News

It seems the tube feeding is having the desired effect. We had a couple of successful bottle feedings today. Not only did he put away his food but we also had no oxygen drops during feeding. That would indicate better suck-swallow-breathe coordination (I bet you take yours for granted every time you eat, don't you!?)

Admittedly, it seems a bit odd to tube feed him to improve bottling but you've got to do what you've got to do, right?!

We had another brain ultrasound today (I think the fourth but they start to blur a bit). Like the previous ones it came back good!

We also had another eye exam today (also the fourth). His eyes are 80% developed and so far no complications!

A pair of setbacks

For a brief shining moment we were free from the pesky nose tube. But, with great freedom comes great responsibility - you have to eat on your own. Mathias fell short in the eating department, lost a couple of ounces, and was promptly re-tubed. As Jean Shepherd put it every family has a kid that won't eat...

We also had our first hearing test and failed it. Nobody seems particularly riled about it though. I think the nose tube doesn't help one bit! More tests to come.

Thx!

Who needs a tube in their nose anyway?

The doctor has removed Mathias' feeding tube.
That means that there is only one way for food to get in and he has to eat on his own. They would be very reluctant to send him home with a tube in his nose so this is somewhat of a pre-requisite. Bottle feeding has not been a runaway success. He needs to bottle feed a couple of times a day for nutritional supplements. So in the next day or so we'll need to see drastic improvement or the pesky tube comes back.

Now that there is nothing, below are the various facial attachments we've had:
Day 1: on the ventilator
Day 11: on the air cannula and the blue feeding tubeDay 26: On the CPAP, the feeding tube and a pressure relief tube to his stomach (the CPAP has a tendency to push air into his stomach causing a bit of a balloon effect). Day 31: CPAP and a barely visible feeding tube
Day 44: back to the air cannula
Day 76: no tubes! Just a smile

75 Days

What a difference 75 days make!
On March 14 I distinctly remember barreling down the highway just before 5 AM (it was still coated with snow from the storm the day before). I recall thinking: If I drive slow I'll miss my child's birth but I'll stay out of the ditch. If I step on it, how likely am I to make it at all?
Meandering through south Minneapolis was an adventure in itself. I'm not familiar with the area. It was dark. The street signs were coated with snow...

Fast forward two and a half months. On Memorial Day I'm trying to recover from the 97 degree (36 C) heat yesterday. Everything is green (well, except the brown color of my lawn).

The whole world has changed and so have our lives (and our son). The attached are 'day 1' and 'day 75' photos. Trust you can figure out which are which.

Happy Mothers Day (Again)!

The last Sunday in May is Mothers Day in Sweden. Happy Happy, everyone!

Mathias had his first bottle of milk today. It didn't go well at all. He fell asleep several times, choked on the milk and stopped breathing. We thought the breathing thing was firmly under control the past couple of days have been a bit rocky.

Today, Mathias had his third bath (not counting the two-for-one that was his first). He didn't complain but he didn't seem too enthused either. Of course, we have yet to introduce the concept of the rubber ducky so I can't blame him.

Going into a long weekend

Mathias had a rough day today with a couple of breathing incidents. The nurses chalk it up to the aftereffects of the shots and didn't seem terribly alarmed.

Today, Ericka and I were trained in how to use the monitor we'll eventually take with us when we go home. Apparently, it is designed to be very conservative (meaning many false alarm). It has only one volume setting: "max". The neighbors will hear it!

Today, Mathias is 2570g which, incidentally, is what I weighed when I was born.

Road trip certified

We had our car seat evaluation today!
That means they put Mathias in his car seat (still hooked up to heart rate, breathing, and oxygen monitors) for an hour and watched to see what happened. They're watching to make sure he manages sitting at the 45 degree, or whatnot, angle without his breathing being impaired - nobody wants to be going 65 miles an hour down the Interstate and having a spell! We're pleased to announce that he passed! I don't think it would mean that he couldn't leave the hospital without passing, they'd just need to get you a special seat.

2500g (or 5.5 lbs) today!

Not much of a way to celebrate but Mathias got his first round of vaccinations today. They were scheduled to arrive a few days ago but were postponed. In case you're keeping track, we've got:
-Diphtheria
-Tetanus
-Pertussis
-Hepatitis B
-Haemophilus influenzae type B (aka the cause of ear infection and meningitis)
-Pneumonia
-Polio

The one saving grace is that it is all lumped into two shots instead of 7...













Here's a little known fact about the polio vaccine. There are two kinds: injected and oral. If you had a choice, why wouldn't you take the oral?! The oral vaccine (which is a live vaccine) actually causes polio in one of very 2.4 million folks that get it. So the first polio shot (a dead vaccine) is to vaccinate you against the oral dose you'll get later...

Tuesday again

Today is my lovely wife's birthday! Happy, Happy!!

The overnight hearing test was postponed. Apparently, the person that was scheduled to do it was pulled away in a different direction. Not sure when it will happen. But time will tell.

The doctor told us today that when Mathias gets to go home they'll send along a heart & breathing monitor. The return trip is not yet imminent but they gave us advance notice to make sure we could schedule the class to make sure you know how to use the unit. While there they also give you a rundown of infant CPR.

In all, it leaves us with a feeling of relief, joy, and dread. As in "good thing he'll be hooked up to the monitor so we won't lie awake at night listening to make sure he is breathing" combined with "I can't believe he is coming home!" topped off with "I can't believe I'll be monitoring the machinery to make sure he is breathing"...

Progress... III

We're making great strides at nursing. It seems he's starting to figure out what to do.

Now we'll need to work on the stamina to be able to do it eight times a day... We're not quite there yet. After a couple of feedings he seems to get pretty tired.

Mathias is slated for a hearing exam tonight. Apparently those are done at midnight when it is quiet in the room and the nurses presumably have less to do. I'm not sure how they'll give him the instructions to press the button when he hears the beep, but I'm sure they know what they're doing.

These boots...

Well, you know...

Two famous quotes

Without proper attribution...



"Someday we'll find it, that rainbow connection, the lovers the dreamers and me."











"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is xxxx, and a powerful ally it is."

48 hours - still no air!

Well... there's, of course, the air that he breathes on his own.

To help with the motivation for nursing, our doc is trying a new approach. If Ericka is at the hospital when it is feeding time they will not give him any food through the nose tube - it is all self serve. It seems to be helping and we're making strides.

On a very different topic - the nurses are reporting that baby M is quite the night-owl. He seems to be very active between the hours of 3 and 5 in the morning. That'll be fun!

Baby M: the air tube free version!

It is 24 hours since the air supply was pulled. There have been a handful of de-sats but not enough to re-connect the tube!

Attractive as the plastic mustache was, I think I prefer the current version.


Now we'll need to work on the final tube!







Entertainment center courtesy of the Orono Middle School staff. Thanks!

Third eye exam

The third eye exam came back as the previous two - the blood vessels are still immature so there isn't much to exam yet. New one in two weeks.

I noted earlier that the breathing medication was removed. He was previously given Aminophylline which has been described to me as being somewhat like caffeine. When the attempt at removing the breathing tube stumbled they decided to give him the real deal to rev up his system a bit. That's right, they're giving him caffeine. And you thought he didn't look like his daddy! After administering the goods they pulled his breathing tube at 9:30 this evening. It is now an hour later and the oxygen saturation is holding at 100%. Last time he made it 10 minutes... It will be an interesting night!
Thx!

Tuesday

Today we attempted removing the breathing tube!

It didn't go all that well. So they put it back. We probably won't attempt it again for a few days. Tomorrow, Mathias is slated for his third eye exam. Thursday, he'll likely have his vaccination shots. So it is looking like the next time we'll try to go breathing-tubeless will be Friday. They want to space it out to have a maximum of one miserable event per day.
Thx!

5lbs

It took 11 days to go from 4lbs to 5lbs (2300g).
It certainly seems we're on a growth roll.

The hat below was given to us right after Mathias was born [Hello... Ruhland!]. It had a note on it that said "one day this will fit". Today's the day!

Oxygen is down to .25 liters/minute. It seems to be a rather symbolic amount before it goes away altogether.

Ps.
In case you're taking notes, I was born at, what seemed in a different perspective, the very tender weight of 2600g. Before starting to grow I dropped down to 2300g. I used to think I was born small but, now, 2300g seems quite respectable!

Bath time

While in the ICU, Mathias didn't really get baths but rather he was cleaned with a cloth from time to time.

We gave Mathias his first real bath today. Actually, we gave him his first two. Midway through we had to get him out, replace the water, and start over. Further details of the incident are not compatible with his carefully crafted superstar image.

Progress... II

In the past couple of days there has been a dramatic improvement in breathing. The air flow has been cut from 2 liters/minute to .5 liters. At the same time the oxygen level in the air has been pretty much parked at 21% (room air). There hasn't been a breathing spell in about a week. As of tonight they are removing the don't-forget-to-breathe meds. We're hopeful that will be uneventful.

We have also upgraded (or downgraded - depending on how you view it) his sleeping furniture. Yes, we traded in the incubator for a bed! This, of course, makes him much more accessible to doting parents! As you can see there is plenty of room to grow... With the extra space around him we have rigged up a pair of computer speakers to introduce him to Beethoven.

Yesterday, when the doctor rounded on him, for the first time the prospect of him going home came up. It is not imminent but it seems eating is now the last remaining hurdle. Obviously, they won't send him home with a tube in his nose and parents directed to feed him that route. We're practicing nursing every day. It seems to have some appeal to him but he quickly gets bored and falls asleep. Why work for it when you can have the goods delivered straight to your stomach via pipeline?

In preparation for a pending homecoming, he will get his first set of shots this week.

Happy Happy!

I'm writing this on the eve of May 14th.

To my lovely wife and the mother of my firstborn son I would like to say:
Happy Mothers Day! Thank you for everything you do for our son! Mathias is lucky to have you for his mom!

To my lovely son and newfound source of pride and joy:
Happy 2-month birthday!
Yes, it has already been two months. With so many changes happening from day to day, I can't imagine what things will be like when we hit three. But I will be there to celebrate!

To both of you: Cheers and enjoy your day!

I C U later, I.C.U

It took 59 days. But today we were wheeled out of ICU and into the Infant Care Center (ICC).

It was a very short move. The ICC is next door to the ICU. In fact, from the old location to the new is a move of, at most, 12 yards as the proverbial crow flies (if the crow could fly through walls).
The ICU has incubators. So does the ICC. And breathing machinery. And monitors for everything imaginable. It is the same doctors that round. But the way you feel in there makes the ICC and the ICU worlds apart.
The ICU is very tense. There is always an alarm going off somewhere. It is never quiet. You go in there and after 20 minutes you are exhausted. It is hard work just being there. No doubt about it - when the chips are down there is no other place you'd want to be.

But it is time to go now.

The ICC is silent, relaxing, and comfortable.

It is time to do some serious growing!

What do you get if you cross a giraffe with a marshmallow?

The saving grace is that it comes with a cute baby:

Continued bodybuilding

The weight gain continues.
In the latest weigh-in the scale tipped 4lbs 11oz (2140g)

All is well!

Wednesday Update

We are now north of a week without CPAP!
His last breathing spell was more than 48 hours ago.
His his heart rate is steadily declining (and that's a good thing!) while maintaining appropriate oxygen levels.
Thx!

Practicing

The chickens...

...are home...
Many generous friends have endowed Mathias with a quite extensive wardrobe. By a wide margin, his mother's favorite is the outfit pictured on the right. It's got it all: stylish colors, decorative cartoon chickens, and a tag on it that proclaims "I love my mommy". Thanks, Aunt B!

After his first day of wearing it, one of the nurses accidentally put it in the hospital laundry and it was gone. I haven't seen any of their operations but I can envision the hospital churning through avalanches of laundry. So the chances of seeing it again were slim to none. But no fear: one of the stellar nurses took it upon herself to plow through several of the large clean laundry deliveries coming back to the hospital.

And one day it surprisingly appeared by our incubator! Thanks, Mary!

...to roost
In the ICU, Mathias is known as a little inchworm [mätarlarv]. You'd expect a child his size and position would stay in one place when put in the incubator. Alas no! He is somehow working himself from side to side in the incubator and turning himself around with quite some frequency. And the significancee of this? You may know me as a calm, unexcited, slightly boring individual. But my parents testify that when I was very very young I was quite the opposite. I climbed out of my crib as soon as I could stand, climbed on furniture and door frames, jumped from countertops (presuming someone would catch me...) and so on. Horror stories abound!

I expect this inchworm behavior is merely foreshadowing our future life together...

Another first...

Today, we had our first adventures in nursing.
It went very well! The tube isn't coming out anytime soon though...
Thx!

Metric milestone

As I've mentioned before there is a beauty to tracking progress on two different weight scales - twice as many milestone celebrations!

For many of you (myself included...), metric may come easier than the Anglo-Saxon approach. But, in the words of St. Ambrose: "When I am at Milan, I do as they do at Milan; but when I go to Rome, I do as Rome does." The corollary would be, when in the colonies, it's pounds! The abbreviation lb, by the way, comes from the Latin word libra as in libra pondo which simply means a pound in weight. This is the same Latin word that gives the British their symbol for pound (£). Good to know if you're ever in a white knuckle game of Trivial Pursuit! But I stray from cute baby pictures:

















































Ps. I almost forgot the milestone. We hit 2000 grams today! In the new world, that's 4lbs 8oz.