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!