NICU Update

Your thoughts and prayers are still needed as our little one continues his struggles in the NICU. He seems to have gotten worse instead of better.

He started out having trouble eating, a common problem in early babies. Eventually they started alternating bottle feedings with tube feedings, and Mr. M. and I were able to give the bottle feedings if they were at the right time.

Then he started having trouble digesting - after a feeding too much of the formula was remaining in his stomach. They tried switching to a soy formula in case it was a lactose intolerancy, but the results remained the same. He was also diagnosed with jaundice and put under a little blue light.

They ran an X-ray to check for bowel obstruction and did lab work to check for an infection, the results of which were all fine.

Last night they called and said they were stopping all feedings in order to give his little body a rest and a chance to re-boot. His jaundice level had also gone up so they switched him to a bigger light. They started an IV to give him fluids and glucose while his belly was resting.

They will re do the X-ray and labs in the morning, and if everything still looks okay they will slowly start to try feedings with him again. Please, please, please say a prayer that his results are good and so he can try eating again.

Right now we only get to hold him twice a day because he can't be out from under his light for an extended period. Today his nurse let me do some skin to skin time, and I am not exaggerating when I say it was the best 45 minutes of my life.

I am hanging on to my sanity by a thread but trying my best to stay positive. Today is day 4 since I gave birth and my milk is just now slowly starting to come in. It has been an agonizing wait because I know my milk can help him so much at this point in time but there was nothing more I could do to make it arrive sooner.

He is the sweetest, cuddliest baby with a full head of sandy brown hair. Having a baby but leaving him at the hospital has made this whole process so surreal - I look back on my labor like it was a dream sequence or something.

Mr. M. and I are fortunate to have the support of so many wonderful family members and friends to help us through this very difficult time. I pray every day that I might be able to bring my baby home by Christmas.

Fight on, little one. Your mommy loves you so much.