Day 10: Home Sweet Home

This post covers Wednesday and Thursday, October 17th and 18th. It is so amazing having Jude home with us, he is just a perfect baby. There are so many times when I just want to hold him even though he is sleeping so peacefully. He has been getting up about every 2 hours to eat. He went to his first doctor's appointment (outside of the hospital) at Tallahassee Peds on Wednesday at 1:30 pm. We saw Dr. Long. He was 5 lb 2 oz which meant that he had gained about 1.5 oz since we left the hospital on Tuesday. That is more than expected so Dr. Long was extremely pleased with his progress. Breastfeeding has been going so well, Jude is a natural. ;) We have gone through so many diapers, blankets, and onesies, it is crazy. Jeremy put away his computer last night and took everything out of the desk. So, today we are breaking the desk down and putting up the crib! I am so excited to get everything set up. My goal is to have it all done by Sunday. I am so glad that Jeremy decided to work from home so that he can watch Jude. Otherwise, I don't know if I could go back to school and feel ok about it. Jude is doing absolutely amazing and we are so blessed to have such a good baby.

Day 9: The Homecoming!!

This post is for Tuesday, October 16th. This is probably the happiest day of my life...today I get to take my baby boy home for the first time!! He slept in my room last night and everything went great. He was able to maintain his temperature (with about 7 blankets on because the room is so cold) and he had tons of wet and dirty diapers. He also ate extremely well. He went for an assessment early this morning at 1:00 am and also again at 10:30 am. He is actually there right now. They are also doing his hearing screening as well. Dr. Zak came in this morning at about 9:45 am and checked Jude out and as she was checking him, she said, "You might want to make an appointment with your pediatrician for tomorrow." So, I said, "Are we going home today?!" And she said, "Yes." Praise the Lord!!! I was so happy. Jeremy was still at home so I called him right away and told him to come get us. I hurried up and packed all of our stuff and we brought it down to the car before bringing Jude down. When we were ready, we went into the ICU for the last time and put our own clothes on our son and put him in his car seat. The nurse helped us bring Jude and all of our wonderful free NICU stuff down to the car. I was so excited! We took a picture in front of the car with the three of us and then we put Jude in and I rode next to him in the backseat while Jeremy drove. He is so tiny and he just looks swallowed up in his little car seat. He did awesome on the way home and he slept pretty much the whole way. He is such a good baby! When we got here, we unpacked his pack and play so that he would have somewhere to sleep (it has a bassinet on the top of it) and then I fed him. We put him down in the pack and play and he went right to sleep. He continued to sleep throughout the day except for when he was hungry. That night he would just wake us up when he was hungry, which was about every 2 hours instead of the 3 we were doing at the hospital. But, I definitely did not have to set an alarm to make sure I fed him on time...he woke me up. ;) Otherwise, he slept so peacefully throughout the night. Brent and Ginger, our neighbors came by to have dinner with us and see Jude. This has been the most amazing day and I can't believe we are finally all home! What a blessing. Jeremy and I are overwhelmed with joy at the fact that we have a baby boy. ;) As things get settled, we would love to have visitors to see baby Jude. We will keep you posted on the time frame of that. ;)

Day 8: One Step Closer

This post is just for Monday since so many great things happened. This morning when I went to give Jude his 7:30 a.m. feeding, I found out that he had gained 2 ounces in the past day. That is awesome! So, he is at an even 5 lbs. He fed well again and had another poopy diaper. Jeremy went in to see him at around 10 a.m. without me and while he was in there, Dr. Zak came by and gave him some news. She told him that Jude's bilirubin levels were down at 10 and therefore he could come off of phototherapy! She also ordered for his IV to stop. They are also turning his isolet temperature to see if he can maintain his own temperature. So, that is three major steps in the right direction!! We were so happy and I couldn't believe it when Jeremy told me so I actually went and asked Dr. Zak again myself. ;) I know that's horrible, I just wanted to hear her say it. So, at the next feeding, they turned his lights off and disconnected his IV. They left his hep block (is that right?) in his arm though in case they need to put his IV back in. They let me finally put a onesie on him and swaddle him with a few blankets to make sure he stayed warm. Later on today I get to give him my first bath!! And, to top it all off, the nurse went and asked the doctor if Jude could stay in here with me tonight and she said yes!!! Wow, so many great things all in one day. I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am for this moment. I am amazed at Jude's progress and at the faithfulness of God that He would bring our child to health and allow us to experience him as we were intended to do. I am so excited about him sleeping in here with me. I probably won't sleep but that's ok. ;) Thank you so much for your prayers, I know that God has answered them. Dr. Zak anticipates us going home Wednesday. Jude has to get his hearing screening and a car seat test where he has to sit in his car seat for 1 hour and they monitor his O2 saturation to make sure he is getting adequate oxygenation. Otherwise, they are really only keeping him here for observation to make sure everything goes as planned. Thanks again for all of your prayers and support and keep them coming!!

Day 7

This post covers from Sunday through Monday morning, October 14th-15th. Since Jude's bilirubin levels haven't come down enough for him to be taken off of the phototherapy, he is still in the isolette. But, they are coming down and that is the most important thing. He has been feeding really well. Before, we had to fight to keep him awake because he was so tired due to his increased bilirubin levels and the phototherapy. But, today he was alot more alert and started feeding as soon as we put him to the breast. He has been doing so good, feeding from around 15-30 minutes still each time. He still has the IV. He has been making alot more poopy diapers and less of the meconium. So, that is great.

I actually had a small urge to study today so I did some pharmacology. I have just been doing what I can when I can and not worrying about it too much. I was able to sleep for about 5 hours (spread out over feedings of course) Sunday night so I feel relatively rested. The main accomplishment today was Jude getting better and better with feedings. Jeremy and I are doing well. Jeremy was able to go home again last night and stay with Eli. He is being so cuddly with him so he must be lonely. ;) Poor little guy. Soon enough we will all be there though and he will get to meet the newest edition to the Wolter family!

Day 6: Forward Progress

This post covers from Saturday morning, October 13th, through Sunday morning, October 14th. Today Jude's feedings went really well. He was nursing between 15-30 minutes every 3 hours which is great! He had a ton of dirty (with meconium which takes about an hour to get off his behind) and peed in diapers today as well which is another good thing. That should help his bilirubin levels to come down. They decided to hold off on checking Jude's bilirubin levels until Sunday morning since they didn't think they would have came down enough by Saturday morning and they thought they would save him a stick. So, for most of Saturday, things were pretty constant.

The NIMCU is a peaceful environment, there is a lot less going on and therefore there is more privacy for nursing. The nurses let me change his diapers and feed him every three hours and I don't have to worry about being in anyone's way or anything. It is really nice.

Today was the first day I actually did some studying. I didn't do much but it felt good to get atleast a little bit done even though I don't really want to have to think about it. I was also able to get about 5 or 6 hours of sleep Saturday night and Sunday morning so I feel a little more rested. Every time I go sit with Jude in the rocking chair, I manage to fall asleep though. Jeremy also falls asleep every time he comes in there with me.

Our nurse, Ashley, gave us a pamphlet on car seats and on the car seat safety test that they do for premies. She said that we can do it anytime now since you just have to do it within 7 days of Jude being discharged. They keep him in the car seat for an hour and monitor his oxygen saturation and respiratory rate to make sure that his oxygen level is not being compromised. That got me excited because it made me think we might be close to Jude being released.

When we went in to feed Jude for his 10:30 p.m. feeding, the nurse had just finished putting an IV in his arm. She said his UVC (IV in his umbilical vein) was leaking. It was sad to know that he had to have yet another thing done to him but she said he didn't even cry! I can't stand getting IV's put in and I am 24 years old! He is a little trooper. He fed really well at that feeding too...he fed for 30 minutes!

Jeremy went back home to sleep after the 10:30 p.m. feeding. The poor guy keeps falling asleep every time I am feeding Jude. I told him to not set an alarm tomorrow morning and just to come when he gets up. I doubt he will do that though because he doesn't like missing feedings and he wants to be here for me. But, I would rather him be rested and miss a feeding than be exhausted.

The crib and the blankets and everything that go with it arrived Saturday. I can't wait to set it all up!

When I went in for Jude's 4:30 a.m. feeding Sunday morning, they had his bilirubin levels back. They were at 11.8 which is not low enough to stop the lights. So, he will be on them for atleast another day. I was discouraged but then I realized that they did atleast come done and that when the timing is right, it will happen. So, I am just pushing along.

When I went in for Jude's 7:30 a.m. feeding, there was a new nice and she was really sweet. She was doing an assessment on Jude and she said he was such a good baby. He pretty much never cries at all which is amazing. She also said that all of the nurses said we were doing such a great job breastfeeding and that it was so nice that they never had to call me to come down and feed him. I was thinking, doesn't every parent do that? It doesn't seem like anything special to me. But, it was nice to hear her encouragement.

Jude's next feeding is at 10:30 a.m. so I am going to eat some breakfast and then head in there. Jeremy decided to sleep in a little bit so he is still home. He is giving Eli a bath today to get him ready for Jude. I think we are going to bring one of Jude's hats home so that he can get used to his smell. Jeremy said he's been sleeping right next to him the past two nights which is very unusual for him so he must need some loving. ;) I can't wait until we can bring Jude home and introduce him to Eli.

Day 5: Movin' On Up!!

Today covers Friday morning, October 12th, through Saturday morning, October 13th. This morning's feedings went pretty well although there were a couple that were not as long as we would like them to be. But, he had some really long ones that made up for it. He is so tired from having high bilirubin levels (it makes them lethargic) so we have to try really hard to wake him up so that he will eat. Once he latches on though, he goes to town. After his 1:30 p.m. feeding, Dr. Zak and the nurse practitioner came in and said Jude looked good but that his bilirubin levels weren't down far enough so they are going to keep him on phototherapy until atleast Sunday morning. So, we know we will be here until atleast Monday morning because they will want to monitor him for 24 hours after taking him off the lights. The nurse practitioner then told us that Jude was getting moved to the intermediate ICU (NIMCU) which is basically for neonates that are on there way out of the hospital and into their home. So, we came one step closer to going home.

We had to be out of our room upstairs by 12 today so we packed our bags and took them down to the car. When Jude was moved to NIMCU, I decided to ask our new nurse if there were any rooms available in the nesting area right next to the NIMCU. She came back and said that the lactation consultant said we could have a room even though they don't usually give them to parents until the day before their child leaves. The lactation consultant, Shelly, said we can stay here for as long as Jude is here as long as I am breastfeeding at almost every feeding. So, that is awesome. There is only a twin size bed though so Jeremy will not be staying with me. But, I am up every 3 hours anyways so I really won't be here much.

Jude was given a suppository Friday night to help him get rid of some more meconium and therefore more bilirubin so that his levels will go down. It seemed to work since he had a bunch of poopy diapers but it also made him a little fussy so it was hard for him to eat. But, he did eat quite a bit whenever he finally settled down. He has been eating for atleast 10 minutes every time which is great. Sunday morning they are going to draw his bilirubin levels to see if he can come off of phototherapy. I am praying that all these sticky meconium diapers will bring him to the point of getting off the lights. They have to be good for something. ;)

Today was one of the first times I realized how much this whole experience has taken out of me. Things have been going really well and we are so blessed that Jude was so big for his gestational age and that he has been making such big strides in the right direction but it has still been tough. I just want to be able to snuggle with him and not have to worry about pulling out his IV or pulling his leads off. I also can't wait for him to get out from under the lights and be able to actually interact with him. But, I'm trying not to let myself dwell on those things, I just try to focus on how great he is doing and what a blessing he is.

Day 4: REAL Food!!

This post covers Thursday morning through Friday morning. Baby Jude's feedings continued to go really well throughout his early morning feedings on Thursday morning. He was drinking all of his 10 cc in about 1 minute now. He remained under the phototherapy throughout this time. His bilirubin levels were 14.8 which was an increase from 12 the day before so they started having put Jude right back under the lights as soon as he finished feeding. That was fine for us because the sooner he gets better, the sooner he can come home.

The highlight of my day was when Jude's nurse, Deborah, called me in the room and told me not to pump any breastmilk because I was going to get to put him on the breast!! I was so excited. When we went down for his 9:30 a.m. feeding, I was able to breastfeed my baby for the first time. It was amazing! He latched on right away and took to it like a pro. He has been solely breastfeeding now for the past 9 hours and they bumped his fluids down from 12 to 8 which is awesome. After this past feeding at 3:30 p.m., they decided to pump him down to 4 which is great!! I asked the nurse out of curiousity what made them decide to let me breastfeed since I had been told by every other nurse that I couldn't until he was eating atleast 30 cc of formula and she said that Dr. Davenport (the OB that delivered Jude) came down and told them to let me start breastfeeding and she was comfortable with it. She also said that despite the fact that I was asking every nurse if I could breastfeed, she didn't get that in the report given to her that morning and therefore she wasn't even aware of me being so eager to start. So, we were blessed to get a doctor like Dr. Davenport that would take the time to go check on our child when he certainly didn't have to and to have a nurse that respected our wishes enough to let us breastfeed our child. Perserverance is the key. ;)

Breastfeeding continued to go well throughout the day and night. He has started to get a pattern of when he eats so when I come down, he is wide awake and ready. ;) Let me just say that breastfeeding is way less painful than pumping.

The nurse, Deborah, said that if his bilirubin levels begin to decrease and he continues to eat well, they anticipate that he will be able to get out from under the lights and possibly be moved to the intermediate ICU so that we have more privacy. So, as of last night, his levels were 12 and they had been 14.8 so they are decreasing. They are waiting to get one more lab this morning before they make a decision. They reduced his IV fluids from 8 to 4 which is great. Also, if his feedings continue to go well, the will take him off of the IV completely.

So, as you can see, today is going awesome. I cannot even describe to you the feeling of being able to breastfeed my baby. It is something that I took for granted before and now I realize what a privilege it is.

Day 3 Continued: More Pictures

Day 3: I'm Still Hungry!

This post covers from Wednesday morning through Thursday morning. Starting Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m., we were able to increase his feedings to 10 cc every 3 hours. He now was able to drink out a bottle instead of just a nipple so that was easier to feed him with. I continued to pump and supplement his formula with my breastmilk. By Wednesday night, I was able to give 6 cc of breastmilk and therefore he only had to get 4 cc of formula. He took a little while eating all of his bottle for the first couple of feedings and the nurse had to help me get him to eat. By his third feeding of 10 cc though, I was able to feed him the whole thing on my own. I am not sure why but the way you have to feed a premie is different than full term babies so it took me a little bit to get the hang of it. By Wednesday evening, he was basically inhaling it though. ;) He would eat his whole bottle in about 2 minutes. At this point I had a routine of taking his temperature and then changing his diaper before every feeding. Again, that helped me feel like a real mommy. ;)

Also, on Wednesday morning, Jude's bilirubin levels were at 12 and therefore they put him on phototherapy. So, when we walked in for his 9:30 feeding, he was getting a sun tan in his isolette under the UV light. He had some really fashionable sunglasses to protect his eyes. ;) They are going to check his bilirubin levels again Thursday morning to see if he needs to stay under the lights or not. Even though it looks really uncomfortable and I can't imagine being in a tanning bed for basically the entire day, Jude looks completely content. He is such a good baby!!

They received his blood cultures back and they were negative so he was taken off of his antibiotics (he was gentamycin and another one that I am blanking on). His IV fluids were increased because his sodium was a tiny bit high but as we increase his feedings more and more, they are going to decrease his IV fluids.

It is so great being able to go down and feed Jude every three hours even throughout the night. Even though I am tired and I fall asleep while pumping, I feel extremely privileged and blessed to have the opportunity to be a mom to him in whatever way I can. Jeremy comes to all of the feedings except for the 12:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. ones...go figure. ;) Atleast one of us will be functional.

Day 2: I'm Hungry!

This post covers Tuesday morning through Wednesday morning. At 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, we were finally able to feed Jude some formula mixed with the tiny bit of breastmilk that I was able to pump. He was only allowed to have 5 cc total since they wanted to make sure that he could tolerate it well. We were able to feed him every 3 hours. The nurse would take a nipple from a bottle and fill it with a syringe since it was such a small amount. He did really well and was able to eat it all really quickly. He is so adorable when he eats because his eyes are wide open and looking all over the place. We have to feed him sitting up to stimulate him to eat so all of the pictures are taken of him sitting up. He is a really good burper and burps right away. He seemed to have a knack for sucking and all of our fears were alleviated after he successfully took his first day of feedings. They kept him on only 5 cc for that whole day and supplemented it with IV fluids. We went down to feed him every time we were able to.

Jude was in a bed that was not warmed at this time because he was able to maintain his temperature well. He was still breathing room oxygen and doing awesome. His respiratory rate was good and his oxygen saturation was up to around 99% saturation which was awesome. The nurses were all very impressed with him and they all commented on how beautiful and well natured he was. The only time we ever heard him cry was when we would change his diaper and even then, it was only for a minute or so. The nurses began allowing me to change his diaper before each feeding which was awesome because it brought me one step closer to feeling like a real mom. ;)

Jude continued to do fantastic throughout the day except that he was unable to maintain his temperature and therefore had to go in an isolette Wednesday evening. Other than that, his reports kept getting better and better. We absolutely adore this little guy and I already can't imagine life without him!

First Day Out of the Womb

As Jeremy has told you in the previous posting, Jude was born at 6:31 a.m. so this posting will cover from about that time to around 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday. I am going to try and keep everything straight and give out as much detail as I can remember. So, Jude was taken to the NICU right after being born. Jeremy was able to go with him there and watch them get his vitals. Right when the nurse went to weigh him he said Jude peed all over everything! The nurse was trying to stop it but it was still going everywhere. That's my little man. ;) Then, Jeremy had to leave while they did the rest of his workup. They intubated him and started him on his first dose of Survanta which is a synthetic surfactant since he was having some difficulty breathing. They also started him on IV fluids and antibiotics prophylatically until his labs came back. He was also hooked up to an ECG to monitor his heart rate and his respiratory rate and oxygen saturation was obviously being monitored. He was put on a heated bed (I am sure there is a medical term for that but I am at a loss) and kept there for his first day.

A nurse practitioner from the NICU came and spoke with Jeremy and I while we were still in Labor and Delivery about an hour after the birth. She came in looking like she had bad news so Jeremy and I were a little nervous at first. But, she said he was doing fine and that they had to intubate him. So, it wasn't a bad report although it was upsetting for me to know that my son was intubated.

Jeremy and I were able to see him about 3 hours later. As soon as I saw him I just started crying and the tears wouldn't stop. It was so hard to see him intubated even though I knew he was doing fine. Also, he wasn't responding well to our touching him so that was really hard as well. We couldn't hold him and he wasn't able to be swaddled so it was obvious that he was not comfortable.

Six hours later he was given his second dose of Survanta through the tube. He seemed to be responding well to these treatments and they made the decision to give him the third and final dose 6 hours after the second. After that, he was extubated at 9:00 p.m. on Monday night. At that point, we were finally able to hold our baby. That was the most amazing feeling ever. He was so tiny and precious. Jeremy was a little nervous at first to hold such a little guy but as soon as he did, he didn't want to give him up. It is obvious that he absolutely adores him. Jude is so content in his arms. By the way, at this point Jude was still Baby Boy Wolter...we didn't actually name him until Tuesday afternoon. While we held him, we tried to determine who he inherited what from. We came to the conclusion that he has my nose and eyes,round face, and chin and Jeremy's lips, fingers, toes, and ears, and possibly my hair. So, he is a great mix. ;) The first day was rough not having him with us but we received nothing but good reports from the nurses and doctors and therefore we were encouraged.

Jude Wolter makes his entrance!!

Jeremy here...I'm going to start bringing this up-to-date as Katie is currently tied up (Medela-wise for those in the know). This post will be just the pictures of Jude right after he was born.

As you probably know, Jude came onto the scene in a hurry (4 hours of labor, 45 minutes of pushing) with narry a doctor in the room. Luckily we had a nurse in the room (Kim), who also happened to be training to be a midwife because I just stood there and gaped with my mouth open. If it had been up to me, Jude would have just laid on the bed as I was transfixed by the little man. Kim scooped him up and gave him to the NICU nurses who just waked into the room.

These pictures are taken while the NICU nurses did their initial probing. I squeezed into the middle of them all and snapped the glamor shots. As you can see, Jude was wide awake. He cried when he first came out (I would too if my head looked like that) but shortly after he was just checking everyone out. I wish the hat wasn't in the way because you can't see his two-step head (he might have been a little embarrassed - hence the fashion statement). He basically had a tree stump on top of his normal head.

About 10 minutes after the photo shoot was done, the NICU nurses swaddled the lad, gave him to Katie so she could say hi and bye all in one and took him to the actual NICU to measure and monitor. They gave us the stats - 5 lbs 12.4 oz (no, that is not 1 lb) and 20" long. (This measurement was changed later to 19"...guess we had an overzealous nurse take the first one).

Well...we are off to feed the young'un. 5 cc's every three hours. We'll post about that (with pics) when we're done. I think Katie also wants to write about the labor process. BTW - Thanks everyone for your support...it's been great!

33 Weeks and 6 Days

I am 33 weeks and 6 days!! I can't believe how fast the time is flying by. School has been extremely busy and it has kept me going for sure. I am getting bigger by the day though. The top picture in this post is me at 27 weeks and the bottom two are me at 32 weeks. My feet and ankles have started swelling in the past couple of weeks and I basically can't wear any of my shoes except for my lime green crocs. ;) Jeremy and I went and bought a new pair of clogs though so those should work as well...I love my clogs but there are some things that just don't go with lime green. ;) I have had a little bit of heartburn as well but nothing unbearable. We still have not set up the baby room...but we are planning on doing that soon. My doctor's appointments have all been going well and the baby is in the head down position which is great. I am now going every 3 weeks and my next appointment is Monday, October 8th with Dr. Morales. I can feel the baby moving all the time which is extremely comforting especially since we have been learning about all of the complications with pregnancy and placental diseases in school. It just makes me realize what a miracle pregnancy really is.

I have had both of my showers since the last time I posted on here and they were so much fun! I have the greatest, most generous friends and family and they really blessed us with so many gifts and with their time. It has been amazing to see the support of my friends and the faculty at school. Everyone has been really understanding and compassionate. I am getting more and more excited about the baby coming everyday. Two nights ago I had a dream that I had a boy but otherwise, all of my dreams have been about a girl. So, who knows!! ;) Many people at school have a suspicion that the baby is a girl but I really am not sure. We will be happy with either of course. ;)

I will be taking more pictures and hopefully doing a better job of keeping up with the blog. Thanks so much for all of your support!!