Caleb is 2months today....Needs Surgery....and has reflux...

Caleb is 2 months old today, and 5days adjusted. He now weighs 4lb 11oz! He is such a blessing and we can't thank God enough for giving us this sweet little boy.

March has been the month of doctor appointments. So far we have been and had a HIDA scan on the 1st for Caleb's Liver, been to the eye Dr once to check for ROP (and get to go back on the 18th), the Pediatrician 3 times, and have to go back tomorrow and next week too. And the list keeps growing.

We went last Friday to the pediatrician because Caleb was spitting up quite a bit. They say he has reflux and it is very common in preemies to develop this. They gave us baby zantac to take twice a day. It seemed to be helping over the weekend but by Monday afternoon it was getting worse. Around the same time I noticed a rather large lump on Caleb's lower abdomen. I was able to press it back in and assumed it was a hernia. Tuesday morning called the Dr about his Reflux and this new spot. They called us in for an appointment that morning.

It was confirmed that he had another hernia (has an umbilical hernia as well) and we needed to see a urologist very soon to get it repaired. Yesterday we saw Dr. Perez and confirmed that he did have an inguinal hernia and that he would need surgery to repair it. 1 in 3 preemie boys develop this type of hernia and 1 in 4 will become strangulated prior to surgery. They don't know when that would happen but we would rather get the repair done now then wait for that to happen and have other complications with an emergency surgery.

So we are looking at the surgery happening in the next week to 2 weeks.

With the reflux, we cant add any other meds due to his immature liver so we thickening his formula with rice cereal.

Thats all the updates for now and will post when we know his surgery date.

What an AMAZING week!!!

We were thrown for a wild weekend and great week last friday, the 12th. I walked into the NICU to both the Baby Doctor and NNP asking if we were ready to room-in that weekend with Caleb. I was flooded with emotion, we were not ready for a baby at home and thought we had a few weeks to go. (just like Calebs entrance into the world, we weren't ready for that either). So the rest of Friday and Saturday was a mad rush on getting the house ready and making sure we had all of the many things for little Caleb at home. Sunday we had a nice morning at home, (again finishing the last few things), and headed out the door around lunch time to go and be with our little man. We made a much needed pit stop by Starbucks for an extra bit of energy. The nurse brought Caleb to our room, things came full circle because the room that we were in was the room that I was in when Caleb was born. (it is one of the nicer, bigger rooms!) The 1st night alone with him, was a little nerve racking. Trying to get use to his noises (we have been told that preemies make a lot more noises that a full-term baby), getting up and feeding him every 3 hours, and then the nurses calling to check in or just stopping in (we have been told by all of the staff that they have faught over him at shift changes). The plan was to room-in for 1 night and then go home on Monday mid-morning. Caleb's nurse came and got him at 4:30am Monday morning to do some final lab work. Around 10am the NNP came in and told us that one of the labs that was done on his liver came back abnormal, and that the Baby Doctor wanted to run some more tests, and they had a Pediactric GI Specialist downtown at the Childrens Hospital looking at the labs and he wanted them to do an Ultrasound and run more labs. So we ended up having to stay another night. The ultrasound came back normal, but the labs were still elvated. But were ok for us to still go home on Tuesday. So Tuesday at 2:30pm we were in the car and on the way home with Caleb. It was great to finally leave the Hospital with Caleb and know that we did not have to go back. Yesterday Caleb had a follow-up Appt with the GI Dr and ended up doing more labs, to help rule out a blockage in the liver. We just got the results and the were still high, so he is being put on 2 medications and he will have to have a HIDA scan on March 1st. Other than the many trips to all the different drs, Caleb has been doing great, a little fussy here and there. But Most nights sleeping 3hours straight, in between feedings. God has blessed us so much with the Little One and we can't wait to see what he has in store for him. Thank you for all of your prayers and support.

2.3.2010 Caleb Update!!!!

Well, last night Josh had his award ceremony at UNC Charlotte for passing his PE Exam. So we missed Caleb's 8pm feeding and weigh-in. We had called in to check in on him, but they were admitting another baby and could not talk with us.

So when Josh got in this morning, Caleb had a big surprise for us! He gained enough weight to be moved out of the isolate to a bassinet. He now weighs 3lbs 5.2oz!!!! His temp has been staying up which is good, because there is a nice draft by his bed.

Yesterday, he took 2 of his feedings by bottle and took the full amount!!! it was the first time he took the whole bottle for Josh, and he was thrilled!!!

Each day he is making changes and growing!!! He keeps amazing the Nurses, NNP and Doctors everyday.

We Thank God for blessing our little one!!!

Big Caleb Update

Its been a few days since our last post, here are the updates:

• Caleb has gained a lot of weight over the past few days, he has hit 3lbs!!!!! and last night he weighed in at 3lbs 2.4ounces!




• Last Sunday he was moved from Patient Controlled isolet to Air Controled and is now in Clothes!

1.26.10 Caleb Update

Caleb is now 2weeks old and 1day old! here are a few new updates:

• He gained the weight he lost sunday night back last night at his weigh-in, so he is now 2lbs 14.9oz.


• since he has kept his weight above 1250grams he is now in the isolate as air controlled, not patient controlled. which means he gets to wear clothes!!!! last night they put him in his first onesie and he is super cute!

1.25.10 Update

It has been a few days since we last posted an update and Caleb has made some great strides over the past few days.

Saturday night when Caleb was weighed he gained 1.6 ounces, then tonight he lost 0.5 ounces. It's expected for him to gain and lose weight but we weren't expecting that much of a difference.

Friday the NNP decided that since he has done so well with his O2 levels and have not had any issues that he was able to lose that sensor!!! One less lead!!!!! So now he only has heart rate senors and his feeding tube!

Today the NNP decided that when we bottle feed once a day that he only gets 10cc instead of his full feeding amount. This is to help him not to burn a lot of calories trying to feed from the bottle. Today he took 8cc of his 10cc.

We started practicing breast feeding and he is starting to catch on. We again are only doing this once a day too. He is starting to figure things out, and when we are holding him at the beginning of his feeding he is rooting around and looking for his meal.

Right now we are just praying that his weight continues to go up and not down. The sooner he gains weight the sooner he will be out in an open air bed and will be able to take more bottle/breast feedings.

1.21.2010 Update

Caleb had another good day! We continue to praise God for each milestone and good day he has.

Today he had under 2 residual after each feeding, and is now at 25cc. At his 2am feeding he will go up to 26cc and stay there for awhile. Tonight we did his bottle feeding again, and he did very well, he took 8.5cc of his 25cc. We were not thinking he would take that much tonight.

The nurses and doctors mentioned to us today that this next week might get a little frustrating for us. Due to us not seeing the changes and him hitting many or any milestones this week as the last week or so. We ask for prayers on keeping our hearts calm and spirits up over the next week. The staff in the NUCI expect him to just continue to grow and learn to take the bottle more and more.

Thank you for all of the prayers, support and love.