Kaz Update (Part 4)

Each picture you see with each entry is an actual picture from that day. Aaron and I take a pic of our little man everyday so we can see how far he's come.

Sunday 5/24/09
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ALL ABOARD THE KAZMANIAN DEVIL EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER! Someone said there'd be days like this (come on, sing it with me!), there'd be days like this, oh someone said (yes I know the lyrics are "momma"...just go with it okay.) We have to keep reminding ourselves that Kaz is now gestationally only 35 weeks old, theoretically he still has 5 weeks to go in my belly. With that said one should expect the roller coaster to take a plunge every once and a while right? Hearing the words, "this is typical with a preemie" for some reason really doesn't provide us with as much solace as it used to. We're up one day..YAY!!!! We're down another...argh. Oh wait we're U....ohhhhhh....argh. For instance...

Ahhhh remember last Friday when Kaz's oxygen flow/pressure was down to 1.5 and his oxygen concentration was normal (normal being 20% - that's what you and I breath), member? You MEMBER! Well my peeps I think Kaz's lungs forgot because as a result of multiple desats his pressure was brought to 2.0 then finally settled at 2.5 with an oxygen ratio of 40%.
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The doc and RT (Respiratory Therapist) decided to take an xray of our tough guys lungs to see what they could see and hazy is what they saw. Yes, Kaz has some haze in his lungs and yes, it's like the movie Groundhogs Day, we have been here before. So, what does this mean. Well, it means the same thing it did last time. They will give him Lasix (diuretic) to clear up the fluid which will cause him to loose some much needed weight. They will do another xray tomorrow to see what they see and if they feel it necessary they may need to check his heart to see if it may be causing some type of problem with his lungs which in turn is causing the desats and brady's. Everyone hold on to your stomach's!

Stuff like this really throws you into an emotional tailspin. Just ask Jenn K. who dropped by for a little visit. Kaz said, "look what I can do, I can stop you in your tracks, glue your feet to the floor, and make you never wanna leave! Watch me desat with the best of 'em." And he did, and she did...sorry about that Jenn. Hope you recovered, he did.

Monday 5/25/09
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This morning when I came in they told me I couldn't hold my son! Because of the frequent desats and brady's they really wanted him to rest. HORMONE ALERT! What are you trying to say? His mothers arms aren't the best place for him! So there I sat looking at him as if he were some exhibit in a zoo. I had a little mini breakdown in my head, but I'm okay now...oh geez I will never be okay again will I...what am I going to do when he goes to kindergarten...to college...I'm fine...I'm FINE...didn't you hear me, I said I'M FINE!

Xray #2 Results: The xray still shows some haziness but it has improved since yesterday. So what's the plan?

• They will hold off on examining his heart and monitor his progress for the day.
• They may give him a new diuretic (found out Lasix depletes his body of calcium, it's very effective but is used sparingly so if they decide to continue with that treatment they will use a different diuretic) but they hope that his lungs will clear on their own and his breathing will improve.

Why is this happening? The tune hasn't changed and the lyrics have stayed the same; it's nothing to panic about. Remember he is only 35 weeks old and the doc and RT assure us that this is "typical with preemies" and the numbers are marginal compared to what they could be. Besides, let us not forget how we got here in the first place; low amniotic fluid. Low amniotic fluid can have an adverse affect on lung development. Couple that with preemie and we've got a match made in worry.

They made our boy cry! No big whoop but I was there while he got his weekly "promotes red blood cell development to combat anemia and avoid a transfusion" shot. I totally understand why parents leave the room.

Do you recall that whole hormone alert a couple of paragraphs ago? All is right with the world now, they let us do some Kangaroo Care when we came back to tuck him in for the night. Maybe they saw the crazy look in my eye? Who knows, who cares, we got to cuddle our guy and that's all that matters.

Tuesday 5/26/09

"Look it here Daddy, me and my little bunny pal back there are makin a break for it ya see, and we need you to be on the look out..."

I walked into the NICU today to find Kaz's temperature monitor off, the portals to to his incubator opened, and a big metal cage being prepped. Let me rephrase that a BIG metal CAGE! We are proud to announce that Kaz is no longer a little naked baby in an incubator. Kaz is now a big baby, wearin' big clothes, who can maintain his body heat in a cage, I mean crib. Milestone achieved!

On top of this good news his breathing has improved and they are holding off on giving him any diuretics for now.

On top of this good news there are talks about putting his pacifier love to the test tonight with his very first attempt at bottle feeding. I called at 2 AM to see how it went and low and behold it had been postponed because he just couldn't open his little peepers long enough to be interested.

Wednesday 5/26/09

Guess what I did at 3 AM? I drank 30 ml. of my very first bottle! Nurse Alicia said I was a champ. I sucked, swallowed, and breathed like I had been doin' it for years (no desats or apnea). Then I got really tired and fell asleep. No I didn't finish the 38 ml. bottle but there is always next time.

Guess what I did at noon with my Mommies proud eyes looking at me, I drank another 30 ml! I'm so AWESOMO.

Warning, WARNING! Extremely high loop on the roller coaster approaching. Do not get overly excited or confident.

For now the nurses will try bottle feeding once a day and if he does well they will go to once a shift and as things progress eventually Aaron and I will be able to practice feeding our son ourselves. Oh happy day.