Surprise!!!!

Today: All bundled up at home

We got a HUGE surprise yesterday!!!!


I decided to head to the hospital to visit Ethan yesterday morning. Mady was being fussy and it was nearly nap time, so Casey agreed to stay home and go later in the day.


When I came in around 11 am, the nurse came up and told me how well Ethan was doing. As I changed Ethan's diaper and started to feed him, the nurse told me that he would get to go home as soon as the Dr made rounds sometime before 1, and also once discharge papers were ready. I decided to stick around and hang out with Ethan.


I starting frantically texting Casey to get Ethan's going home clothes ready. They were already picked out, but not with me. After all, we weren't expecting him home until Monday at the very soonest.


Casey and Mady arrived just in time for rounds. The Dr stated how impressed he was that we were going to get to go home so soon, and how quickly things had turned around. They are only recommending an appointment with his pediatrician this Monday or Tuesday for follow up, and an appointment with a cardiologist to follow up on the murmur they found as a result of a thickened valve. We trust that this has already resolved, but of course will follow the recommendations.

Mady met her brother for the first time before we left. Hey, she's kind of loud sometimes and we had decided it was for the best (for Ethan and the other babies). She just couldn't stop staring and saying "baby!".


We were out of the hospital and on our way home in no time.


Abby (our dog) just smelled Ethan for a good hour, and then gave his feet kisses. Rocky (our cat) just wants to snuggle up to whoever is holding the baby. Can you say JEALOUS?!


Today, Mady is wavering between competing for attention and loving on the baby. She has already figured out how to give the baby kisses and "be easy" as she says. Occasionally she has a confused look about something, such as burping the baby. She is really dealing with Ethan ALOT better than we had expected.


Before I go, I will share a quick funny with you. Casey changed Ethan's diaper, and it was his first poopy diaper with Ethan. Let's just say... Suddenly Casey screams and says, "Get it off of me, get it off of me!!!" It seems as though little guy was not quite done filling up his diaper.

Open crib and eating well!

Daddy's Wedding Ring and Ethan

Ethan is now in an open crib. The IV has been COMPLETELY been removed and oxygen is still out.


Donna, the Nurse Practioner present for Ethan's birth, was assigned to him this evening. She states they aren't doing anything for him that we cannot do at home for Ethan. He's just eating, sleeping and requiring diaper changes. The nurse says they have to wake him each 4 hrs to eat. Donna said she didn't see any reason why Ethan wouldn't be coming home early next week, she said she thinks he will be sent home by Monday. However, we will know more when the time comes.


I did get to feed him and change 2 diapers tonight. He ate almost 2 1/2 ounces, which is twice what he took in the feeding last night. That's all for now!

Update on our Ethan's progress

12/2 Thursday about 10 am & 8 pm

Yay! Oxygen has been removed!

Ethan is still doing well. The nurse was able to remove his oxygen and leave it off. I did get to feed Ethan, and he finished off the bottles I had just brought in. He only has an order in to have 20 ccs every 3 hours. He had 50 ccs from the bottle! The nurse got permission to disconnect the iv fluids, and he won't need them anymore as long as he continues to eat so well. They did leave the iv needle in though.... just in case.

He will be moved to an open crib as soon as one is available. For now, they have opened the top of the incubator so as to stimulate an open crib.


The nurse also mentioned (and I did notice) that he has a bit of jaundice, but she wasn't quite sure what was going to happen there. She thinks that either they will let it resolve on its own or he might have to have 1 to 2 days of light therapy. This is very minor, and of course, very common.


It was great spending so much time with my Ethan today.


Now, the next goal is for me to get some rest! Good night all.


12/1 Wednesday 7:30pm


Ethan is doing EVEN better! He has been feeding by bottle a little bit and they tube feed the rest. Oxygen flow was turned down and is still at 21%. I did get to hold Ethan for a bit, and even got to feed him a few little "bites".  He seemed a lot more like a "normal" baby and was not anywhere near as cranky tonight.

He kept yanking out this oxygen, so when I was leaving they decided they would try to take the oxygen off and keep a close eye on him for an hour or so. If he tolerated it, they will keep the oxygen off. I am sure he did just fine last night because when he would take his oxygen off I would look up at the numbers and see that he was still doing just fine.



We did ask about what would need to happen to see Ethan discharged yesterday. Thanks to the help of my friend Tasha. They are intending to send him home without any monitors as far as what I can understand.



11/30 Tuesday 10 am



I got a much more informative update during rounds this morning. Dr. McQueen states Ethan looks much better. The dr is still unsure on exactly what caused his breathing problems- they are saying it was either Congenital Pneumonia or immature lungs.

Last night they reduced his oxygen from 30% to 28% and all stats are looking good. They want to make sure that they complete 5 days of antibotics and 5 days of steroids with recovery time before release. He has to be off the oxygen and eating via nipple or bottle before leaving. They are considering putting him in an open crib soon. They are also starting to tube feed him later today. At this point, he should be less fussy and not require the blankets and such over him.

Dr says if Ethan follows what he thinks will happen, we will be released early next week.

Dr reviewed repeat chest and stomach xrays that were done this morning and yesterday. Chest looks much better, and stomach xray was to check to make sure his intestines were ready for feeding. The neonatalogist states he is ready for 10 ccs feeding each time.

11/30 Tuesday 5 pm

Nurse states they were able to take the oxygen from 28% to 25% then to 23% to 21% with periods of 2 hours that Ethan's oxygen was just  fine. Once he was at 21% for 2 hrs, they turned down the volume from 3.5 to 3. For those who aren't sure, 21% oxygen is the air we breath on a normal basis.

He woke up fussy again from his sedation with Verset (spelling), and nurse gave him 1 cc of breast milk by mouth. He was very happy about it, and fell back asleep and did not require more sedation.

Ethan's weight is at 6 lb 1 oz. We did not hold or touch him since he was resting peacefully and had been so fussy.



Everything is looking up. At 6, we headed to the NICU discharge class!!! WOOHOO!



Our Sweet Baby Ethan!