I apologize for taking so long to update you all, but I come bearing good news. Dominic had his high risk NICU check up at 7 months old; it's a developmental check up to see if he needs additional follow-up. There was about 7 different types of doctors in there and they sat down with Dominic on the floor to check his development. They offered him toys and watched how he moved himself and grabbed things and used his mind. Guess what- they placed him at 8 to 9 months in most every area of development! I could not be more proud of my little guy! After all he's been through, the 2 1/2 months in the hospital, and the broviac in and everything- he's ahead of the pack! My heart swells with pride =). He's the happiest little guy and wakes up smiling. He loves new people and makes friends wherever we go- in fact the other day at Panera Bread, two separate older ladies asked to hold him (I let them... they looked harmless, although it was a bit odd to get that request from strangers). He sits up on his own for a long time and he plays with his toys. He talks to us all the time, making his "baa baa baa" and "dadada" sounds. Too bad he doesn't say "Mama" yet, but he'll get there ;). We have switched his formula to a 'normal' one that you can buy in the stores- not even a sensitive one! He's also been eating baby food twice a day- we're still going through the stage 1 foods but I think he's ready for stage 2's. He loves to eat the food and gets really excited when I put him in his high chair because he knows that he eats there. Since changing his formula and giving him baby food his poops have become NORMAL!!! They used to be watery squirts of bright green or yellow, and now it's actual baby poop! Also, his prior poops would always give him diaper rash and now he doesn't get it nearly as often. He's not real interested in crawling yet, so he rolls to move around.... but he's such a content baby that he just stays put for the most part... I wonder how long that will last...
He doesn't have any appointments with his GI (gastro) doctor lined up and won't unless we run into problems. He doesn't need developmental follow-up, and we are now just on a regular schedule of appointments with his Pediatrician! Thank you all so much for your prayers and support- It seems we've come out of this relatively unscathed. Also, we finally got the paperwork sorted out and recieved the money back from the military that we had paid out the whole time we were in the hotel! Such a relief!
God works miracles, you can see it in my little boy's eyes. Thank you all.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Teething, Car Accident, and 6 month check-up... in that order!
*Sigh* As you may have read in my subject line, Dominic is teething. We haven't spotted any of those darling pearly whites but let me assure you of aomething: they're coming, and they must be upset about something. Our poor little Dominic who is usually so content and happy is fussy, inconsolable, and no longer sleeping through the night. Someone get me the Tequila. My little angel has become an angry little man, and I can't say I blame him. I just can't wait for those teethies to come in and give us a break! Moving on... Yes, we (I) got into a car accident. Yesterday I was driving to his 6 month appointment and a SCHOOL BUS (yes you read that right) merges right on over into me. I slamed the breaks and honked to no avail... they side swiped me starting at my Drivers side door on up. The door now has opening issues, as I like to call it. They didn't use their turn signal or warn me in any way that they were about to head on over to my spot in the right lane, so I'm hoping (and almost positive) that the insurance companies will side with me. UGH. On to the important part; no one was hurt, it wasn't a jarring crash and Dominic didn't even notice that anything had happened. So that's something new to deal with.
The exciting part- Dominic's 6 month appointment went really well!! He's on track developmentally and the Doctors are so pleased with how well he's mentally and physically developing! He now weighs 12lbs, 8oz and is 24 1/2 inches long! He's still not on the growth chart but is gaining and growing well so they're not concerned. Also, we got the go ahead to start rice and baby foods! I'm so excited that this is an option for him, and I bought his very first box of rice cereal today, I'm going to try it out tomorrow ao I'll have to post pics of his first time eating from a spoon =). It's just amazing that he's able to start at least trying solids, and at 6 months it's not even delayed! For a while the rice and baby foods aren't going to be as important nutritionally as they will be developmentally, so he'll be learning some different ways to use his mouth.
Thank you for reading, and for your continued love and support- I hope you are all doing very well =)
Stephanie&Dominic
The exciting part- Dominic's 6 month appointment went really well!! He's on track developmentally and the Doctors are so pleased with how well he's mentally and physically developing! He now weighs 12lbs, 8oz and is 24 1/2 inches long! He's still not on the growth chart but is gaining and growing well so they're not concerned. Also, we got the go ahead to start rice and baby foods! I'm so excited that this is an option for him, and I bought his very first box of rice cereal today, I'm going to try it out tomorrow ao I'll have to post pics of his first time eating from a spoon =). It's just amazing that he's able to start at least trying solids, and at 6 months it's not even delayed! For a while the rice and baby foods aren't going to be as important nutritionally as they will be developmentally, so he'll be learning some different ways to use his mouth.
Thank you for reading, and for your continued love and support- I hope you are all doing very well =)
Stephanie&Dominic
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
ER last night
Hello,
Everyday I flush Dominic's broviac line twice with saline and heparin solutions. Yesterday after we changed his dressing on it, I started the saline flush and at the top where the tube comes out of his skin, fluid started leaking out! It was pinkish in color which I think means it's a mixture of blood and the saline solution. So we took him right to the ER- you don't want to mess around with these things... eventhough it wasn't a lot of fluid leaking, nothing should EVER come out of that hole, so it was worrisome. I didn't know if the line was loose and slipping- if that thing slipped all the way out we would have a very serious situation on our hands because it's in a central vein which means he would bleed... a lot. So anyway, we took him in and they looked at him and took an x-ray. They said it was a bit displaced but offered no reasons for the leak. We had a follow-up appointment today where they looked at him again and at the x-ray and basically said it was ok to leave it in until Monday, which is his already scheduled date to get it out. Still no explaination for the leak. Dominic is feeling fine and happily eating and playing, so he's not in any pain. Please just keep him in your prayers for his upcoming surgery and that the line stays put until then!! I'm going to try to continue Heparin flushes but if it's leaking I don't know how beneficial it is to try the flush. The Doctor today said the line wouldn't clot off without the flush, but I've been told differently from medical providers before. I'm hoping no blood clots form before Monday.
Good news is, Dominic now weighs 12lbs 3oz. He's still a little guy but putting on weight little by little. Thank you all for your love and support!!
Stephanie&Dominic
Everyday I flush Dominic's broviac line twice with saline and heparin solutions. Yesterday after we changed his dressing on it, I started the saline flush and at the top where the tube comes out of his skin, fluid started leaking out! It was pinkish in color which I think means it's a mixture of blood and the saline solution. So we took him right to the ER- you don't want to mess around with these things... eventhough it wasn't a lot of fluid leaking, nothing should EVER come out of that hole, so it was worrisome. I didn't know if the line was loose and slipping- if that thing slipped all the way out we would have a very serious situation on our hands because it's in a central vein which means he would bleed... a lot. So anyway, we took him in and they looked at him and took an x-ray. They said it was a bit displaced but offered no reasons for the leak. We had a follow-up appointment today where they looked at him again and at the x-ray and basically said it was ok to leave it in until Monday, which is his already scheduled date to get it out. Still no explaination for the leak. Dominic is feeling fine and happily eating and playing, so he's not in any pain. Please just keep him in your prayers for his upcoming surgery and that the line stays put until then!! I'm going to try to continue Heparin flushes but if it's leaking I don't know how beneficial it is to try the flush. The Doctor today said the line wouldn't clot off without the flush, but I've been told differently from medical providers before. I'm hoping no blood clots form before Monday.
Good news is, Dominic now weighs 12lbs 3oz. He's still a little guy but putting on weight little by little. Thank you all for your love and support!!
Stephanie&Dominic
Monday, August 3, 2009
Surgery on August 24th!
Helllloooooo! I know it's been a while since my last post, but no news is good news, right? In this case that's true =). Dominic has been doing so well and keeping his food down wonderfully. Of course he spits up still but he's gaining weight and growing so we're happy. He hasn't had anything running through his broviac line in about a month so I just flush it twice a day and that's all! It's so nice not having to carry around those bags and change out all the lines every day! On the 24th of August they are pulling the line out!!! This is so awesome and he's just making so much progress- we're so proud of him! After they pull the line it will be another weight lifted off of us because then we don't have to worry about it getting infected. Dominic's off of all the medicine- no more reglan OR prilosec, and he just takes a multi-vitamin and iron. It's just amazing that by 6 months he'll be without any broviac and no medicine- he's such a trooper! We still have hurdles- he's still on the very basic formula, Pregestimil. We will eventually wean him up to eating something less broken down and try to incorporate rice and other solids into his diet. He is taking a couple bottles of breast milk a day though, and does very well with that.
Dominic can roll totally over, he's working on sitting up, and his legs are so strong and hold him up standing for a long time! His balance just isn't up to par, but he's got plenty of time to work on that. He loves playing with his toys and his favorites are Mr. Moosey and his crinkle book. He laughs at us when we make funny faces or noises and he really cracked up yesterday when I coughed. Who knew? haha. Also, he's recently found his feet and is trying hard to get them into his mouth- not quite there yet =). He's getting more and more vocal and 'talking' to us and he has the sweetest little voice. It's such a joy to have him here with us and we're loving every minute of being parents.
Thank you all for your continued love and support and pray that his surgery goes well on the 24th!!
Stephanie
Dominic can roll totally over, he's working on sitting up, and his legs are so strong and hold him up standing for a long time! His balance just isn't up to par, but he's got plenty of time to work on that. He loves playing with his toys and his favorites are Mr. Moosey and his crinkle book. He laughs at us when we make funny faces or noises and he really cracked up yesterday when I coughed. Who knew? haha. Also, he's recently found his feet and is trying hard to get them into his mouth- not quite there yet =). He's getting more and more vocal and 'talking' to us and he has the sweetest little voice. It's such a joy to have him here with us and we're loving every minute of being parents.
Thank you all for your continued love and support and pray that his surgery goes well on the 24th!!
Stephanie
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
zzzzzzzzzzz's
DOMINIC SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT FOR THE LAST 2 NIGHTS!! Ok, sorry for yelling- I just had to get that off my chest. !! . I'm here to give a HAPPY update about Dominic, which is so refreshing!
He's been allowed to eat 4 oz every feeding for about a week now and has been doing really well with it! He doesn't always eat it all which is nice that he gets to eat until he's full; that's new for him! He's still on antibiotics until tomorrow for that line infection so even though HE's sleeping through the night, I'm not because he needs a dose every 6 hours.... but at least I know he can now haha. Since he's on full feedings, He's no longer getting TPN & Lipids through his broviac- just IV fluids to keep it open in case he needs to go back on the nutrition, so hopefully they can pull that soon!
He's now off the Reglan- that's the medicine that I haven't been comfortable with since they started him on it and it's been 3 times now that his foot will vibrate (tremor) all by itself. The first time I saw this I stopped giving him the Reglan because it's known to have neurological side-effects and I don't want to take any chances. I talked to his Dr. and told him about it and he agreed that we should wean down on it. Psh- I just took it away altogether. Since then, he has been spitting up a bit more, but nothing to be concerned about and he's still keeping down the vast majority of his food, so I'm not worried.
Dominic is now talking! Ok so he's not forming words of course but he's becoming more and more vocal and it's just so cute! =) He'll look right at us and talk to us, or to strangers... whoever will listen I suppose... but it's very cool. Also, he's grabbing at his toys more and holding onto things, and really figuring out how his fingers and hands work. He's really great at grabbing onto hair and pulling it let me tell ya!
OK I'm going to go get ready for my day while he's still asleep.... Thanks for reading and please continue prayers that he keeps doing well and has no set backs!!
Stephanie
He's been allowed to eat 4 oz every feeding for about a week now and has been doing really well with it! He doesn't always eat it all which is nice that he gets to eat until he's full; that's new for him! He's still on antibiotics until tomorrow for that line infection so even though HE's sleeping through the night, I'm not because he needs a dose every 6 hours.... but at least I know he can now haha. Since he's on full feedings, He's no longer getting TPN & Lipids through his broviac- just IV fluids to keep it open in case he needs to go back on the nutrition, so hopefully they can pull that soon!
He's now off the Reglan- that's the medicine that I haven't been comfortable with since they started him on it and it's been 3 times now that his foot will vibrate (tremor) all by itself. The first time I saw this I stopped giving him the Reglan because it's known to have neurological side-effects and I don't want to take any chances. I talked to his Dr. and told him about it and he agreed that we should wean down on it. Psh- I just took it away altogether. Since then, he has been spitting up a bit more, but nothing to be concerned about and he's still keeping down the vast majority of his food, so I'm not worried.
Dominic is now talking! Ok so he's not forming words of course but he's becoming more and more vocal and it's just so cute! =) He'll look right at us and talk to us, or to strangers... whoever will listen I suppose... but it's very cool. Also, he's grabbing at his toys more and holding onto things, and really figuring out how his fingers and hands work. He's really great at grabbing onto hair and pulling it let me tell ya!
OK I'm going to go get ready for my day while he's still asleep.... Thanks for reading and please continue prayers that he keeps doing well and has no set backs!!
Stephanie
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Line Infection
*Sigh* On Tuesday Dominic felt warm to me so I took his temp in the afternoon and it was 100.9. Rick and I were debating on whether to take him to the ER or not because it didn't seem too high to us, but on all of our paperwork from being discharged from the NICU, it says if he has a temp of 100.4 or higher to take him in, so we went. In the ER they took blood labs and checked him out and then sent us home with a follow up appt for the next day. So Wednesday I take Dominic back to the hospital for his follow up and everything looks fine- keep in mind this whole time he's acting totally fine... smiling, staying awake, eating, and pooping... normal stuff. So far the labs were negative for any bacterial growth and they send me home with some tylenol in case a slight fever pops up again. As I'm pulling onto base the Dr. calls and says the blood cultures have now grown something and we need to come back for a dose of antibiotics. Back we go (this is a long, annoying drive straight through DC- ugh). We get his dose and they take more blood to make sure this really IS an infection.. he's acting so happy and well that they think there was a contaminate and he doesn't really have an infection. We're scheduled for a follow up the next day for his second dose of antibiotics and to see what the lab results say. Thursday I take him BACK to the hospital and they get the results: positive. Dominic definitely has a line infection, and they want to admit him. We spent Thursday and Friday nights in the hospital for his antibiotics and let me tell you, never go to a hospital to try to sleep. It's ridiculous that Dr's even tell you to rest and try to get better when you're there because it's impossible. Now we're home and his home nurse came last night to show us how to administer his antibiotics through the line here at home. He's supposed to be on them for 2 weeks if that last blood culture was negative.
Moral of the story??: If my baby has even a slight fever I need to take him in, especially with this hardware in his chest.
On a happier note, at last weigh in Dominic weighed 9lbs 4oz, which is AWESOME!! His Dr. also upped his feedings to 3oz every 3 hours, which is making Dominic happier and life at home a bit easier now that he's not as hungry all the time! Also, we're weaning down on the Reglan and te TPN, with the hopes that in the next 2 weeks we might be able to pull the broviac out all together! That's optimistic thinking and will only happen if everything goes perfectly, but it's still a light at the end of the tunnel.
Please pray that Dominic keeps tolerating his feedings, that the infection goes away, and that we can get him off all this medicine soon! Also, the antibiotics give him diarreah so let's pray that it doesn't get too bad for him- we need him to absorb his food and nutrients!!! Thank you all!!
Stephanie
Moral of the story??: If my baby has even a slight fever I need to take him in, especially with this hardware in his chest.
On a happier note, at last weigh in Dominic weighed 9lbs 4oz, which is AWESOME!! His Dr. also upped his feedings to 3oz every 3 hours, which is making Dominic happier and life at home a bit easier now that he's not as hungry all the time! Also, we're weaning down on the Reglan and te TPN, with the hopes that in the next 2 weeks we might be able to pull the broviac out all together! That's optimistic thinking and will only happen if everything goes perfectly, but it's still a light at the end of the tunnel.
Please pray that Dominic keeps tolerating his feedings, that the infection goes away, and that we can get him off all this medicine soon! Also, the antibiotics give him diarreah so let's pray that it doesn't get too bad for him- we need him to absorb his food and nutrients!!! Thank you all!!
Stephanie
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