Gabe Update #4

My sweet boy did not feed well throughout the night last night so he got the dreaded NG tube this morning. He doesn't seem to mind it. Right now they are alternating gavage feedings with bottle feedings. He gets 40 ml gavage and 30 ml bottle feeds. Luckily my milk has come in so we are not having to use formula anymore and he seems to be tolerating that better. HE is super gassy but I'm wondering if my diet is contributing to that. I am going to cut a few things out and see if that helps. He has also been hypertensive today. They rechecked his blood pressure a million times and checked it in all 4 limbs but it continued to be high. They are going to just watch it for a day or two. Hopefully it will correct itself. If not he will need a work-up for renal artery issues. I'm not too concerned because even if it is a renal problem the doctor said it is easily treated with meds and that the babies outgrow it. His bilirubin went up a bit more but he still did not need the lights. I suspect now that he is getting more to eat that his levels will start to come down. He is already spoiled. Kenneth and I spent the morning with him and then we left to go eat lunch. When we got back the nurses had him at the desk holding him. They said he had been crying and so they just kept him with them. He is just so cute, how could they not spoil him? We have had all great nurses but our day nurse yesterday and today has been awesome. She is off tomorrow and I hate that but they have all been good to Gabe and to us so no worries. I am falling asleep as I type this so I am off to bed for a couple of hours until Medela (my pump) and I meet again. Until tomorrow...

Gabe Update #3

We were told yesterday that Gabe might get to come home on Monday. I told Kenneth I was not going to get my hopes up so that I wouldn't be devastated if he didn't get to come home. I got to the hospital today and sure enough, that plan had been scratched. As they tried to go up on his feeds, he quit wanting to eat. They decreased the amount he is supposed to take to 30 ml every 3 hours. He has 30 minutes to finish the feeding. He did poor the first two feedings at that rate and then did better the next 2. If he has one more bad feeding then he will have to have an NG tube and they will gavage whatever he doesn't finish in the 30 minute period. His bilirubin was up more too so they will redraw that tonight and see where he is. He had a few desats today but I did not see any bradys while I was there so that is good. Overall he is still doing quite well. He just needs a little more time to grow and mature before he is ready to come home. For the most part he has been really sleepy and I've only seen his eyes open 1 or 2 times. He had a period today where he was really alert and looking around. He seemed to follow voices and be trying to focus a little bit. This little boy has stolen my heart! We will head up there in the morning again after taking the girls to school. I pray that he has a good night and we get good news. Until then I'll be sleeping and pumping...

Gabe Update #2

I was discharged today and am home. It feels good to be home but it was really hard to leave my sweet baby boy at the hospital. He is progressing nicely though and hopefully will be home early next week. He is doing a better about tolerating his feedings with the formula switch. He is still only taking 32ml (about 1 ounce) every 3 hours so he is not where he needs to be yet but he's getting there. As they increase the feeds he seems to be taking the bottle less and less easily. The neonatologist had told us to expect that though. I am ultimately going to breast feed and am pumping religiously but just have very little supply at this time. It has only been about 48 hours though so I am not worried. I know he will also tolerate the breast milk better than the formula too so I am ready for the milk to arrive. His platelets had been low and his hematocrit high but they were back to normal today. His bilirubin is up but not dangerous so for now they are just watching it. He did have quite a few desats and bradys today while sleeping so although I want him home I feel comfort knowing he is where he is and he is being watched closely. Thank you again for all of the prayers and thoughts. Everyone has been so kind! Just to look at that sweet baby boy it reminds me that miracles do happen...

Gabe Update #1

I just went and saw Gabe for a bit. I got to hold him finally and it felt so good. I am so in love with this little boy. I only held him long enough to get a picture yesterday so getting to sit and hold him for a little while was so comforting. He had a pretty good night. He is still on room air and his breathing has slowed down a bit which is a good thing. They tried swaddling him and turning his bed warmer off but he got cold pretty quick so the warmer is back on. They are going to try again later today. His platelets are low but they said that goes along with my hypertension. He ate fairly well but has spit up everything he eats. I am going to breastfeed but he needs more than I can produce right now so he's getting formula. Since Carly and Anna both had milk allergy they are going to change his formula today and see if that helps. I think that's about it for now. Time for another nap.

He's Here

I can't seem to post pictures from my phone to my blog but just wanted to share the good news. Gabriel "Gabe" Charles Watson is here safe and sound. He is 5 lb 13 oz and 19 inches long. He
is in the NICU for observation but doing ok. I will update more later. I am doing well also and avoided the dreaded mag!

Game Over

I had an OB appointment yesterday. My b/p was up still. It is a bit higher each week. My OB and I had a good chat about 34-35 weekers and we decided together that it is time to get this baby out. I will go in early Thursday morning to be induced. TMI- I'm already a 2 and 100% so it hopefully will go smoothly. My labor with Anna was only about 2 hours from the start of induction and I'm hoping this one will be just as quick and easy. I think I deserve that much! Dr. Cummings thinks Gabe will probably need a little NICU time but hopefully not much. He is afraid he will have "wimpy white boy syndrome." Apparently little white boys seem to mature their lungs later than others. Either way, he will be here safe and sound and I am so relieved. I am not sure how much more my nerves could take. I was crying at my appointment and telling Dr. Cummings how I know he is alive in there because he is kicking and twisting and punching with all his might but I just can't get past worrying about his brain. I lay awake at night begging him just to hold on for a little while longer. It has gotten more emotional with each passing day. I am so ready to be able to see him and hold him! Kenneth is doing quite well after his surgery. He goes back Friday for another minor clean out in the office and then he should be good to go. I am kind of glad he will get a little more time off since the baby is coming because I was afraid of him going back to work too soon and putting an air pack on during a fire and busting his surgery all up. By the time he goes back he should be all healed up. Carly and Anna continue to do well also and are excited about Gabe getting here. Carly is calling him Gabe and Anna is calling him "Brudder" or "Baby Brudder" or "Bobo." Don't ask me where Bobo came from, I don't know, but I am really discouraging it...

Sweet Peace

What a difference a day makes. We left the hospital yesterday and picked up Carly and came home. Kenneth did well on the way home except for a little nausea but he gets car sick easily anyway so I wasn't too surprised. His pain has been well controlled and really pretty minimal anyway. He bled quite a bit yesterday but he didn't stop his aspirin until 2 days before the surgery so that wasn't too unusual- plus that area is pretty vascular I would think. Anyway, he slept off and on during the night. For about the past year we have slept in separate rooms. We would occasionally start out in the same room but one of us always ended up moving because of the snoring. Since I've been pregnant and uncomfortable I've mostly just slept on the couch and let him have the bed. It is much easier to get up and down from the couch. Lately it had gotten so bad that he was in the bedroom and I was on the couch on opposite sides of the house and his snoring would still wake me up. I would have to get up and shut the bedroom door but could still hear him with the bedroom TV on, the living room TV on, and the door shut. I secretly looked forward to him being on duty so I could have quiet in the house at night. But the poor guys at the station, I felt so sorry for them because the station is pretty small and they could not escape the noise. They were even jokingly offering to pay for the surgery if it would just shut Kenneth up. Anyway, last night, even with his swollen nostrils, for the first time in years, he did not snore. He had to sleep in the recliner because he is supposed to keep his head at least 30 degrees but even before he would snore sitting up. We actually spent a whole entire night in the room together. It was amazing. I owe Dr. DeFreitas our marriage- I think he saved it. Not really, our marriage was never in jeopardy, but not being able to ever sleep in the same bed is not a good thing for a marriage. Anyway, I could not be happier and neither could Kenneth. Even Carly commented on how quiet daddy was last night. It is amazing what clogged sinuses and a deviated septum can do. Carly stayed home again today. Her fever is gone but I wanted to give her one more day to recuperate. She has been so sweet and really helped take care of her daddy. I guess she just had a virus but it was weird to get the fever 4 days into the virus rather than at the beginning. Whatever- I'm just glad she is feeling better. She did give me the virus but I will survive. It could be way worse! Gabe has been super active yesterday and today. I am so glad because it has eased my mind. My b/p is still up but is to be expected. My mom sent me a text message and let me know they made it to Tel Aviv without any problems. I am so excited for them to get to spend 2 weeks there. It is a trip my dad has wanted to take forever and I am so glad they finally got to go. So all in all things are great. We are all on the mend and looking forward to a low key weekend. God is good all the time..