Doctor update

Well we went to see Dr. Einhorn this past Tuesday and we got a good report! He was very pleased with Logan's growth and progress. Logan weighs 11 1/2 pounds and is 21 1/4 inches long. He is continuing to grow at a good rate! He said that Logan looks good and doesn't appear to be wasting too many calories on his breathing. We have taken him off of his oxygen during the day and just been putting him on it at night. Dr. Einhorn wanted to do a 2 night sleep study without his oxygen to see if we could take him off of it completely, so we did that the last 2 nights. He seemed to do fairly well with it, he was mostly in the low 90s to high 80s. However, Dr. Einhorn called tonight though and suggested we leave him on it at night because Logan went the first night for an hour (total time) at 88 or below and almost half an hour last night at 88 or below. They like for the number to stay above 88 at all times. I was a bit disappointed. I was hoping that his numbers would be a little better and we could take the oxygen off completely. I kind of thought that Logan dipped down in his numbers when he was moving around a lot in his crib, but Dr. Einhorn said there was no way to know for sure which came first, the drop in his sat or the moving around. So we will go a bit longer with the oxygen at night.

Logan also had to get some bloodwork done. The doctor wanted to check his hemoglobin levels and his electrolyte count. His iron was actually a bit high and he was a bit low on sodium. So I'm not sure what Dr. Einhorn will do about that yet if anything. His carbon dioxide levels were very good this time around. Yeah for that! Other than that not much is new. Oh, we have tried some baby food. He has tried bananas so far and doesn't really care for them! We aren't pushing the food, just taking it fairly slowly.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Well Logan had his first real family outing this afternoon. We went to great grandma Peg's for Thanksgiving lunch. There weren't very many people there so we thought it was safe to take Logan. He had a good time, but slept mostly.

We also went to the eye doctor this past Tuesday. We got some great news. Logan does not have to go back for a year!! The doctor said he was back down to stage 1 retinopathy and that any abnormal growth was happening on the peripherals of his eyes and that it was not a big deal. He said that Logan is basically out of the woods for any eye trouble and just to check back in a year! We were very pleased.

We (and by "we" I mean Danny) finally got Logan's crib put together yesterday, so tonight will be his first night in a big bed. Oh boy, I don't know if we are ready for this! But it's time. He is only getting up once a night anyway so I think we should be good.

We go see Dr. Einhorn again this coming Tuesday. I think he will be pleased with Logan's growth. He is at least 10 1/2 pounds maybe a bit more by now. We are hoping to lose the oxygen soon too. He is off of it mostly during the day and then we put it back on him at night. I really don't think he even needs it, but we will see what the doc says.

I will post more pictures soon. I know I need to! I just really haven't taken a whole lot of them lately. I will make a conscious effort this weekend, promise!

Sorry

Sorry everyone that I haven't posted in awhile. I have been under the weather and had some minor surgery related to my Crohn's disease. Dad has been doing a great job taking care of Logan and of course Grandma has been taking care of both of us!

Logan went to the eye doctor just over a week ago and things were about the same. He did not like the exam and screamed his little lungs out. However, he did not scream as loud as the first time. The doctor said he was in stage 2 retinopathy, but that it was inactive and not progressing, which is very good. He said it will likely clear on its own, but we still have to make a few more trips to make sure. His next appt. is on Nov. 25 and then he will have one more after that.

He goes to see Dr. Einhorn again on Dec. 2. He is eating about 4 ounces every 4-5 hours. Of course, he is growing like a weed. We haven't weighed him officially in awhile but we think he is a bit over 10 pounds! He is sleeping fairly well at night and only getting up once, as long as he eats about 10:00 p.m.

In other news, we haven't moved yet but are getting closer. Hopefully next weekend or the weekend after. Danny and Shea have moved quite a bit of stuff out there already. We bought new appliances and a few of them are hooked up. Well I think that is all for now.

New pics

Here are a few new pics. Not too much new to report. We go to the eye doctor Friday. Logan is sleeping well for the most part. He gets up once around 2 or 3 and then is ready to get up again about 6:30 or 7. He still does a lot of grunting which wakes me up. Once we get into the new house, I think he will be in a different room. I can't seem to do that just yet! Enjoy the pics!

New update!

Hello everyone. We went to see Dr. Einhorn again today and Logan gained a good amount of weight. He now weighs 8 lbs., 14 oz. and is 19 inches long, according to the nurse. However, we measured him at 20 inches at home. I'm not sure who's right!

The dr. was very happy with his weight gain and everything else as well. Logan is taking about 3 ounces of breastmilk per feeding and eating about every 4 hours. At night he gets up once, and then is up again around 5. We are getting a little more sleep, thank goodness! He is still taking his medications and on the oxygen. I think he will be on both of these for awhile. He said to keep taking Logan off of the oxygen when he is awake. Dr. Einhorn also said that Logan's 4 month vaccinations are coming up in a couple of weeks and that all of us that are close to Logan should get flu shots. We were already going to get them. In fact, Danny already got his.

Logan also gets to try rice cereal in a couple of weeks! Not much at a time, just a little to get him introduced to it. Especially to get some oral motor stimulation going.

About time, I know!

Well due to my brother's request, I will update! I was going to today anyway, but he gave me a push! Well Logan is doing well. He is eating like a horse and gaining weight. He weighed 8 lbs. yesterday when the home health nurse came to give him his RSV shot. He was a trooper and only cried for about 5 seconds after his shot. He was a bit fussier than usual but was really pretty good throughout the day. He slept alot. So yes, he finally got his first RSV shot, and will get one a month until March or April. I'm so glad he finally got this.

He is taking about 80 ccs of milk and doing well with it. He is still on his medications and his oxygen. We take it off when he is awake and he does fine. He is still getting up twice a night which doesn't sound that bad, but he does a lot of grunting and moaning throughout the night which keeps us awake. I think it will soon be time for his own room! I mean he puts himself back to sleep after his grunts and moans, but it is hard for us to sleep through them.

He goes back to see Dr. Einhorn next Tuesday. His second round of immunizations is coming up in November sometime. He will love that.

In other news, we are getting ready to move soon. We are moving out to the country where my uncle Brian and aunt Carol used to live. We are very excited about this! We will have more room and be back out in the country where Danny and I both prefer. We hope to be moving within the next 3 weeks or so. I am also starting work again next week. I hope to be working 3 days a week until springtime, so as to keep Logan in as much as possible during the nasty winter months. I think that is all for now. Enjoy the new pics! And yes, I don't know how he sleeps with his arms up in his swing, but he does!

Eye appointment

Well we went to Springfield today and I don't think Danny or I missed it at all! The drive was long, but Logan was very good both ways. He slept the whole time! The receptionists let us right in so we didn't have to wait with the other kids which was very nice. Logan HATED his exam. He screamed bloody murder the whole time. Neither Danny or I had heard him cry like that. It was very sad and I almost left the room. But he made it through. They numb his eyes so he doesn't feel the retractor holding his eye apart, but they shine a bright light into his eyes, which is what really makes him mad. He quit crying immediately after they left him alone. He is such a good baby!

The doctor said he is still at a stage1/stage 2 retinopathy, but that it is not aggressive. He said that preemies continue to be at risk for problems until about 50 weeks gestation. Logan is a little over 40 right now. So we will be making a few more visits to see the eye doctor. We go back again in 3 weeks. I asked the doctor what Logan could see and he said maybe a few faces and some colors, but that they are blotchy. This will all continue to get better as he gets older.

In other news, Logan is continuing to do well. He eats every 4 hours or so and we get up with him twice at night. He is still sleeping in his car seat. We hope to work on that in the future! He takes about 65-70 ccs of milk. He has been spitting up a little recently, but nothing serious. We are taking his oxygen off more and more and he is doing well with it. I hope that he will get his first RSV shot this week. He is supposed to, but the insurance is holding it up a bit. I think we will get it worked out though.

Small updates

Well we went to the doctor again today. Logan is up to 7 lbs. 9 oz. He almost gained a pound since his last visit! Dr. Einhorn was very pleased with his weight gain. He is still on his little bit of oxygen and will continue to be for the next 3 weeks or so. We have been taking him off of it when he is awake and he does completely fine. Then we put it back on when he goes to sleep. He will also stay on his medications until he outgrows his dose. The doctor is not increasing his dosage even as he gains weight, so I assume he will outgrow his meds soon. I also asked the dr. about Logan's bowel habits, since he only tends to go every 5 days or so. The doctor wasn't worried about it and when he examined him, his belly was soft. He said we can give small enemas every 4-5 days if Logan seems uncomfortable. We were also approved by the insurance company for Logan's RSV shots. (They are like $2500 a shot, so this is a good deal.) I think the shots start next month and run through March.

Our nighttimes are still a bit hectic. He wakes up every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Sometimes he goes back to sleep and then sometimes he will continue to fuss. Last night he actually slept for a 4 hour period. The doctor said it would be fine to feed Logan every 4 hours at night if he will sleep that long. I think that is all for now. We go to the eye doctor on Monday, so I will post again then!

Getting used to our new lives

Well we are all getting used to our new routines! He is getting up every 3 1/2 to 4 hours at night and I think I am getting used to less sleep. Dad helps out on the nights that he doesn't work, which is very nice. I just can't figure out how I am going to manage work and less sleep yet! I'm sure I will get the hang of things. Logan is doing very well. He is taking around 60 ccs of milk and is not spitting up at all, which is good because many preemies have difficulty with acid reflux. He does seem to be a bit constipated, but grandma came to the rescue with an enema this morning and he had a fairly large bowel movement.

He has another appointment with Dr. Einhorn on Thursday and then an eye appointment next Monday back in Sprinfield. I can't wait to get his new weight. I hope he has put on a nice amount. Oh and by the way baby furniture and toys have taken over our trailer. I thought we had no space before he was home, but now we really do live in clutter!

Settling in

Not too much new, everyone is still tired! Logan still doesn't like his bassinet, but does sleep well in his car seat. If any of you more experienced moms have any ideas to help him sleep in his bassinet, please let me know!

He continues to enjoy his baths. We take him off of his oxygen during baths and he does completely fine. I would guess that he is well over 7 lbs. by now. I wish I had a baby scale so I could weigh him.

He is taking about 50-60 ccs of milk per feeding and doing very well with it. He even burps better than he used to.

I really want to thank everyone for all of their thoughts, prayers, comments, and gifts during our journey with Logan. It was so nice to know that we had so many people praying for us and thinking about us. I know that God answered many of our prayers and we are so thankful for that. We finally feel like a real family.

After Logan came home, I originally thought I would close my blog, but many people have said they would like to see updates and pictures of him as he grows up, so I will continue with it! I will probably not post everyday, maybe 1-2 times per week, but I will try and keep up with it. It is the least I can do for everyone, after all that everyone has done for us! Once again thank you everyone for sharing our journey, I'll post again soon. Enjoy the new pics! (Logan doesn't have a chance, he'll definitely be an Illini fan!)

Everyone's exhausted!!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Things have been pretty hectic. And we are all exhausted, well except for Logan! He is a very good baby, however he does not like to sleep in his bassinet. He either sleeps in his car seat, bouncer, or on us. We are not exactly sure why he doesn't like his bassinet. It may be because he doesn't like sleeping on his back.

We went to see Dr. Einhorn this past Friday and he was very pleased with Logan's progress. He weighed 6 lbs., 11 oz. So I wouldn't be surprised if he is up to 7 lbs. by now! He is still on his oxygen and doing well with that. He is eating about every 3 hours and is taking 50-55 ccs of milk. He is also still on his medications. We go back to see the doctor in 2 weeks.

Logan enjoys his baths and we give him one every other evening. It is a 2 person job for now, until we get the hang of it! I will post some new pictures soon. Our good computer is not working right now, so we are having to use our old one and it is very slow. So as soon as our other one is up and running I will post more pictures!

Finally home!!

Well we finally made it home today around 4:30. Words cannot express how happy we are to be home. He slept the whole way home and then cried once we got in the driveway because he was hungry. He was awake for about 2 1/2 hours once we got home, just looking around checking things out. I think he enjoys his new environment! Last night, he weighed 6 lbs., 6.7 oz. He will get weighed again Friday at his doctor's appointment with Dr. Einhorn.

He came home on his oxygen, but just a tad. It's fairly easy to manuever which is nice. Lauren picked up his meds from CVS tonight, so I think we are ready to rock and roll. So far everything is going very well. Who wants to make bets on how much sleep we get tonight?? Oh well, I don't care if we get any, I just thank God we are home.

A TENTATIVE DISCHARGE DATE!!!

Well the doctor said that as long as everything goes as planned we are going home on Wednesday!!!! I almost did a backflip when the nurse told me. I actually just hugged her instead!

He will be going home on oxygen and that equipment will be there tomorrow morning, so I have to be at the hospital early tomorrow to learn how to use all of it. He will also be going home on his diuretics, which I already knew. The doctor is not going to send him home with a monitor, but I bought something similar at Babies R Us today for when he is sleeping. This is for everyone's sanity.

I really want to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and kind comments on my blog. I don't think anyone will ever know how much they all truly mean to me. Right now, due to Logan's chronic lung condition, the doctor has suggested that he have no visitors. He is at very high risk of developing colds, the flu, and other respiratory problems. Come spring, he will be able to be around more people, but for fall and winter, he pretty much needs to be secluded as much as possible. Thank you. And I will post again tomorrow after I get updated on his equipment. Oh yea, and he passed his car seat test! He sat in it for 3 hours this afternoon. He looked kinda small in it!

The start of our last week (hopefully!)

Well Logan weighed 6 lbs., 5 oz. last night. He may actually hit 6 1/2 pounds before we leave here! He was bright-eyed last night for his 6:00 feeding and was wide awake until about 7:30. Then the nurse said he was up for about the same amount of time at his 9:00 feeding. Looks like we might have a night owl on our hands! Uh-oh, maybe we can change that.

He was off of his oxygen for about 1 1/2 hours last night when he was awake, but then needed it back once he was asleep.

I am heading in this morning to talk to the doctor. Maybe he will pinpoint a day we can go home (and maybe not). We'll just see.

Getting bigger!

Well last night Logan weighed 6 lbs., 3.3 oz. He is gaining nicely and the doctors took him down to a 22 calorie fortifier instead of a 24 calorie fortifier. At home, they want me to fortify his breastmilk to 22 calories, so they are getting him used to a different amount of fortifier. The doctors said that I should fortify my breastmilk until he is about 6 months old.

He is still on his oxygen and has been for most of the weekend. He has been taking his bottles well and is not having any problems with feeding. I think that is all for now. I am looking forward to getting back to Springfield so I can talk to his doctor about coming home!

6 lbs. and growing!!

Well Logan hit 6 lbs. tonight (6 lbs., 2.5 oz. actually)!! I can't believe he is getting so big. He had a very good eye report today. The eye doctor said he was back down to stage 1 retinopathy and wants to recheck his eyes in 3 weeks. So we will have to travel back to Springfield in 3 weeks to see him.

He was off of his oxygen for about 3 hours last night, but then wanted it back. He has been on it all day. The doctor didn't want the nurses to try him off today since he had his eye exam this morning and sometimes that bothers these little guys.

The doctor ordered a chest x-ray and blood gas for the morning just to see where Logan is at, since he hasn't had either one in awhile. The doctor also said next week was still good for coming home, oxygen or not! We are absolutely beside ourselves and are so excited!! (And doing some major cleaning this weekend!) It is going to be so different having him home and not having to visit him in the hospital. I think it will finally feel like we have a child.

Working on getting home

Well Danny and I successfully gave Logan his bath last night. He didn't really care for the bath, but loved having his hair washed. He just layed there and looked around. It was really funny. Then we pushed his hair over to the side. He looked very sophisticated! Last night he weighed 5 lbs., 14.7 oz. So he gained, which is great. He was 18.8 inches long, so he grew a little over half an inch this week. He is still taking his bottles, but has been a tad sleepy so far today. He finishes them, but falls asleep soon after. Oh well, he's a growing boy, what should I expect?!

Danny and I watched our 2 videos today (car seat safety and infant CPR), so our checklist is done. Now we are just waiting for the ok from the doctor to go home. We spoke with the doctor today and he is not giving up on the idea of getting Logan off of oxygen before he goes home. He wants to give it a few more days. He said he is still looking at next week sometime for a discharge date. They said the home oxygen and monitor doesn't take long to get if we do need to take it home. I made sure to ask because I don't want to sit in that blasted hospital just waiting on supplies!

Not much new

Logan is doing well and taking his bottles like a champ. He has taken 50 ccs the last 2 feedings because that is how much is in his bottle even though his orders still say 45 ccs. He actually woke up hungry at 3:00 p.m. He still doesn't burp very well, but I guess that is ok! He does get the hiccups often. Logan actually lost a bit of weight last night, 5 lbs., 12.5 oz. The nurse said this was fine since he had gained 3 ounces the night before. Usually babies will gain only an ounce or so per day.

I am giving him his bath tonight! I'm sure he and I will both love that! Grandpa and I brought in his car seat today. They will check it over and see if there are any recalls out on it and then let Logan set in it for awhile for a "trial run."

I spoke with his doctor just now and he said they will give Logan a few more days to get off of his oxygen. Then they will think seriously about sending him home on it if needed. He only has 1 prong in his nose right now and is doing fine. He is sooo close, I can feel it! But whatever God's plan for him is, I am fine with as well. I asked the doctor about going home next week and he said that sounded like a good idea to him!!! So everyone please pray that we will get to bring our little guy home next week!

Getting bigger and stronger

Well last night Logan weighed 5 lbs., 13.4 oz.! I haven't gotten his weight for tonight. He did very well eating today. He has a much better hang of it and slurps his bottle down in about 10 minutes. He is up to 45 ccs now.

He was off of his oxygen for a good part of the day, well his cannula was out of his nose for the most part. Then they had it taped back on this evening. I plan on talking to the doctor tomorrow about him coming home. He stays awake for longer periods of time as well. He was awake for about an hour after each feeding. He is getting quite a little personality! He is a very calm baby and really doesn't cry much. He was even tracking with his eyes today. Grandpa was moving around to see if Logan would follow him with his eyes and he did!

Enjoy the new pictures.

Gaining more

Logan is up to 5 lbs., 10.5 oz. He also enjoyed his bubble bath last night according to his nurse. She said she sat him in a little bit of water and he was wide awake, looking around. He has been taking his bottles consistently. Praise God for this. He is still on his little bubble of oxygen, maybe sometime this week he can get off of it.

He is still on his diuretic medication, but that is it. Tomorrow he will get his normal bloodwork done.

Behaving and gaining

Well Logan is up to 5 lbs., 9.3 oz. That is a 2 ounce gain from the previous night. I am so glad that he continues to gain weight. He is still doing very well with his feedings and taking them all by bottle!

They tried him on and off of oxygen yesterday, but he didn't really care for that. I think he was on oxygen for most of the day. Of course, it was just a bubble of oxygen, but that is all he needs. I am really praying that he will get off of it sometime this week. My mom told me though not to make or rely on a schedule when you have kids. She said they make the schedule, not us!

He will definitely have to stay in the hospital this coming week and then the next week is up in the air, depending on how he does. He has not had any episodes of bradycardia yet from being off of the caffeine, so this is great! Thank God for this.

Oh yea, he had his newborn hearing screening on Thursday and he passed! Although I think we already knew he could hear, it's good to know that he definitely can.

More weight, more changes

Well Logan now weighs 5 lbs., 5.9 oz. He's just packing on the weight! He is also 18 1/4 inches long. His head circumference is up 1 cm and his chest circumference is up 3 cm. So he is growing appropriately.

They pulled his feeding tube last night and he has taken all of his feedings since!! He doesn't always want to eat, but he does anyway, for now. Please pray that he will continue with his bottle feedings.

The doctor stopped Logan's caffeine today. He has to go at least a week off of caffeine with no bradycardia (dips in his heartrate) before he can leave the hospital. They have also been turning his oxygen off some today. He does fine with it for awhile and then when he is in a deep sleep, he needs a little bubble of oxygen back on. We are not exactly sure yet if he will need to come home on the oxygen. Please pray that he will let the oxygen go before he comes home.

Oh, and he did poop yesterday on his own (3 times), so if he was constipated I think that might be over! He has been pretty gassy lately, and Grandpa enjoyed that, just ask him!

Getting even bigger

Well Logan is up to 5 lbs., 3.5 oz. I am pretty surprised at how much he gains each day. He has taken all of his bottles over the past 48 hours, except for one at noon yesterday. I think they are going to pull his feeding tube later today. He is taking 40 ccs per feeding.

He is still on his nasal cannula and they said that they will try to pull it again in a couple of days. Hopefully he will be ready to give it up!!

He had another eye exam today and he did not like it one bit. The doctor said he is back between a stage 1 and stage 2 retinopathy. This is not much of a change and they will not do anything about this unless it becomes progressively worse. This retinopathy should disappear by itself. Please pray that it will. He will get another eye exam next Wednesday.

Getting bigger

Well Logan is up to 5 lbs., 1.8 oz. He gained half of an ounce last night. Danny fed him last night and both of them did wonderful! Logan sucked down his bottle in about 10 minutes and then he even burped for Dad!

We spoke with the doctor this morning and she said that Logan should have his feeding down pat by next week and then the oxygen thing is sort of up to him. The doctor was hoping he could get weaned off of it in the next couple weeks. Then we get to come home!!!! :) If he doesn't get weaned off of the oxygen in 2 weeks, then they said he can come home on it. Please pray that our little Logan will wean off of it within the next 2 weeks.

He is still on both of his diuretics. I'm not sure how long he will be on these. His hair is getting so long and it's very cute! Dad thinks his hat is silly and doesn't let him wear it very often. :)

5 lbs.!!

Well our little guy hit 5 lbs. last night (actually 5 lbs., 1.2 oz.). I did find out though that he has not had a bowel movement in 3 1/2 days. So this may be why he has gained so much weight the last couple of days. They gave him an enema this morning and he had a bowel movement around noon.

He has taken most of his bottle during the morning hours, although they have had to tube feed between 5-10 ccs during each feeding.

His bloodwork looked good this morning. Praise God for that. He is still on a little oxygen. The doctors are really working to get him off of it, but I know Logan will get off of it when he is ready.

Almost 5 lbs.!!

Well last night Logan weighed 4 lbs., 15.4 oz.!! That is a gain of 2.5 oz. I can't believe he is almost 5 lbs. He is basically double the weight he was when he was born, which is fantastic! The doctor has stopped his reflux meds., and he doesn't seem to mind that. He is still on 2 diuretics. They actually increased one today and decreased the other.

He is still on his little bit of oxygen and is taking his bottles pretty regularly now. The nurse today said that he acted hungry which is a good sign.

The nurse from last night said he enjoyed his bath. She also said that he had a little mohawk going after they washed his hair and all of the nurses thought this was very cute. His hair is awfully fluffy after his bath.

Slowly becoming a big boy

Well Logan now weighs 4 lbs., 12.9 oz. He had a nice gain last night of 1.4 ounces. He got so close to taking 24 hours of bottle feeding, but he pooped out this morning at 6 a.m. and they tube fed him. But I am very proud of him! That is the longest stretch of time where he took all bottles! I know he will soon have enough energy to bottle feed for all of his feedings.

He was on and off of his oxygen yesterday. He needed it while he was eating and while he was in a deep sleep, but then they would try periods with it off and he did fine with that too. He is on it this morning, but that is fine. He is on a very small amount and hopefully sometime this week, he will be able to wean off of it.

I think that is all for now. I am going to ask his doctor Monday when she thinks he might be able to come home. I am hoping for a couple more weeks.

Two months old!

Well Logan is 2 months old today! That is so hard to believe and he is growing like a weed! Last night he weighed 4 lbs., 11.3 oz. He has been consistently taking his bottle for the last 24 hours or so, but not all of it each time. He will normally take at least half of it each time and then they put the rest down his tube.

They took him off of his oxygen this morning for about 3 hours, but then after he ate at 9 a.m., he needed it back. So he has been on just a tad of oxygen for the remainder of the day. They will continue to try to wean him off of it.

They also did a head ultrasound overnight last night. They usually do one as babies get closer to going home. His turned out normal. Thank God for this!

P.S. Please pray once again for Logan's neighbor, Jayden. He had surgery yesterday for a shunt placement in his head and he is back on the ventilator for now. He did not have a good day today. I speak with his mom some and she is a very positive, optimistic woman, but today she looked very down and completely worn out. I can honestly say that I have never been through something that tears you down and wears you out physically, emotionally, and sometimes spiritually. I know this mother is going through alot right now and I have never heard her say anything negative. Please keep this family in your prayers.

Weaning down the oxygen

Well Logan has had a few changes over the last day or so and he is doing very well with them. He is on the lowest setting of oxygen that he can be .05 liters of flow and around 45% oxygen. They are planning on trying to wean him off of the oxygen completey tomorrow. Please pray that he will tolerate this. The nurse did say that some babies need to go back on the cannula for awhile before they can be weaned totally.

He is up to 38 ccs of milk and he took his whole bottle for me at noon. Then grandma got to hold him for awhile. He was up to 4 lbs., 10.3 oz. last night and was still around 17 inches long.

He got 3 immunizations (2 last night and one this morning). He was such a trooper (at least that is what the nurses said, I didn't want to be there for the shots!) One was a hepatitis B, polio, and something else combined into one shot, one was to protect against pneumonia, and the one this morning was to protect against other respiratory illnesses. He gets Tylenol every 4 hours to help with the pain. He really hasn't been very fussy though. He's such a good little baby!

He had his eye exam this morning and he did better with it than last week. The doctor said he still has stage 1 retinopathy. But last week he was between stage 1 and stage 2 so this seems to be clearing up! Thank God for this. I am very thankful that he is doing so well. God has answered many of my (and all of your) prayers.

Mixing things up

Well Logan got his new doctor today. I think she will be fine. I spoke with her this morning and she basically wants to get Logan off of his medication and oxygen. She took him off of one of his reflux medications. She left him on the Zantac for now. He is still on 2 diuretics and will wean off of these slowly.

They turned down his liters of flow again on his nasal cannula. He went from 1 to .5 liters of flow. The machine goes down to .1 liters of flow, so he can be weaned slowly. He is doing ok with this. He fluctuates a lot on his sats and is on about 35% oxygen. Please pray that he will tolerate these changes.

They also increased his feedings to 35 ccs every three hours. He was too tired to take his bottle at noon, so hopefully he will take it at 3. Last night he weighed 4 lbs., 8.6 oz, so just a small gain. Hopefully he will gain more tonight. I believe that is all for now.

Gaining more weight

Logan is up to 4 lbs., 8.3 oz. I am very thankful that he is consistently putting on weight. He actually fits into some of his preemie clothes! I will post some pictures later. They also turned down his liters of flow from 1.5 to 1. He is doing fairly well with this. He hangs out around 30-33% oxygen.

Last night Dad fed him and they both did very well! He took the whole bottle (with just a tad bit of help from Mom!). He took most of his feedings by bottle last night. When we were there to feed him last night, he was awake for about an hour. That is the longest I have seen him stay awake so far. He was very good the whole time and didn't cry hardly at all. He is such a wonderful baby! His other grandmother, Shawn, got to hold him last night as well. I think she was pretty excited!

Not much new

Well Logan is doing fine and there isn't anything really new to report. He is still taking every other feeding by bottle and he does very well with this schedule. He is hanging out on anywhere from 26-30% oxygen and still on 1.5 liters of flow.

He got a bath last night (he gets them twice a week) and he also got weighed. He is up to 4 lbs., 7.3 oz.! He is really starting to gain weight! He is still on the diuretic and reflux medications. I assume he will be on both of these for most of this week and then maybe he will get off of them.

He gets his regular bloodwork done tomorrow morning. Please pray that this turns out normal. Thanks.

Ok, ok

Sorry everyone! I know I haven't posted much lately, but I have been very busy. There also isn't too much to report. Logan is doing fine. He was placed on a gentler diuretic for the next 4-5 days to eliminate any excess fluid from his body. He was also put on a reflux medication. He is not throwing or spitting up, but the doctor thinks that maybe he is having some unseen reflux issues and that this may be causing him to breathe a little harder and faster. We will see if this helps. The doctor also ordered blood work for this morning and everything looked fine. His blood gas looked good and so did his electrolytes.

He is doing fairly well with his feedings. If he takes too many feedings in a row by bottle, he gets tired and usually doesn't take the whole thing. But if they do every other feeding by bottle, he will drink the entire thing. So it will just take time for him to build up enough stamina to bottle feed every time. He is holding steady on his oxygen at 1.5 liters of flow and anywhere from 25-30% oxygen. I hope they can get him off of oxygen by the time he goes home, but we will see when that time comes. I will just be patient and pray that God continues to watch over him and help him grow.

Tonight he weighed 4 lbs., 5.8 oz. Woohoo! Look at him go.

Another ok day

Well Logan hasn't had many changes since yesterday. He took all of his feedings last night by bottle and then most of his 9 a.m. feeding. They put the rest of it in his feeding tube and he pulled it out while it was still going in, so he got milk all over himself. Then he took all of his noon feeding by bottle and most of his 3 p.m. feeding. He de-sated alot during this last feeding so I didn't get to hold him very long. He was really tired and didn't entirely wake up for this feeding. They are going to re-insert his feeding tube for the next feeding in case he doesn't finish it all by bottle. The doctor came in and examined him while he was de-sating during his feeding. What a fine time to do that. I thought it was the wrong time to check him out but what do I know. Trying to keep everything under control while he is eating is a very tedious task and I feel like I just ran a 10 mile race. He is somewhat hard to burp as well so this doesn't help matters.

He had another eye exam this morning, which he hated tremendously. The doctor did see some stage 1 retinopathy, but nothing to be concerned about right now. The eye doctor will be back in a week to do another exam.

Last night Logan weighed 4 lbs., 2.5 oz. He was 17 inches long. So he is growing like a little weed. He is also doing a good job maintaining his body temperature on his own.

An ok day

Well Logan has had an ok day. He was weighed again last night and he weighed 4 lbs., 1.9 oz. He took all of his night feedings by bottle, was tube fed at 9 a.m., and then took all but 5 ccs for me at noon. So he is starting to get the hang of things, hopefully!

However this morning the doctor noticed that Logan was breathing faster than he was yesterday. They were a little concerned about this so they did a chest x-ray. It was a bit hazier than his last one 4 days ago, so Logan got a dose of Bumex (clears out extra fluid in his system). This is a one time dose and the doctor will look at him tomorrow to see if this has helped slow down his breathing any. They also lowered his feedings a bit to 32 ccs because sometimes too much milk can cause extra fluid to build up in their systems. The doctor also informed me that being on oxygen as long as he has can cause some fluid to build up. The nurse really wasn't concerned about him because his oxygen requirements have not gone up and he does not de-sat any more than normal. Please pray that this problem will be resolved quickly and that Logan will continue to progress.

He has another eye exam tomorrow morning and the audiologist came in today to discuss a newborn hearing screening. They normally do these around 34 weeks and Logan will be that old on Friday. The audiologist said she would likely come back next week to do this test with Logan.

A new bed

Well Logan has moved into a big boy bed (open crib)!! He was put into it this morning around 3:00 a.m. and seems to be doing well so far. They weighed him again last night and he is 4 lbs., .8 oz. So he didn't quite gain an ounce from the night before. But at least he is gaining!

The doctors and nurses still are not overly concerned about his staph. They actually found the staph in his throat not his nose. His nurse this morning also said that she thinks he would have already shown symptoms of an infection if he was going to. They think maybe he is just a carrier of it. I need to talk to the doctor to get more specifics.

His feedings have been going fairly well. He took all of his bottle last night at 6 and 9, and then part of it overnight. They let him rest at 6 a.m. and just tube fed him and then at 9 this morning he would not take his bottle. So he is all over the place right now, but he will get the hang of it!

His bloodwork was fine this morning. Thank God for this! His blood gas was ok. The nurse wasn't concerned about it either.

A new temporary home

Well we've hit another bump in the road. One of the babies in a different nursery had a staph infection, so as a precaution they tested all of the babies. Logan had a positive culture in his nose. So he got moved to Nursery A along with the other babies that tested positive in at least one of their cultures for staph. However, the nurse did not think that this was too big of a deal. Logan is just going to be on observation for now as he is not showing any symptoms of a staph infection. The nurse thought that he would already be showing signs if he was going to. It is hard to tell how long he may have had staph, considering that he has been in the hospital for 7 weeks. He and another girl were both moved out of their nursery. This may just go away on its own. However if he doesn't then he will have to remain in isolation for the remainder of his hospital stay. Danny and I have to put on gloves and gowns to do anything with Logan which stinks but I guess they are just taking precautions. Also Logan is not allowed to have visitors right now except for grandparents. I'll update later this evening. Oh and by the way, he hit 4 lbs. last night (actually 4 lbs., .1 oz.)!!

Good day

Logan had a good day today. Dad got to hold him this morning for almost an hour and a half. Logan did fine during this time and did not de-sat at all. His bed temp. is being turned down slowly, but he still has a few more degrees to go before he gets in the open crib. He has been off and on with his bottle feedings. He was mainly tube fed overnight last night, and then today he was tube fed at 12:00 p.m., took all of his bottle (34 ccs) at 3:00 p.m., and then took 14 ccs at 6:00 p.m. by bottle and the rest by tube. So he is doing fairly well with bottle feeding. It will just take some time. More importantly he has not had any more "episodes" where he forgets to breathe, at least not where the nurses have to shake him.

Last night, he weighed 3 lbs., 15.2 oz. Getting close to 4 lbs!! He will get a bath and weighed again tonight.

Back on the rollercoaster

Well Logan had a setback last night. He took all of his night feedings by mouth which was amazing to me. But then at 2:00 a.m. he had a spell where he forgot to breathe and his heart rate dipped. The nurse had to go shake him to remind him to breathe again. This is common in preemies, but Logan doesn't have tons of these spells. And then the nurse thought that it looked like his breathing was labored. So the doctor ordered a chest x-ray to look at his chest and abdomen. Everything looked fine, so they thought that Logan was just exhausted from all of his feedings and maybe that is why he had the spell. He is doing fairly well today and is sleeping a lot. The nurse has tube fed him all day to let him rest. His bed temp. is also back up some since they have to leave his clothes off to watch his breathing.

I know he will get the hang of everything, it might just take awhile. I think he was trying to do too many things at once. Oh the ups and downs of the NICU. Their motto is "one step forward, two steps back." As one NICU mom put it, "One step forward and two steps back still gets you out the door." Hopefully sooner than later.

A big first!!

Hello everyone. Well I have more big news. Logan drank his whole feeding from a bottle at 6:00 p.m.!! (The doctor increased him to 34 ccs today). I am so excited and proud of him. He did not take a bottle all day because the nurse wanted him to rest, but then the evening nurse said he was wide awake for his 6:00 feeding and he had pulled out his feeding tube, so she gave him a short lecture and told him he had to take all of his milk through the bottle and he could leave his feeding tube out for awhile. Well he must have listened to her! He won't do this every feeding, but it is so fantastic that he did this time!

They weighed him again tonight and he lost just a little. He is 3 lbs., 12.6 oz. The nurse also said he took a very large poop right before she weighed him, so that might have made a small difference.

He is also working on maintaining his body temp. His bed is turned down to 28.6 degrees celsius and it needs to be around 27 degrees. They are not rushing this though as he will burn even more calories trying to maintain his body temp. Trying too many things at once could cause him to lose more weight, so this is not quite as important right now as his feedings. Thank the Lord for these awesome developments and allowing Logan to do so well. He has been with us since the very beginning and we are so thankful that God has answered our prayers. Please continue to pray that Logan does well with his feedings.

More big news!

Well Logan's evening nurse said he took 20 of his 32 ccs of milk by bottle at his 6:00 p.m. feeding!! She originally told me that she wasn't going to bottle feed him, but she said he was so wide awake that she would give it a try. He did awesome once again!! She said his heart rate was fine and that he did not cough/choke on the milk. She also said that his oxygen use was stable during that time (around 32%). I am just on cloud 9. I am so proud of him for being such a big boy! I really pray that he continues to do well. Praise God that he is doing such miraculous things with Logan!

He also gained weight again tonight. He is up to 3 lbs., 12.8 oz. So he gained 1.1 ounces from last night. The nurse and I thought that he might lose tomorrow night though since he is working now to get some of his food. He is expending more energy than normal. But maybe he won't lose very much. Please pray that he doesn't. I really thank God for all of this new progress.

BIG NEWS!!

Well our little Logan is getting to be a big boy! As you can all see from the new pictures, he took his first bottle today! He only took 12 of his 32 ccs during his noon feeding, but he did awesome! He paused while eating to breathe and had no episodes of coughing or choking!! Both myself and the nurse got to feed him. It was so exciting and thrilling to watch. This absolutely wore him out though. He has slept much of the day after eating. I think the nurses are just going to try bottle feeding once a day and see how he does with this and then increase as his stamina increases. He was simply worn out after working for his food!

The doctor also wanted to get Logan in an open crib. They put a sleeper on him and turned down his bed temp about half of a degree. He has done well with this change thus far. I figure that he will be in an open bed by the end of the weekend! Yeah! I am going to take some preemie sleepers with me Friday as you can see the one he has on is huge!

They are also going to start weighing him every day. He is just doing so incredibly well. I am so thankful and feel very blessed that God is allowing him to do so well. Logan is definitely a fighter!

Another new weight

Well Logan gained again! He weighed 3 lbs., 11.7 oz tonight! He is still 16 1/2 inches long. I did not get to help with Logan's bath because the nurse said that he was a little fussy so she went ahead and got him out. I did get to hold him again with his 6:00 p.m. feeding. He did very well with this and did not need his oxygen turned up.

My sister is working with him and sucking on his pacifier. Every time I leave the room to go pump, Lauren always sticks the pacifier in his mouth! She also tries to get him to follow her finger with his eyes! She's such a goof! But Logan doesn't always like to follow directions. He's a bit stubborn. (Wonder where he gets that?!)

Hello everyone

Well Logan has had a fairly stable day. He has been up and down on his sats more than normal, but they turned his liters of flow down to 1 from 1 1/2. He is on about 42% oxygen right now. He was on about 30% this morning before I held him, but then when I was holding him, he needed to be turned up some. Hopefully he will get used to this lower flow and go down on his oxygen use in a few days.

The nurse said that I could give Logan his bath tonight. Oh this will be fun! I'm not really sure he likes his baths, but the nurse said she would help me. We will see how this goes! He also gets weighed and measured tonight. I will post again later.

New weight

Well Logan got his bath last night and his hair is so darn cute after his bath because it stands straight up! I guess he just wanted to look good for his visitors (Lauren and Morgan Kraman). They weighed him last night and he is up to 3 lbs., 9.4 oz. So he gained again! The nurse last night was all in a tizzy because Logan completely turned himself over in his bed! She was afraid to even get him out of his bed for his bath, so she just gave him a bath inside his isolette and then changed his bedsheets! I think he has turned himself over before, but I'm not totally sure about this.

He is still doing well with his feedings at 32 ccs. He gets his new doctor today, but I'm not sure who it is yet. I also found out that his weekly bloodwork came back fine. This is great news because it is so easy for these little guys to get infections. I'm also going to ask the doctor about twice a day k-care.

A tiny bump in the road

Well Logan has done well again today. However he had just a tiny bump this morning. The doctor for today tried to turn down the flow from 1 1/2 to 1 liter on his nasal cannula. I was holding him when they turned it down and he didn't like that much. He de-sated for most of the next 10 min. or so, so they turned him back up to 1 1/2 liters of flow and he was fine then! Such a little stinker! He just does things when he wants. I suppose he will stay on this for another 3-4 days and then they may try to turn it down again. Everyone cross your fingers!

They did weigh him last night and he gained an ounce! He is up to 3 lbs., 8.7 oz. The doctor also increased the fortification in his milk. So he will get 24 extra calories per ounce instead of 22 calories. Just a slight increase.

I spoke with the nurse this afternoon about doing k-care twice a day and she said that she didn't see why I couldn't do this since he is tolerating it well now. This is great news! Hopefully his new doctor will agree with this tomorrow.

Small changes

Well Logan has had another good day! I thank God for every stable day he has. His oxygen is down to about 28-29%. This is great. And he is up to 32 ccs every 3 hours. He did very well with me during k-care today. I held him for about an hour and fifteen minutes and he only needed his oxygen turned up once the entire time! He is really starting to do well with k-care.

He does not get weighed tonight but will tomorrow night. Thanks Amanda, I think you're right. I just need to be patient and let him decide and show that he is ready to eat and suck from a bottle. It will come in time. I know that God is trying to teach me how to be patient!

His neighbor, Rosalind, went home this morning. I was very happy but sad at the same time! I am really going to miss talking to her mom every day. It's funny how you bond with other moms in such a short time. We joked about Logan and Rosalind dating one of these days, and the mom left me a picture of Rosalind that said "see you in 25 years when my mom and dad let me date." I thought this was very cute. I want to thank God for allowing me to have met Rosalind and her mom. They have helped make our stay much more bearable.

Staying the same

Hello everyone. Sorry I didn't write yesterday. It was a very busy day. Danny and I spent most of the day at the hospital and then we went to the Brooks & Dunn/ ZZ Top concert at the state fair with my uncle Brian, aunt Carol, and Katie, Beau, and Brock.

Logan did very well for most of yesterday. He was on about 30% oxygen all day and handled k-care very well. He also latched on again yesterday. He also really went to town on his pacifier. I hope this means he will be ready to try a bottle soon! Although the speech therapist in me wants to wait to lessen the risk of aspiration on the milk (help me out here Amanda!).

He had a little spell when Brian and Carol were there and he de-sated kind of low, but he pulled out of it himself. So that is good. The OT came back to work with him and he was pretty squirmy and irritable. A new baby had just come into the pod and so there was alot of noise. This still really seemed to bother Logan. He calmed down though and finally went to sleep!

He lost a little weight last night, he is 3 lbs., 7.7 oz. This is somewhat frustrating because once he gets to 4 lbs. and can maintain his temp., he can move to an open crib. I am very ready for this, but I of all people should know that it is not up to me! God does things on his own time and he will get Logan out of his isolette when he is good and ready!

Dad with a first

Well Dad finally did it. He changed a dirty diaper! It wasn't very messy, but nonetheless, it was a poopy diaper! And he did great. He was really hands on with Logan tonight, which I found a bit surprising, but he did very well. He's gonna be a great dad.

We both got to do k-care with Logan tonight. Danny held him for over an hour and he did not need his oxygen turned up. Then I held him for about 15 min. and he did ok, but de-sated towards the end, so we put him back in his bed. Overall he did very well!

They weighed him again tonight and he weighs 3 lbs., 8 oz. So he gained .4 oz from last night. At least he's gaining! They were supposed to measure him as well, but I forgot to ask about those measurements.

The occupational therapist came to see him today and she said his muscles and muscle tone looked pretty good. She said he did have some tremulous movements and jerky movements, but that these were normal for his age. He now has a bendi in his bed to give him some boundaries. I think he will like this. I will post some pictures of this soon. The OT said Logan was "very social" during the assessment and that he was wide awake and active.

Good morning

Hello everyone. Logan had a good night and was on about 32% oxygen all night. He was on 32% when I called this morning as well. The nurse called him a "wiggleworm" last night and said he was constantly on the move! She said though that once he seemed to find a comfortable spot, he was "out" and would just sleep there for awhile. The nurse this morning also said that he enjoyed the end of the bed for some reason.

They weighed him last night and he weighed 3 lbs., 7.6 oz. So he is gaining again, slowly. They will weigh and measure him tonight. I think that is all the news for now!

About the same

Logan has had another good day. He has been on about 30-34% oxygen all day. This is great because he was hovering around 40%, so at least his oxygen consumption is down a little! He is still getting 30 ccs of milk every 3 hours and doing fine with it. Last night he weighed 3 lbs., 6.9 oz. He has almost gained a whole pound! Hopefully he will have gained more after he gets weighed tonight.

He had his second eye exam today and the doctor didn't see anything new. In this instance, it sounds like no news is good news. The eye doctor will look at Logan again in 2 weeks. The nurse said this is good because the doctor will come every week if he suspects any problems. Thank the Lord for this news! With all of the oxygen that he was on, we were somewhat concerned that he may have some vision problems. But it looks like he may have avoided the worst of these problems.

Moving right along

Well Logan has had another good day. He was on about 35% oxygen all night and was on about 40% this morning. He is still doing well with his feedings and tolerating them appropriately! Today when I did k-care (ok, if there are any men reading this you may not really care about this part) the nurse suggested that I try to let Logan latch onto me instead of the pacifier. After a few minutes of trying to get both of us comfortable, he latched on! He actually sucked for a few minutes 3-4 different times! His sats were really good during this time and he was wide awake. After about 30 min. he wasn't really interested anymore and was getting sleepy. He fell asleep and his sats went down and were not coming up very well on their own. So he went back into his bed. He is on about 35% oxygen again this afternoon.

Around 3:00 this afternoon he started getting fussy and squirming around alot. The nurse sort of cupped his head and feet and he calmed down. He also got his feeding around then. I wonder if maybe he was getting hungry and if that is why he was fussy.

He also got an occupational therapy consult today. An OT will come and work with him, mainly his legs, and do some stretches with him to make sure his leg muscles develop properly.

He will get weighed tonight. He actually lost a little weight last night (probably from rough-housing in that bed), but the nurse didn't tell me how much. Hopefully he will gain tonight!

Minor update

Well Logan seems to be tolerating his feedings at the faster pace. He has not had any residual over the last 3 feedings! Praise God for this! His next step will be to try to suck from a bottle. This will likely start in a week and a half to two weeks.

He was on 1 1/2 liters of flow earlier today (down from 2). He is still on this setting now. They have turned down his oxygen from 38% this afternoon to 32% about an hour ago! It would be fantastic if he could stay that low. He just goes up and down during the day, which I suppose is normal.

When I called to check on him, the nurse said he was asleep at the end of his bed! He just cracks me up. He is moving so much. He doesn't seem agitated when he moves around, he just wants to get comfortable!

Attempting a few more changes

Hello everyone. Logan is doing well and his weekly bloodwork came back fine. The doctor said he is starting to produce his own blood and that he should not need anymore transfusions (as long as he continues doing well).

The nurse today is very good and she is attempting to wean him down on his nasal cannula. He gets the oxygen in his nose at a 2 liter flow and she is trying to wean this down to about a 1 or 1 1/2 liter flow. She is also trying to get him to stay around 30% oxygen. Hopefully he does well with this and does not de-sat too much. Please pray that he tolerates these changes.

They are also changing the amount of time that his feeding goes in. He still gets 30 ccs but not over an hour. The nurse just puts the milk into a large syringe and lets it drip in with the aid of gravity. So he is not on a timed feeding. Please pray that he also does well with this.

The nurse last night weighed him and he weighs 3 lbs., 6.2 oz. Yeah! He is continuing to gain weight. He is still quite a mover in his bed and was laying sideways when we got there this morning. The doctor said he should be in the NICU Olympics!

Still hanging out

Well Logan has had another good day! He tolerated me holding him for a little over an hour today with only a few episodes of de-sating and no episodes of his heartrate dropping! Mom, Dad, and Lauren got to sit in the room with me. This was the first time they had seen him out of his isolette. He was wide awake for the first 15 min. or so and then he went to sleep. He did so well and I'm very proud of him.

His blood gas was fairly good this morning. His carbon dioxide level was 50, which is up 1 from 3 or 4 days ago. The doctors like it to stay under 55. He will get another one tomorrow as well as a complete blood workup. He has had some eye gunk lately and they tested it for an eye infection. It came back negative, but he may have a blocked tear duct.

The nurse weighed him last night and he weighed 3lbs. 5.3 oz. He will get weighed again tonight. The nurse said that when babies hit 3 1/2 lbs. they really start to put on weight. She also said that once they hit 4 lbs. or so, they can begin to maintain their own body temp. Then they can move into an open crib. Hopefully Logan will be able to do this in 10 days or so.

He was quite a mover today in his bed. The nurse said that first he got himself sideways in the bed, and then he completely turned around in the bed, with his head at the opposite end then it normally is! What a little mover. He is definitely getting more active.

Just hanging out

Well Logan has just been hanging out today. He was around 35% oxygen all day and then tonight when I held him, he needed around 55% oxygen. The nurse was talking really loud to another woman in the room. I think this made Logan a bit upset. Hopefully the nurse can turn that down some over the course of the night.

He weighed 3 lbs., 4.5 oz. last night. I think they will weigh him again tonight. The doctor also increased his feedings to 30 ccs every 3 hours.

I spoke with the doctor tonight and he asked if I had any questions. I asked him about a blood gas and he said, "Well do you want me to order one?" I told him yes if he didn't mind. So hopefully he will get one tomorrow morning.

5 weeks old today!

Logan is doing well today according to his nurse. He is still on his nasal cannula and on about 30-35% oxygen. This is great! He is doing so well breathing on his own! He is still tolerating his feedings of 27 ccs over an hour period as well.

They weighed and measured him last night. He weighed 3 lbs., 3.5 oz. and is 16 1/2 inches long. He's just growing like a weed!

Really that is all there is for now. He is doing so well and staying very stable. I thank God everyday for this. As I see the new babies come in and how sick they are, I realize how far Logan really has come in just 5 weeks. It is simply amazing and nothing short of a miracle.

A first for Dad

Well Dad got to hold Logan today! Unfortunately, it only lasted about 1/2 an hour because Logan was de-sating quite a bit. Come to find out as they were putting him back into his bed, he had pooped while laying with Dad! The nurse figured this was probably why he was de-sating so much with Dad. Then of course when they changed him and put him back into bed, he was fine and did not de-sat anymore. Dad also got out of changing the poopy diaper, the nurse was too easy on him!

In other news, Logan is doing well with his feedings and they are increasing him to 27 ccs every 3 hours. They are also going to try and stop the diuretic that he is getting. This flushes fluid out of his system. His carbon dioxide level was back up a bit to 49, but the doctor was ok with this and said that Logan looked good and did not appear to be working too hard to breathe. So he will stay on the nasal cannula (for now)!

Also, I know many people have been asking about little Jayden, Logan's neighbor. I found out he got moved to an isolation unit as he contracted a Staph infection. He also had to have surgery to remove fluid on his brain. He then developed a lung infection and is still on the ventilator. Please pray for this family. I cannot begin to imagine what they are going through. Also, just now, Logan is getting another neighbor from a Decatur hospital. He/she is very sick and is going to have to go on the oscillating ventilator. We got kicked out of the nursery, just as the new baby was arriving. Please pray for this little baby too. Thank you everyone. I feel very lucky today that our little guy is doing so well and that God answered all of our prayers.

More changes for Logan

Well Logan has had a pretty good day. I could not hold him this morning because his temperature wasn't high enough. I was able to hold him this afternoon though. He did fairly well with it, but did de-sat some during the hour that I held him. Jared got to see and touch him out of his isolette. He took a few pictures that I will post later.

They took Logan off of his C-pap today and put him on the nasal cannula. He is doing fairly well with this! However the doctor did say that I shouldn't be surprised if he goes back on the C-pap temporarily. He said oftentimes they will put babies on the C-pap for part of the day or night and then switch them over to the nasal cannula. The C-pap would give him a little break from breathing on his own with no extra pressure. So we will see what Logan's schedule looks like. They did a blood gas this afternoon and it looked great! His carbon dioxide levels were normal (43, down from 45 a few days ago).

They have also adjusted his feeding time. He still gets 25 ccs of milk but they drip it in faster, over a 1 hour period, instead of the 2 hour period. He did well with his first feeding and did not have any residual! Please pray that this continues.

I am absolutely amazed at what God has done for my son. Logan has had such a good day and really seems to be making progress. I am so proud of him. I just thank God so much because I know he is the one allowing Logan to progress like he is. Please continue to pray that he progresses with his breathing/lungs and that he tolerates his new feeding schedule.

Another good day

Well Logan was weighed again last night and he weighed 3lbs., 2.1 oz. He seems to consistently gain around 1 oz. per day. This is fantastic! He is tolerating his 25 cc feedings well. He has been on about 25% oxygen for the last 12 hours or so, and he is still on the C-pap machine. His nurse yesterday thought he still needed to be on it for a couple of days. I am completely fine with this. I also think he needs to be on it at least a couple more days. He did not get a blood gas this morning. I hope he at least gets another one before they put him on the nasal cannula, so that they have a baseline to compare it to.

He had his first eye exam this morning and the dr. said he looked normal. He said Logan did not show any signs of ROP (retinopathy of prematurity). Some preemies have eye issues as a result of the high oxygen levels that they are on when they are first born. Hopefully, Logan has and will avoid these issues. Praise God that he has avoided them thus far!

Good day

Hello everyone. Well I got to hold Logan today! I held him for about an hour. He did not know what to think of it at first but he settled down after about 15 min. He never fussed, he just needed more oxygen. When he was lying in his bed, he needed around 24% oxygen, then when I was holding him, he needed around 42%. The nurse said overall it went well and I should be able to hold him once a day for now.

They weighed him last night and he weighed 3 lbs., 1.3 oz. He is still tolerating his feedings and I got to change a poopy diaper this morning! He peed on himself while I was attempting to change it. Guess I'm not quite fast enough!

The doctor said they may try taking him off the C-pap today. I'm very nervous about this. They did not do a blood gas this morning and the doctor didn't think this was necessary for now. I will update later tonight.

So good to be back

Hello everyone. My brother and I finally made it back to Springfield and it was so good to see Logan again!! He didn't look too much bigger, but he sure was cute. He was awake when we got there and he was really looking around. I couldn't believe how much he moved his eyes around. His hair is also growing like crazy. There is nothing really new with him this evening. He is still doing well on his C-pap and was on 30% oxygen when we left.

I can't wait to hold him tomorrow! The nurse said that I was cleared to do k-care with him once a day. This is so wonderful. And Danny will finally get to hold him on Thursday! I think that is all for now. Please pray that he will continue to tolerate his C-pap and that he will have another good blood gas in the morning.

Hanging in there

Well Logan had a good night on his C-pap machine. He was on about 32% oxygen all night. I called the nurse this morning and he is still doing well. He is tolerating his feedings and his blood work was normal today. (All babies in the NICU get complete blood workups every Mon. morning). His blood gas also looked good!! His carbon dioxide level was down to 45! Since he has been on the C-pap for 24 hours, this is great news. Maybe he will be able to stay on the C-pap now, we'll just keep praying that he can. That is about it for now.

I am heading back up this afternoon with my brother. I can't wait to see Logan! I am working on getting orders from the Dr. so that I can hold him tomorrow and maybe the rest of the week as well!

A new change

Hello everyone. Sorry I didn't post yesterday, there wasn't a whole lot that had changed. He is up to 25 ccs of breastmilk with fortified nutrients. He seems to be doing well with this. The nurse weighed him last night and he weighed 3 lbs., .8 oz.!! So he is continuing to grow!

He was stable yesterday but his carbon dioxide level was back up to 58. They say this is fairly normal for as sick as he was to begin with. This morning, around 9:00 or so, they turned his machine down to the C-Pap. This is the same machine as the si-pap, but with no added breaths per minute. So Logan is doing all of his breathing on his own with only pressure added from the machine. Please pray that he does well with this new change. I really hope that he does well with this. It seems like a big jump, but maybe it will be fine. We'll just have to wait and see. He may need to go back on the si-pap, only time will tell. I know that God will take care of him and allow him to come off of his machines on HIS time.

4 weeks old today!!

Hello all. Logan is just putting on the weight, huh? I'm still thrilled to see how much he is growing. The nurse also measured him last night and he is 15.25 inches, which I think is a 3/4 of an inch growth from last Thursday's measurement.

I called the nurse this morning and he is doing fine. He is tolerating his feedings and behaving! His carbon dioxide level was also down. It is down from 52 to 47 this morning, which is great! I just hope it stays this low in the coming days. He also switches Dr.'s this weekend. I was afraid he would get this doctor that my mom and I don't care for, but thank God he did not. He actually got Dr. Kahraman, who helped take care of Logan the day he was born, so he is familiar with Logan. I am very happy about this. So this new doctor will be Logan's doctor for the next 2 weeks. I think that is it for now.

He's gonna be a big boy!!

The nurse has already weighed Logan for the evening and he weighs.........2 lbs., 15 oz.!!! The nurse said his little cheeks and belly are filling out. This is so great! We're so proud of him. He also got his bath and his bed sheets changed. He was wide-eyed and wiggling after his bath. But the nurse said he's on his tummy now and sleeping. His carbon dioxide levels were still around 52 this morning, so still no changes on his si-pap machine. He is tolerating his feedings of 23 ccs well and pooping on his own with no enemas. I feel like he's doing so much and I wish I could be there to see them all. I'm hoping to get back up there around Sunday or Monday.

My sister and I ran to Baby Depot this afternoon and bought a bassinet, crib, and mattress. That was fun. We are only going to put up the bassinet for awhile though.

A couple small changes

Well Logan has been stable again today. They took the pic line out of his foot, so all of his nutrition is through breastmilk now. He still has an IV port in his hand in case he needs more blood. But that is the only line that is "stuck" in him. The nurse told me that he will get all medications orally, and my response was, "but he can't swallow yet!" She informed me they just put the meds. in through his feeding tube. Whew! In the next few days or so, they will begin fortifying the breastmilk to help him bulk up even more! He is getting 23 ccs of milk now (up 1 cc from yesterday) and this is considered full feeds for him. His sodium levels have normalized. (He has been getting a little extra sodium the last couple of days). He is still on the same si-pap settings. Please pray that his carbon dioxide and ph levels will continue to go down to a more normal level. Thank you everyone.

Hello everyone. Well Logan's new weight is 2 lbs., 11.7 oz. So he gained 1.1 ounces! Keep it up, buddy!! Nothing is too new this morning. He is still tolerating his feedings which is great. His carbon dioxide level was down just a little from 55 to 52. At least it's heading downward. No new orders had been written yet, so the nurse didn't have alot to report. She asked me how I was feeling, and I told her a little better. She said she would take some pictures of Logan for me, that she and Logan would have a "photo shoot" today. Isn't that cute! I'm not sure how she will get the pictures to me. I don't know if she can e-mail them or not. Hopefully she can!

A not sure what to think day

Well Logan has been fairly stable so far today. I called his nurse this morning and she said that his feedings were going fine, but that his carbon dioxide level was back up to 55. I was somewhat frustrated after hearing this, so I asked her to have the doctor call me when he had a minute.

He called a few hours later and gave me a head-to-toe report. He said that Logan had very good color and was "crawling around like a Marine" in his bed. He was pleased with how Logan looked and acted. He said that for as sick as Logan had been, he was surprised that his carbon dioxide levels weren't higher. So he is pleased with them for now. He also said that his blood transfusion being done after his diuretic med. yesterday may have upped his carbon dioxide levels for today. He said that he feels like Logan is progressing nicely and that growing healthy lung tissue will simply take time and patience. Oh, something I don't seem to have much of. He said it will take around 4-6 more weeks before Logan is well enough to even think about coming home, which is what we expected. He also said that Logan is doing well with his feedings and that he is on "full feeds" now, which means he is getting total nutrition from breastmilk. The doctor said that in a few days, they will start adding supplements to his milk, like vitamins and iron, to help him get everything he needs. He also said they will likely take out the line supplying fluids soon as Logan really doesn't need this anymore.

The doctor said that the only thing that worried him was that I sounded like I had a cold and that if Logan would get this virus in his lungs, it would be a major setback. So basically he was telling me to stay away until I am 110%, and even then he told me to wear a mask for 2-3 days. So Danny and I are home for awhile, unfortunately. I am so ready to hold him. It almost makes me crazy, but I know I need to stay away from him for his sake.

He will get weighed again tonight. Hopefully he has continued to gain. Please pray for his little lungs and that they will continue to heal and develop. This seems to be his biggest issue. Thank you.

Nothing really new

Logan has had a stable day. The doctor did increase his feedings to 22 ccs every 3 hours. So far he is tolerating this well. Let's hope this continues!! His blood transfusion went well. He does not get weighed tonight, but the nurse did change his bed linens and she said he tolerated this well.

I miss him so much, but I know I can't be around him when I'm sick. And I'm scared for Danny to be around him for fear that Danny might end up sick from being around me. I'm not sure when we will get back to Springfield, hopefully soon.

Thank you everyone for your comments and prayers. I'm am reassured daily that God is with Logan and helping him (and us) through all of this. Please continue to pray that he will tolerate his feedings and that his carbon dioxide levels will remain low. Good night.

Another stable day

Well Logan is having a pretty good day. He is tolerating his feedings of 20 ccs, so far no increase in his feedings. He had a good bowel movement around 11:00 p.m. last night. His urine output has been good both yesterday and today. His blood gas this morning was good. His carbon dioxide level was 46, down from 53 yesterday. This is good news. Now he just needs to consistently keep them in the low to mid forties. Please pray that this will happen. I know God will take care of him.

His hemacrit was a little low today, so he is getting a blood transfusion this afternoon. This is the 3rd one he has had total, but the first since his first week of birth. I believe this is fairly common. No changes on his si-pap machine that I know of.

That is all for now. I am feeling a little better, my throat doesn't hurt as bad, but my nose is still runny. Hopefully I'll feel better by tomorrow evening.

A few small changes

Hello again. There are only a few small changes to post. His new weight tonight is 2 lbs., 10.6 oz.!! That is almost a 1 1/2 oz. gain from last night. Keeping gaining buddy! He is up to 20 ccs of milk and the doctor stopped his lipids this evening. The only other nutrition (besides breast milk) is 1 ml of fluid every hour. This is just to keep the line open in case they would need to get something through his system quickly. Hopefully this line will come out soon!

According to his night nurse he is doing well with his increased feedings. Please pray it stays that way. He will get another blood gas in the morning. Please pray for low carbon dioxide levels. Thanks everyone. Have a good night.

P.S. Danny and I drove home this evening because I felt worse after my nap. I have a sore throat, runny nose, stuffed up ears, headache, etc. I did not want to contaminate Logan or anyone else in the room so we came home tonight instead of tomorrow. Hopefully we will both be well on Tuesday evening so we can head back up. I'm ready to hold him again! Of course, so is Danny!

Back from St. Charles

Well we got back to Springfield around noon today. It was good to be back. We had a good time at the wedding. Ashley looked absolutely beautiful of course and the reception was really nice. The weather was nice as well.

I am on the verge of a cold, with a slightly runny nose and sore throat, so I really haven't gotten close to Logan today. Danny, Lauren, Mom, and Dad all sat with him for awhile this morning and then everyone but Danny left for home. I'm really hoping I feel better tomorrow so I can ask to do more k-care with Logan. Well, maybe if I can't, Danny can.

Logan has not had too many changes over the weekend. His blood gases have been fluctuating some, either in the mid-forties or low-fifties. The doctor said that he wants them consistently in the low forties before he starts weaning him off the si-pap machine. Please pray that he will have more consistent blood gases that are in the low forties.

He pulled his feeding tube out twice yesterday. He really likes to hold onto it for some reason. They have increased his feedings to 19ccs every 3 hours over a 2 hour period. So far he appears to be tolerating this well. Please pray that he continues to do so. They have stopped his TPN feedings, but he is still getting a fluid mixture and lipids (fats) through an IV. When he stops these two, they can remove the IV.

They weighed him last night and he weighed 2 lbs., 9.2 oz. This is a 1 1/2 ounce increase over just a 12 hour period! His weight can fluctuate though depending on many things, but hopefully he will just continue to put on weight!!

A good day

Well Logan has had another good day. Praise God for that. The doctors have not been in his nursery to write any new orders yet today (slow, huh?), so he is still on the same si-pap settings. He had another good blood gas this morning and has been on 25-30% oxygen all day. The nurse just said that he is in his bed "doing his exercises" and holding onto his feeding tube and she is afraid he might pull it out. She said she might get him another tube to hold on to.

He is tolerating his feedings well today and has not had hardly any residual left! They also did a head echo last night and it came back normal! No evidence of bleeding in the brain. I did not know the doctor had this test scheduled, but this is wonderful news that it was normal!!

Danny and I are off to St. Charles soon for Ashley's wedding. I will probably not be posting again until Sunday afternoon, as I will likely not have access to a computer until then. So please do not get nervous if I don't write anything for a few days! Thank you for all of your prayers and please continue to pray that he tolerates his feedings and that he continues to have good blood gases. Also, please continue to pray for his neighbor, Jayden. Thanks.

3 weeks old today!

Well our little Logan is 3 weeks old today. That is so hard to believe. He is doing well this morning. Nothing too new yet, the doctors had not made their rounds when I called about 8:30. He did have a bowel movement on his own this morning, so that is good. He has been doing fairly well with his 15 ccs, he had about 2 ccs left over during his night feedings and his nurse this morning said he had about a half of a cc left over from his 5 a.m. feeding.

The night nurse weighed and measured him and gave him a bath last night. She said he tolerated this very well. Good job Logan!! He weighed, drum roll please, 2 lbs., 6.8 oz. So he gained about 1 1/2 ounces from his last weigh, and he is 14.4 inches long. He has grown almost half of an inch. Keep it up buddy, you need to put some fat on those bones! After all of these events, the nurse said she cleaned out his mouth and gave him a mini pacifier. She said he sucked on it a little bit. Oh, I wish I could have seen it. It was surely the most adorable thing ever!! She said he will have it in his bed from now on, so maybe we can try it on Sunday.

I will post more after I talk to the nurse again. Please pray that he continues to tolerate his feedings.

Just a few new changes

Hello everyone. There isn't too much to post today. Logan is doing well and on the same settings on his si-pap machine. He had another good blood gas this morning. Right now the nurse said he is hovering around 25% oxygen, which is good. She said he has been pretty active in his bed, not really crying, just moving alot. He must miss his mom and dad, maybe even grandma!

They gave him a microenema this morning and he had a good bowel movement around noon. They have increased his feedings to 15 ccs every 3 hours over the 2 hour period. He gets his first increased feeding at 5 this evening. Please pray that he handles this well.

They have also stopped the antibiotics as no infection was growing in his blood culture. This is so great! They will weigh and measure him tonight, so I will update once I find out this information.

God must have decided to let him have a non-exciting day, since I can't be there. This is more than ok with me. Danny and I sure do miss him already. Sunday seems so far away, we don't know if we can wait that long to see him again.

BIG NEWS!!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I got to hold Logan this evening! The doctor had written a one-time order (for now) for me to do kangaroo care with him, which means he lays on my chest skin-to-skin. This obviously promotes bonding and also growth and development for him. It was so awesome, I really can't describe how incredibly amazing it was to finally hold my little boy. Hopefully there will be much more of that in the near future! Dad got to watch, but he will get his turn very soon. I held him for about an hour and fifteen minutes and he did very well. He did not de-sat once. He whimpered for about 5 sec., but that was it. The rest of the time he just slept. Dad even bothered him and he was fine with it!

Also in big news, Dad changed his first diaper tonight. It was only a wet diaper, no poopy diapers yet. He did a great job!

We left Springfield around 7:00 p.m. I am going to try and stay home until after Ashley's wedding this weekend. We'll see how that goes. At least I left on a very positive note!

I definitely give thanks to God for such a wonderful day. I hope there are many more to come. I will post a few pictures tomorrow. I left the camera in the car.

A better and brighter day

Hello everyone. Logan is having a much better day today. He is doing well with his feedings and they are increasing him from 9 to 12 ccs of milk every 3 hours over a 2 hour period. The doctor wants to get him on all milk feedings and off of the TPN feedings. So hopefully he will handle this increase well. He also pooped on his nurse this morning! Oh well, I'm sure that's not the first time it happened to her.

His blood gas was very good this morning! His carbon dioxide level went down from 55 to 43, which is great! The doctor was very pleased, but said he wanted another blood gas in the morning before he turns down the machine. That is fine with me for now.

The doctor also said that Logan is not showing any signs of infection from his blood culture. This is such great news! They are going to continue the antibiotics until tomorrow and then stop those.

So Logan is having a good day. This is such a relief and blessing. Please pray that he continues to tolerate increased feedings and that his blood gases continue to look good.

I would also ask everyone to say a special prayer for Logan's neighbor. This little boy was born at 23 weeks and weighed only 1 lb., 4 oz. He is 1 1/2 months old and was on the same si-pap machine as Logan, just at lower settings. This morning, he had to go back on the ventilator. Please pray for him and his family and that he will be able to get back off of this sometime soon. Thanks.

A stable day

Well Logan has had a little better day than yesterday. As I mentioned earlier his carbon dioxide level had gone down to 55 (which is at the high end of normal), but the doctor wanted it lower still, so he increased Logan's breaths per minute to 20 from 15 to try and help with this. He will have another blood gas in the morning to determine his carbon dioxide levels. Please pray that these levels will drop into the normal range.

The doctor increased his feedings to 9ccs every 3 hours and they are still dripping it in over a 2 hour period. Logan really seems to do well with his milk this way. He has digested most of it over a 24 hour period, he just had 1-2 ccs of his 11:00 feeding left over this morning and that's basically it. This is great because the doctor said his feedings are crucial to him developing healthy lung tissue. Please pray that these continue to go well.

Logan has not really been agitated today, not near as much as yesterday. Thank God for this. I wonder if maybe he just didn't feel well yesterday. He cried only once for me today, when I changed his diaper around 5 p.m. Oh and Dad took Logan's temperature for the first time today! I think Danny is getting more comfortable with touching and messing with Logan.

Another day

Well Logan had a pretty good night. When Danny and I went to visit him last night, he was settled down and sleeping fairly well. He started his two new antibiotics for possible pneumonia, an asthma medication, and a diuretic to help get any fluid out of his lungs. On his blood gas this morning, his carbon dioxide level was down from 58 to 55, so a little better. They turned down one of the pressures on his machine after that.

He is tolerating his feedings at 7ccs spread over a 2 hour period, which is fantastic! The nurse gave him another enema around 5 a.m. and he had a large bowel movement around 8 a.m., so maybe that will make him feel better.

I think that is all for now. Thank you for all of the positive comments and prayers. I know they are working.

A not so good day

Well I spoke with the doctor this morning and things are not as well as I'd hoped. One of his blood cell counts was high (likely the white blood cell count) which can be indicative of an infection, so they did a CRP and a blood culture to look into that further. They also did a chest x-ray to look at his lungs and they were still hazy. The doctor said that he had some dark lines on his x-ray which may indicate pneumonia, a partially collapsed lung, or neither. He doesn't know yet. They are starting him on two antibiotics to stop the pneumonia if that's what's going on. He also tested positive for some ureathrocyte (??), which the doctor said is very common and causes chronic lung disease. He cannot take any medication for this because the med. causes decreased bone and dental growth. The doctor did say that this ureathrocyte will go away on its own in "normal time", whatever the heck that means. The doctor is also trying his feedings at 7 ccs every 3 hours, but letting the milk run in over a 2 hour period to aid in digestion. He said that feeding is the key to Logan's health because the more he eats and grows, the more healthy lung tissue he will develop and that's what he needs.

It has been a very frustrating day. The ups and downs are intense and unpredictable. I have never felt more helpless in my life. Please pray that he will get through this round of infection if that's what is taking place, that he will tolerate his feedings, and that his little lungs will get stronger and clearer each day. Thanks everyone.

A few setbacks-here comes the rollercoaster

Well it appeared that Logan had tolerated his new lower settings on his sy-pap machine yesterday, but no blood gas was done until this morning. Unfortunately, his carbon dioxide levels were back up from 51 to 59. His new doctor, Dr. Sherman, is going to turn up his machine a little, likely from 10 breaths per minute to 15 and "a few other things." I will find out what these are when I get to the hospital in a few minutes. Logan has not tolerated his feedings as well as previous days. He gets 5 ccs per feeding, and usually has 1-2 ccs left over in his belly before the next feeding. They are still feeding him right now, please pray that his little belly will learn to handle this much and that he can continue with his feedings.

My mom and I got to watch his get his first bath last night. Well actually it was a sponge bath, but I don't think he cared for it too much. He was pretty wide-eyed through the whole thing! Sorry we don't have any pictures, we didn't know they were going to do it. They also weighed him last night and he still weighs 2 lbs., 5 ozs., which is pretty close to what he was last time they weighed him, just a tiny bit less. I also got to kiss him on the head since they had him out of his bed. That was nice.

Well that is all for now, please pray that Logan will get used to his sy-pap machine and will keep his carbon dioxide levels down. He will have to do this on his own to continue to lower settings. Also please pray that he will tolerate his feedings. Thank you all so much for your comments and encouragement!

Keep crossing your fingers, actually praying

Well Logan had a good night on his new machine and his blood gas this morning showed that his carbon dioxide level was down from 57 to 51, so that is great news! When we got to the hospital this morning, the Dr. for today wanted to turn him down from 20 breaths per minute to 10. Mom and I were a bit nervous about this and after some deliberation, I talked to the resident about this and she went and got the doctor again. I asked if maybe he could be turned down to 15 for awhile and see how this went. The Dr. assured me that 20 to 10 was really a minimal jump and that he would assess Logan at any time to make sure he was doing ok with this new jump. So he went down to 10 around noon. So far so good. Please pray that he will do well with this lower setting.

I also heard him cry for the first time today. It was very sad. It was just a quiet cry, but he was upset, and of course the nurse was bothering him, which he doesn't like. Then she flipped him to his belly and he went back to sleep.

They also increased his feedings to 5ccs every 3 hours. This is equal to a teaspoon. When the nurse was giving him his 11:00 feeding this morning, she pulled some back out of his feeding tube again. I asked the doctor about this and he said it was normal to have some left in their bellies every once in awhile because sometimes the babies just are not hungry or they have some residual milk or spitup left. He said he was not worried about Logan's feedings at this time, but would monitor it. Please pray that he tolerates these as well. He needs to gain some weight!!

Cross your fingers

First I just want to say, yes, I started this blog so that everyone who wanted to could keep up on Logan's progress and development, but I really get a lot out of it as well. It is very therapeutic for me to write what I am feeling, and even more therapeutic when my friends and family write me uplifting and inspirational comments. I must say that earlier this afternoon, I was a bit frustrated and scared that Logan was having a setback, but he is acting like a trooper as usual and behaving for now on his new machine.

His carbon dioxide levels dropped from 63 to 57 from his 4:00 to 6:00 blood gas. He is getting about 20 breaths per minute on this new machine at about 33% oxygen. He seemed to be getting used to it when we left around 7:00. Of course, he was lying on his belly then, his favorite position. His caffeine dose was also upped from 6 to 10 to help increase his respiratory drive (don't know the measurement). When he got his 5:00 feeding, about 3 ccs of his last feeding did not get digested and came back up in the syringe when the nurse pulled it up. He was given another 4ccs, because the nurse practioner said that this was normal when they get put on the sy-pap and that his stomach may have had too much air in it. However, his 8:00 feeding went fine and no milk came back up in the syringe. He had another poopy diaper for Mom around 5:00. Thanks buddy! I just called the nurse for his 10:00 blood gas, it was the same as the 6:00 so no changes for tonight. His carbon dioxide levels are still a bit high, but he is doing pretty good. Hang in there Logan. You're doing awesome!! Well that is all for tonight, thanks for reading and giving me a boost of much needed encouragement.

Even more small changes

Hello all. Sorry it once again took me so long to post. I have had a very busy day and have not been able to get to a computer until now. Logan has had a very eventful day. The weekend Dr. increased his feedings to 4 ccs every 3 hours and he is tolerating that fine for now. Please pray that he will continue to tolerate his feedings. I got to change my first poopy diaper this morning, sorry no pictures! His ventilator was turned down from 20 breaths to 15 breaths per minute and he tolerated that fine.

Danny's mother and sister came up this afternoon and when we all got back to the hospital around 2:30 p.m., Logan was off of his ventilator and on the cy-pap machine. He did not seem to enjoy this machine as it is a mask that fits over his nose and then wraps around his head to stay attached. He was very squirmy and seems a little agitated with it. He was scheduled for a blood gas at 4 to see how he is doing. I am getting ready to go back in his room now to check for the results. Please pray extra hard that he will tolerate his new machine and will not have to go back on the ventilator. This has been an extremely taxing day and I am really trying to turn all of my worries over to God. Sometimes this is just difficult to do. Logan is definitely a fighter and I'm certain that God will give him the strength to get through this.

More small changes

Sorry I haven't posted yet today, we haven't been back to the apartment yet. He is up to 3 ccs of milk every 3 hours. To put this in perspective, 5ccs is a teaspoon! So he's not getting a lot of milk, but he's doing well so far!! They did a blood gas this morning and his carbon dioxide levels were still a little high, but they lowered his vent settings from 22 breaths per minute to 20 breaths per minute. The doctor said this will be his lowest vent setting before they go to the sy-pap machine. They are going to try to extubate his over the weekend and switch to this new machine. Please pray that he does well with this transition. He also had a bowel movement on his own last night!!

No new changes

Logan has been fairly stable all day. He gets upset when he has to lay on his back and when he gets his diaper changed. I took his temp. tonight and changed his diaper. He was actually attempting to cry, it was so heartbreaking, but good to see him moving and attempting those things. Then the nurse rolled him over on his belly and he was much better. He attempts to open both eyes, and gets one of them open fairly wide but the other one only a little. He is still doing well with his 2 ccs of milk every 3 hours, which is fantastic. The doctor said tonight that they have to take his feedings slowly so he doesn't get a stomach infection and so his intestines are trained properly. The doctor also said that he will get another blood gas in the morning and they will determine what to do from there, hopefully wean him down more on the ventilator. Please pray that he will have a good blood gas in the morning and will tolerate a lower setting on the ventilator.

A small change

Hello all. There really isn't much to report right now. Logan had his vent settings lowered to 22 from 25 this morning after his blood gas. He is still taking 2ccs of milk every 3 hours and doing well with it. He was pretty squirmy this morning which was making his oxygen sats go haywire, but I think he was calming down as we were leaving. I haven't spoken with the doctor today to see what his plan is, but I plan on finding him this afternoon. I think that is all for now!

A bump in the road

Hello all. First of all, I just want to say thank you to everyone who reads my blog and leaves me so many uplifting, kind, and spiritual comments. Your comments leave me feeling refreshed and hopeful for a new day and help me carry on. It also makes me realize how many people really do care for Danny, Logan, and me. Thank you all very much.

Well, Logan had a bit of a setback today. He had to go on the ventilator around 1:30 p.m. His blood gases were getting worse and his carbon dioxide levels were rising. I spoke with his doctor and he said that when they re-intubated him, they suctioned him, and they got a very large ball of mucous out of his windpipe. The doctor thought this may have been blocking his airflow and making it difficult for him to breathe on his own. So maybe this was part of the problem. His blood gas at 4 was back to normal so all vent settings will stay the same tonight and he will get another blood gas in the morning. Then they will lower his vent settings from there and then try to take him off the vent again either tomorrow afternoon/evening or Friday, depending on Logan and the doctors. Please pray that things will work out this time and he will get off the vent soon.

On a more positive note, they have increased his feedings to 2ccs every 3 hours and he is doing very well with these. He received his last ordered enema today and had a good bowel movement this afternoon.

He also opened one eye a little this evening after the nurse had bothered him. He must have been looking at his cousin, Elissa, who had come to visit him. They are both still a little swollen but hopefully they will both open soon!

Let's all be cautiously optimistic

I am getting ready to go back to Springfield with my grandparents. I came home with Danny last night. I spoke with the nurse this morning and his morning blood gas looked good, so they have attempted to take him off of the ventilator. He is off of it for now and is on a sy-pap (spelling?) machine. This is a cross between a ventilator and a C-pap machine. This machine still gives him so many breaths per minute and some pressure, but it is not a tube down his throat. It is a mask that goes over his nose and mouth, so hopefully he will like this better and tolerate it. He is currently on 40-50% oxygen, 15 breaths per minute, and 10 pressure (not sure what that measurement is). They are getting another blood gas around 2 p.m. He is also tolerating his feedings. Thank the Lord for this because feeding is sometimes difficult for these little guys. He had another small bowel movement overnight and he is getting his last enema today. They weighed him last night and he weighed 2 pds., 7 oz., which is basically what he weighed when he was born. He has lost 4 ounces from last time, but he lost mainly fluid from the edema. So this is a good thing. Well please pray that he will tolerate his new breathing machine and he can keep that tube out of his throat. Thanks for all your prayers, they are definitely working!!