Nelsonblog

Wow- he’s finally home. He’s sleeping on a ‘co-sleeper’ thingy on the couch right now.
Sue and I both keep looking over at him- partly to see if he’s still breathing- (yes, we’re paranoid about SIDS, I know) but mostly to just make sure he’s really HERE.

My Uncle Steve, Aunt Lois and cousins Andrew and Wendy stopped by the hospital just as we were leaving- they’re out here on vacation and we were a quick stop on their way to San Diego. Uncle Steve had the singular honor of being the first family member other the Sue and I to hold Evan.

Evan has been eating well- we’re so proud. We’re doing a trying a dual breastfeeding/formula approach… we’ll see how that goes.

Blogging might be light for the rest of the weekend- heck, it might be lighter from here on out, really… Y’see I have a BABY to take care of now.

I’ll post todays pictures later tonight if I get the time- I’m not promising anything. UPDATE: Pictures here

Wow.

So listen- Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes throughout this trying time for Sue and myself. Your support truly helped us all.

Evan’s been doing a great job with the whole breastfeeding thing- I’m so proud.

He did great on his hearing test this morning as well. We have to watch a few final safety videos and then home we go!

A nurse will be visiting us at home to check the incision on his leg monday-

So excited! I’ll post later once we get him home and settled down.

Whoo-hoo! the NICU just called! they’re letting us take Evan hour at 4 PM today!

Omigosh, We got to get the place ready!

Gotta go!

Yippee!

Let me rephrase that-
I just smelled my son’s head. And it smelled gooood. Kinda like some type of home baked cookie was what first came to mind… no, I don’t know why either. Maybe I’m just hungry.

Yesterday night, I gotta admit, son- you didn’t smell so hot.

Sue and I are both at the NICU tonight. We came at 9 PM instead of the usual 10-11 PM.

Sue is quietly talking and humming to Evan right now- I’m giving them some alone time and typing this. She’s so beautiful holding him… oop- she’s crying again- hold on, I have to deliver a tissue.

Okay- so, I might be needing a tissue too.

Heheh- Sue just looked at me, clutched Evan to her chest and mouthed “c’mon, let’s go!” while jerking her head toward the door. A tempting prospect to be sure. Oh course, the NICU staff would probably object to that. Phooey.

Sue just asked if we could spend the night here in the NICU, but I don’t think either of us would fit in any of these beds. Bummer.

Okay, it’s time to put mommy and daddy and baby to bed.

Goodnight all-

I’ll post his status first, since that’s the way I’ve been writing the post- complication bit is at the end of the post.

11:45 AM Evan had a Neurodevelopmental evalthis morning- it went VERY well- the specialist didn’t find any evidence of any developmental issues.
Wonderful news.

They stopped his TPN today-
Evan’s eating very well- the Dr said sometimes getting a NICU baby to feed takes weeks.

PDA update- although I would still feel better if I could see a picture of his heart with a closed PDA- the doctors tell me that clinically its a done deal, the doctor says they won’t do anything about it at this time. Which I guess makes sense, but I don’t have to like it. :p

Okay- so here’s the whole complication part:
The PIC line came out today- but a piece snapped off and they need to find it and take it out.

12:20 PM They found it- and its, luckily, right by his thigh- 6cm long! They’re bringing in a vascular surgeon to see what can be done. Sue and I are waiting patiently. Terribly nervous, but patient.

1:00 PM okay- we just signed for the prcedure to be done. The line is from Evan’s ankle right up to his knee- they’re going to make a small incision, and bring up the vein and pull the line out. It should take 20 to 30 minutes- we’ll update when we know.

2:00 PMDr Chen just called- seems that little line is being harder to pin down than originally anticipated- they’re using an ultrasound right now to make sure they have it.
Evan’s doing fine, she stresses- he’s sedated and sleeping peacefully. She thinks the procedure ought to take another 45 minutes or so. Sue and I just got back from the cafeteria where we had a bite to eat. We’re waiting in the waiting room- what an appropriate name.
2:45 PM whew! Dr Chen just popped in her head and told us the line is OUT! Hallelujah! They’re suturing the incision up now. I could really use a little less excitement around here.
3:00 PMOkay- all done. The vascular surgeon just dropped by- they had to make two tiny incisions (the first missed by an inch, the second was dead on) on his left leg- the stiches are self-dissolving which is nice. I hope they’ll let us hold him.

Praise the Lord he’s OK.

4:45 PM Final update-
We’ve seen Evan, and now we’re home again. He’s fine- though now he’s under sedation again. Sue and I will return tonight to visit and try and feed him again.

The NICU doctors are taking the fact that the line broke pretty seriously, which is good- they’ve launched an investigation in the hospitals biomedical supplies department and submitted a report to the FDA that will go on the manufacturers file.

Here’s Dr Chen with the part of the PIC line that was stuck up inside him:

And here’s Evan with his little boo-boo.

Sue and I are so drained by todays ordeal- we both tightened right back up- after the release of yesterday- we’re beat. I think we’re going to take a nap-

We met with Dr Han this morning for Sue’s two week post-delivery checkup-

She was very happy with Sue’s incision- no sign of inflammation.

Sue’s Left leg, however, is still showing lack of mobility, she can’t go up a stair yet using that leg (the right one is OK)- Dr Han suggests a good physical therapist session and she is investigating one for her- we ought to get a call by tomorrow.
As to the reason for this loss of mobility- Dr Han thinks it probably has multiple sources working in concert- those being the extra deep incision into her muscle during the C-section- the 3 failed epidural attempts and the leg/hip cramps Sue got while pushing.

Hopefully the therapy helps-

…but in a GOOD way this time.

Neat! Evan has been moved to a real baby crib! No more ICU warmer for him, oh no.

I’m so proud of the guy.

I’m waiting until midnight when they’ll let feed him. That’s going to be neat. Sue got to feed him this afternoon, so this’ll be my first time.

I sang some more songs for him- ‘Dona Nobis’, ‘The Doxology’, ‘Amazing Grace’ and others. It’s so much fun. I’ve been trying out talking to him in German. He looks kinda confused. Ah well.

Dr Nagli tells me he should be off his PIC IV in a few days- He’s eating about 50 ml of milk every three hours and that needs to be up around 75 ml before they’ll remove it. He’s doing great tho.

Good job, m’boy! Keep it up-

Okay, it’s time for me to feed the guy… Wish me luck, I’m going in!

UPDATE: Oh, WOW- what an awesome experience that was. Let me set the stage- So I’ve just gotten Evan to suck down the last of his 50 ml of milk (Good job! ) and I’m burping him, that in and of itself no mean feat… all of a sudden… he poops.

Explosively so.

I wish I could have caught Evan’s facial expression on camera- I’m almost positive it mirrored mine. I’m equally sure the same thought passed through our mind as well- ‘What just happened?!?!’

Four RNs scattered about the NICU all start cackling and exclaiming things like ‘oh, boy- Dad’s in for it NOW!’ and so forth. Much general mirth, etc-

Now. Before I started the feeding process with little Evan, I had the once-in-a-life-time pleasure of putting my very first diaper on him (well, OK I’ve put on diapers before on little siblings and whatnot, but this is the first in, oh, at least 15 years), so I immediately think to myself, ‘Great. My entire lower torso must be shalacked with baby-poo. I’m done for.’

However, and trust me, I’m as suprised as you are- my first diaper held up under the intense rectal abuse of my son! Amazing!

What an experience!

Ergh, now I need to get some sleep.

Goodnight, all.

PS: Thanks to Nurse Mary for helping me with the clean up.

It was a 250 hours before I held you. A week, three days, seventeen hours, twenty-three minutes and 48 seconds before I heard your querelous voice rising in protest to us disturbing your comfort.  Well, let me tell ya:

It was well worth the wait.

Wow- driving back home from the hospital Sue and I are still somewhat stunned from the experience.  It’s like we’ve been holding our breath for a 11 days and now finally being able to exhale.

We’re still coming to grips the the incredible reality of it all- that little precious baby in there-  the one we just held, fed, changed it’s diaper-  THAT’S OUR SON!!

Update: Oh, yeah- forgot to give updates as to how he’s doing! The only thing he has in him at this point is the PIC line in his thigh. He ought to be getting that taken out in the next day or so.

Other highlights- I got to sing five songs to Evan, ‘Hi-Lily’, ‘Alligators All-around’, ‘Amazing Love’, ‘There’s Something About That Name’, and Sue and I sang a Duet of ‘Jesus Loves Me’. It was great.

If everything stays on track, we could very well have Evan home by the weekend!

Well- I won’t make any of you wait any longer- 

I hereby present to you, the long awaited, Evan Richard Kiesling Nelson PICTURES!!!

Isn’t he beautiful?