Good news today. Zac did really well with the bottle last night after we left, taking three more in a row before having to get his food via the tube again, then took a bottle again this morning before taking via the tube at noon. The one at noon was only because the nurse wanted to make sure when we fed him at 3 and 6 today, that he wasn't too worn out from doing the bottle. All this bottle-feeding takes more energy than just having the food given to you in a tube, and they have to be sure he doesn't burn too many calories while they are trying to fatten him up. :)
Today's picture is of Katy feeding him with the bottle. He did some breast-feeding for a little bit, then finished off with the bottle for his 3pm feeding today. We're excited he's taking this step so well and so definitively, and we're also quite proud of him. Way to go, Zac!!!
Today and this evening Katy and I had the chance to do several things differently than before with Zac. For one, they let us give him a bath in an actual tub of water, which he did very well with. Also, they've weighed him before with us and let us help, but hadn't measured him before while we were there.
Zac is now 5 pounds even and has grown 3/4" in the last week, so he's now up to 18" long! Way to go Zac! We're pretty pumped about this change in length. I don't think either of us were expecting him to have grown so much, so soon. That makes 1' 1/4" in almost 3 weeks, so that seems pretty good. And being up to 5 pounds is great, meaning he's gained 1 lb. 4 oz. since he was born, and really, in the past 2 weeks. That's a good rate and the nurses are happy about that.
Today, they switched Zac from a continuous feed to what they call a bolus feeding, which means changing his rate of feeding. Before, he received 42ml over 3 hours. In English, 30ml equals an ounce, so 42ml is a little over 1 1/3 ounces. Now, he receives that same 42ml over a 2-hour period, then has an hour off before they do it all over again. This helps him get used to taking in more food at once, closer to how regular meals will be.
So we were excited a bit at this change, until Katy asked the nurse tonight when he'd be able to start trying from a bottle (and Katy) instead of through the feeding tube. The nurse thought it'd be a good idea to try the bottle tonight after we'd given him his bath, since he was due for his feeding. Sweet! So she put the 42ml in a bottle and Katy let me feed Zac. He took it like he'd always been drinking from a bottle, which was very exciting! He had no trouble burping and by the time we left, he hadn't spit up anything either, so that was also good. Now, he took the bottle in 15 minutes, too, and then collapsed in tiredness. :)
I'll be curious to find out tomorrow if he wanted to eat again sooner than 9pm tonight, which would've been when he was next due to get a feeding. I also hope the nurses take the time to continue trying to bottle feed tonight to see if he takes to it full-time. If we find out they didn't when we arrive tomorrow, we'll check into what happened to make sure they continue to try.
So that's it for tonight. Weather-permitting in Kansas City, Zac's big sister Claire and her sister Abby will be able to see him this weekend. I know they are excited about it but so am I! Can't wait for Zac to get to meet his big sister and Abby as well. :)
So yesterday and today we are noticing Zac is awake much more than he had been. Used to be he'd be awake 10 or 15 minutes, then sleep 4 hours. Now he seems to sleep maybe 2 hours and be awake about 30 minutes. He's also begun staring at things and acting fascinated by them. Earlier it was either a ceiling tile or the sprinkler head. At this moment it's the light bulb in the lamp here in his room.
He's certainly been a little more interactive today than he had been, though maybe that's just gas. :) Katy was able to get him to feed a bit earlier (we're trying breast feeding, so he has to learn to latch on and he did well earlier today) which is a positive step forward for him. Right now he's a little fussy, though, and I KNOW that's gas. :)
Think a change of diaper is in the offing for Katy (I had the poopy one earlier; her turn now). Quick note on the job front, for those of you aware I'm still searching as I have been since September. Pacific Life called yesterday to tell me I came in second...again. I've decided that if silver medals paid the bills, I'd be in great shape by now. :) So, must be God has something totally different waiting in the wings. I must say, however, that it's great to not be working right now as Katy and Zac can really use me and I love being able to be such a part of this.
As I mentioned yesterday, the media department here is doing a photo shoot and video for parents of NICU babies to be used for educational purposes in the future. So today is the photo shoot, and Zac is doing very well. It's happening at this moment, so I snapped a few pics so you could see what's going on.
So we now have a burrito boy. Or at least that's how Zac looks when the nurses wrap him up nice and snug now that he's in a big boy crib. Yup, today he's in a crib, which makes it a ton easier to take care of him AND we now get to just hold him whenever we want. :)
You can see the burrito boy pic in the slideshow on the right side, but the pic in this post is when Katy had him up to her shoulder earlier this afternoon. Not as good a pic as I'd hoped to get, but we'll do better soon.
Alright, now the next step is getting him to eat on his own. The nurse earlier told us to expect he'd be here probably another 3 weeks as it takes them a little while to transition to this stage and get to where they are taking in food the way they need to. So we're gearing up for that timeframe mentally and that will give us at least a date range to expect. Twice today we've been told that him getting into a crib was a big step toward going home, so that's good.
Speaking of that, the case manager for the NICU called earlier today to ask if they could use Zac, and us, in promotional materials including a video and some photography they are creating for NICU parents. So that begins tomorrow morning around 9 or so, and we said we'd be happy to help. Plus, this means Zac can say he was in a video! The materials will be produced by the media communications department here at the Nebraska Medical Center, the same people who create the commercials that air at least locally and are very well done.
One more thing. We found out today that so far all of his tests have come back negative. That includes both MRI scans, the EKG and the chromosomal bloodwork. We're just waiting the results of the metabolism, or fatty acids, test, which should arrive yet this week. All signs point to everything being totally normal. So that's the news for today!
Zac is getting pretty close to being out of the isolette. They've lowered the temperature a degree just since this morning when we first arrived, and he is maintaining body temperature without trouble. The nurse this afternoon said he might be in a crib by late tonight if this keeps up.
His feedings are the same, but he's handling them well so we're hopeful he gets to move toward the bigger, shorter period feedings by tomorrow. Our worship pastor, Matt, and his wife and kids came by this morning to visit, which was very nice and appreciated. It's fun to get to show off your child once in awhile and we haven't had that opportunity as much as we normally would if he'd been full-term. :)
Nana Nell came by and took Katy and me to lunch, then spent a few hours here with us as Katy headed off to handle a bookkeeping job for her side business. In the cafeteria today, they were selling big cookies with pictures of a president copied onto the icing. We didn't have one, since we have some Gandolfo's cheesecake sitting at home in the fridge, but they did look worthy of eating just for the pictures alone. Zac has had a really good day, and though he sleeps pretty much all the time, it's still nice just to sit with him and hold him for a few hours each day. Can't wait until he reaches that point where he interacts with us more!
Busy day for Katy and me today, but we did get to spend some quality time with Zac and assist the nurse tonight in weighing him. We were also able to find out how long he is now. So, some clarification. First, turns out he was 16 3/4" when he was born, as opposed to the 16 1/2" we were told initially. Guess they re-measured when he got to the NICU that day. He's now 17 1/4", meaning he's grown a half an inch so far. Wish I could grow a half an inch.
Anyway...today he weighed in at 4 lbs., 13 oz., which means he's now gained 1 lb., 1 oz. since, well, since the beginning but technically, he's done this within the past 10 days. They've continued to keep his feedings at 14ml today but expect tomorrow to begin transitioning him to eating more over a shorter period so he's ready to eat on his own. That's likely going to be the last obstacle to him coming home, and we can't wait.
Though it's nice holding him without the i.v. now, the wires are still a big pain when it comes to holding and changing and cleaning...you name it. Plus, that feeding tube is also in the way. On the plus side, Zac doesn't seem to mind any of this, which makes sense since it's all he's ever known. He just moves around and squirms and lifts his head and turns all over the place inside that isolette. I think he'll keep us on our toes once he's home. :)
Yep, that's about the size of it today; just a new isolette for Zac. Apparently they change these things out every two weeks and so today he got a new one. They are continuing to work on matching the internal temperature to room temperature, and it's now within a degree of that. Well, a degree in Celsius. I don't really know how much that is in real people terms. :)
Also, they upped his food intake to 14ml today. I thought 13ml was the top number, but I guess I was mistaken. He spit up just a little bit of the formula he'd had earlier today while I was holding him, but not a big deal. He's still doing very well and we're finding he is quite strong. While resting on my stomach and chest today, he propped himself up. If I hadn't known better, I would've thought he was holding himself up on his elbows, because that's how it looked.
Now, I know that can't be true, but that's exactly what it looked like. He just decides to completely move himself around whenever it's time for a change, and we see that often. One of the two nurses working with him today told us Zac was their favorite because he's so easy-going and just no trouble at all. Why do I think that's a BAD sign, that once he gets home we'll get the ol' switcheroo? :)
