Got Milk?

Colt doesn't quite have the milk mustache thing down yet, more like a milk beard. Towards the end of every bottle this is what he does......passes out with milk streaming down his face. Colt had his RSV shot today, and was MAD. It was really sad to see, I got to miss all the others as he got them in the hospital. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 9 oz. His blood was checked too and he's doing well....not anemic!

Look how far I have come!!

Today Nicole and I decided to take a stroll down memory lane...it is amazing to see how far Colt has come. Thank you to all of you that have kept us in your thoughts and prayers, it means more to us than we can ever tell you.

Lazy Day

Lazy day today.....Colt lived in the rocking chair with either me or Grandma, so he nodded off here and there all day! Just when I thought the day and night thing was getting sorted out!

Uh Oh

Colt slept all day...darn! I hope that doesn't equal daytime in exchange for night! This is him sort of waking up to eat but not really.

Grumpy

Colt was a grump all day today...he woke up on the wrong side of the bed! But he was up all day again, so that was good. He's been wide awake from like 11am to 7pm. And then he sleeps from feed to feed at night so at least there is some sleeping going on.

Tummy Time Surfboard

This was a graduation present from our wonderful occuptional therapist for Colt to do tummy time on. He did pretty good last night, so we were able to get some sleep which was really nice. I dusted off my coffee pot and got it out on the counter for a little added help- back on caffeine!

Date Night

Here is Grandpa Brad and Colt....my mom and Brad came over to watch Colt for a few hours so Kreg and I could go on a date night. It was really nice!! Mom has been trained on the monitor and the medicine duties, so we were able to get out of the house together for dinner and a movie. (And of course the alarm did go off and scare them.....he has a tendency to drop his heart rate sometimes while eating if he is really sleepy. It isn't a worry, but the alarm can scare the you-know-what out of you!) He slept awesome last night, and was awake almost all day-so hopefully that means more sleep. He has to get his synagis shot next week......I am not looking forward to that. I think it is a painful one, in the thigh. This is the shot he gets to extra-protect him from the respiratory bugs.

Sleep...what is that?

Here is Colt checking himself out in his mirror. Not much to report....saw the doc and she upped the dose of reflux meds to see if that helps. I am hoping and praying for some much needed sleep for us all tonight! He is now 8 lbs. 4 oz.

Surfin' the Net

I thought this was pretty cute.....Daddy teaching Colt to surf the internet, while the guard dog looks on. Colt was pretty much awake again all night from 2am on, it was just great! He has been sleeping like a champ all day. I wish I could reverse that, but I guess in time it will work itself out. Tomorrow we see the doc, so hopefully she can help us out with the night time bottle screaming.

So Far, So Good

Colt had physical therapy today. They evaluated his movements and coordination of movement, and range of motion. He has to get evaluated because of the brain bleed he had in his early days, because that puts him at risk for developmental delays or possible deficits. He is so far on target for his corrected age (3 weeks old). She said she saw nothing of concern thus far. He will see the PT again in one month. Colt has started screaming at his 9pm and midnight feeds, we don't know what that is all about. He cries through the entire feed. We think the reflux might be acting up, or possibly the medicine needs to be increased. I will call the ped. tomorrow to find out what we can do! It is so hard to get the bottle down at those times, he may be small- but it is like wrestling a baby aligator!

Sleep, Sleep and More Sleep

Since he slept all day, it was party time at 2am last night for about two hours. He slept mostly all day again so I am wondering how it will go in the wee hours of the night! Colt has his physical therapy appointment tomorrow, and I am anxious to see how they do that with a tiny baby!

Sleepy Time

We were blessed with a sleepy night last night....some fussing, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it has been. Dad and I have been taking shifts so that we can each get a decent amount of sleep (isn't he the best?). Our doctor recommended that one of us goes to sleep between 8 and 9, and sleeps until 2am, and the other goes to bed at 2am and sleeps until 9am. So we've been doing that lately. Last night Kreg was staying up for the first shift and both he and Colt fell asleep and slept through the midnight feeding, which is sometimes the worst one. So I woke up at 2am and went to go tell Kreg to go to bed, and fed Colt and he was an angel. So I am wondering if the key is to let him sleep through those few hours that are his worst. Our doctor has been making us wake him up to feed him, and he is pissed when we do. I might try to let him sleep longer tonight and wake himself to see if that makes a difference. He slept almost the entire time from 3am through to now (8pm-ish), waking up to eat and going right back to sleep. He had a few minutes of tummy time and that was about all for Colt's day!

The "C" word

This is the little man during his night time fit (about to get a diaper change, his favorite thing)! I am starting to think maybe colic....the rules of three for colic: 3 hours, at least 3 times a week for 3 weeks (it is only been 2 weeks but we'll see). Our pediatrician said maybe colic too....and plus preemies are also prone to being fussier given all the fun procedures and pain they have had to endure. He has been a tad better tonight....I tried some new things I learned on the internet. Kreg was laughing at me while I made the "shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" sound repeatedly as mentioned in the Happiest Baby on the Block series. It worked long enough to get a bottle in him and then that was over. He also has a wicked, and I mean wicked, diaper rash so that doesn't help. The new formula is the culprit of the rash, and hopefully we can get it handled soon.

Wide Awake

Colt has been having hours of awake time the last few days during the day. Here is a video of him gazing at himself in the mirror (the yellow thing is a mirror). He loves to look at himself (typical guy).

He did manage to scream for about 4 hours last night, at his usual bewitching hour of 8pm on. I am hoping and praying that the formula just hasn't had time to kick in, as the pediatrician said three days and the can says at least 48 hours. It has been 48 hours today....so I am anxious to see what happens tonight.

Bath Time

Here is Colt at bath time. I learned from my fabulous nurses that it's good to keep him covered with warm wet washcloths during bathtime and he loves it. No sooner did I type last night that he was doing well- did he start fussing! Literally, I walked out of the office from posting and he started crying. I thought that was funny. He did a little better last night, the new stuff seems to be working. It's just about coming into the time he gets fussy- so I won't make any predictions on how it will go tonight. We will see :) They put him on Nutrimagen formula, and it is predigested so it is supposed to help with the gassy belly. We have tried everything...burping him frequently, he sleeps on an incline, is on 2 tummy meds, takes gas drops, etc. So hopefully the formula is the key- I hear it can be a lifesaver. He did sleep from 2am through 6:30 am, so that was pretty awesome. Our ped says he can go 5 hours at night if he will, as long as he is eating well.

The eye doc went well too. She said she doesn't need to see him for three months so that is good!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Colt saw the doctor this morning and she switched his formula so that hopefully his tummy will feel better, which is why we think he's been crying so much. So far (9pm) he has been fine, but there is plenty of night left for him to get crazy on us! He gained some weight and is 7 lbs. 12 oz. He sees the eye doc tomorrow! Happy V-Day to everyone!

Lung Exercise

Colt has been testing out his lungs to make sure they work via constant crying. He cried for like 6 hours last night, and another 5 today. And I tried everything...literally, everything so I don't know what is going on. He has never been fussy ever- at the hospital at least. Tomorrow we have a ped appt in the morning, so hopefully she can give us some tips. I was really worried he might be getting sick or something, but no fever or other signs of anything that I can see. A bath seemed to calm him down and he went off to slumber land finally!

Tummy Time

Our Occupational Therapist told us to let Colt lay on our chest so he can practice looking up and getting neck control.......here is a little video.

Getting Better

Colt did a little better last night, he slept for four hours straight twice. We went into the pediatrician today for a weight check and he is doing fine, 7 lbs. 8 oz. We have a lot of appointments this week: physical therapy, another ped. appt. and an eye appt.

First Walk

We took Colt for a bit of fresh air today. He didn't seem to mind...just slept right through it. Colt and his Dad spent the day together, and I headed to the hospital in San Diego for a formula run. He is on a special formula, and they saved us two cases so I went down to get it and get out of the house for a few hours. Tomorrow I will take him in for a weight check.

Some Cute Pix

My mom spent the night last night and pulled the night shift so I could sleep....and it was awesome. She is the BEST! So I feel a lot better today having not slept for what felt like 5 nights. I didn't sleep a wink the two nights before he came home being nervous about him coming home, so I was absolutely spent. Auntie Michelle bought us a vibrating chair and it was sent straight from heaven I swear. It helped the night owl be calm for my mom last night (or at least she said so, but I doubt she'd say anything if he was a pill). So it seems like he will eaither be in one of three places: 1) someone's arms 2) the vibrating chair or 3) the swing. That's where he is happiest!

Family Photo

Our first family photo (nevermind the fact that I look completely haggard).

Colt was still up for a big chunk of the night again last night. He slept like a champ all day, so I think I am going to have to start sleeping on his hours. The pediatrician said to just let him do his thing for awhile, given how much he's been through...we shouldn't let him cry it out just yet. Everything went well with the doc, he has to go in for a weight check every week at the beginning of the week and an appt at the end. We have an eye exam next week, a pulmonogist appt. in a few weeks and we start physical therapy and occupational therapy soon too. We just need to follow him closely to make sure the developmental markers are being met, and by seeing these specialists we can catch any potential problems early and hopefully correct them or minimize them.

We were going over everything Colt has been through today with the doctor, and I was thinking about it all last night. Pretty insane.....listen to all of this in nutshell: 12 blood transfusions, 1 pnuemothorax (perforated lung, needing chest tube), a broken clavicle, 40 days on the ventilator, 2 infections, 1 small brain bleed, a duct in his heart open at birth (which closed and reopened and closed again without surgery), eye surgery, and hernia sugery. And this is the short version :) He had an eight page discharge summary of his medical high points. Pretty tough little guy!

Mixed Up

Colt seems to have his days and nights mixed up.....wow is that ever fun. He sleeps really well all day and then 11pm rolls in and it's fuss time. Any suggestions about how to reverse that? Go ahead and post if you know......we see the ped tomorrow so I will also ask her. I have been reading and I think the key, it seems, is to wake him up more often during the day. Forgive me if I don't post everyday, I am going to try and follow everyone's advice which is to sleep when he is sleeping starting tomorrow! I need a nap! But I will keep the updates coming as I know more other than the boring eating/sleeping/pooping routine.

First Night

Colt chillin' in his swing.

Grandma and Guard Dog Sushi hanging out with Colt.

The first night home was a tough one. Colt was an angel until the moment I layed down and then the screaming started and lasted most of the night. He's been pretty much back to normal this afternoon so I think it was the shots that had him so wound up. He was just inconsolable. So needless to say exhausted is the word of the day.....and I know all the veteran parents are smiling when they read that. Not too much to report, other than a home health nurse came to check on us today. The weight was at 7 lbz. 7 oz. and everything else was fine. I was super paranoid about his eating all night because he was so sluggish but he is starting to do better. We see his pediatrician on Friday.

I don't know how to put to words how thankful we are for eveyone's support and prayers throughout this whole process. We are eternally grateful.

We are Home!

Colt and his big sister!

Colt and his Aunties!!

More photos to come.......

I'll post more tomorrow after I get a bit more settled....I have been nervous as can be all day and a little stressed while Kreg remains cool as a cucumber. I knew this would be tough! I keep looking over my shoulder for my nurse, but she isn't there!

He got his 4 month vaccinations right before we left. This has caused him to be extra fussy, in fact, I have never seen him like this. But they said expect him to be fussy and in some pain for 24 hours. He is eating okay so far, they also said eating would be affected since he is on tylenol for the pain. Giving him his meds has been tricky...trickier than I thought. I am having a hard time remembering when they all get given, because they each are at different times and frequencies so I think I need to make a schedule tomorrow so I can keep on track.

I will definitely keep blogging.....as we can't have a load of visitors for awhile. He needs to be kept safe from germies so he doesn't catch a cold. Sorry for the short post......I will post more details of him being home tomorrow!

Preparing

There is a chance Colt might get to come home tomorrow. We went in today for the beginning of our discharge training where we learned how to work the monitor and other fun baby information. The monitor is loud enough to wake our entire street, sorry in advance to our neighbors. He had his car seat challenge this morning and passed. They opted not to do the overnight test because the monitor is broken and is at another hospital right now, and also because they are sending him home on his own monitor they figured it didn't matter. Kreg and I gave him a bath, hopefully his last hospital bath. Tomorrow at 11am we meet with the doctor and his occupational therapist. Our doctor is on tomorrow and she has the final say in whether or not he can go!

Getting There

Colt did much better on the bottle today. He took at least 2 ounces at every feed. He also gained weight so that was good, he is now at 7 lbs. 2 oz. They did his hearing test today and he passed. They are waiting for the monitor to come in so we can be trained on it. He's had the feeding tube out for two days now so he just needs to have the monitor come in, get a car seat test, and the overnight test done. Hopefully it will be this week!

Inching Forward

Here is a short video of Colt just waking up at bottle time. It takes him no time at all to realize he's starving.

The new schedule is still going okay, the only problem is that he lost a little weight last night (not really enough to worry about). He needs to be taking more at each feeding because by giving him more sleep they're taking away two of his bottles, so he needs to make up for that by eating more at the 6 feeding times.

They've tried him on 4 different bottle/nipple combos....and have gone back to the standard one. He took almost 3 ounces at the last feed, so if he can keep that up- it would be great.

A Little Better

Here is Colt's hip-hip-horray pose!

The experiment with his feedings turned a corner last night and progress started. He took everything overnight, with being allowed to sleep for four hours at a time. He took mostly everything today, having one feed in the afternoon where he didn't take it all. They'll keep this schedule for now to continue to see how he does. It really seemed to help him to let him sleep longer. He was still able to gain weight on the new schedule, and he passed the 7 pound mark last night. He was wide awake for about two hours while we were there, which was fun because we could actually play with him rather than watch him sleep like we normally do.

Praying really works :)

“Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”- Mark 11:24