He's graduated from the preemie pacifierto the newborn pacifier! - January 20, 2008
Sorry about my delay in posting this week!
Here's another quick list of Connor's latest developments:
- As of Sunday, January 18, 2009, Connor now weighs 1510 grams (3 lbs. 5 oz.), and is 38 cm long (15").
- The wound that developed from his incision is healing amazingly well! Although still scary, it looks so much better now than the point just before he received the wound vac.
- Pending the final decision from his surgeon, Connor's nurses and neonatalogists think that his wound vac might be removed over the weekend or early next week. Once the wound vac is removed, their plan is to begin feedings. They'll start by pulling the fluids he's already producing in his stomach and upper part of his intestines, and feed them into the lower ostomy to the lower part of his intestines, acting as an outside connector. If this goes well, they'll move on to Pedialyte and/or breastmilk. (Connor hasn't been "fed" since Christmas Day, and instead has received intravenous nutrition.)
- His previous need for daily blood and platelets transfusions has finally waned - it's been several days since Connor's needed either one. This is a good sign that his body is free of any infections!
- On Tuesday, we noticed that the fingers on his left hand were turning dark purple on the tips. With a little pressure, they turned white, just as they should, which meant that he still had great circulation. This arm also happened to be the one containing his PICC Line, and the doctor decided that the vein was spasming, causing the discoloration. Later that night, they decided to pull the PICC line, and in the interim, needing an active line, they inserted an IV into his scalp. (I know, scary!) Apparently, back in the day, scalp IVs were quite common, as the baby's head has very little fat and the veins are visibly obvious. He has a new PICC line now in his other arm, and for now the scalp IV is still in place. (We're anxious for it to be pulled the moment it's no longer needed!)
- Now with a gestational age of 32 weeks, his speech and physical therapists have started to get involved with his care. So far, their biggest concerns/main areas of focus relate to pacifier use and avoiding overstimulation.
- Have any of our readers banked their child's cord blood? This was a decision we made when faced with a potential preemie birth... with the hopes that the saved stem cells might one day prove advantageous to Connor. So, the night of Connor's birth, cord blood was retrieved and shipped to Cord Blood Registry. A few weeks later, we received notice from CBR that the cell count was too low. A normal cell count would be over 100 million, and Connor's was only around 31 million. We were basically told that perhaps sometime in the future, when cell replication is available, such a small sample would be viable, but until the technology is possible they don't feel the amount they have now will be useful. Some of Connor's doctors have been indifferent on the issue, while others don't believe it's worth keeping... but they all hesitate to advise us on this period. The CBR rep is giving us time to make a decision, and has offered us a full refund should we decide not to bank it. This is such a tough call... we're leaning towards letting it go, that maybe this is a sign that everything with Connor will be okay. If anyone reading has any information that can help us with this decision, please contact us!
- Looking ahead to next week, he has his 6-week cranial ultrasound scheduled. We hope to hear of continued positive progress on his IVH.
Charming? Check. - January 17, 2009
"No more pictures! I'm tired of that stinkin' red light already!"(Just can't help myself...) - January 18, 2008
Taking a peek at Daddy - January 18, 2009
Connor and Grandma Rogers holding handsduring his wound dressing change - January 19, 2009
Chubby cheeks? Check. - January 20, 2009
His legs are "frog-folded" beneath him,but to give you an idea of perspective... - January 20, 2009
Last few days, he's been super-alert and calm...just staring back up at us - January 20, 2009
He might look like Daddy, but he's got more of his Mom's coloring...
natural coloring, that is - January 20, 2009
natural coloring, that is - January 20, 2009
Connor and his "big boy" newborn pacifier - January 20, 2009
Grumpy old man face - January 20, 2009
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5 comments:
he's beautiful! thanks so much for the update-- I've been worried all week about you guys. glad to hear things are improving... what a little Rocky you have on your hands. he's certainly a fighter! :)
He is precious!
He is such a sweetie! Thanks for the update!
Oh I'm loving the chubby cheeks! Rocklin was obsessed with the big green pacifier for a whole year -- looks like Connor is loving it too. Sounds like overall things are going well. Thanks for the update!
Those cheeks! My goodness! That's probably where a third of his weight is! jk He is plumping up so that is fun to see. How is he liking the new pacifier? That is still the only pacifier Maddy will take, but I can't get over how big it looks in his mouth compared to Maddy's.
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