He's a Five Pounder!

It's official - he's a five pounder! 5 lbs., 1/2 oz. to be exact. Owen continues to take food from his bottle very well. This morning he ate 28 of his 40 ml from the bottle. On Friday, Paul got him to take 33 ml!

He had a few spells yesterday, but he is getting very good at pulling himself back up, so we don't have to intervene. Our nurse's hope is that he will grow out of them completely by the time we go home. More often than not while he is eating, which is good because we are right there with him. He lets out a shrill squeal (in response to the reflux) and then without fail, if you look to the monitor, his heart rate and oxygen levels are dropping. I'm grateful that he lets out the squeal so we at least know when he is having problems. That will be helpful if he is still having them when we go home.

My little cousin Kate drew an adorable picture of Owen and me. As promised, it is hanging in O's room. Here he is checking it out, saying "Thank you Kate! I can't wait to meet you!"

It's a Baby Shower!

Over the weekend, my cousins Missy and Helen hosted a baby shower for me. It was a lot of fun to get together with the Milbrandt ladies to celebrate Owen! It was very special to me because they are busy preparing for Missy's wedding in a few weeks. The fact that they'd take time out to host a shower for me was very, very nice of them. I felt very honored!

Milbrandt gatherings are known for their food - we are a bunch that like to eat! Missy and Helen kept with the tradition. They had such creative, yummy food, and pretty desserts too. The little girls were in awe of Missy's fruit pizza! Here they are anxiously waiting for Missy to cut it so they could dig in!

Thanks again Missy and Helen for the wonderful shower!

Weekend Update

I forgot the cord to transfer photos from the camera to the computer, so you just get an update for now! I'll try to post photos tonight if I have time.

Owen had a very good weekend! He gained more weight and is up to about 4 lbs., 15 oz now. Pretty soon we'll have a 5 pound baby! It's hard to believe! He really is filling out nicely though. His hats are starting to fit a little bit better, but he still swims in his newborn clothes.

Yesterday was his last dose of aminophelline. Hopefully this time he will be okay without it. If he isn't, his neonatalogist would like to do a blood transfusion to help bump up his hemoglobin level. He said that low hemoglobin can be a cause of apnea in preemies and since his number is on the lower side, he'd like to consider it if he still spells coming off of the aminophelline.

We worked with him to take a bottle a few times over the weekend and he's doing great. He isn't to the point yet where we can feed him solely from the bottle, but he's making progress and that is all that we can ask for at his young gestational age. Some of his nurses don't even want to try because they say he's too young. We are blessed with a wonderful primary nurse during the week who works with him and sees a lot of potential in him. She leaves notes from Owen around his room reminding the other nurses what to do for him so that he can reach the goals she sets for him.

Owen's reflux was pretty good over the weekend - no major spells! YEAY!! He is also spitting up a little less even though he is eating 40 ml (to be upped tomorrow) right now. Poor little guy's tummy looks so big when he is done with each feeding. He looks like he's eaten a Thanksgiving dinner.

Last night was bath night. Paul and I were on our own this time. It felt clumsy and awkward with such a little, slippery baby. Our bath at home has a little sling that he sits in, so I think it will be a lot easier than the hospital's little tubs. Hopefully it will get easier as we do it more and get used to it.

We continue to feel blessed with our time together at the NICU. It's not ideal to be away from home as much as we are, but we get to be there with him in the morning before work and at night after work, so we are truly grateful for our little miracle!!!

Big Boy!

Yesterday Owen's nurse, Mona, had really good luck with him taking milk from a nipple at his 9AM feeding. She puts the tube with the milk (that normally attaches to his feeding tube) into a nipple and lets him suck the milk out. It is great practice for him. He ate about 10 ml this way before he got tired. He was awake and alert at noon, so she decided to try an actual bottle. This gives him a lot more control over how much milk he takes. He's too young to accept a whole feeding this way, but he did really well! He took about 13 of his 38 ml! She said that the more we practice this, the better he'll get at it until one feeding, it will just click and he'll get it from that point on.

Any long-term patient at the NICU gets assigned a social worker to help be a resource for the family. We met with ours this morning to start formulating a discharge plan. They think that Owen could potentially come home with us within the next 2 weeks!!! I thought it would be more of a planned date of discharge, but in reality, it sounds like we may know the day before and that is it. Once the nurses feel like he's got the feeding down pat, the neonatalogist will order a 3 hour test to monitor his breathing and his spells. The nurses will chart exactly what he is doing during any spell he has during those 3 hours so the next day they can look over the results and understand better when he is having spells (if he is still having spells). After that, they do a hearing test on him and they do what is called a car seat test. They put him in his car seat for one hour to make sure that he doesn't slouch down and restrict his own airway. If they see the results they are looking for, we leave with Owen. In fact, they even had us bring his car seat this morning so that it is there ready to go at any time.

I am very excited to have him home and to be able to hold him as we please, etc., but I'd be lying if I said that bringing him home didn't make me a little nervous. Right now he is attached to monitors that tell us when something is wrong. We also have an army of very well trained nurses that come running any time something isn't right. At home, it will just be the 3 of us trying to figure it out on our own. I'm sure every new parent goes through a little bit of apprehension, so I know that I'm not alone!

We can't get over his progress this week. It has been unbelievable how much more alert he is. He is our miracle!

Wonderful Day

Daddy's wedding ring

Owen had a wonderful day yesterday. His reflux wasn't too bad, he only spit up once and aside from his leg being sore from the Hep B shot, he had an all around really good day. Last night was bath night, so I captured a few shots to share with you!

This morning he weighed in at 4 lbs., 10 oz! Way to go buddy - you keep growing and getting stronger!!! We are so incredibly proud of all that you've accomplished so far. You truly are our miracle and we couldn't love you any more!

4 Pounds, 8 Ounces and Growing...

Owen had a very good night last night. He handled his feedings well and only spit up once. I thought that going from 35 ml up to 38 ml, he would be miserable and spit up all night. He did well though! Hopefully they won't up his feeds again today.

The nurse told me this morning that she accidentally told me Monday's weight yesterday, so he was actually 4 lbs., 5 oz. on Monday, not Tuesday. Today he is up to 4 lbs., 8 oz.! I officially switched him from preemie clothes to newborn clothes today. I can't believe it! The preemie clothes are still baggy on him, but he is so long that he can't straighten out his legs. The newborn sleeper was ENORMOUS, but probably much more comfy for him.

He had his Hep B shot last night, so he was a little fussy this morning. Poor boy!

A special thank you to my sister-in-law Dawn for hosting a baby shower for me last Sunday. The lady's from Paul's family all got together to celebrate Mr. O with me. Thanks for all the special touches, like the little cakes, the adorable baby balloon and the yummy food! I appreciate all the effort you put into it - especially since you weren't in MN most of the month before!

Blogger isn't cooperating, so I can't post photos right now - maybe later!

Happy One Month Owen!

Owen showing off how big he is! Our friend Jenny gave us these stickers to put on his onsie on his "month" birthdays to show just how big he is. This 1 month sticker is a little smaller than a softball.

Owen turns one month old today! He's made so much progress in a month, I can't imagine what he will be like in another month!

He gained weight again yesterday, so he is now just shy of 4 lbs., 5 oz.! He's filling out nicely and is becoming quite the little pork chop! I can't wait until his face fills in a little more so we can tell if he got his daddy's adorable dimples.

He is still struggling with the spells and the reflux. The spells are caused by two things - him reacting to the reflux, and his brain not being fully developed. Preemie brains doen't always remember to breathe. This is why he was on the caffeine originally. They took him off of the caffeine and put him on a caffeine-like medication called aminophylline. After several days, they needed to see if his brain was able to control the breathing function on its own, so they removed him from the aminophylline. At that same time, his reflux got worse, so he was having a lot of spells. Yesterday they determined that he wasn't ready to be off of the aminophylline, so he went back on it. He had significantly fewer spells last night and this morning.

Because the reflux is still giving him trouble, they have his mattress almost vertical! They use something called a Danny sling to Velcro him to the bed or else he wouldn't be able to stay up.

Owen's overnight nurse must have a sense of humor! When I got there this morning, Owen's hat was on his puppy dog. It actually fits the puppy better!

We believe in miracles! Laurie and Paul

Change is Hard

Overall, Owen continues to progress wonderfully. He is growing, he is really getting good at the suck and breathe function, and he is still in the crib. His weight is up to 1865 grams now, so just shy of 4 lbs. 2 oz. He is getting longer too. In fact, he's almost out of his preemie clothes because he is so long! They are baggy on him, but his little legs won't be able to straighten out soon! My guess is that we'll be starting to put him in newborn clothes within the week.

However, he has really bad reflux, which means his stomach fluids and food come up into his throat, then he spits up. When this happens, he doesn't know how to handle it, so he stops breathing and his heart rate plunges. Each time they up his feedings, the additional volume seems to make him spit up even more. They need to up his feedings though to get him the nutrients he needs to grow. We are really hoping to try to get him on a bottle as soon as possible so that we can get the feeding tube out of his throat and potentially eliminate the reason for the acid/food coming up. In order to switch from feeding tube to bottle though, he has to master the suck, swallow and breathe function. We've practiced this a little bit, putting a little bit of milk in a nipple and letting him suck, but he is pretty young to be trying it, so the nurses don't want us to be discouraged that he isn't able to do it well yet.

Here are a few photos we've taken in the last few days.

Enjoying my new puppy blankie - thanks Nancy and Fred!


Hanging out in the Boppy in my crib


Holding hands with my Grandpa Jim


Being patient while mom and dad change my clothes


Daddy getting me ready for some snuggle time with mommy


Snuggling with mommy

Retinopathy of Prematurity

Today Owen had his eye test. The nurse started by giving him drops to dilate his eyes every 5 minutes for 15 minutes before the doctor came in. He didn't seem to be bothered so much when he got the drops put in, but once they started to take effect, he started to whimper like we've never heard before and his heart rate dropped 3 times within just a few minutes. His nurse explained that when something different or foreign happens to preemies, their response is to shut down, and to expect that it will happen several more times throughout the exam and over the next few hours.

The doctors came in and put a "paper clip-like" clamp on his eyes to hold them open (the nurses words, not mine). They then put a plastic stick into the sides of his eyes to manually move them from side to side while shining a bright light in them. He screamed - and I cried. Maybe not as loudly as he did, but probably more than he did!

The good news is that the doctor said his retinas are immature, but growing very nicely like the rest of him. At this point, he doesn't have ROP, but because it can develop very quickly, he has to have a follow up exam in two weeks. Thanks again for all of the prayers you said for Owen and his doctors! We couldn't have gotten better news about the ROP.

Now for the stats! Owen gained a little weight and is now weighing in at just shy of 4 lbs! He has been able to maintain his temperature, so he's still in the crib. They haven't done rounds yet, so if I hear anything new, I'll post later tonight.

We believe in miracles - Laurie and Paul

Proud Papa

Hello everyone!

Snuggling with Mommy

Last night Paul stayed at the hospital a little later than I did. When he got home, he was so excited because he got to give Owen his first "real" bath. Before last night, he's only had sponge baths. Paul was such a proud daddy that it made me smile. It made me fall even deeper in love with him seeing the excitement in his eyes about sharing that experience with our son.
It was a day of firsts for O! He got to wear clothes, got to take a real bath and he moved from an isolette to a crib! Now he really looks like a big boy. He weighed in at 3 lbs., 14 oz last night.

Owen's room - can you see him under all those blankies?

We ask that you keep Owen and his doctors in your prayers tomorrow. Preemies tend to develop something called ROP, which essentially means that their retinas don't develop properly and they can go blind. Owen has the first of a few appointments with a retina specialist tomorrow morning to test him for ROP. We've been warned by his nurses that it will be extremely difficult to watch. They will strap him down, use a tool to hold his eye lids open and then physically move his eyeballs back and forth (since babies don't know how to look left or right on command). They will also dilate his eyes. The nurses said it is pretty much like watching someone torture your child. They warned us that he will be under significant stress and his heart rate will probably drop many times during the exam and throughout the next 24 hours. So, we pray for knowledge and skill for his doctors, strength for him to endure the pain and strength for Paul and I to be able to be there and comfort our son.

We believe in miracles!

Speaking of Thank You...

Speaking of thank you's, we owe a world of thanks to our friends and family! So many people have done so much for us.

Lisa, Jen and Mom - the meals that you guys have been kind enough to make and deliver to us have been more helpful that we can tell you. We spend very little time at home right now, so knowing that we can come home late from the hospital, pack up another meal to eat at the hospital the following night and then go to bed instead of having to cook is such a lifesaver right now!

To NRG (Paul's work), the parking passes for the hospital ramps have been SO HELPFUL! Thank you very, very much for thinking of us!

To Jo, Pammy, Jack and Jenny, thank you for the gorgeous flowers that were delivered to my work yesterday. They definitely made me smile on a hard day!

Thanks again for all that you have done for us! We are extremely grateful and feel blessed to have your prayers, support and kindness.

Love you guys - Laur and Paul

Happy 3 Week Birthday Owen!

Today Owen is 3 weeks old! I cannot believe how quickly that time has gone by. When I got to the hospital this morning, his nurse said that he had a rough night with spit ups. Apparently he spit up with each feeding. We think it is probably because they upped his feeding to 33 ml yesterday. They also had clothes on him, which can be stressful to a pre-term infant. Hopefully today will be a better day for him. He didn't spit up when I fed him, so my fingers are crossed that his day will go well.

He maintained his weight at 1700 grams (roughly 3 pounds, 9 ounces). They are more than likely going to try putting him in a crib today to see if he can maintain his temperature. If he can't, they'll put him back in the isolette so he isn't using his calories to keep warm, but to grow and digest his food properly.

Here are a few photos of him from last night and this morning. I just can't get over how different he looks in clothes! You can see from the first few that he's getting good with his pacifier. It helps him to develop the suck, swallow and breathe skill that he will need to get rid of the feeding tube and start eating from a bottle. I think he looks like Maggie Simpson when he is sucking on the paci! It's pretty cute. The paci is still so big for him! It takes up a lot of his face - and that is after we cut half of it off!

I love this last picture because the stickers that hold his nasal cannula are both off and aside from the feeding tube, there is nothing attached to his handsome little face.

Last night we had our Baptism preparation class. We are so excited for Owen to be Baptized and to officially become a member of the community that has been praying so hard for him. Paul and I have been overwhelmed by the support and prayers we've received from our parish - even from people we've never met! It has truly been a blessing and I wish that we had words to express how grateful we are! Thank you so much for everything.

We believe in miracles! Laur and Paul

Our Baby is Wearing Clothes!!!

Paul is at the hospital today and he just sent me this photo from his phone. The nurses put clothes on Owen for the first time to see if he can sustain his body temp at room air. If he can, then he'll get to move from the isolette to a bassinet soon! We believe in miracles!!!

Sleepy Sunday

I caught daddy and Owen taking a little snooze yesterday during their skin to skin holding. Such cute boys! The nurse sitting in the background is where his nurses sit to monitor him when they aren't in the room with us or with the other baby that they are assigned to during their shift.

Some of you have asked how Owen gets fed, so I decided to take a photo of his feeding pump to share with you. The nurse puts the milk into the syringe, loads it into the machine, then sets how long she wants it to take to disperse it. Typically, Owen gets his feedings over 30 minutes. The milk slowly gets pushed through the tube you see here, which goes into his nose, down his throat and into his tummy.

What's in a Name?

Many people have asked us how we decided on Owen Robert as his name. We started a list of names that we liked as we came across them in the baby name book and slowly crossed the ones off that didn't feel right. In the end, we had two names that we both really liked and he was Baby Boy Mordorski for several days at the hospital because we couldn't decide which was the right one. We ended up going with Owen Robert because he looks like an Owen and Robert honors several men in his life who we believe will be strong role models and people that he will look up to. First, his Grandpa Jim is James Robert. We know that he will love Owen and treasure him with all of his heart and vice versa. Paul's brother is Robert Joseph and he's already promised to teach Owen all sorts of naughty ways to drive mom and dad crazy! We know they will share many special times together over the years. Owen's Godfather is our good friend Bobby. We know that Bobby will help teach Owen how to be a good, honest, caring, Christian man. And last but most certainly not least, there is a special little angel baby up in heaven named Sam Robert who we believe to be Owen's guardian angel. We know that Sam and Owen would have been the best of friends and cooked up all sorts of shenanigans together!

This morning, my cousin Missy told me that she looked up the meaning of Owen's name and ironically, it means "Little Warrior." Owen has been such a strong little fighter throughout all of this. He is definitely our little miracle!

Making Progress

I don't have a lot to report today, which means that Owen is making progress. He had a good night - very few spells and very few spit ups. He's been off of his nasal cannula now for almost 48 hours!!! He lost 10 grams overnight, but they upped his feedings to 31 ml, so he should gain in the next day or so. When we got to the hospital today, his nurse was putting a new feeding tube in. Apparently he got a little feisty and pulled the old one out. That means he gets socks put on his hands! I love this picture - he can't seem to keep those sockies on!


When I was doing his 12:00 skin to skin holding/feeding today, we caught him with his little hand resting up on his head. Just thought we'd share it with you since it is pretty cute!

We believe in miracles!

Mmmmm, Good Stuff!

Love his chicken legs and big puffy sockies!

Owen had an exciting day today! He got to try drinking milk from a bottle for the very first time. He has been doing well with a pacifier and when we hold him, he moves his face back and forth with his mouth open (this is called rooting), so his nurse thought it would be good to try giving him a little bit of milk from a bottle. He definitely enjoyed it, but his suck, swallow, breath skill isn't mature enough yet, so he ended up coughing and his oxygen dropped a bit. The nurse said that he got a good amount and is a "good sucker," so she expects that once he develops more, he will be a very good eater for us.

He's been off of his nasal cannula since around 3PM yesterday, which is the longest he's gone without it. Way to go buddy! Daddy and I are so proud of you!!! Owen lost 20 grams, so he is now weighing in at 1640. They say around 1800 he'll get to try coming out of his isolette. He'll have to start wearing clothes first though! We've got his preemie clothes all washed and ready to go here at the NICU, so whenever they tell us he can start wearing clothes, we are ready!

He had very few spells overnight, so the meds that they put him on seem to be doing the trick.

I'm enjoying today because unfortunately, it is my last day here at the NICU with Owen before I go back to work on Monday. It's been a struggle for me to come to that decision, but I really want to have time off with him when he gets to come home. I know that he is in excellent hands here at Children's. I think the world of his full-time nurse, Mona, but I've really learned to cherish the time I get to sit and hold Owen skin-to-skin. It started out just once a day, but now I'm up to about 4-5 hours a day. As much as I want him to come home, I know that there will never be another time in my life that I will just get to sit - uninterrupted - and stare at my baby's fingers and ears and nose in amazement for hours out of the day. When I'm at the NICU all day, the laundry doesn't call to me, the dishwasher doesn't get my attention, dinner doesn't need to be cooked. I know that once I'm at home, that will change.

Big stretch before I get my diaper changed! Love those wrinkly thighs! (His buns look like that too! I will spare him from future embarrassment and won't post those pictures!)

We believe in miracles! Laur and Paul

Spells

Owen likes to sleep with his hands up over his head - just like his daddy!

At 32 weeks, babies are taken off of the caffeine that they are given to remind them to breathe. Babies born after 32 weeks don't get it because it stays in their system for too many days. When the doctors feel like they may be ready to go home, their systems have to be clear so they can be tested and discharged. Owen's last dose was on Sunday and now as his body is getting rid of the caffeine, he is having a lot of spells where he forgets to breathe and his heart rate drops quite a bit. Since midnight he's had 12 or 13 of them. So his doctor is putting him on a medication that does that same thing as caffeine, but doesn't have the long-lasting effects on the body in case they determine he is ready to go home sooner rather than later.

Because the caffeine is a diuretic, it may have kept him from gaining as much weight early on. Between going off the caffeine and upping his feeds to 27ml yesterday, he weighed in at 3 lbs., 10 oz at midnight! Although he gave me a nice smelly diaper shortly after I arrived this morning, so that weight could be down a bit!

I'm excited that his weight is up, but it is kind of a double-edged sword. When his weight goes up, his feedings go up. I lost quite a lot of blood during the abbruption, so my milk isn't coming in as fast as I would like it to. That means he has to get formula to make up the difference of what I can't get while pumping. Owen's tummy doesn't like formula as much, so he spits up - causing more spells. So, I'm glad that he's growing, but wish that didn't mean that he needed even more milk! We'll get there though!

He continues to go off of his oxygen a few times a day. Once he gets a little fatigued, they put him back on so that he uses his energy to digest his food, not to work harder at breathing. He really gets very little oxygen though when he has his cannula in - about .0125 ml per minute. As you can see from this photo, he doesn't love his nasal cannula and tries his hardest to get it off as many times a day as possible. Here you'll see his eyes are getting a nice blast of oxygen!

Grabbing on to the cannula

We believe in miracles - Laur and Paul

One Happy Mommy!

I have to say, I am one happy Mommy today! When I got here this morning, the night nurse told me that he only had one big spit up in the night - compared to 4+ the night before. She also said that she took out his nasal cannula at midnight. As of right now, he's had it out for almost 10 hours and his breathing has been really good this morning. I just love seeing him without the cannula! It's usually pretty dark in his room, but I was able to snap this photo quick while his morning nurse had the light up higher to check him out. Isn't he a cutie without all the tubes in his nose!?! They leave the "sticker" on his cheek in case they have to put the nasal cannula back in. The orange tube that you see in his nose is his feeding tube and that is one of his heart monitors on his chest.


While I was holding him for his 8AM feeding, the doctors came in to do rounds. They told me that his ultrasound yesterday showed no signs of bleeding on the brain, which means that he doesn't have cerebral palsy! He also told me that they are going to take him off of the caffeine today. They may need to put him back on it if he has more spells where he drops his heart rate, but for now, they want to try moving forward without it.

He lost 10 grams yesterday, but they aren't concerned because he's gained the last 3 days in a row. We are going to keep him at 25 ml feedings for today and then try to move him up again either tomorrow or Thursday.

We are so proud of your progress buddy. You are such a little fighter. We love you more than we ever could have imagined and can't wait until you are strong enough and big enough to come home with us!

We believe in miracles! Laur and Paul

Head Ultrasound

The doctor came in during rounds today to tell me that they are going to do an ultrasound of Owen's head today around 1-2PM. The night that Owen was born, one of the doctors from the NICU came to my room to explain to Paul and me some of the possible complications a baby his age can suffer from. He mentioned cerebral palsy, blindness and deafness. When Owen is around 34 weeks they will do a vision test on him - dilate his eyes, check his retinas, etc. Today, they are going to do an ultrasound on his soft spot. This is to check for blood on his brain, which would indicate cerebral palsy. They said that they think he is fine though, so not to worry. The ultrasound tech stopped in to let me know that they won't know the results until late today or even tomorrow. So, keep your fingers crossed that all looks good!


When I got in this morning, the nurse said that he had a really "pukey" night. She had to change out his bedding 4 times. Typically, they increase the feedings pretty aggressively so that the baby gets the nutrients that they need to grow. However, Owen spits up quite a bit of what he is getting after multiple feedings each day. Paul and I feel like he'd be better off getting less food each feeding and being able to keep it down. The doctor agreed that we may need to back his food up a little bit. So starting at 8AM this morning, he went from 27ml down to 25ml. So far, so good - no spit ups yet! He will eat again at 11AM. My hope is that if we can stay at 25ml for a day or so, it will give his tummy time to adjust before we up it again.

I forgot to post this photo of Owen meeting his Great Grandma Flossie on Friday night. She kept saying, "In all my years, I've never seen one that small!" At one point, she looked at me and said, "If I live long enough, I am going to SPOIL him!" I told her she certainly would live long enough, but that she had to promise not to spoil him toooo much. After she left, one of the nurses asked Paul how old she was and said that it is pretty rare to have Great Grandparents that are able to visit babies in the NICU.


No Photos Please!

This afternoon the nurse told me that Owen now weighs 3 lbs., 6oz.! And in the last two weeks he has gone from 15.3" long to 16.5" long. Way to go buddy!!!

Escape Artist

I haven't gotten the morning recap from Owen's morning nurse yet, but had to share these funny photos. His overnight nurse took them and emailed them to me. She said that he was all tucked in and sound asleep and about 30 minutes later, this is what she found! I'm not sure that she believed us when we told her that he had been really active yesterday and had moved his head alot.

Laying sideways in his isolette, trying to escape out the porthole!

I'm going to get out of that porthole!
Laying sideways