Check it out! Started Michael's baby book on Picaboo.com

http://preview.picaboo.com/Webview/CoverPage.aspx?album=0000000000027CF044&user=0000000000007B34CF

May 17, 2008

Michael is HOME!!! He came home Wed. May 14. We are so happy. He is doing very well. I did not get one bit of sleep his first night home, but my hubs and I have worked out a system that will work for now so we can each get about 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. The baby is very well behaved, and only cries when hungry or gassy.... for now! We are crossing our fingers that he continues to be so predictable for several more weeks at least.

May 12, 2008

Michael is doing very well! The nurse wants to pull his NG tube today to see how he eats by bottle with no back up. She also will feed him when he wants it instead of on a 3 hour schedule. She thinks he will do better that way! She said when he cries for food before his feeding time, he tires himself out crying and doesn't always finish the bottle. She also told me to bring our car seat in tonight so they can make sure he breathes well while sitting in it for a while. I am so excited, if all of this goes well, he'll be home soon!!

April 30, 2008

All is still going well! Michael is up to 4 lbs, 8 oz, and has been moved to the continuing care nursery, a lesser intensive care part of the NICU. We are waiting for him to be able to breast or bottle feed, which we can hopefully try next week. He does have a couple of episodes everyday where he drops his heart rate, but by the time a nurse can walk 5 steps over to him he has fixed it on his own. The docs say he will grow out of these too. I am still pumping, and get about 5- 6 oz a day. I started taking Reglan last week to increase my supply, and this is an increase from the 3-4 oz a day I was getting. I am not stressing about the breast feeding... just doing what I can!

April 15, 2008

Michael is on the upswing! he gained 50 grams since yesterday, so he is now 3 lbs 8 oz. He got as low as 3 lb 4 oz since delivery. We are so excited about that weight gain! He is eating all breastmilk, and I am pumping every two hours at home. I even get up in the middle of the night! They also started lowering the temp in his little isolette, and he is maintaining his body temp. They think he will be moved to an open bassinet soon. It is all good news! Thank you all so much for your prayers. I know he is doing so well because of the many people who are pulling for him. We appreciate you all sooo much!

Update- April 6, 2008

I had my little boy by emergency C-section after a second episode of severe bleeding. I had been on hospital bedrest for 16 days at that point. The bleeding started at 7:35, and Michael Joseph was born at 8:00 on the button. It was a life changing experience, and I will likely come back to add details of the c-section experience.

My little Michael is in the NICU, and will continue to be for the next several weeks. I am not changing my profile to show that I gave birth, because I plan to track him still by the week of pregnancy he should be in. He was born at 30 weeks 5 days, and I will continue to think of him by corrected gestational age until closer to his due date.

Also, I love the mommies in my gestational group! They are very supportive, opinionated, and funny! I will continue to follow them through their pregnancies, and want to share my little preemie's progress with them. What a great website this is!!