Day 13

Korbin was doing well today. He now weighs 3 lbs 7 ozs. He started tolerating the 10 CC's yesterday evening so they bumped him up to 15 today. I was very surpised since he didn't handle the feedings very well for the majority of the day. He will officially be 34 weeks next week so hopefully they will start trying to feed him out of a bottle rather than a feeding tube. I am hoping that he will do well with bottles so we can move onto the next step of him learning how to hold his own temperature. Hopefully his progress will begin accelerating and he will be home soon.

Sabrina

Day 12

My visit this morning didn't last too long. When I got there I was informed that he had just calmed down after screaming for an hour. He seems to have learned that when he is woken up it is time to eat. This morning they were not able to feed him. He had some residual in his tummy and his belly was full but they are attributing this to him not using the bathroom these past three days that he has been eating. Instead of removing the residual, they replaced it and gave him some Glycerin to try and "get things moving". If he is able to digest what is left, they will be bumping his amount up to 10 CC"S.

As his feeds increase, the need for the IV fluid will decrease. Since yesterday's attempt to insert a PICC was yet again unsuccessful, they have just put in another IV. The nurse this morning told me that if they are able to continue bumping up his feeds, they may not even make another attempt at inserting a PICC. When he is able to handle enough food, the IV fluids will stop. I was also told that when he is able to handle more of his feedings and higher amounts, they will then begin to try to see how he will do with a bottle. I am assuming that this will not happen until there is no longer a need for IV fluids. After he is able to take the majority, if not all, of his feeds by bottle, they will move to the next step of allowing him to hold his own temperature.

There doesn't seem to be that many steps left in what is the long process of getting him ready to come home but it does seem that each step will take so long. I am aware that some steps may take longer than others but some days it just feels like there are mountains left to climb and reaching the top is a feat that I am not capable of accomplishing. I know that looking back on the past 12 days there were obstacle that even the Dr's did not think were possible to overcome but the road ahead just seems so long. I am just ready for the day that I am able to say my Little Warrior is home where he belongs.

Sabrina

Day 11

We are on day 3 of Korbin accepting his food!! He is now being fed 6 CC's every 3 hours. He now weighs 3 lbs 6.2 ozs. He is back under the bili lights (photo threapy for jaundice). They said that is because he has not been able to eat so hopefully now that he is able to eat a little it will go away quickly. He is handling the caffine that they give him to control his apnea very well. They will try to have him off of that before he comes home. They removed his IV this morning in order to make another attempt at inserting a PICC. I am not sure if they were successful. They were preparing to do that as I was leaving.

The Dr. has finally received the Neuroliogist's report. She recommended they continue to monitor him and for him to be followed up .. discharge. In order to monitor him, they will measure his head twice a week and he will have an ultrasound on his head once a week. They want to make sure that the bleed has not gotten any worse and they will measure his head to make sure that it is not growing too quickly which could be a sign of a complication of the bleed. They are also monitoring him closely for neurological syptoms such as seizures which could indicate that the bleed has gotten worse or that what is there is causing a problem. So far we have not seen any of these things. The Dr. said that they would not really expect to see any of these issues right now unless his condition has gotten worse. This does not mean that these issues could not present themselves down the line as a result of what is there now. I imagine this is why it will be important that he is followed closely by a neurologist.

Sabrina

Day 10

Today actually brought some good news. We have had 2 days in a row of successful feedings. Korbin has been able to digest 5 CC's of milk with very little, if any, residual (non-digested food). His blood work regarding his infection came back looking better today. I was able to see my little man throw a fit and show the nurses what a temper tantrum looks like. He likes to sleep on his tummy and throws a fit when he does not get his way. The nurse also told me that he does not like to be fooled with. It looks like he is already showing what he is made of and what I have to look forward to when he gets home

Sabrina

Day 9

When visiting the NICU this morning I was able to hear Korbin letting the nurses know that he was not happy. It is reassuring to hear him cry. They removed the line in his tummy7 today and put an IV in his arm. They were going to wait until Monday to remove the line and put in a PICC but his blood work is indicating that there is another infection somewhere. We hopefully know tomorrow what we are dealing with and how to treat it. They have started feeding him again and so far he his handling 5 CC's every 3 hours of a high calorie formula. Hopefully tomorrow we will have a couple more steps forward since it seems we have had our steps back.

Sabrina

Day 8

The motto of the NICU is "2 steps forward, 1 step back". After Alayna being in the NICU, that was a phrase that I learned to hate. It is just so frustrating. Today was a "1 step back" day. Yesterday, they made another attempt at feeding Korbin 3 CC's every 3 hours. He handled every feed well yesterday. This morning, his tummy decided to take a break and pretty much not do anything resulting in the Dr ordering another day of rest. There was no news from the neurologist today. It is so difficult seeing such little progress on a daily basis. I know that he has come such a long way in his little life but it is still so frustrating. It is so difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel but I am trying to take it a day at a time.

Sabrina

1 week old

I have changed my settings so that anyone can leave a comment or question so feel free.

Well, today's visit was not quite as positive as previous visits have been. I received a phone call this morning from thed hospital. Seeing the number on the caller ID made my heart stop. The Dr. was on the phone asking for permission to insert a PICC line into Korbin's arm. I was expecting this. They are wanting to remove the lines from his belly button and since he is still needing a good deal of fluids and will likely need them for awhile, a PICC line is a better option than an IV which would be replaced every 3 days.

As of yesterday, they have taken him off of his oxygen and he is now in an isolette which is good news. He is still struggling wth his feeding. They were attempting to feed him 3 CC's at a time every 3 hours but he was not able to digest that. Yesterday, they decided to try feeding him 1 CC an hour, every hour and he seemed to do well. They are trying 3 CC's at a time again today.

The results of the head U/S were a bit worrisome. When he was born they told be he had a small bleed that was not that bad. According to the U/S yesterday, his ia a grade 3 on a scale of 1-4, one being mild, 4 being the worst. There is nothing that can really be done about this at the moment but could result in surgery down the road. The neuroligist will be seeing him today. We were told that this could result in developmental problems down the road but that is another "wait and see" issue. The positive of all if this is that the cindition did not get any worse.

Todays goal is just to get him to eat and rest. He looked very peaceful this morning and completely unaware of the fact that his mom nearly had a heart attack this morning and was on the verge of being sent to the looney bin.

Sabrina

Day 6

Today's visit broght more good news. Korbin's white cell count is finally where it is supposed to be. He will remain on antibiotics for a few more days. They will discontinue his photo therapy tonight at 6 which means that his jaundice is now under control. I was also informed that he will be moving from a warmer, which is reserved for the sickest babies to an isolette which is a huge step. He is still struggling a bit with his feedings. They have decided to try feeding him an easily digestable formula for 24 hours. He will also have an ultrasound done on his head today to follow up on a small bleed that was found when he was born. I will know results tomorrow.

All in all, he is doing very well. The nurses have found that he keeps a fairly high body temperature so they are frequently having to take blankets off of him to cool him off and he DOES NOT like that. He was very upset about it today and was showing them that his lungs are fully functioning now! He is getting better and stronger by the day.

Sabrina

5 Days Old

I have started this blog for those who do not have a Myspace and for those who I may not know that would just like to be updated on my little warrior's condition. For those who don't already know Korbin was born 9 weeks early weighing in at a heavy 3 lb 3 oz. We thought he was okay when he was born although he needed a little help breathing due to immature lungs. Unfortunately, we were soon informed that our new little bundle of joy came to us very ill. We were told that he had no white blood cells and were told that his body was extremely infected and was losing a massive battle. Although no one actually came out and said it, Korbin was not expected to make it through the night and that he was no longer stable enough to move if that became necessary. We were thrilled the next morning to see a surprised Dr. come into our room and inform us that although our baby boy was still very sick, his body had decided to fight. We know that it was by the grace of God and all of the prayers that this little baby received that he is still with us today.
That brings me to today. He is continually improving. After yesterday's day of rest, this morning he was strong enough to be off of the ventilator. They are slowly trying to get his little tummy to start functioning properly but he is slowly beginning to be able to handle small amounts of food via a feeding tube at a time. As of today he is back at his birth weight. I was able to hold my little man for the first time today which surely God knew I needed after a small break down last night. He is also still under photo threapy but should be off of that by morning. I also got to see his beautiful eyes for the first time today. He has also decided to become very opinionated about wet diapers (can you imagine, one of my kids opinionated )
He is very beautiful and will probably be forever known as my miracle child. I was told months before he was born by my Aunt that this baby was going to do special things. So far in his short life she has been proven right. He has had people who do not usually pray to pray and has formed bonds between family members that was just not there before. My little man is a fighter and I look forward to posting more progress!

Thank you all for your prayers!


Sabrina