duke said it was normal newborn sounds--they have small noses, don't cough very well, and can't blow their nose--but now he has gotten worse. Our pediatrician agreed that it does sound like normal newborn grunts and groans (who knew that newborns snore like 50 year old men with deviated septums?) but he shouldn't do it all the time. So guess what, we got to see doctor number 17 today--a radiologist for chest xrays and a look at his trachea. Well, apparently the time he spent on the ventilator at Duke may have led to some irritation of his trachea and now it is swollen. This apparently is what croup looks like on x-rays, and while he doesn't have croup, he does sound very similar when breathing. There is also a chance his vocal cords are irritated, so that warrants a trip to see doctor number 18 tomorrow--a pediatric ENT. Please keep sending those positive thoughts and prayers our way. Maybe we'll only have to see his pediatrician and cardiologist before too much longer.
Due to popular demand by our far away friends and family, here are a couple more pictures.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 19 2008, 04:32:37 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [6]
Tuesday March 18, 2008
If we couldn't laugh...
...we would all go insane.
Sorry for the very long wait between posts. We're all doing well at home and trying to figure out this new parenting gig we've taken on. Taking Jay home has been amazing- as we were feeding him last night, I had this feeling of "normalcy" and realized that this is what any new parents are going through. I had to say a prayer of thanks to hear him crying his little lungs out at 3 a.m. (Now THAT'S something I never expected to say - that I actually WANT to hear middle of the night wailing!)
We thought that we'd share some of the rather humorous moments we've had in the past week that helped keep us laughing through the difficult times. Such as...
Jay's first diaper change involved a reinactment of Old Faithful with a urine stream that arced over his head and soaked his little hat. Yes, we had been warned that he would spray us if we weren't careful with diaper changes. No, we did not expect him to pee on his own head.
The time Jay farted so loudly that the nurse walking down the hall stopped in her tracks and stuck her head in the room to comment on it. I know that 12 year old boys think farts are hilarious, but a 6 day old? I swear, he's doing them to amuse himself.
Derek not once, but twice called Jen's cell phone while it was in his own pocket. Both times, he handed the phone to Jen and said "Your phone is ringing - can you get that?" The really sad thing is neither time was he really trying to call Jen--he dialed the wrong number both times.
Before leaving the hospital, we decided to get one last diaper out of them, so we changed Jay before putting him in his going home outfit. We definitely peaked a little early on that one--he started to pee (but we had learned that lesson and were ready), but then he dropped one of the bigger dumps of his short little life and the whole bed was flooded. I'm sorry to whoever has to do that laundry.
And the biggest sign yet that we are seriously sleep deprived... At night we have tried to establish an efficient routine to get Jay fed, changed, and more milk pumped. I usually fix the bottle of the warmed milk, while Derek gets Jay awake and ready to eat. Last night, I poured the warmed milk carefully into Jay's bottle, accurately noting the number of cc's to help make sure that he's getting exactly the right amount to eat. I hand the bottle to Derek who tips it up to feed Jay -- only to realize that I had neglected to put a nipple on the bottle. Neither of us realized what happened until half the bottle was poured all over Jay, Derek and the bed. Poor kid had to be thinking "Manna falling from heaven! This is way easier than actually having to suck on a bottle!" Yeah, he's moving along quickly, but we probably should consider transitioning from bottle to sippy cup before expecting the kid to drink milk that's being poured on him like a fountain...
Note to self - keep laughing.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 18 2008, 08:46:10 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [4]
...we would all go insane.
Sorry for the very long wait between posts. We're all doing well at home and trying to figure out this new parenting gig we've taken on. Taking Jay home has been amazing- as we were feeding him last night, I had this feeling of "normalcy" and realized that this is what any new parents are going through. I had to say a prayer of thanks to hear him crying his little lungs out at 3 a.m. (Now THAT'S something I never expected to say - that I actually WANT to hear middle of the night wailing!)
We thought that we'd share some of the rather humorous moments we've had in the past week that helped keep us laughing through the difficult times. Such as...
Jay's first diaper change involved a reinactment of Old Faithful with a urine stream that arced over his head and soaked his little hat. Yes, we had been warned that he would spray us if we weren't careful with diaper changes. No, we did not expect him to pee on his own head.
The time Jay farted so loudly that the nurse walking down the hall stopped in her tracks and stuck her head in the room to comment on it. I know that 12 year old boys think farts are hilarious, but a 6 day old? I swear, he's doing them to amuse himself.
Derek not once, but twice called Jen's cell phone while it was in his own pocket. Both times, he handed the phone to Jen and said "Your phone is ringing - can you get that?" The really sad thing is neither time was he really trying to call Jen--he dialed the wrong number both times.
Before leaving the hospital, we decided to get one last diaper out of them, so we changed Jay before putting him in his going home outfit. We definitely peaked a little early on that one--he started to pee (but we had learned that lesson and were ready), but then he dropped one of the bigger dumps of his short little life and the whole bed was flooded. I'm sorry to whoever has to do that laundry.
And the biggest sign yet that we are seriously sleep deprived... At night we have tried to establish an efficient routine to get Jay fed, changed, and more milk pumped. I usually fix the bottle of the warmed milk, while Derek gets Jay awake and ready to eat. Last night, I poured the warmed milk carefully into Jay's bottle, accurately noting the number of cc's to help make sure that he's getting exactly the right amount to eat. I hand the bottle to Derek who tips it up to feed Jay -- only to realize that I had neglected to put a nipple on the bottle. Neither of us realized what happened until half the bottle was poured all over Jay, Derek and the bed. Poor kid had to be thinking "Manna falling from heaven! This is way easier than actually having to suck on a bottle!" Yeah, he's moving along quickly, but we probably should consider transitioning from bottle to sippy cup before expecting the kid to drink milk that's being poured on him like a fountain...
Note to self - keep laughing.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 18 2008, 08:46:10 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [4]
Saturday March 15, 2008
Homeward bound...
Home where my thought’s escaping, home where my music’s playing, home where my love lies waiting silently for me.
So they are kicking us out or we are making a break for it while no one is looking, but either way we are outta here. They have unhooked him from all monitoring (how do I know he is alive without an EKG and pulse ox?), he is eating like a champ (like any good Foster), pooping up a storm (like any good McLean—don’t tell Jen I said that), and his incision looks good. Without all the monitors, it is surprisingly quiet in here—you can still hear the alarms in the other rooms, the other babies crying, and the Life Flight helicopter coming and going—which I believe lands right on top of our room—so there is no mistaking we are still in the hospital. But they are sending us home in the next few hours.
He will have one follow-up visit here at Duke with the surgeons this week, a visit to his pediatrician on Wednesday, and a checkup with his cardiologist in a month. It’s kinda crazy that he is a week old and already has a cardiologist! Otherwise, he is free to be a normal newborn.
Thanks to all the doctors and nurses here at Duke who have made this experience as painless as possible for both us and him. They have done an incredible job taking care of him, and helping us get through this as well. I hope none of you have to experience this, but if you do, I highly recommend the pediatric cardiology, surgery, and PICU teams here. I’m not a Duke fan yet, but if they win the ACC tournament, I’d be okay with that this year.
By the way, how is State doing in the tourney? We’ve been a little out of the loop lately.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 15 2008, 11:48:15 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [5]
Friday March 14, 2008
I've got friends...
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 14 2008, 12:16:37 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [2]
...In low places.
Okay, so the "low places" I'm referring to are probably a little
different than the low places that Garth had in mind. But while this
entire experience could be considered a very low point in our lives, there have
been so many wonderful friends that have helped get us through this
ordeal. I can't even begin to tell you how many people have prayed for
us, called/emailed us to be sure we're not losing our sanity, brought us lunch,
etc. Y'all have been amazing, and I simply can't thank you enough.
But I guess the surprising thing is the friends we have found here at
Duke. We've gotten to know the parents of Jay's first roommate (a cute
girl - woohoo, Go Jay!) just by the amount of time we all spent in the waiting
room. Without sharing details of her medical issues, I can only ask that
you keep her in your thoughts & prayers as they have done for us.
On Tuesday night after surgery, there was a patient advocate who hosted a scrapbooking event in the conference room. As a scrapbooker, it was just what the doctor ordered – for me! We moms sat around sharing pictures and stories of our babies, talking about our frustrations, our successes. We understand how significant it is to say “My baby got off his oxygen today” while other parents we know might not realize what an accomplishment that is. (Note to my scrappin’ girls – y’all are not being replaced anytime soon!)
A friend from Colorado went through a similar experience with her newborn son, and we have emailed after not having chatted in quite some time. Her advice was so reassuring as someone who has been in this rough place and come through stronger for it.
Jay has certainly made friends with the many nurses & doctors that he's had
here as well. His favorite nurse, Bill, took care of him every night that
he was in the PICU. Bill is one of those laid-back people who never lets
the chaos of an intensive care environment rattle him - a VERY good quality to
have when you're working with the sickest babies. But there have been many other nurses and
doctors who have helped us through those rough patches and meltdown moments we’ve
faced as parents of a sick kid.
A brilliant friend from high school and college, Kyle, turned out to be Jay’s doctor in the PICU when he arrived on Saturday and he was on duty again the day of surgery. It was so comforting to see a familiar face and to know without a doubt that Jay was in the best hands possible.
So, to all friends old and new who have helped us during these challenging days – Thank you.
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 14 2008, 12:16:37 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [2]
Thursday March 13, 2008
Eat it..
Just eat it! (First, our apologies for using not one but TWO Weird Al Yankovich songs in recent posts - We promise that we'll never use "Amish Paradise" in any future entries. But really, can you think of a song besides "Eat it" that relates to eating, baby food, or milk?)
So our big hurdle now is getting Jay to eat well before we can leave the hospital. After all he's been through, there are several challenges to getting him to eat. The first, and probably biggest, is that he attempted to eat twice during his first day with us at Rex, but ever since, he's been fed through an IV. His tummy isn't used to food, and it's taking some time to learn how to suck and swallow. He's had a breathing tube put in not once but twice, and that is probably hurting his throat. They warned us that many babies have issues with reflux after heart surgery, so that's something we'll have to watch for.
Jay did really well today with his feeding, showing off his nursing skills for the lactation consultant. Then, while she was off writing a glowing report to give to his doctors, he puked up everything that he had just eaten. The vomiting got him a little choked up and he started breathing really fast and wheezing from some goo stuck in his throat. Scared me to death. They have given us some good advice to keep it from happening again, including burping more often, stopping him from eating periodically so he won't eat too fast, sitting him upright after a feeding and making sure the nurses do all their poking, prodding, bloodletting, etc. BEFORE he eats so he won't get agitated after a meal.
I have no idea what I would have done if I had been at home alone with him during this puking/choking incident - probably would have called 911. Those of you with kids are thinking, "Big deal, your baby spit up." But as scary as it is to take home a newborn, it's a million times scarier to take home one who has been monitored by pros and machines around the clock for his entire life.
Just now, for example, his heart rate dropped from around 130 where it's been all day to 80. Alarms went off and nurses came running. It's creeped back up to about 110, but how in the world would I know that if it happened at home? He was sleeping peacefully, and didn't move a muscle through the entire episode. He never even woke up when we all rushed to the bassinet. It's terrifying to watch, and now we're expected to just say "Whew, glad that's over!"
I may never sleep at night again. Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 13 2008, 07:54:03 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [1]
Just eat it! (First, our apologies for using not one but TWO Weird Al Yankovich songs in recent posts - We promise that we'll never use "Amish Paradise" in any future entries. But really, can you think of a song besides "Eat it" that relates to eating, baby food, or milk?)
So our big hurdle now is getting Jay to eat well before we can leave the hospital. After all he's been through, there are several challenges to getting him to eat. The first, and probably biggest, is that he attempted to eat twice during his first day with us at Rex, but ever since, he's been fed through an IV. His tummy isn't used to food, and it's taking some time to learn how to suck and swallow. He's had a breathing tube put in not once but twice, and that is probably hurting his throat. They warned us that many babies have issues with reflux after heart surgery, so that's something we'll have to watch for.
Jay did really well today with his feeding, showing off his nursing skills for the lactation consultant. Then, while she was off writing a glowing report to give to his doctors, he puked up everything that he had just eaten. The vomiting got him a little choked up and he started breathing really fast and wheezing from some goo stuck in his throat. Scared me to death. They have given us some good advice to keep it from happening again, including burping more often, stopping him from eating periodically so he won't eat too fast, sitting him upright after a feeding and making sure the nurses do all their poking, prodding, bloodletting, etc. BEFORE he eats so he won't get agitated after a meal.
I have no idea what I would have done if I had been at home alone with him during this puking/choking incident - probably would have called 911. Those of you with kids are thinking, "Big deal, your baby spit up." But as scary as it is to take home a newborn, it's a million times scarier to take home one who has been monitored by pros and machines around the clock for his entire life.
Just now, for example, his heart rate dropped from around 130 where it's been all day to 80. Alarms went off and nurses came running. It's creeped back up to about 110, but how in the world would I know that if it happened at home? He was sleeping peacefully, and didn't move a muscle through the entire episode. He never even woke up when we all rushed to the bassinet. It's terrifying to watch, and now we're expected to just say "Whew, glad that's over!"
I may never sleep at night again. Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 13 2008, 07:54:03 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [1]
Ain't goin' down til' the sun comes up!
Hi everyone! My name is Jay, and mom and dad decided to give me a chance to write. So, I thought I'd describe my morning for you so you can have an idea of what a zoo it is around here.
So - what did YOU do this morning?
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 13 2008, 01:22:52 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [4]
Hi everyone! My name is Jay, and mom and dad decided to give me a chance to write. So, I thought I'd describe my morning for you so you can have an idea of what a zoo it is around here.
6:00 - Mom & Dad wake me up for breakfast. I personally thought it was too early to nurse, but they gave me a bottle and that was yummy.
6:15 - Nurse came in to take my blood pressure - AGAIN. I wouldn't whine so much if that cuff wasn't so stinkin' tight.
6:45 - Guy comes in to get a chest x-ray to see if they can take out this drainage tube. I'm sick of this thing!
7:02 - Med student came in again to listen to my heart. Yup, still ticking away.
7:05 - Dropped the biggest, greenest poop of my life. Keep in mind, my life has only been 7 days, but still, I was proud of myself.
7:12 - Surgery fellow came by. He's waiting for the x-ray to be done, but wants to take out that chest tube.
7:19 - X-ray must have shown no more fluid. (I'd have told him if he would just ask me!) Out with the tube, but yowza did that hurt!
7:25 - Nurse came in with some grape-flavored Tylenol. Yum - dessert!
7:34 - Blood guy came by to stick me in the heel - AGAIN. Good thing I don't have to walk anytime soon.
7:39 - Resident and Intern came by to check on me.
7:42 - Yet another chest x-ray to see if fluid accumulated since they took out the drainage tube.
8:20 - I'm giving mom the hungry signs, so she gave me more milk. That stuff is GOOOOOD! Wish they would have let me eat a little earlier in my life.
8:29 - Off to the echocardiogram room. They even let Dad tag along. The best part - I got to ride the elevator!
So - what did YOU do this morning?
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 13 2008, 01:22:52 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [4]
Wednesday March 12, 2008
Movin' on up...
...to the east side! To a deluxe apartment in the sky!
So little Jay is doing great. He came off the ventilator last night at 11pm and was very stable all night. So stable, in fact, that they moved him to "backyard" of PICU where the healthier babies are. We were a little surprised to come in this morning and not find him in his bed. (Umm, he's not crawling yet, so where did he go?)
But after a brief stint in the "backyard", he has now moved out of the PICU to the cardiac wing of the pediatric unit. Yippee! That means private room with mom & dad. For mom and dad, that means we now have to pay attention to all the beeps, bells, dings, and alarms that keep going off constantly. We're kinda figuring out which ones are worry-worthy, and which ones just mean that he wiggled and the monitor got mad about it.
So, for those of you who are medically inclined, simply curious, or want to attempt do-it-yourself coarc repair, here's a website with good illustrations of what an aortic coarctation is and how they fix it.
http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/congenital/expert_tech-.html
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 12 2008, 03:39:40 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [10]
So little Jay is doing great. He came off the ventilator last night at 11pm and was very stable all night. So stable, in fact, that they moved him to "backyard" of PICU where the healthier babies are. We were a little surprised to come in this morning and not find him in his bed. (Umm, he's not crawling yet, so where did he go?)
But after a brief stint in the "backyard", he has now moved out of the PICU to the cardiac wing of the pediatric unit. Yippee! That means private room with mom & dad. For mom and dad, that means we now have to pay attention to all the beeps, bells, dings, and alarms that keep going off constantly. We're kinda figuring out which ones are worry-worthy, and which ones just mean that he wiggled and the monitor got mad about it.
So, for those of you who are medically inclined, simply curious, or want to attempt do-it-yourself coarc repair, here's a website with good illustrations of what an aortic coarctation is and how they fix it.
http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/congenital/expert_tech-.html
Posted by jmfoster ( Mar 12 2008, 03:39:40 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [10]
I held you
Held you tight
'Cause I love
Love you so
Promise I'll never
Let you go
In the still of the night
(Hope those lyrics brought you a nice little flashback to the movie "Dirty Dancing" - one of my faves!)
It's 3:26 in the morning, and I'm up writing this blog when I should be sleeping. I know, "sleep when the baby sleeps" is the rule, but tonight I'm just awake. I've spent many nights up at this hour. I pulled a few all-nighters in college cramming for exams or finishing up papers that should have been written during daylight. I've even enjoyed some late night fun that kept me out on the town this late into the night. As a champion worrier, I have spent more than a few nights up at this hour, watching late-night infomercials and imagining one potential catastrophe after another. Why is it that our anxieties always seem a million times worse at 3 a.m. than at 3 p.m.?
But tonight I'm not up for any of those reasons - I'm up with the baby, just like I've been up with him every night since we brought him home.
It was one month ago today that Jay was born at 2:31 a.m. I thought I understood exhaustion that night, after being in labor for more than 24 hours and struggling through a long and difficult delivery. But that kind of tired has nothing on the kind of tired I feel now after weeks of sleeping only in 2-3 hour spurts. On a good night, Jay will sleep 4 hours between feedings. Let's just say tonight has not been one of those 4 hour nights! I'm a big fan of sleep, and it's a luxury I haven't been enjoying the way I would like.
And while I'm suffering from a major case of exhaustion during the daytime, I really do like the middle of the night snuggles I get to enjoy after feeding him. After Jay eats, we try to keep him upright for at least 20 minutes to help keep him from spitting up. (When we've struggled to get every ounce into him, we don't want to see a single drop coming back up!) While some nights all I want to do is drop him back into his crib and fall back into my bed, that 20 minutes has become some of my favorite time with him. He's much more snuggly with Derek than with me - for some reason he just settles into Derek's shoulder better during the day. But at night, he'll cuddle up on my shoulder and let me enjoy some some snuggles, too. Tonight, I spent the whole time praying, thanking God for the amazing blessing of having him here, having him at home and healthy.
Never thought I'd feel so lucky to be up all night long.
Posted by jmfoster ( Apr 07 2008, 02:48:36 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [8]