Day 37 - Getting Ready...

Harris has been very busy over the last 3 days proving to the doctors, nurses and Mommy and Daddy that he is almost ready to go home. He has been breathing on his own since the cannula was removed on Saturday and has been basically able to keep all his vitals up. Yesturday our little man started taking every feed without the feeding tube, and today when Mommy came in he was TUBELESS! A few more hours, keep in mind a few in the NICU/SCN means more the 24, of feeding on his own and he may be home sweet home!

Day 34 - Ahhh room air

Today was a huge day for Harris. His cannula was removed and he spent the day breathing on his own. Just before his noon feeding, we arrived at the hospital to find Brenda, his nurse, getting ready to remove the cannula. Which, by the way, was a production because after days of the little man trying to pull the tubes out of his nose, today he decided he did not want Brenda to touch his face or to remove the tubes. So Mommy stepped in and attempted to distract him - and after a few minutes it was over and Harris was on his own to breath.

The day went remarkably well, and while his respiratory rate was somewhat higher then the doctors love, he had no real desats and was able to maintain his blood oxygen level through feeding (both a bottle given by Dad, and nursing by mom); playing (with Hayley, Grammy, and Pop); sleeping; cuddling and fussing. All in all amazingly successful - not to mention the fact that he looked adorable through it all!

One month and 3 days (Day 33)

Harris spent a good part of the day trying to remove the canula from his nose. Despite Mommy and Daddy's attempts to persuade him to leave it alone, he worked hard to wrap his little baby fingers around and pull. This is probably a good sign because he worked diligently to remove the CPAP when it was time to discontinue that. PLUS -- he has now succeeded in giving himself a room-air trial and has had no desat episodes -- way to go Harris.

Big news on the feeding front -- Doctors moved Harris's PO feeding (i.e. non tube feeding) to every other meal and he nursed for the first time today. Despite mom's nerves and worries - and the fact that he has spent the last month not having to work too hard to get food - he did great!

In entertainment news: Harris and Daddy put together this little tribute...

And then there was one...

Harris's neighbors are being discharged in the masses - so much so that today there were only 4 babies there that will still be there tomorrow (the SCN holds up to 15 or so babies, and had 12 when Harris got promoted) - one of course being Harris. Babies that were born after the little man have packed there bags and left in their car seats. And while with each discharge I am pleased for that family, I am unfortunately reminded that while we are absolutely moving in forward motion we are moving in slow motion and the end is still fuzzy. Today I had a shocking reminder -- gestational age. It is funny how these things sneak up on you in the NICU. I was holding Harris watching two other babies (well their mom's and dad's) getting discharge instructions when one of the nurses and a resident wondered over to me. The nurse must have known that I was having a torn moment and I was holding on my son tight attempting to focus on all the wonderful progress and she was talking up the strides of the day. Harris is now up to 50 mL of food (though he is still only taking three bottle feedings - often not the whole feeding), he is getting bigger and stronger, etc etc. When the resident (who we shall call beefcake because of his masculine, gold's gym, phisique - and more importantly because he has been on the NICU rotation for about 4 weeks and has never introduced himself to me) said "you have to remember his gestational age, he was only 30 weeks" REALLY-- REALLY genius you think it is useful to tell the mother who is already guilty as can be that she was unable to carry to full term his gestational age. As if that is not very clear to me -- I know many of the nurses and even some doctors have been tricked by Harris size often thinking he was older then he is - or was born later then he was - BUT not for one minute have I forgotten! That said Harris is making some great strides. He is doing really well with feedings for Adam, the nurses and me - now the speech pathologists he seems to be poky for and has yet to finish a bottle for them despite the fact that they are the feeding specialists. Today, I was sitting holding harris when I realised that he was not desating at all! His oxygen stayed HIGH really high (with the exception of when a lead came off) for over 3 hours. One week ago I thought I would never see the day when our little man's monitor did not report a list of desats. But today we were very close and tomorrow I am sure we will be even closer.

One Month!!!

Harris is one month old today - it is amazing. Each day over the last month has felt so incredibly long - but looking back it seems relatively quick. It is even more amazing that our incredible son would not have been here yet if we had had a "text book pregnancy" - we would be waiting for him to arrive, not just to arrive home!

Unfortunately Harris's one month birthday started with an exam from the eye doctor. The eye doctor arrives between 7 and 8 in the morning so there are no parents present - from what I understand, and what I remember from my days working in the hospital, that is probably a good thing. Because eye exams are traumatizing to infants. Harris is no exception and the appointment wore him out - he spent the rest of the day sleeping, not even waking enough to take his noon bottle. The speech pathologist, who was there to do a feeding, and the nurses all assured Mommy and Daddy that all preemies have bad days after an eye exam. And while that takes the worry that he is having a set back away, it doesn't make a parent feel better - just bad that you can't do anything about it. The "good news" is that his eyes are developing nicely and that he doesn't have to have another exam for two weeks - all I can say is that it is a good thing babies don't have a great sense of time because an exam every two weeks hardly seems like good news!

But tonight when Mommy and Daddy arrived with Aunt Hayley and Uncle Dan it was a totally different story - Harris was wide awake and very interactive. He was wide eyed, smiling, and moving around. After a warm bath (given by mom) and bottle (given by dad) Harris got to spend time cuddling with Hayley and Dan before Mom rocked him to sleep and put him to bed. What a great night!

Day 30 - Slow and steady wins the race

Today was mostly a sleepy day. After being up for much of the day yesturday, Harris slept through mommy's whole visit, which included a PT appointment - he slept through PT. Dad says "eating and sleeping, working out and sleeping that is the life." It didn't change that our visit together was a wonderful one - Harris's oxygen was reduced to 0.5 liters - and he is doing great. Feeding continues to make him quite sleepy and he is still only able to successfully take 3 oral feedings a day. Harris had an evaluation by the speech and language pathologist to assess his eating and it they believe the delay is really just stamina - which will come in time!

The little man has a new favorite cuddle position, he loves to lay on mommy or daddy's chest - in the NICU they call this Kangaroo Care. I have to admit it is one of Mom favorite also.

So if Harris slept all day... you can only imagine what happened tonight during daddy's visit- when mom was home cleaning the house - that's right the little man was WIDE awake. Daddy spent some quality time with Harris and for the first time gave Harris a bath and changed his cloths. The nurse weighed Harris during Daddy's visit and he weighed in at a whopping five and a half lbs!

Day 29

Harris was wide awake when I got to the hospital today. A few minutes after I got there, and of course changed a diaper-- I am beginning to wonder if the nurses have my car bugged and leave dirty diapers when they know I am approaching -- the physical therapist arrived. Harris LOVED physical therapy and it was amazing to watch how strong he is. He even did some tummy time - lifting his head and moving it from side to side like a champ. While watching him working with the physical therapist, Lauren, I realized that our little man actually looked older -- like a typical new born (of course with a few extra wires). Dad noticed the same thing tonight!

Day 28 - A "Chillin" Father's Day

Before I talk about today, I neglected to write about something very important... Harris was promoted from the regular NICU to the Special Care Nursery on Friday (Day 26). When he was able to sustain himself on 1.0 liters the doctors felt that he was ready. The SCN is just another room in the NICU but it is where babies go to finish developing before they go home and definitely progress! Also, it is much more relaxed there and the whole feel is different parents are less anxious, nurses are louder and more relaxed (which is crazy because they are the same nurses from the NICU, the lights are brighter and the staff really push the families to do more to get ready to go home. NOW.. going home is not at all being talked about but we are still thrilled about this move.

So, Harris and Dad celebrated their first father's day today in the SCN. It is amazing to watch them together. Adam is amazing and overprotective at the same time and it absolutely delights me to watch the interaction. After two days of less successful feedings (by Mom) Harris finished a bottle for us today - a Father's Day gift for sure.

Harris has been having a good couple of days so the doctors tried to increase his feedings to every other feeding and reduce his oxygen input to 0.5 liters. Tonight when the doctors were on rounds one of the residents said "Well Harris is having a chillen day" and by chillen he meant that Harris has officially told us to "chill with the changes." Our little man was not able to adjust to the changes well, he had desats (some of the worst ones we have seen with both dips in oxygen and heart rate - in fact Adam didn't believe me when I had told him they got that bad - now he does). They weren't long lived, and he was able to get himself out of them with out a raise in oxygen, but they were serious enough to ensure us all that Harris will continue to take his time - so it is back to bottle every three feedings and oxygen at 1.0 liters for a bit longer.


Despite this we had a great Father's Day - filled with lots of cuddling for dad and visits from Grammy, Pop and Hayley.

Day 27, part 2

After a long day at work yesturday (Day 27), I got to the hospital to find Harris exhausted! He wouldn't take a full bottle and was dozing off in my arms non-stop. Dad must have wore him out with all the fun and games during the day. The snuggling time was well worth it!

Day 27 part 1

Dad blogging today (I'm sure Laura will be posting later...) First off, I'd like to give a shout out to Harris's cousins:

BEN

and

QUINN

We heard that they were requesting more video of the little man, so I am happy to oblige:

Harris is now up to feeding from the bottle 3 times a day, and I got my first chance to feed him today while Mommy had to attend a work event (yuck). Harris told me it was fun hanging out with me and Gampa and Grandee but he was patiently awaiting Mom's visit later tonight.

Off to build a swing...hope it's low to the ground.

Careful what you say Grandee, in this age, everything ends up on the internet!!

Day 25 - Harris Has a Working Mommy

I went to work yesterday. Now I have been working some for the last two weeks. BUT yesterday was a full day. I arrived at the office already feeling guilty and it was 7:30 in the morning. Now Harris is NEVER up at 7:30 and I would never be at his bedside then but non the less the working mom guilt was heavy handed. I even called the nurse at 5:00am to get an overnight report - something I hardly ever do. I stayed at the office and engrossed myself in work only calling the NICU 2 times. until 2:10 when I RAN out of the office hoped in my car and prayed there would not be traffic in route so that I could make it to the 3:00 feeding. On a Monday the lactation consultant and I discussed me doing this feeding so there was NO WAY I was going to miss it. Pull up at the valet parking at 2:50 - GREAT I am going to make it. Hop in the elevator, get to the NICU, scrub, check the clock 2:54 NO PROBLEM. I get to bedside, out of breath - lugging three bags including a special feeding pillow, and the nurse says "OH he just finished eating so he is ready to cuddle. "

JUST FINISHED EATING!!! After a moment when I fluctuated between homicidal ideation and feeling a total melt down come on. I calmed down to hear the rest of her statement. The doctors didn't think he was ready for a PO (bottle or breast) right then so she started the feeding tube when he got fussy at 2:30. OK I can calm down a bit. I wouldn't have gotten to feed him anyway -- so I pick up the little man and snuggle into the rocking chair and realize that this is the feeling that every working mom has - and I want to work and so I will struggle with this moving forward and try my best not to miss things.

SO here is the kicker... I wasn't there all day... no sitting (starring) at this bedside, no working on my laptop in the waiting room so that I could be there if he needed me and do you know what... I was rewarded. Because last night at 9:00 I fed my son a bottle for the first time. And he was wide awake for it and it was amazing. His dad looked on and took pictures and being the amazing husband he is totally indulged me and let me be the first parent to give a bottle and I am so grateful. As a technical note... feeding a preemie takes a lot of wrist strength.. as you seen in the picture no cuddling close - you have to hold him up and make sure his airway is open!

Another first happened last night... Grandee and Grampa got to see Harris awake for the first time. The doctors were also able to reduce Harris's oxygen to 1.0 liters and he is doing really well! He may even graduate to the special care nursery (the step down from the NICU).

So in the end it was a perfect day.

Day 24

Harris was on the move again. Last night the NICU rearranged one more time. This time Harris has a room with a view - which means his pod has a window in it. We are hoping this helps him learn the difference between day and night (Although since he doesn't really open his eyes I am pretty sure this is a far fetched dream).

Harris is officially 5 lbs today. Yes, he is the size of some full term babies - which as the doctors reminded me is decietful because he is still a premmie and needs time to mature. So Mom and Dad are still waiting for his breathing and eating to catch up with his size. Harris did take some of a bottle today and the nurses are going to offer him another this evening (he is allowed to eat as much as he wants for no more then a half hour and then the nurses feed the rest in his feeding tube). He continues to need the cannula at two litters -- doctors are going to give him a day or two to try to reduce the oxygen flow again.

When you watch our little man it is clear that he loves to move around. He often stretches - and can be caught "unswaddling" himself. He is going to start getting physical therapy once a day to help stretch his muscles and build strength - I think he is going to LOVE this... more of an excuse for him to move around. Imagine that Harris is going to be doing a daily workout with a trainer at less then a month. Maybe we have a mini-athlete in the making!

Day 23 - One thing at a time...

Harris took a whole feeding (40 mL - a little more then an ounce) from a bottle today! It was an exciting time and the nurse said he was awake (though his eyes are still not open for any long period of time) and happy to eat. So it looks like eating is on the rise. He was even "looking for a bottle" later in the day and grabbed Mom's finger and pulled it to his mouth so we are confident he will be thrilled with the plan to offer him bottles at two feedings tomorrow.

Now breathing on his own, well that is a whole different story. Doctors and respiratory therapists thought today was the day so they reduced the pressure in is Cannula from 2 liters to 1.5 - Harris responded by breathing as if he had run a marathon.. so they quickly reversed the decision. Looks like our little man is saying I will only do one new thing a day. And lets face it for most of us eating is a far more desirable activity they simply breathing.

A special note about Harris's outfit today. Harris has decided he does not want to be totally swaddled - he has figured out how to remove his arms from the blankets. Regardless of who wraps him, in a few minutes time his arms are flying up around his face. So the nurses suggested that for warmth we get him into sleepers. Lucky for Harris he has gotten many of them from his adoring fans. Today he is wearing one that the nurses deemed NICU friendly... it has two rows of buttons - easy access for cords and monitors. Thanks Aunt Harriet and Uncle Bill - the nurses were happy and Harris could spend the day moving his arms!

Day 22

Big day for Harris. He got fed from a bottle, dozed right off, and most importantly, remembered to continue to breath.

In order to pace Harris into this whole eating/breathing thing, he'll start off with one bottle a day. The other feedings will still come through the feeding tube, but to make the bottle work better, they moved the tube from going through his mouth to through his nose (Daddy remembers getting in trouble whenever he tried to eat through his nose, how times have changed...)

He's still gaining weight (4lbs 13.5oz) and starting to fill in his cheeks, but continues to be the strong silent type, hardly crying from what we've seen (Mom and Dad hope for more continuence of the silent part).

That's all for now...bed time...even though we're not doing "full time parenting" just yet, the exhaustion is setting in.

Day 21

Harris wants to wish POP a happy birthday - for his birthday he gained a TON of weight (as did the rest of us who ate the birthday feast). Harris is now weighing in at 4lbs 12oz. The neonatologist fellow said Harris was doing really well - this is one of the first times we have heard such a positive, no BUT statement from the doctors and boy was it good to hear! Harris's oxygen was put down to 21% (room air) today and he was doing really well on it. He also started rooting... that thing babies do when you touch their cheek and they open their mouths to look for food. So between his doing well and his rooting the doctor said we would try feeding again in few days, our guess is Monday is the day!

Day 20

Harris had a great night last night. His on going challenge of not being able to maintain his oxygen level resulting in desats (desaturations of oxygen in the blood and beeping on his monitors) seems to be getting better. When we called the NICU this morning his nurse told me that he made it through the night without any significant desats and today he had a few but they were all short lived! Harris continues to be able to maintain his temperature and tonight they are sending his isolate back to the storage room - it is cribs from here on out.


Today, for the second day in a row our handsome little man was dressed in quite an ensemble - in mom's family we would call them Papa Max (my great grandfather) outfits, because before yesterday Papa Max was the only man I have ever known that could pull off strips and polka dots at the same time! Today Harris topped it with a blue hat with little racoons on it and a car and truck onesie - so my little man may look just like his dad, but his fashion sense that's all Papa Max.


Mom and Dad had a great night of parenting. We got to the NICU tonight just in time to help with Harris's night routine. Dad took his temperature (like a pro I might add). Mom gave him a bath - with only a small amount of screaming on the little man's part - then dad got him dressed. Harris's nurse was patient and talked us through the whole routine. While it is incredibly hard having Harris away from us, and of course we would rather him home, we are so thankful for all we are learning from the NICU nurses!

Day 19 - Trying out a new bed

Today Harris is officially 34 weeks (or as a friend and Harris's nurse described: -6 weeks). Had he not been born 3 weeks ago, the doctors would have induced me today - and we would be just starting all this fun. Here's the latest:

Around midnight I called the NICU to check on our little man before I went to bed and found out that the NICU was up and moving -- literally the babies were being moved around to accommodate everyone's needs. Harris was going to a new "pod." I was a wreck - feeling like I needed to go and see where he was - Adam, the always sensible one, was calm as can be explaining to me that if they moved him it meant he was stable and that was progress. In my emotional state, it sounded like a made up excuse to try and calm me down -- today when Brenda, one of Harris's nurses, said the same thing it seemed completely rational. Amazing what some sleep and a few hours do for a mom's rationality.

Brenda also decided it was time for Harris to try out a crib (think plastic bucket). So at Harris's 3pm feeding we transferred him to his new bed. He took to it right away and as of now (9:30 pm) he has been able to maintain his body temperature without the isolate. More progress!

Harris has been getting to know more of his family over this last week, getting to say hello to some of his Great Aunts and Uncles. He can't wait to meet everyone else.

Mom and Dad both had big parenting days -- Mom got two VERY dirty diapers and Dad changed his first diaper!

Day 17 - Awake

Harris is now weighing in at 2050 grams or 4.45lbs - the doctors are pleased with his weight gain and told us that it was now at the perfect rate. Both mom and dad agree that he looks bigger. More exciting then the weight gain is that Harris was awake when we visited tonight! Not only were his eyes open but he was interactive and playful - grabbing at our hands and moving around in our arms.

Day 15-16 -- Sundays and Mondays

The last two days have been pretty quiet for Harris (not so much for mom and dad as they continue to make the trip back and forth to the hospital). Harris is off the CPAP -- we hope for good -- they even removed it from his area and he seems to be doing well on the cannula air. After consultation today between the doctors, respiratory therapist, speech therapist and nurses they decided he wasn't quite ready to restart bottle feeding. As one nurse told us tonight -- preemies have trouble doing two things at once so right now breathing and digesting seems to be all our little man can handle -- the rest of eating will have to wait a few days. In the mean time, and to his mom's chagrin, he loves the pacifier.

On a non-medical note... Sunday Harris finished shooting the first scene for the epic biopic: Grampa Ken Presents: Harris - The Movie

Day 14 - Two weeks down....

Harris seems to be on an upswing again. Mom and dad went to visit Saturday afternoon. Harris was screaming at the CPAP, so the respiratory therapists decided to try a smaller nose plug, and he was doing really well. The nurse said Harris was doing well enough to be held without the CPAP, we were thrilled because we both got to stare at his cute face for a a nice long time! Harris loved having the freedom and made tons of cute faces while we snuggled him. To top off the visit we even had our first family picture taken.

We went back to visit him after dinner - we got there just in time to give him a bath. He hated it! The nurse assured us that he screamed for her to. But when he was finished and cuddled in our arms it was worth it (and boy is his hair curly after a bath).

GOOD NEWS - Harris is officially above his birth weight by 25 grams!

Days 12 and 13 - New Adventures

Harris's last two days have been much better. Though he is still on the CPAP he is doing well on it. When he tries get the CPAP out he continues to have trouble breathing so it is the CPAP for now.

Last night Debbie, one of Harris's night time nurses said "Mom why don't you take his temperature and change his diaper before you take him out to hold." Mom (me) froze in place... change the diaper!?! Never having changed a diaper before, and spoiled by the amazing nurses, I approached the isolate. Dad just looked on -- I am guessing thanking god it wasn't him. Aunt Hayley and Uncle Dan laughed -- knowing mom had no experience. In the end it proved successful and mission was accomplished.

Harris had exciting visitors over the last two days - first Aunt Hayley and Uncle Dan came and then Grammy and Pop. Because Harris is getting stronger everyone got a few minutes to snuggle with him!

The only new news is that Harris is having a difficult time gaining weight -- don't we all wish we had that problem. They have added some "powdered calories" to his milk. First caffeine then calories - amazing.

Day 11 - The Caffeine Conundrum

That darn CPAP is back. In the middle of the night Harris's nurse saw he was having labored breathing and that it looked like he was skipping breaths. The doctor put him on the CPAP and while he hates it (and it is hard for mom and dad to watch him struggling) he clearly needs it to breath right now -- the doctors also started a medication that is used to treat breathing problems in preemies. What is this medication you ask? CAFFEINE!

So I have not had caffeine in months! I went through caffeine withdrawal so as to not expose our child to caffeine. Then once I delivered the lactation consultant made sure to explain to me that caffeine would hinder my ability to get enough milk for our son, plus it would not be good for him. So here I am working hard to eliminate caffeine for our little man's world and here they are giving him some. And to add insult to injury they put the caffeine in his milk that goes in his feeding tube.

SO... I have a solution - what if I just had a grande skim latte in the morning and we all can be happy.

Day 10... a few steps back

Harris had a rough day today. Seems that all that bottle feeding yesturday really tuckered our little guy out. He had a very difficult time breathing, maintaining his body tempature and had not gained any weight the night before. The doctors started him on oxygen and decided to hold off any additional bottle feedings until he stabilized again. After a discussion between doctors, nurses and mom it was also decided that when bottle (or breast) feeding was reintroduced it would be done at a much slower rate. It was hard to watch our little man have trouble breathing but the oxygen began to help. By the time Dad got there from work Harris was doing much better and was working at removing the oxygen from his nose!

Also... the nurses placed Harris on his stomach. Now I know what you are thinking babies are not supposed to be on their stomachs. Well since Harris is in the NICU and monitored they are able to use this position - ironically premies have a easier time breathing in this way. Plus it is super cute!

Day 9

Dad is guest blogging this evening. Harris had yet another great day of firsts. The nurse decided he looked ready enough, so for his morning feeding, the little man got his first bottle (sure to not be his last) and slurped down 30 mL (1 oz.).


Mom and Grammy Fenster went for a visit, but he slept most of it away having just had his breakfast (already taking after his father). Dad played hookey to finish painting the baby's room. Harris tried on a hat that Grandee Rothschild crocheted for him.


We went for an afternoon visit and Harris opened his eyes and looked all around at his Mom and Dad. He took another bottle while we were there, and then drifted off again.


Here are some interesting facts about Harris' birthdate - May 24th:

• May 24th is the 144th day of the year - 144 is 12 squared (another mathematician?)
• The famous legend of purchasing Manhattan for $24 happened (supposedly), on May 24th, 1631
• "Mary had a little lamb" was published on 5/24/1830
• The Brooklyn Bridge opened to traffic on 5/24/1883
• Bob Dylan was born on 5/24/41 (relevant because Harris's middle name is Dylan, although not named after).
• The Birthstone for May is an Emerald. Hey, the Jets are green!