August 4, 2008 - Day 55

Well today we got some good and some ok news. The good news is the nurse said Brendan will be coming home soon. The ok news is that he will be coming home on oxygen. They offered to transfer him to another children's hospital for a couple of weeks or said we could bring him home on oxygen for a couple weeks and wean him off of it on our own at home. So that is the option we are going to take. Right now he is at 1/2 liter flow and 21% which is room air, basically breathing on his own. He just has a couple episdoes where he cannot tolerate breathing on his own. He did have 2 bradys with desats and a couple desats on their own today. The nurse today also said that they are now going to weigh Brendan everyday because he is not gaining as much weight between weigh-ins as they would like him to. But at his weigh-in last night he weighed 1.82 grams or 4 pounds. Since he will be coming home on oxygen and a monitor we have to take the hospitals infant cpr class. In addition to infant cpr training they will be training us on how to use the oxygen, how to use the monitors, what the beeps mean and when it's time to go to the hospital. We will be taking it this week because they said Brendan could come home as early as this weekend. Tonight again I was on diaper and temperature duty and Devin fed Brendan. He does not like getting his temperature taken. Yes for the first time I heard a good strong cry from our baby. Most parents cringe when their baby cries but for me it was a bittersweet moment. Happy 8 week birthday Brendan!

August 3, 2008 - Day 54

Brendan had another good and uneventful day today. Tonight we got there in time to do his 6pm feeding...Devin jumped at the opportunity. He is a pro at this dad stuff. I got to do diaper duty and his temperature. His nurse today was Nurse Kim, she has been Brendan's nurse before and loves him. The other nurses said she was holding him almost all day. hah! He was wide awake for the feeding with just a little emesis, spit-up and the hiccups. Brendan is at 1 liter flow and 21% for his oxygen. He fell asleep in my arms :)

August 2, 2008 - Day 53

Brendan had another good day today. Again he didn't have any bradys but a couple small desats. Friday night they weighed him as of then he was 3.99 pounds. So hopefully Sunday he will break 4 pounds. Tonight I held him first then Devin changed his diaper, took his temperature and fed him. His temperature has been ok not as warm as the nurses and doctor would like it to be but not cold either. So hopefully as he puts on weight his temperature will become more stable. Also last night the nurse asked us to bring in his carseat as soon as we could so they can do the carseat test. The carseat test is when they put the baby in the seat for 90 minutes and see how they do meaning if they can breath while in the seat. So in the next couple of days they will be doing that. The carseat test is a huge step towards Brendan coming home.

August 1, 2008 - Day 52

Brendan had a good day today. He didn't have any brady's but he did have a couple quick self limiting desats. Tonight Devin changed Brendan's diaper, took his temp and did his feeding. He did really well during his feeding. Brendan also got a new knitted hat from Nurse Jessica's mom. She gave him one when he first got to the NICU he has outgrown it so he needed a new one. Today he was only covered by one blanket instead of bundled up which means he is maintaing his temperature...yay! Brendan got 2 packages in the mail today. He got a beautiful blanket and hat from Aunt Di and Uncle Phil. And he got a hillarious onesie that says : Future Papparazzi Target from the Bartkuses.

July 31, 2008 - Day 51

Well Brendan made it through the first 24 hours out of the isolette like a champ! He is still all bundled up but also out of the isolette. He had one brady and a couple small self limiting desats during the night last night. He did really well for his nurse today though with no issues. Today I met with Brendan's doctor just to check in and see how Brendan is doing overall. I am happy to report the doctor is very happy with Brendan's progress and thinks he will be coming home soon. His main thing now is to get this whole breathing thing down. While I was there I got to feed Brendan, he did much better today then he did for me the other day. They also moved Brendan to a different bay in the NICU today. So he will be making some new friends.

July 30, 2008 - Day 50

Today we reached a huge milestone in our journey through the NICU. Devin and I walked in to see Brendan and he was out of his isolette in a open crib. YAY! They of course had him all bundled up in a sleeper, two blankets and a knitted hat one of the nurses moms made but he was out of the isolette. The next 24-48 hours will be the true test to see if Brendan can maintain his temperature on his own. If he can he will stay out of the isolette if not they will put him back in the isolette and try again another time. This is a HUGE step towards Brendan coming home....we are so excited! Other then that big news Brendan had a pretty good day one brady and a couple small desats all around his feedings. Tonight I held Brendan and let me tell you it is so much easier taking him out of that crib, even with all the tubes and wires, then it was taking him in and out of his isolette. A great day for us!

July 29, 2008 - Day 49

Well today Brendan had a good day...that is until Devin and I showed up hah. He had one desat overnight last night. No bradys or desats all day until his 6 pm feeding which I gave him. All day his nurse said he would wake up 30 minutes before his feedings but for his 6pm feeding he was snuggled on me and did not want to wake up to eat. He had one brady during his feeding it was a quick one. He is at 2 liter flow and 23% for his oxygen. As of Sunday he was 1790 grams or 3.9 pounds. He is still having a hard time maintaing his own temperature so for now he is staying put in his isolette.