Thank you for visiting my blog! If you are visiting because you have experienced a pregnancy or infant loss, let me say that I am so very sorry. I started this blog shortly after our Baby Grady was stillborn on November 12, 2008. Please visit the sidebar below called "Labels" to find the topic in which you are interested, or just read as your heart desires.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Matthew. 5 Days Old. 34 Weeks.


Our sweet Matthew had a great day yesterday. The day he turned 5 days old. The day I would have been 34 weeks pregnant with him.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, he took a bottle at 9am. He took another at 12pm. Each was 14 cc's, almost half an ounce.

On the way to the hospital, I called the nurse to let her know we might be a bit late for the 3pm feeding. While on the phone, she dropped another shocker...

They took him off of his oxygen around noon yesterday.

He loves to pull things out, and apparently the O2 was blowing in his eyeballs. They took it off and he hasn't needed it since. If his work of breathing becomes labored or too fast, they will put it back on him. For now, all is good.

I was able to put him to the breast yesterday. We used a nipple shield to make it easier for him, but once he was skin to skin with me and latched on, he got so comfy that he fell asleep. The nurse tube fed him while he was at the breast and in my arms. Toward the end of the feeding, out of the blue, he started sucking and swallowing. He only did it about 10 times, but he paced himself well and didn't drop his heart rate once. Needless to say, it warmed my heart and felt great to hold my baby so close.

The girls chose to go to the pool with Sidney, so it was just me and Gib at the bedside. That won't happen too often, and I have to say it was so nice. Only two people can be at the bedside at one time, so one of us is usually with the girls. On the rare occasions that we've been together for a short time, the girls stay in the waiting room and it's a bit nerve-wracking for me.

The three of us.



Daddy and his "little man".



This is how we left him...happy, sleeping on his tummy and sucking on his paci.



I called this morning to check on him, and he's doing good. A good friend of mine from the NICU and the bereavement committee, Illana, is taking care of him. I love it when I already know his nurses. I've met some great new ones, but the familiarity of someone brings me great peace of mind.

Matthew still has no O2. They were going to recheck his bilirubin this morning, but I forgot to ask the results. I guess it was okay since he isn't under bili lights. He is doing a good job of maintaining his temperature without much help at all from the warming bed. His status has been decreased from critical to intermediate. They tube-fed him last night so he could rest. He took a bottle at 9am but Illana said he got really tired. She thinks alternating every other feeding for now would be good, one tube and one by mouth. They are watching his IV closely because he is a hard stick. He is still on IV nutrition until his feedings reach a certain amount by mouth. His feedings were increased today to 20cc's every three hours. The nurses have not heard a heart murmur the last few days, but if it returns Cardiology will consult and see what's going on. He will have a brain scan tomorrow to check for a brain bleed. Probably my two biggest worries right now are the chance of brain bleed and risk of NEC. So far things seem to be going well, though.

Many of you have asked how I'm doing. I could very easily write a post entitled "Mad. Sad. Glad." And I might just do it. I've been on an emotional roller coaster, partly normal postpartum and partly emotions from our last two birth experiences. It gets all jumbled at times. Physically, I think I'm doing great. I'm getting around surprisingly well. I still have pain but try to take the minimum amount of pain medicine to get me through, which at times has just been Tylenol and Motrin. My milk has come in which is a huge blessing. The pump and I have become reacquainted with one another and it's definitely a love-hate relationship!

Many of you have called or emailed about meals for our family. Since our schedule is crazy with visiting at the hospital, etc, we have decided to wait and ask for meals when Matthew comes home from the hospital. That's when we will really need them with having a new baby at home, school starting soon for the girls, and Gib working full-time & going back to school.

I will update again soon on how things are going. As always, thanks for the prayers and support! I love you all!

Tonya

6 comments:

  1. Tonya,
    You look great... Wow... I loved the pic of the 3 of you. Tonya... I can't believe how big he looks, it is amazing. And I am just praising God that he is doing so well, that is such an answer to prayer. I will continue to pray for the couple of specific things you mentioned as well!

    Oh Tonya, with all that has happened, I can hardly believe that he is here and he is yours... all of it. And if I feel that way, I can't imagine how you must feel at times. Please know when I see every picture of you or the family Grady is right there in my mind too:)

    Praying for peace with all the back and forth for now... love you friend!
    Sara

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  2. Way to go, Matthew! Thinking of your sweet family!

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  3. Matthew is a rock star! So glad you two got some "alone" time with him!

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  4. He is gorgeous!! He is a good mix of his Mama & Daddy :).

    Please keep us posted on the meal thing...We'd love to bring something over.

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  5. I just came to know of your story from a comment you left on another blog, and I had to leave a comment...Matthew is beautiful! I am so happy for you and your family. I went back and read everyones birth stories and I am amazed by your familes strength and courage. Praise God!

    Love and prayers for Matthew and your entire family,
    Christina Gomez

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  6. I am so glad to hear that Matthew is breathing on his own. May he continue to get stronger everyday.

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