Merry Christmas

Trevor's first Christmas was wonderful! He's sleeping well at night (one time for 7 hours)! But the doctor said we need to wake him up to eat every four hours. He takes about 3 1/2 to 4 ounces. According to my scale at home, he is 8.5 pounds. His next checkup is January 4 for his four month shots.

December 20

Trevor's doing great. He's up every three hours to eat and has been staying up a lot during the day. On Thursday, they went back for a check up and he weighs 7 lbs 12 oz. He had gained an ounce a day last week. He won't go for his 4 month shots until after the first of the year.

Trevor's first weekend at home!

Trevor's doing great at home. He has his moments once or twice a day, but otherwise it's the same old eat, sleep, and poop thing. He actually stays up for a few hours a day and sits in his bouncy chair. Jack has learned how to give him his pacifier and rock the chair. He's been very helpful and hasn't complained about Trevor at all - except when I said we couldn't take him to the park today so we had to stay at home. I think he looks like Jack as a baby in these pictures!

Trevor's Home!

Trevor came home last night! He is still trying to adjust....it was a long night. He already went for his follow-up visit with his pediatrician. She let Conor and I get the H1N1 shot while we were there. We were even able to bring Jack back this evening for him to get his!
I know everyone is anxious to meet Trevor, but the doctor said it would be best to have visitors wait until after Christmas. She didn't even want us to stay long in the office! We want to thank you again for all your prayers! He's doing great at home and Jack is very excited to have him home finally! I was shocked when Jack slept through all the crying last night.

December 6

They let him have all his feeds by bottle on Saturday. They actually took out the feeding tube while I was there yesterday. It was barely hanging on to his face. They say that when he's ready he'll let you know...I guess that was the sign. So the nurse took it out. He's done good so far. He's at two ounces. Probably tomorrow they will start letting him have as much as he wants. Today after his bottle, he did not want to go back to his crib or swing. I think he might be a little spoiled. I put him up on my shoulder and he was wide-eyed looking all around. He really liked looking at the monitor. He holds his head up pretty well for his gestational age. I didn't he would be able to do that this soon. He finally fell asleep after I swaddled him up good (after an hour of crying!). Hopefully tomorrow we'll have a better idea of when he'll be able to come home.

Several people have asked about donations...Some places that I have learned of are Project Linus they made a really cute quilt for his incubator that we got to keep and a few other blankets) and the

Ronald McDonald house (they have rooms for parents to stay at the hospital and off-site). There is one where professional photographers take pictures and make scrapbooks too. I'll have to find

that name. I also had someone ask about donating material for blankets and the nurse said that's great too.

Today they increased his feeds to 6 a day. I went and fed him a bottle this afternoon and he did great. He had his first RSV shot. He'll have one a month until March I think. We picked out a pediatrician (thanks Ashley!) and so everything is in place for him to come home - hopefully without the feeding tube.

December 3

Trevor's doing great with his bottle feeds. After the CPR training, I went back to check on him and a volunteer was holding him. He's pretty popular with the volunteers. I saw his nurse from Level 3 as she was leaving so it was good to see her again! She's been by to see him and can't believe how big he's gotten! Here's a picture of the CPR doll. It's kind of creepy looking...

Since Trevor did so great Sunday, they increased his feeds to two bottles on Monday. Then on Wednesday, they increased it to four bottles. Conor went and fed him one and he did great. Last night, the nurse said Trevor was really mad and she thinks he wanted a bottle. Today we have the cpr training.

November 29

Trevor's doing great. The OT tried to feed him a bottle yesterday, but he wouldn't wake up enough. He still took 10 ccs. Today, he was wide awake at 11 am and when she came at noon, he took about 40 ccs. We were all shocked! It is the thickened milk, but he didn't have any problems. He just got sleepy so she stopped. I think his feeds are up to 56 ccs which is almost 2 ounces. They stopped the diuretics which was to prevent fluid in his lungs on Friday. He is 6 pounds 11 ounces. We thought he might come home in the next week with the feeding tube, but there is a new doctor for December and he seems to act like we are going to wait until he takes all his feedings by bottles. But the nurse still showed me how to put the feeding tube in so we'll see. We have CPR training Thursday and we have to schedule a time for the car seat test. They make sure it is in the car correctly and will see if he can sit in it for a while and still keep his vitals stable. So we're in the process of getting him ready to come home, just waiting for the okay.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, the hospital allowed siblings to come from 9am-9pm. Jack and I went this morning. He was so excited! While I was talking to the doctor, who is extremely nice, Jack was copying everything Trevor did with his hands.

November 24

The feeding Monday went well. It wasn't even a half an ounce though. He's doing great without the oxygen. Here are some new pictures. He's 6 lbs 9 oz.

November 21

Yesterday evening they took Trevor off the oxygen and so far this morning he's doing great without it. The swallow study and upper G.I. was done Thursday. It still shows the aspirations. But they said they plan on thickening the milk and giving him one bottle a day starting Monday. They think this will help.

November 16

Trevor is now 6 pounds 1 ounce! They are going to do a swallow study on Thursday and depending on how he's doing with swallowing, they will decide when to start the bottles again. The OT has been observing him every day and I think giving him a small amount from a bottle to help him take it the right way, so hopefully he's improved. More updates on Thursday...

November 15

I talked to the nurse practitioner on Friday and she said they might try the bottle again on Monday. They took him off the caffeine on Thursday. He's almost 6 pounds! They tried to take him off the oxygen last week, but he still needs it. He's on the lowest amount possible.

Trevor was wide awake today! He was in a swing and mad when I came. But as soon as I said something he stopped crying. The daytime nurse said they'll probably wait one more week before starting the bottle feeds again. His feedings are up a little to 47 ccs.

November 8

Last Thursday, the doctors stopped Trevor's bottle feeds because of the drop in his heart rate. They might continue them this week. They did a swallow study and saw that the milk is aspirating into his lungs. The occupational therapist will be working on his sucking with him (not really sure what all that involves). A neurologist came and did a neurological examine on him last Wednesday and said he is at low risk for developmental problems. Here's a picture - it's pretty dark though!

October 29

Trevor is 5 pounds now! He is 35 weeks gestational age as of yesterday. He was moved to Level 2 today. He is still having issues with bottle feeding, but they are trying to figure out what's causing it. They keep him on his side for the bottle feeds and he does alright. An occupational therapist came to watch him bottle feed to see if she could tell what was wrong, but he wouldn't wake up to take his bottle. I guess she'll come back another day. They put him at 3 bottles a day now.

October 28

Sunday, Trevor was having a hard time taking his bottle. His heart rate dropped a little during the 3 p.m. feed and the 6 p.m. feed. This is pretty common in premmies. It could be the way he is positioned or that he is not remembering to swallow. So they slowed down his bottle feeds to one a day. I think they started off too much too fast. He did fine yesterday.

The nurse said that he might be moving to Level 2 today or tomorrow. We tried to feed him a bottle, but he didn't stay awake. The nurse said he drank all of the bottle at 9 a.m. It seems like he only drinks every other one. Whenever he takes all his feedings he'll be able to go home. I noticed a week ago that he didn't have eyelashes yet! Now I noticed they are growing in! His feet are much bigger too! So here are lots of pictures since I haven't been able to post any this week.

October 25

Yesterday, I got to feed him a bottle again. He took all but 7 ccs. He was wide awake when I got there! He is on a waiting list to move to level 2. I hope he goes home before that because we would get new nurses, and I like the ones he has now. Conor is going to go up today to feed him. Here's a video. If you listen close you can hear him cry a little.

October 23

Yesterday, the settings for the oxygen were at 100 ccs which is not too high I think. Today they lowered it to 75 and since he did well, they went ahead and lowered it again to 50. He's still doing well and had his first bottle today! He's up to 37 ccs and he took 25 of them from the bottle. The rest they put through the tube because his heart rate started to drop a little bit. Right now, he's only taking two bottles a day. The nurses also have said his heart murmur is not as loud as it used to be, so hopefully that means his PDA is closing. I've heard conflicting opinions as to whether it would close on its own at this point. We won't know if it has unless they do another echo. He can actually go home with the cannula still on as long as he takes all his feeds and does well with them.

Great news! Yesterday at 9 a.m. Trevor got rid of the c-pap and has the cannula now! He looks to me like he's breathing kind of hard, but the nurse said he looks great. He has not had any signs of apnea either. Bottlefeeds are soon to come!

October 20

Today, the doctor changed the rate on the c-pap to 6! I guess he was doing good at the other setting. He also gained 20 grams so he's 2010 grams now! Hopefully he'll get to go to the cannula soon so we can start bottle feeding him!

October 18

Trevor is doing well in his crib! They lowered the pressure of the c-pap from 8 to 7. They'll leave it at that for about a week, and if he does okay at that rate, they'll lower it to 6. That's the lowest it goes, so after that it'll be the nasal cannula. He gained 90 grams this weekend so he's about 4 pounds 5 ounces.

October 15

This afternoon, Trevor moved into an open crib! They will be keeping a close eye on how well he maintains his body temperature. He gained 40 grams today. He is now 4 pounds 2 ounces. That's only one ounce less than Jack's birth weight! His gestational age is 34 weeks. There's still a ways to go before coming home, but he's made lots of progress within the past week!

October 11

Today is Trevor's fourth day on the c-pap and he is doing great! They haven't had to change his settings at all. His feeds are up to 30 ccs which is one ounce. Without the respirator in his mouth, you can hear him cry very faintly. The next step is a nasal cannula instead of the c-pap. This is what you see adults who need oxygen wearing. Once he gets switched to that, then he will be able to bottle feed. The nurse said it might be a week or two (I'm not sure what the requirements are to be on the cannula). His weight is up to 3.5 pounds!

October 9

Good news! Thursday morning, Trevor pulled out his respirator tube. The doctor went ahead and tried him on the c-pap again, and he's been on it ever since! He gained 20 grams last night, so he is now 3 lbs. 12 oz!!! I actually got to hold him in my arms tonight! He was asleep the whole time though. The nurse said he's almost big enough to move to a crib.

October 7

Conor went to see Trevor today. He has on a cute truck outfit! He spoke with the doctor. It sounds like they will only consider the surgery as a last resort. They are in the process of slowly weening him off the respirator. Jack got to visit with him on Sunday, and I got this cute picture!

October 5

Trevor gained 3 ounces over night! So he's up to 3 lbs. 5 oz. I used to sit in on the rounds the doctors made every morning to find out the plan for the day, but since I've been back at work, we haven't talked to, or met, the doctor for this month. They've switched doctors every two weeks since we've been there. The nurse gives us a detailed update though. We are trying to meet with the doctor later this week to discuss his PDA. They are planning on extubating him soon, but if he doesn't do well on the c-pap again, something else will probably need to be done.

October 3

Trevor is now 3 pounds 2 ounces! I finally got to see him after a whole week of not going up there. They are really cracking down on sick people visiting. They also are not allowing children to visit starting Monday. I'm glad about that because of all the germs kids have. Jack won't get to visit, but he always complained about going anyways. So I got lots of pictures of him in his crab outfit! He was WIDE awake when we got there, but fell asleep soon after holding him. He had an echocardiogram again to check on his PDA. It hasn't gotten any smaller. I'm not sure when they will consider doing the surgery to close it. Although he has been gaining weight lately, he also lost a little bit almost every other day. Lately, he hasn't lost any so hopefully it can still close if he keeps growing.

October 2

Wednesday and Thursday Trevor had a blood transfusion. He was looking like he might be anemic and the doctors didn't want to wait until it got bad so they went ahead and did it. There was a match from the donor blood and it was about to expire. He gained 40 grams yesterday so that puts him up to 2 lbs 15 oz I think. Hopefully tonight I will be able to get a new picture of him in clothes! It's been a whole week since I've seen him (the boys have been sick and I went back to work Wednesday)!

September 27

Trevor has clothes on today!! His weight is up to 1290 grams. We didn't get to go see him today, but I'll have a picture of him in clothes as soon as possible! Friday, they took out his respirator. His numbers were swinging lower than I'd ever seen. I was holding him when it happened. They got him back in his bed and took it out. Then they put in the c-pap (helps him breath by putting the air through his nose). He did okay but his carbon dioxide levels in his blood were a little too high, so they put the respirator back in after about 4 hours. They tried it again today, but he still isn't ready. Hopefully his growth within the last week is helping the PDA close on its own. While they were putting on the c-pap I got to get a picture of him with nothing on his face!

September 23

Not much has changed with Trevor. This weekend, his oxygen saturation levels were one extreme or the other. This is because of his PDA. The nurse and I were concerned, but the doctor wasn't really alarmed. He changed his breaths per minute from 30 to 35 and almost immediately the levels were better. I held him after that and the levels never went down (which hasn't happened in a long time!). His blood gas levels on Monday were still high so they increased the medicine to help get rid of the fluid in his lungs. He is doing good with the higher dosage. His weight has been up and down. Yesterday it was 1160 and today he is 1200. The red spots on Trevor's face are gone now. I'm not sure what it was but when they redid the tape they cleaned it off.

September 17

They were not able to take out the respirator today. His blood gas levels were too high. I got there too late to hear what the doctors decided during rounds so I'm not sure when they will try again. It'll probably be at least another 2-3 days. Every time I tried to get a picture, he would close his eyes before I got one. It took several attempts, but I finally got one. We try to keep it pretty dark for him especially if we want to see him with his eyes open! He was up to 1090 grams yesterday, but dropped to 1070 grams today. This is the link I use to convert grams to pounds.

September 16

Trevor had his picture taken professionally today! They have volunteers that take photos and then make a small scrapbook with them. It turned out really cute. These are some of the photos they took. He didn't open his eyes much at all today. He had an eye exam early this morning, so that might have worn him out. They test for ROP (Premature baby's retinas are not completely developed. In some cases, the blood vessels in the immature part of the retina may develop abnormally, which is called ROP). The doctor said he does not have it, but they will contine checking every week. He could still develop problems later.

His settings on the respirator were lowered in an effort to ween him off it and instead put him on a c-pap (continuos positive airway pressure). This goes on through his nose so it won't be as invasive and will be much more comfortable for him. He hasn't been able to cry with the tube in his mouth, so it will be exciting to hear him cry if he gets taken off the respirator. They will test his blood gas levels in the morning and decide whether he will be able to handle it or not. If it doesn't look as good as it should, they will give him more diuretics which helps drain water from his lungs. They looked hazey in the xrays, so he has been on it before. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll be able to go to the c-pap since that's his next big step.

September 15

Trevor has been about the same the past several days. He lost weight and was down to 960 grams. Yesterday he was up to 1060 grams. They lowered his calories from 30 to 28 because they are trying to find the point where he was gaining the most weight. He puts his hands near his face alot. The nurse said this is good because it is a sign he is maturing. He opens his eyes alot more now. Since birth, he has grown an inch! He is now 14 inches. Tomorrow he will be 30 weeks. It's hard to believe it's already been 4 weeks!

September 10

Yesterday, the doctors decided to go ahead and do an echocardiogram to confirm the PDA, but also to make sure there were no other problems with his heart (which there aren't). They also moved him to the other corner of the pod where it will hopefully be a little quieter. He is now getting 30 calories at each feeding. For the first time, I changed his dirty diaper. It was quite an event, because he decided he wasn't done and had an accident right after I took away the dirty diaper. I wasn't quick enough (it's hard to do anything with your hands sticking through the holes of his incubator) and the blanket had to be replaced. This picture was after we got all clean.

September 6 - An Eventful Morning

Trevor is now over a kilogram! He is 1030 grams. About a week ago, the doctors told us he had a heart murmur and they suspected that he had a PDA. This is probably why his oxygen saturation levels are swinging high and low. The PDA can go away on its own just by Trevor growing more. That is why they gave him the extra calories. This morning, his oxygen saturation levels went really low while the head nurse was on break. The covering nurse thought she needed to manually pump air into his lungs instead of turning up his oxygen levels. The cardiologist team happened to be in the pod and saw his heart rate drop slightly. They replaced the respirator tube, and everything returned to normal. Needless to say, he got pretty stressed out from all the people messing with him. Conor and I decided that it was best to just let him sleep it off, instead of holding him today. During all this, we were told the baby across from Trevor slept through all the commotion. But of course, when we got there, he was crying and continued to cry for the remaining 2 hours we were there.

And the exciting news...Trevor has met a famous person! The on-call doctor today was, drumroll please... Jen from TLC's Little Couple! She was very nice. She said that she might come back later to examine him. Thanks to my best bud, I was reminded that she worked there, but never thought we'd see her being that TCH is such a huge place! Conor just told me the mother next to us took a picture with her! I didn't really think about doing that since we were so concerned about Trevor's morning. It would have made for a nice baby book picture though!

September 3

Trevor has gained 15 grams. His birth weight was 850 grams. He had lost a little, but with this recent gain, he is now up to 950 grams (2 lbs 1 oz). They started him on a multi-vitamin and iron today. He opened his eyes much wider today, and I was able to get a picture of it!

September 2

Yesterday, I got to hold Trevor for two and a half hours! His breathing was stable the whole time and his body temperature stayed normal too! They switched out his bed. They had the humidity turned up high for the first two weeks to help his skin, but that has been stopped. The nurse said they get a clean bed after that (sometimes mold grows because of the high humidity). The blood tests came back negative, so they stopped the antibiotics and took the IV out of his hand. They added a different kind of fortifier to his milk so he is getting 27 calories now instead of 21-22. This will help him gain weight. They also changed his respirator settings today in an attempt to begin weening him off it. They are tracking his growth - weight, length, and head circumference. He has grown 2 centimeters. If he can gain a little more weight, he'll be right where he should be for his age. The nurse said he might need another blood transfusion soon (I forgot why...something is low). It sounds like alot of people have been able to donate in his name so thank you very much!

Day 12

Trevor is now up to 17 ccs of milk. His breathing was better today, and Conor was able to hold him again. He has the cutest little blue hat on! Trevor also held onto Jack's hand (don't worry - they have him use hand sanitizer frequently when he's there). He was really excited about that!

Day 11

Trevor had a bath today, so he's super clean in this picture. We didn't hold him today because he had been moved around alot with the bath. They also did some tests earlier today to check for infection. He is on some antibiotics as a precautionary measure because they won't have the results for about 48 hours. If he is clear of infection, they'll just stop the medicine.

August 28

Good news! Yesterday, the night nurse told us he was 2 pounds 1 ounce. However, the day nurse today said he was just back up to his birth weight...so I'll ask the head nurse tomorrow what his true weight is. Either way is good, because apparently some babies take alot longer to get back to their birth weight after the initial weight loss.
Today, the line in his belly button was removed. He now has the IV in his hand. He is still getting caffeine and now vitamin A (supposed to help prevent chronic lung disease I think).
His breathing was not so great Thursday, but today the nurse said he was doing well. He got a new neighbor. It got pretty loud in there with them and then the shift change was happening so lots of nurses were coming in, so it was a good thing he was in his incubator to block out most of the commotion. He is also up to 14 ccs of milk (about half an ounce).

One week old!

Today Trevor is a week old! I got to hold him. He was very squirmy for the first 20 minutes or so, but then fell asleep. He is up to 9 ccs of milk. If he does well with his feedings tonight and in the morning, they are going to take out the line that is in his belly button. It has the electrolytes, lipids, and caffeine. But he should be getting what he needs now from the milk, and the IV is a risk for infection. The doctor came by and spoke with me. He said they will be trying to get him off the respirator within the next few days as well. His blood-gas levels weren't so great the past few days, but he said today's levels were good. The respirator is at a very low level so he does alot of breathing on his own. So that is looking promising!

Day 6

Great news today! The head ultrasound was done very early this morning. When we got to the hospital around noon, they called and got the results for us. Everything looked great! The nurse was also able to take him off the ventilator for a few hours this morning. He is back on it now, but almost at the lowest setting possible. We were way off with the amount we thought he was eating. It was only 4 ccs, not 40 (30 ccs=1 ounce). Today they increased it to 6 ccs. She also said we could hold him now and so Conor got to hold him for about an hour. Before they took him out, Conor changed his diaper. While he was changing the wet diaper, Trevor pooped! Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers!

August 24

Today when we arrived, the nurses excitedly told us that Trevor had his first poop. This is a big deal because it means he is digesting the milk. They also were doubling the feedings now (I think he is up to 40 ccs). Trevor opened his eyes when I put my hand on him. He pretty much slept the entire time we were there. Tomorrow is the brain ultrasound so keep praying for him!

August 23

Today the phototherapy was stopped. There is very little light and the cover is off of his eyes. Now we can see his face! They also took out the line that measured his blood pressure. They will still monitor it but not as often. In the next few days they will be doing an ultrasound on his brain to check for hemorrhaging (which is pretty common). They started giving him breastmilk Saturday evening and he has been able to digest it so far which is great news!

Thanks for all your prayers. We're still trying to get the paperwork that we need to the right place for the blood donations. He has only needed a little so far Thursday night. Thank you in advance if you are able to donate. Even if it is not a match to Trevor it will benefit someone in need.

August 20

His first 24 hours were good. He is getting the all the nutrients he needs and even some caffeine through an IV. He hasn't needed any medications. He is under a light (phototherapy) to help with the bruising on his head. Because of the constant bright light, they keep his eyes covered all of the time. I was out of the hospital by lunch today so we went straight to TCH to visit and take these pictures. He likes to lay on his stomach.

August 19

Trevor was born on Wednesday, August 19 at 5:13 p.m at San Jacinto Methodist Hospital in Baytown. He weighed 1 pound 13 ounces and was 13 inches long. He was taken to Texas Children's Hospital by ambulance a few hours later. Conor rode with him and spent the first night with him. The neonatal doctor at San Jacinto Methodist was impressed with his condition. He cried almost right away and his vital signs were good. They brought him back in the room for everyone to see before they left for TCH.