2 week update

Happy Friday everyone!  Austin is now 2 weeks old and continues to make great progress.  We spent a few hours with him tonight and the story is pretty much the same.  He's doing well with his feeds and is now up to 1630 grams, which is very close to his birth weight.  Beyond his weight gain there really isn't much new to report....and we like it that way.

I got to hold him for about 2 1/2 hours last night and Mom held him for an hour and a half or so tonight.  Both times he settled right in and barely moved until it was time for him to head back to his isolette. 

I've said this before and I'll say it again many times....a huge THANK YOU to all the nurses that have cared for Austin, Jamie, and even me over the past three weeks.  You all are incredible people and have made this experience so easy for us.  We brought in trays of cookies earlier in the week for the birth center, PSCU, and NICU nurses.  They went fast, so we apologize to those who didn't get a chance to enjoy them.  A big thanks Austin's Aunt Tina for taking the time to work her usual magic.  Shameless plug...if anyone needs any cookies, cakes, or other baked goods let me know.  Tina does amazing, amazing work as many of you already know. 

Nursery preparations start in full tomorrow.

Until next time....

Face time

All in all a very good night at NICU.  We started the night by watching Austin get his face tape changed which allowed us to see his entire face for the first time.  :)

Sorry for the picture quality, we were using our old digital camera that stays bedside.

I then got to hold him for about an hour and a half and he barely moved the entire time.  Best of all, he is doing so well with his feedings that he was weened completely off IV fluids and had the PICC line removed.  All of his nutrition is now coming from his food.  Lastly, since he is off phototherapy we were able to dress him for the first time.

Poop

Spent a few hours with Austin on Sunday and he is still doing very well.  He's put on about an ounce of weight and continues to respond well to his feeds.  They've added a fortifier to Mom's milk and he hasn't had any residual in his stomach nor has he thrown any of it up. 

The big event was me changing my first diaper....ever.  And of course he made sure it was nice and full.  Despite my best efforts, I managed to get crap on his foot, his ID tag, and a few other places.  Then he added a little pee into the mix.  Just a sign of things to come I suppose.  I know...all of you parents are saying to yourselves 'he ain't seen nothing yet'. 

Nothing major is scheduled this week, just lots of growing hopefully. 

Status quo

My apologies for the lack of updates lately, but there really hasn't been much change thankfully.  Austin was taken off phototherapy for about a day, but was put back on earlier today as his biliruben levels went back up a bit.  He's taking his feeds well and has put on about an ounce of weight.  He's been a little fiesty during his care times and is requiring two nurses to keep his arms and legs out of the way.  Austin's personality is starting to show a little and he's been opening his eyes more and more.

Mom is doing very well and is pumping like a mad woman.  I think Austin's got a food supply for at least a month now.  :)

In other news, Dad got back on the golf course today and managed a 76 at The Home Course after a rare two week hiatus.  It still should've been better!

Austin got to see his Aunt Shannon and Uncle Josh today and gets to meet his Uncle Kevin and Aunt Kelly tomorrow.  Mom and Dad are heading to Home Depot to buy some paint for his nursery as well. 

Until next time,
Ryan and Jamie

Father/Son bonding

Austin is still doing very well.  The ENT doctor and neonatologists are in agreement that he needs to grow a bit before they'll try an extubate.  He'll need to be roughly 4 lbs 6 oz before they'll consider it.  When the time comes, they'll do it in a controlled environment so they have all the equipment around to re-intubate if necessary.  That means about 3 weeks to a month of him staying on the ventilator.

He weighed 3 lbs, 5 oz last night but was holding steady.  Now it's time to turn the corner and start packing on the weight. 

Tonight it was my turn to hold Austin for the first time.   He snuggled right in and seemed to enjoy the experience or at least not dislike it.  Daddy sure enjoyed it. 

Sorry, hairy chest pictures forth coming. 

Forming a bond

First off, no major news on Austin today which is obviously a good thing.  He's still getting phototherapy for his jaundice, but otherwise is still doing great. 

Mom got her first chance to hold Austin today.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

My genes won

See any resemblance here?  That's me at 6 days and Austin at 1 day.  Scary!

Sunday update

We visited Austin for a few hours today and he's still doing great.  He is jaundiced, which is normal for premies, so he's getting phototherapy now.  The umbilical line used to monitor his blood pressure was removed since his pressures have been normal.  A PICC line was inserted and will be used as his main IV line.  The other umbilical line that had been serving that purpose will soon be removed. 

Tomorrow the neonatologist is going to consult with some of his contacts at Children's hospital in Seattle to start formulating a game plan for resolving his airway issue caused by the cleft palate.  There'a s chance he might get to go on a field trip up to Children's to be examined by their ear, nose, and throat specialists.

Austin got a chance to visit with two sets of his Grandparents today as well as to meet his Great Grandfather.  As Great Grandpa was taking a look at Austin, he opened his eyes a few times.  This was the first time he'd opened them that I had seen and I thought it was pretty cool that he did it when my Grandpa was there. 

I've also added a few more pictures to my hosting site as well: 
http://imageevent.com/yurina/austinlouis

Home sweet home...

After 8 days and 7 nights in 4 different rooms at TG, Jamie was discharged today!

A few minor developments since my last post.  Austin is still stable and doing great.  He was scheduled to start receiving some of Mom's breast milk today and was also further weaned on the ventilator.  He'll continue to have a breathing tube and receive some assistance from the ventilator for a while due to his airway issues. 

We also met with a geneticist today to discuss a few of Austin's 'features' in addition to the Pierre Robin and cleft palate.  I'll provide additional details in a later post, but there are no obvious signs of any major defects today.  FYI, Jamie did have an amniocentisis during her pregnancy and the results were negative for any major genetic defects like Down's.  More to come on this.

I posted a few of the pictures from Austin's delivery on my hosting site:

http://imageevent.com/yurina/austinlouis

Enjoy!

Statistics correction

Correction to last night's post.  Austin weighed 3 lbs., 10 oz. at birth, a little more than first reported.  Jamie gave me the wrong information....apparently math and morphine don't mix well. 

FYI, the middle name Louis is a family name.  Both my Dad and I share the same middle name. 

I'm likely going to head home and get some sleep tonight.  Kinda of annoying when you just get to sleep and the nurse comes in....6 nights in a row.  I'll try and get a few more pictures posted of the little guy. 

Have a great weekend everyone.

Progress...

Hi everyone, we've been down to see Austin a couple of times today and he is doing great!  He's still on the ventilator but is doing the majority of the work himself and is not requiring extra oxygen.  They are keeping him well sedated to prevent him from pulling out his breathing tube.  He had an ultrasound done on his head, heart, and stomach and all of his organs are fully formed, functional, and where they should be.  Austin has my water ski feet and long eyelashes as well as tons of dark hair as you've already seen. 

As mentioned, he does have Pierre Robin and a cleft palate, which caused the difficulties with getting him intubated last night.  His palate is not formed properly and will require attention down the road.  He's got some other 'features' that when combined with the Pierre Robin, have triggered the need to do further genetic testing.  Later today, a geneticist is going to exam Austin to see if there's anything to be concerned with long-term.  For now, the primary objective is to keep his airway open, keep him warm and let him continue to grow. 

Jamie is doing very well also.  She's having only some minor pain from time to time and it looks like she'll be discharged tomorrow. 

What a surreal experience this has been.  I still can't believe I'm a dad. 

With Love,

Ryan, Jamie, and Austin (man that's weird to type)

Uphill climb

First, the good news.  They were able to intubate Austin and he is breathing well now with the assistance of a ventilator.  We were able to spend some time with him in the NICU for a few minutes and chat with the doctor.  Mom is also doing very well after the delivery. 

Unfortunately, he's got some problems to work through.  I'll go into the details tomorrow when we know a bit more, but we do know that he has the Pierre Robin sequence and a cleft pallette, which impacts his ability to breathe on his own.   

Jamie and I are doing as well as can be expected.  Thank you to everyone for the incredible support.  We really appreciate the family that was able to be here for the delivery as well as the text messages and Facebook posts from our friends.  It means the world to us.

Ryan, Jamie, and Austin

He's here!

Austin Louis Yurina was born at 7:55 PM weighing 3 lbs., 6 oz.  He was immediately treated by the NICU staff in the delivery room and moved to the NICU for treatment after about 7-8 minutes.  Jamie was outstanding througout and is feeling fine.  He let out a few cries in the warmer as the staff helped him get started.  He's got his Dad's hair and big feet. 

Austin is doing his best to breathe on his own but unfortunately isn't being very effective yet.  The NICU Dr. and staff are trying to intubate him but are having some difficulties because he has a small chin/jaw bone.  The pediatric ear, nose, and throat specialists are working on him as we speak to help get him intubated. 

Jamie and I are currently waiting with both Grandmas in the delivery room until we get a chance to visit him.  I don't like to ask for much from others, but a few prayers and positive thoughts could go a long way tonight. 

Drugs are good

So the epidural is in and Jamie is feeling much, much better.  Our doctor is on the way soon and she'll be 'breaking the bag' when she gets here.  After that, we wait for baby to arrive.  The nurses think it could be relatively quick.  Mom and baby are doing great! 

It might be happening soon....

Jamie had her cervix examed just now and she's dilated to a 5.  We've been moved back to labor and delivery and it looks like it's going to happen today.  They are keeping her on the magnesium for now to see if things calm down any.  She'll be examined again at 12:30 and if she's dilated any further, the plan is to take her off the mag and let things happen. 

Thursday update #2

The Perinatologist was just in to examine Jamie's cervix.  She's now dilated to a 4.  Her options are to go back on the magnesium sulfate or just ride things out.  She decided to go back on the magnesium to try and slow things down.  Looks like we could be getting close. 

Thursday morning update

Well it wasn't the best night.  Jamie experienced an increase in the contractions/uterine irritability and was given 2 more does of Terbutuline.  Unfortunately those only helped for a short period of time.  Her pain ramped up quite a bit this morning and has been steady at about 6 on the 1-10 scale.  The 4th-string OB came in and told us he was pretty much out of options.  Yes, we've seen 4 different OB's since Friday and ours only once.  I guess that's normal.

We are currently waiting for a visit from the Perinatologist to determine next steps.  They just started an IV on Jamie to be ready for whatever is next. 

The Angry Uterus

Happy Wednesday, man it's nice outside today.  Or should I say it looks nice outside.  Tuesday was peaceful until around 11:00 PM.  Jamie started having minor contractions/uterine irritability which was causing her discomfort.  The nurse hooked her up to the baby monitor to make sure she wasn't having full-on contractions.  Our doctor decided to give her a dose of Terbutuline, which is used to 'calm down' her uterus.  It worked as advertised and Jamie was able to get a bit of shut eye. 

The minor contractions/irritability started up again about 7:00 this morning and she was given another dose of Terbutuline.  She's doing fine as of right now.  Our doctor authorized a total of 3 doses of the Terbutuline so the game plan is to wait and see how things go and use the last dose as late as possible. 

In simple terms, Jamie's uterus is angry because it is full of fluid.  This causes the irritability and makes the tightening more painful.  Baby is still doing great through it all.

So that's the current scooby.  I'm going to try and sneak home for a few hours later today to de-stink myself and to make sure the cats haven't gone crazy.  I also need to figure out a good plan to be awake at 1:00 AM tomorrow morning to watch the British Open.  :)

Waiting game

Good morning! Thankfully the last 24 hours has been fairly uneventful. We spoke to our doctor and a perinatologist this morning. They gave us the option to do an amniocentesis to remove excess fluid and relieve pressure on Jamie's cervix. This would only be a temporary fix as the fluid will accumulate again.  Another benefit to the amnio is to see if there is an infection, which may be the cause of the changes to the cervix.  We're going to wait on the amnio for now since Jamie is stable at this point (knocking on wood). 

In other news, the nurses found me a cot to sleep on.  Apparently they are a hot commodity around here, so I feel special.  We both got a good nights sleep with only a couple interruptions when some jackwad decided to intercom our room instead of the nurses station. 

Jamie must be getting bored because she is going to take knitting lessons from her Mom this afternoon.  You know you're getting old when....

It's been neat to see the constant flow of Jamie's co-workers stop by and wish her well.  She certainly works with some great people and they definitely have a tight bond. 

That's all for now, enjoy your Tuesday.

Stay in mah belly!!

Greetings from lovely Tacoma General Hospital, room 203!  Jamie and I decided we'd start a blog to keep everyone updated on the situation with Jamie's pregnancy.  As you can imagine it's been a full-time job keeping family and friends updated since she was admitted last Friday. 

Here's a quick recap of the events that have transpired so far. 

Friday, July 9th:  Jamie began experiencing regular contractions (3-4 minutes apart)  late in the afternoon and the labor and delivery folks told her to come to the hospital.  We got her admitted and they began to give her medication to help slow/stop the contractions.  Over that night the contractions began to slow and eventually came to a stop about noon the next day.

Sunday, July 11th:  Sunday was pretty uneventful.  The nurses took Jamie off the magnesium sulfate (drug used to stop contractions) and eventually off the IV completely.  She was finally able to get out of bed and take a shower, which was a big relief after a couple of days stuck in bed.  At this point, all signs were pointing to us getting to go home on Monday. 

Oh and for the record, hospitals are not comfortable places to sleep.  I'm sure those of you who've had the pleasure know what I mean. 

Monday, July 12th:  Jamie began having minor contractions about 7:00 AM.  Unfortunately they increased in frequency througout the morning but remained short in duration and not very painful.  The doctor ordered an ultrasound to check her cervix and she is dialated to a 1 but 100% effaced.  Doctor  has ordered her to stay in the hospital through Friday and if she hasn't delivered by then she'll be allowed to go home on bed rest. 

Cliffs notes:  We're still in the hospital and it looks like we'll be here through Friday for sure.  Baby Yurina could be coming sooner than we want.  FYI, she's almost 29 weeks right now.