6 Weeks old Today

Well, today is a good day. The Xray showed that the questionable area in his abdomen seems to have passed. The Xray looks good! The blood cultures came back negative too. He had a dirty diaper and no blood! So it looks like there was some air or some bowel that had not passed that was showing up on the xray. He started feeding again, 1/2 formula and 1/2 breast milk. Once he shows that he can tolerate it and break down the proteins, his feedings will increase with more breast milk and less formula. I can't believe through this NEC scare, the big guy managed to gain 3 1/2 ounces. He is now 4lb 1oz. His height is now 16 3/4 inches too and head circumference is right on target. Actually, he is in the 50th percentile for height, weight and head circumference. He has certainly come a long way in the past few weeks. We were able to take a few photos without any tubes in his nose or mouth. So here is a closeup of him. His cheeks are really getting fat and looks more like Tim everyday. His hair is coming in a reddish brown. Keep the prayers coming. He is not out of the woods yet, he is still at risk for NEC.

Keep up the good work, Ryan, We all love you and cant wait to take you home!

Love, Mom

Rough Weekend

Ryan had a rough weekend. Saturday morning he had a few bloody stools. They took some X-rays and found something questionable in his abdomen. They havent determined what it is, possibly some stool that hasnt passed or a protein allergy.
Saturday night and Sunday continued with more blood in his stool.
The doctors are acting on the side of caution and have taken him off the breastmilk and are feeding him with fluids in an IV. He has the IV in his left hand, which he does not like. They took some blood cultures and those will be in on Tuesday. He doesnt show any signs of infection, which is very good. All of his gas tests came back good. White Blood cell count is good. He looks good, no fever, good blood pressure, heart rate, etc. They are also giving him some antibiotics just in case he does have an infection.
Once the 48 hours passes they will do some more X-rays to determine if his abdomen is the same. If everything looks ok and he still looks good, they will put him on a formula where the protein is already broken down. He may have an allergy to a certain protein in the breastmilk and he cant break it down and digest it.
He is still so young, almost 33 weeks and his digestive system may not be fully developed. So we are playing the waiting game.
His doctor does not think it is anything too serious, like NEC, but they dont want to rule anything out and are being very proactive.
So Keep Ryan in your prayers and hope that the doctors find out why he keeps bleeding.
He keeps growing, today he was 3lbs 14 oz! Now he may lose a little weight because he is not taking any breastmilk, he may lose 1 or 2 oz.
More updates later. Mom

Growing Everyday - 5 Weeks old Today

I cant believe it, but Ryan is now 3lbs 12oz. He gained 12 oz in 1 week! He looks so good. Chubby cheeks and a double chin. Everything mom and dad want in a growing boy.
The bottle feeding is going well. Today he took about 10 ml of milk. Tonight about 1/2 hour before his 9:00pm feeding time, he started to get hungry. He gets a little agitated and starts moving around. My mom, MorMor Jo as she wants to be known as, said he made some faces and began to suck on his lip, like he knew he was supposed to get fed with a bottle. Since there was no bottle and he didnt have his pacifier, he started to suck on his knuckle. She said he looked really cute. His nurse found his pacifier and he was going to town on it. He now gets fed 35ml or a little over an ounce every 3 hours. I will have to upload more pictures later, so Uncle Dan won't get upset with me.

Ryan keeps gaining weight

This morning, we called and Ryan gained another ounce and is now 3lbs and 7oz! Yes, he has gained 3/4 lb in just 1 week. The nutritionist came in this morning and plotted his growth chart and he is gaining good weight and growing as he should. Nothing too out of the ordinary.
You can really see his double chin and his feet plump up.
They ran some other tests on him today and his gases look good as well as his stomach. He did have a little blood in one of his stools, but so far it was just one time and the tests they ran show no infection. The nurses will keep an eye on it.
His nasty diaper rash looks like it has cleared up. I felt so bad for the little guy. It was really red and actually bled a few times over the weekend.

Today, I had my first bottle

Today I was able to give Ryan his first bottle! He is still really young to feed on a bottle, but his doctor said to try it. Most preemies don't attempt bottle feeds until 34 weeks. He did pretty good. He took about 6ml of milk. He wasn't exactly sure how to swallow, but he did ok for his first time out.

The doctors orders are that we can try every day. I was so excited to hold and feed him.

He gained another 2 oz too. Finally his legs are filling out and growing into his huge knees.

We are so proud!

My little man is now 3 lbs!!!

Somehow overnight, Ryan gained 3 ounces and is now a whopping 3lbs! He looks so cute and is now filling in. His doctor is really pleased with his progress.

He also has grown from 14 1/2 to 15 1/4 inches long.

They were worried a little at first,because he was in the 10th percentile on his growth chart. He was pretty small for his height, weight and age, but now, I think he will catch up pretty fast.

Today, we were able to put his bear up next to him so he could snuggle. He was so content and slept so well.

We think we may have a future pitcher on our hands. Yesterday, I gave him his pacifier and he threw it from one end of his bed to the other! I could not believe it. He has some muscles in those tiny arms.

My first oufit

Today, the nurse dressed Ryan in a newborn onesie. It was HUGE on him!

He looked so adorable, but was drowning in the blue onesie. I can't wait until he actually grows into it

Look Ma, No Breathing Tube!

Today is a good day. As I was walking in to see Ryan, his nurse was removing his cannula(breathing tube)! Yeah! He is breathing the same air the rest of us breathe. This is a huge step for someone as young as he.

And somehow, in 24 hours time, he gained 60 grams or 2oz! Now a whopping 1180 grams.

More cuddle time today, but not as long. The nursing staff is really watching him to see how he does with his feedings and breathing room air.

We know this is a marathon, and not a sprint, but today is a very good day! We are so proud of him!

Three Weeks Old!

I can't believe Ryan is now 3 Weeks old! Finally back up to his birth weight. 1110 grams or 2lbs 7oz. He is doing well. Breathing better everyday and growing stronger. He is finally filling out his tiny body.
The tiny red had he was able to wear on Christmas is now too snug for his tiny little head!

Today I was able to hold him for 3 hours. He was so content, as was I. He started to fuss and move around, but then found another comfy spot and fell asleep again. He looks like a little tree frog plastered on my chest!
He was able to suck on a pacifier today for about 15 minutes. This is another big step. He is starting to learn to breathe, suck and swallow at the same time.....in a few weeks he will be able to start taking a bottle!
We focus on the positives. Everyday new challenges. We stay focused and stay strong for Ryan.
We went to his first doctor's memorial service today. It was very moving. He only had Ryan as a patient for 6 days, but they were the most critical days of Ryan's life. We are very grateful and we thank him for that.

January 4th - Getting bigger every day

Ryan is getting bigger each day. Today he was 1065 grams, almost 2lbs 6oz. 18 days old today! He is now in a newborn diaper. It is huge on him. His nurse had to get the larger size because the preemie diaper was crushing his stomach. His feet are 2 inches long!

I was able to spend nearly 3 hours of cuddle care with him. That is the most wonderful thing right now. It is skin to skin contact. Great for both of us.

Today was the first day he coughed! He sneezed for the first time on Thursday.

We started to hear him cry Saturday the 29th. Its such a tiny cry. He sounds like a little kitten. After they extebated him, his throat was sore and it took him a little while to start crying. Now we can hear him wimper and whine. Its so adorable. We are so proud of him. He is so perfect!