Just Watching Him Grow!

That is what the docs say everytime they do rounds in the morning "Just watching him grow". As of last night, Matthew weighs 4 lbs 12 ozs, we have yet to get a weight on him today. It seems like he is gaining approx. 2-3 ozs daily, so he may be over 5 lbs by the weekend :) He is doing very well. Still on O2, but very little. He now has the top of his incubator open and he has to be able to control his temperature and keep gaining weight to keep it up...he's moving in the right direction so far. He is now wearing preemie clothes, a little hat, is bundled (so you really can't see that he has clothes on :), and he has borrowed his big brother's train blanket to get cozy under. It all just makes him that much cuter! I'd put on a new picture, but (BAD MOM) I keep forgetting the camera...it's still on the computer where I downloaded pictures last time!!! Maybe tomorrow...

Andrew is finally getting control of his cough and gets to go back to school. We are hoping he gets over this sinus stuff soon, so he can visit his little brother. I will be taking tomorrow off to spend with Andrew, and Sunday I will also stay home with Andrew and give Dad (Eric) the entire day to spend with Matthew. Andrew is still being strong, but I can tell it's beginning to wear on him. I guess he needs to get used to having to share his time. Eric and I have both agreed that he will have major "grandpa withdrawal" in the future due to getting so much attention and "good" spoiling. I think they have formed a great bond that will last a lifetime :)

Idea Of Size

Here are several more recent pictures of Matthew. I tried to put several objects in the pictures to give a better idea of his size (pen, thumb, etc.). Matthew is doing very well and as you can see, resting and growing. He is now just over 4 lbs, 3 oz. and gaining weight (about 7-10 grams) daily. He is in the 56th percentile for wt, and 50th+ for ht, all are progressing normally. As of tomorrow (Sunday, Feb 22nd) he will be at 32 weeks (gestational).

He is back and forth between room air (21%) and 23% O2, as his lungs are also continuing to develop, and is being given caffeine to help remind him to breath at times when he is very relaxed. We are hoping that the remainder of his stay will be as uneventful as possible. He remains big for his gestational age and the nurses continuously remind themselves that he is only 31, and now almost 32 wks.

It feels strange at times, and I will speak for my husband as well, as if we have two lives. One is at the NICU and then the other is at our house. It is still hard to divide the time and Andrew is handling it very well. He has had a rough week with allergy/sinus issues and has been unable to come to the hospital to see his little brother. Hopefully he will recover soon and get a chance to spend some time with Mom, Dad, and Matthew at the hospital. Over all, we are developing a daily/weekly routine that requires every bit of energy and leads to utter exhaustion :) Despite everything, the are sooooo blessed and are soooo happy to have our new addition and our Andew in our lives!!! We are thankful everyday for the two of them, and know that they both have a guardian angel, Alexandra, who we lost previously at 18 wks.

This is Matthew with lights underneath to help lower his level of bilirubin when he is jaundice. I mentioned this before, but it is normal for a preemie to do this. Earlier he had to have lights shining above him as well and he was "bathing in the lights". As of today, he is off the lights unless his levels increase again.

The mask on his face is to protect his eyes from the light. He didn't seem to mind unless we started messing with it :)

As you can see, he has the feeding tube in his mouth to his stomach (which he keeps trying to work out by himself. He has an IV on his left arm in this picture, now it is actually on the right side. All other wires are to monitor his heart, O2 levels, and respiratory rate. He was pretty relaxed and happy in this picture, just lounging around!

The rest of the pictures are on the side and go from most recent to the 1st day. Enjoy!! I will be updating often as he is continuing to grow! (He gained more weight today!!!)

Back Again!

Back again. I have gotten a lot of baby time today, so thought I would take a break and blog. We are both excited, we get to bathe Matthew this afternoon. From now on, I kangaroo (hold) Matthew one day, bathe the next, etc... He is doing very well today. Yesterday afternoon, they put him back on a nasal cannula because his O2 stats were hanging around in the 80s (%). This is normal, he is just tired of breathing on his own. He has had 3 x-rays showing some immaturity to his lungs and one is slightly collapsed due to him not filling it all the way. Again, the NICU docs reassure us that this is normal with preemies, and they will mature over time. They will continue to monitor this as the days go on. Matthew gained weight yesterday for the first time and they are increasing his tube feedings daily. His bilirubin (jaundice) has lowered today (good thing) and they took him off the lights. He seems so content today compared to yesterday due to more relaxed breathing. He opened his eyes a lot today and looked as though he really wanted to know where I was. He has also been very active (arms and legs) today. We just praise God that he is doing so well. He is now 6 days old and just short of 31 weeks gestation.

I was looking at a chart today on gestational age and weight. A 29 week old avg. was approx. 2.8lbs, and a 34 week avg. was 4.6! I guess he was a little bigger :) 87th percentile. He already makes us proud :)

I actually got a good night sleep last night...7 whole hours, despite 3 hour breaks for pumping. I feel so rested compared to yesterday (or any day since the baby was born). I have been up here everyday and yesterday I just crashed and knew I needed rest. Andrew is also getting tired of me being away, I feel so torn right now :( I am hoping that he will stay strong and try to understand why Mom has to be gone right now. If Matthew is doing very well, I am going to leave a little early and spend a few quality "playtime" hours with Andrew.

Andrew has been a little stuffy the last couple days. It seems like allergies with the warm up and damp weather, and we are hoping it doesn't go any further. You wouldn't know it, he is such a trooper. We are so blessed to have him as our child.

Mom and Dad Calvin are doing are great, despite the sleep deprivation and busy schedule. The hospital NICU has some great resources/programs/support that make as feel as welcome and informed as possible and we feel that Matthew is in great hands when we can not be present. Eric took this week off and has also gotten to spend some time with both Matthew and Andrew and will be returning to work next week as long as all is well.

My dad is staying as long as we need him and he also is a real trooper...and taking on even more responsibility now. Love you Dad!!

Just Over 4 Days Old!

I know what your all saying...It's about time! I have to be completely honest though and say it is really hard to stay here and type instead of being at Matthew's bedside. I thought maybe I could type next to him, but so far can not because I just can't stop watching, comforting, and talking to our cute little guy! Ok, ok...I know what your saying now too...Where are the pictures????? They are coming, be patient. It's just that by the time I get home and spend a little time with Andrew, I am totally exhausted. I know it doesn't take long to download my pictures and put them on this sight and I promise :) they will get here soon enough (give me a few more days or so to get into some type of routine).

I am surviving on about 5 hours of sleep daily. If I make a million spelling/grammar mistakes, don't take it against me :)

Matthew Joseph Calvin arrived Friday at 11:04, 4lbs and 1oz., 17inches long. His name trully fits him in our eyes because Matthew means "Gift from God", and Joseph means "God will add". I could go into why this means so much to me, besides the obvious, but it is a whole blog in itself, and I will save that for another time.

It all started about 3:20pm, Friday when my contractions started picking up, getting closer, but nothing too out of the usual (If you remember, my water broke again on Thursday and I was dialated to 1cm). As 4:30pm rolled around, my contractions started getting stronger. This, of course, is the day I told Eric to stay home. By the time he arrived my contractions were still strong and the docs decided it was time to take out the cerclage. By 7:30pm, I had the epidural and then the cerclage was removed (about 8:30pm). I was dialated to 4-5cm. Approx. 1
hour later?? I was having more back pain and was dialated to 9cm and his head could be seen. They then took me to the OR and I was completely ready to deliver. After approx. 5 sets of pushing (Eric said around 15 min.), little Matthew came into our lives (11:04pm). I got to see him a lot longer than I expected, he cried :), and Eric got to cut the umbilical cord. The NICU docs than took him to another room to prep him for his stay. We didn't get to see Matthew until around 2:30pm!! It was a very long wait, but he was fine. He was put on a ventilator for breathing, tube-feeding, IV, and various standard monitors (heart rate, etc.)

He was strong from the start. By 1:30pm Sat., they removed the breathing tube and replaced it with a C-PAP (over the nose breathing tube), by 4pm they removed the C-PAP and put in a nasal canula to give extra O2, then because be was breathing over the O2, they removed it by 8pm. He is still on room air!!! and doing great.

He has lost some weight and a lot of fluid...so he is very little, but big for his age (gestational), if that make sense. The last couple days his weight has remained about the same and they are increasing his feeding (breastmilk now..he is off nutrients) daily. Once he tolerates the food increases, he can get rid of the IV. I believe he is around 3 lbs, 6-7oz (still good). His bilirubin levels were high on Sunday and they put him under "the lights" and he was just "soaking up the rays" until Tuesday morning. His level has gone down, but flucuates, so they still have a blue light underneath (this is all for jaundice, which is normal in preemies)...Andrew had to do this too. The 1st ultrasound of Matthew's brain came back completely normal, and we hope that this will continue. He is at risk for brain bleeds until he hits 32 weeks.

Mom and Dad were able to change diapers and bathe Matthew for the 1st time on Sunday. Yesturday, Mom got to "kangaroo"/hold Matthew on my chest for the 1st time for 2 and 1/2 hours!!! And today, I got to hold him for 1 and 1/2 hour!!!! That's what I needed and it was absolutely wonderful!!! (I had to fight with the nurse because I just didn't want to let him go!!!!) Needless to say, I slept much better last night. Andrew has seen his little brother twice now and is very fond of him. He thinks all the tubes, etc. are "Cool" :) and he is going to be a great big brother.

I have to go now...but I will add more later...YES!...including some pictures!

Matthew's progress

Matthew is now almost 40 hours old. He is breathing on his own without supplemental oxygen, sleeps a lot, is being fed through a tube that runs into his stomach, and becomes pretty feisty when the doctors or nurses work on him. He has lost more weight than expected, but is nothing to worry about yet. We will wait and see . . . . .

Matthew's Arrival!

Matthew Joseph Calvin has arrived! He was born at 11:04pm last night (Friday). He weighs 4 lbs 1oz (which is amazing!), he is 17 inches long (again shocking!) and doing very well. He is very feisty right now, which I think is adorable :) He has a breathing tube, but is doing a lot on his own and may not be in long. He has a feeding tube and it will be some time before he will feed normally due to age. He was born at 29 wks, 6 days. We are very happy and doing well. Andrew is sooo excited to be a big brother!!!

I will add more details to this blog later and pictures once I get home (a few days). Right now I want to go visit my son :)

Settled For Now

My contractions picked up and were pretty intense for about a 1/2 hour after my last blog, but have settled down now. The docs don't want to do anything tonight if they don't have to. I am going to take a sleeping pill, and hope to get a full night sleep without hard contractions waking me up. Baby still looks great!

Andrew came to cuddle with me today and drew me several (approx. 10) pictures that I absolutely love. My favorite says "I Love You" with a heart and a drawing of the baby. While snuggling on my bed, we watched a couple Rescue Heroes videos, read a couple books, and ate dinner together. He is the best therapy I could ever have!!! I miss him sooooo much!!!! He told the doctor that the baby is coming out tonight. Hope not :) Although I don't know how many of these prep. days I can take :) He is definitely more comfortable visiting me now, and wants to know how everything works...of course, those liitle minds of theirs.

My dad says that every morning he puts a little animal under his shirt and says "He's kicking!", then "Look Grandpa, he came out!" He is just so cute!!

Ruptured Sac Again!

Last night my contractions picked with pressure, but no real pain. The OB doc did an exam and everything looked ok. Overnight, everything went back to normal. This morning, I was excited because all bleeding had stopped.

Then it all started, guess things just weren't exciting enough anymore!

The unit I was in was getting so busy the last couple days, they decided to move me to the "regular" labor and delivery wing...because I was their most stable patient. I was in my new room a matter of minutes, when my water ruptured again! This time it all happened very fast and my contractions picked up to 1-3 min. apart. Don't worry, they have not been painful contractions, just frequent.

They did an exam and said I am dialated about 1cm, yet there still is no tension on the cerclage. (To understand this better, the stitch is on the inside of my cervix or top end and the bottom or outer portion can still open). At first, they thought they may have to remove the cerclage, but because I never went into labor (with pain) they ruled that out. Now, my contractions are farther apart, but a little more painful. So, again we just wait to see...

It looks as though things will settle down. If the pain increases they will reevaluate. And of course, Eric is here and now everything is slowing down...guess it was a false alarm (so far).
I just like to keep it exciting!! We don't like dull moments :)

If you want to understand how I'm doing at the moment, I'll tell you...I'm starving and can't wait until they will allow me to eat again :)

New Day

A few contractions and bleeding today, but it seems to be letting up. I'm not feeling the best, a little sick to my stomach and tired. Hopefully, things will get better as the day goes on.

My regular OB thinks I may have sealed back up, that the baby is really too small to just be blocking the hole with his head. He said the placenta will be very thin where it broke, so my water could break again easily. Right now, the fluid can continue to increase, which will put less pressure on the umbilical cord. Baby is still doing fine.

If I am still pregnant at 34 wks, they will remove my stitch and induce labor. So no matter what, we will have the baby by the second week of March. We have 19 more days to get to 32 wks, which they say is the magic number in the NICU. At that point, they would no longer be concerned about a brain bleed. The only main issues to deal with would be treating for any infection and lung function.

Ultrasound Results

Everything went very well at our US. The baby's movement was good, he passed all tests, including breathing movements. He is head down and definitely pushing up against my cervix (trust me I feel the pressure at times). The amniotic fluid is at 8cm, which is where it was when I arrived, before I lost a ton of fluid. This can increase again to normal (11+ cm) or until he moves his head slightly and I lose it all again. They say he is most likely plugging the hole that is in my placenta with his head. He looks pretty cramped in there, but they say this is fine. They did see fluid in one of his kidney's. This will need to be monitored, but she said with boys this is pretty common. They noted it only because they have not seen this is previous USs.

Best news of all (besides breathing movements) is his weight! When we talked to the NICU, they said the avg. wt for a 28-29 weeker is approx. 2-2.5 lbs, Matthew's weight is measuring approx. 3 lbs, 5ozs!! We are very excited about that!!

I am still doing fine and the bleeding is very minimal. They did not see any sign of placenta previa (where the placenta is tearing away from the uterus). So again, good news!

I wish I could have gotten an ultrasound picture, but they could only see the back of his head and couldn't get a really good picture for me today :( That's ok, the important thing is that he is doing great!)

Ultrasound Today

Today has been going well so far and hopefully will be as uneventful as yesterday. We are looking forward to our ultrasound this afternoon around 3:30. We will get an idea about how much amniotic fluid is around the baby, an approx. weight, and see how he is doing. I haven't had much, if any, fluid leaking since yesterday and there is a possibility that the hole in Matthew's amniotic sac could seal itself. That would be so wonderful, wouldn't it?

I will post an update after the ultrasound.

Made It To February And 29 Weeks!

I'm still pregnant, but had a pretty rough day yesterday. Frequent contractions stuck around until approx. 5:30pm, then spread out to approx. every 10 minutes until 7pm. After that, they had spread out more and more, and I ended up only having 5-6 tough ones through the night. That means, I actually got some sleep and feel much better today.

Today, I am having contractions every 5-10 minutes+, but rarely are they as strong as yesterday. So, we are hanging in there. Matthew still seems to be doing well, despite the cramped space that he has. The NICU met with us again yesterday, and it sounds as if they are pretty happy and confident with how far along he is now. Again, every day counts and we have done all we can do. It is out of our hands, and I will keep praying. As the docs have said, if my body delivers, there is a reason, could be infection, placental tear, etc.. so we have to let things happen.

It is hard at times, I always wanted to be so excited that the baby was coming, knowing the outcome of each contraction and active labor. Now, when I am contracting, we are saying "Not yet", "Stay in a little longer", and even though I can't wait to see him, I know it's best for him to stay in the womb as long as possible, if it remains a good environment.

We are prepared now, and so strongly feel that he will be ok. It has been a long road, and we still have a long road ahead, but we will all be ok, and it will all be sooooo worth it. We are already so attached to this little one. He will make a great addition to our family.