Day 8 - One Week Down

After a week of only opening his eyes for Daddy, Harris opened and locked eyes with Mommy today. I was thrilled! Then he went back to sleep for the rest of our visit.

Day 7

Harris had a good day today. He started the day off with phototherapy for a bit of jaundice but was able to come off the lights by midday. Mommy and Daddy spent a lot of time in the NICU and got to hold Harris a few times.

After dinner, Mom and Dad came into the NICU to find their amazing son had been removed from the CPAP and was doing wonderfully on room air - I am not sure if Harris or Dad was more excited about the tubes being gone! Also, Delia, one of Harris's favorite nurses, had put him in this adorable knitted hat.

That night Jeb got his first exposure to Harris (by way of his undershirt), by night's end he was cuddled up with the shirt. Best friends already!

Days 5 and 6 - Ah, that's the Mommy I remember

Harris was finally stable enough to be held by Mommy and Daddy. He no longer really needed any extra Oxygen, although that annoying CPAP still had to be stuck up his nose to help his lungs, but he did get to put on a cozy shirt.

Feeding also started (through a feeding tube), and Harris, like any good Rothschild (or Fenster), took to it like a champ. The first couple times, they gave him such a small amount, he fussed for more.

He loves to be cuddled while he sleeps, and Mommy and Daddy are more than happy to oblige.

Day 4

Time in the NICU can be both excruciatingly slow and blurrifyingly fast. Although it had only been 4 days, Mommy thought it had to have been at least 4 weeks already, due to both the stress and anxiety, and the continuing improvement.

The intubation came out, and his fiesty nature was realized at his extreme displeasure with the CPAP. If only Harris had a few days of video game playing, he would have been able to develop the hand-eye coordination to grab the CPAP and pull it out for good. Instead, he just swatted at it and squirmed until it fell out. The nurses wrapped him up tight to help prevent Harris from getting at the tubes.

Any wire within arm's reach was fair game. If Harris wasn't sleeping, he was working at getting those wires out.

Days 1-3: The Big Blur

The first three days were a huge blur. During the time leading up to Harris’s birth, the neonatologists (NICU doctors) told us that time in the NICU was often like a rollercoaster, often parents babies take 3 steps forward and 2 steps back – we got a first hand experience of that over the first few hours of Harris’s life.

After being delivered Harris was whisked away to the NICU with his loving father by his side. He weighed 1900 grams (read 4lbs 3 ounces) – a great size for a 31 week old baby.

His size didn’t minimize the complications in the first three days. As we fell more in more in love with our son, we stood by the side as a competent group of doctors and nurses helped him through:

1. Extremely low platelets which required a blood transfusion.
2. An array of equipment to help his breathing including a CPAP (a tube which provides oxygen and pressure to help the lungs expand) and intubation.
3. A collapsed lung leading to a chest tube.
4. A fiesty attitude (you try being poked and prodded at all hours of the day).

It's Baby Time (Finally!!!)

At 12:30am on Sunday May 24, 2009 – after 7 weeks of bed rest, 6 of which where in the hospital, and three days of illness- the doctors decided it was time for our baby to arrive. By 3:00p.m. Harris Dylan was born, 30 weeks into the pregnancy (just over 2 months early). He came into the world just at 4lbs, 3 ounces -- crying. Dad got to take some pictures, mom got to kiss on the cheek and then our little man was whisked off to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).

The rest of this blog follows Harris’s development in the NICU and maybe more importantly, our development into a family. Adam and I want to thank all our family and friends for their support and love throughout this challenging pregnancy and now as we enter the new chapter of the critically acclaimed saga “Harris Grows Up”