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09/01/05
Finally some good news!!
I really am not sure I can handle anymore episodes like yesterday! I swear we're gonna whip him when he gets home for all this stress (JUST KIDDING OF COURSE)
OK...I called the nurse last night, they took him off the insulin because his pottassium is back to normal. She told me last night that he was having a "good" night, and they don't tell me that often, usually he's having a "busy" or a "stable" night.
This morning has also been good. The threat of his lungs collapsing is all but gone, he's urinating again, he's down to about three medicines (as opposed to at least 10 yesterday), and his swelling is going away. He still looks terrible, but the nurses aren't worried about that, so I'm not going to either. She said it will go away soon, and it already looks better than yesterday. They also took him off the paralytic, but he's still on two sedatives, so he's not moving around or anything yet.
Seriously, this little boy amazes me. I knew, just absolutely knew, that I was losing him yesterday. And then he turns around. I have never seen anyone with the will to live like he has!
Tonight's update!
Today was SOOO much better than yesterday!
He's still extremely swollen, but they said it will go down with time, he is on diuretics to try & get rid of the extra fluid. He's back under the bililight, but the nurse said that his levels weren't too high, so I shouldn't worry about that too much.
I did have a smaller scare tonight, though. The nurse did what they called transilluminate on his chest, basically just put a little flashlight up against his chest, and if his chest glows that means there's air in there. Well, she did that, and his chest did light up. She was telling me that if there was air in his chest, that meant that his lung had a leak in it, and they would have to try & remove the air with a needle, and if that didn't work they would have to put a chest tube in. She told me that although it was serious, it wasn't considered critical, so not to worry too much (like that's gonna happen!)
Anyways, they did an xray and realized that it wasn't air in there, it was just the extra fluid from the swelling. Thank God. So they gave him an extra dose of the diuretic because the fluid was making his lungs work harder.
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09/02/05
Went back to work today!
I went up to work today because I had been having a hard time getting ahold of my boss to find out when I should start.
So I go in, and tell her I am on no restrictions, and can work whatever hours she wants me to, and she looks at me and says "Right now?"
So I logged in...and realized that I have completely forgotten how to do my job...
I only stayed an hour, but I start back up next Monday. It's going to be stressful...working and trying to go see my baby everyday. But I HAVE to work, we're so broke right now...wish me luck!!!
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09/03/05
New Worry
Yesterday the nurse gave me a handout on ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). Looks pretty scary. I'm gonna try not to worry too much though, at least until he gets checked out for it.
Also, the retested him today for the thyroid thing that that letter said he had. I guess I'll get the results back from that in a couple of weeks.
As far as an update for David, he's SO much better today. The swelling has completely gone down, and he's moving all around, just like he did before he got sick. He did have to get blood again last night, but I'm pretty used to that by now. I'm gonna take some more pictures pretty soon, and photobucket allowing, will post them soon.
Happy One Month Birthday, David!!!
David is ONE month old today!!! Happy Birthday to my little man!!
They started feeding him again last night, just 2ccs/3 hours. He is soooo much better, and he is having a wonderful day! Last night he weighed one pound, fourteen ounces!! He's getting so big!! Here are the pictures I took today:
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09/04/05
Last day of maternity leave!
I have soo much to do today, grrrr and I just don't wanna. I wanted to get the house all clean and stuff before I went back to work, but it isn't happening!! I am so busy lately, I don't even know how I will find time to work!
David is having another great day! He's out from under the bililights again, and she said that they're weaning his meds down, and soon he'll only be on the TPN, which is extra nutrition that he's not getting from formula, and lipids, which is fats. The nurse said that at her last assessment she is going to put him in an isolette! They were going to do that a few weeks ago, but decided that he wasn't stable enough to do so. Oh, and she took his footprints again on the little card that says "Watch me grow!", and his little feet are bigger than they were when he was born! (She wanted to do it yesterday, but he had an IV in his foot, so she couldn't.)
So, Amarillo is rumored to be hosting 500-1200 evacuees from New Orleans. I'm really proud of Amarillo to be helping out. I wish there was something else I could do, but I am going to be donating some of my non-perishable food items to them. I can't spare any money, and I can't donate blood yet, so that's the best I can do.
The nurses at the hospital are all worried because they might have to go on crisis alert, or something like that, in order to take care of the evacuees that need medical treatment. My nurse told me that means they might have to spend the night up there. She said that it wouldn't directly affect my baby at all, that he would have a neonatal nurse at all times. But, I'm thinking, if my nurse hasn't been home for a few days, she's going to be exhausted, therefore not do as good of a job as she would if she was rested. So, I'm hoping that the nurse that takes care of my baby gets to go home everynight.
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09/05/05
Katrina
Hurricane Katrina turned this:
into this:
She turned this:
Into this:
She turned these people:
Into these people:
All I can say right now is Thank God for the people who are helping out. I wish I could do more:
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09/06/05
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Went back to work yesterday and was bored stiff. Had fun talking to Isabel though. Brenda came in and brought me all kinds of cute stuff!!! Here are the pictures of that:
Then went up to the hospital, where Javier got to hold David for the first time!! My two men are so handsome! It was so much fun, and David did wonderful!!! Javier told me later on last night that he was scared he was going to break him since he's so little. BUT...little David hit the TWO POUND MARK LAST NIGHT!! WHOOHOO!!! Here are those pictures!
Anyways, the nurse said that if he continues to do well today, it's my turn to hold him again tonight!!! Wish us luck!!
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09/07/05
No news is good news!
Nothing new today. David is doing well, he didn't get his sponge bath that he was supposed to get this afternoon because he's too sensitive. They took him completely off of one sedative, and halved the other one. Nurse says if he is still sensitive they will put him back on one of them.
Went to work today and looked at ghost websites. Joked with Isabel about going into the bathroom and saying "bloody mary" ten times, or whatever you are supposed to do. Took two claims, and about a million non claims (hahah Cole, I'm gonna beat you) Fun stuff.
Made a slide show with David's pictures. Will put the link at the top of my blog whenever I figure out how.
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09/09/05
Went out last night...
Finally decided I couldn't handle it anymore and, after calling the NICU to make sure David was okay, went to Coconutz with Brenda. After that, she took me to Walmart, where she bought me:
Can you believe it? Thank you SO much, Brenda!!!
Anyways, accidently spilled grape koolaid on the computer and whew was Javier mad at me!! He's over it now though...
Since I was up so late last night (till almost 5am)I slept through David's 1:30 assessment. But I was planning on going to the 4:30 assesment, until I realized that I had to work for Jr from 4-10 :( So I only got to see David once today:( BUT when I went at the 10:30 assessment the nurse let me hold him again. YAY!
David has a yeast infection in his ET tube (the tube that helps him breathe) and in his diaper area, but thankfully it's not in his blood. He's already on antibiotics for it though. He's also up to 13ccs of formula every three hours!! That's the highest he's ever been! Oh, and he weighs two pounds and two ounces now!! He's getting so big!!
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Pictures from 09-10
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09/14/05
Haven't posted much lately...
Wow, between working & going to see David I haven't had any extra time lately!
David is doing good, he's got a yeast infection and a staph infection. He's got the yeast infection due to all the antibiotics that he's on for the other infection. He's also got reflux. But David weighs 2lbs, 6 ounces now!! And he's 14.5 inches long!!! He's getting so big! Here are the latest pictures:
Remember this picture?
Well here's a comparison:
Here's a picture of his footprints:
And here's just pics of David:
So anyways, my friend Amanda & I are going out tommorrow night, along with whoever else I can recruit (possibly Brenda, Cole, Aty). I'm pretty excited about it!! Maybe I'll bring my camera and post pictures of that soon....
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09/15/05
David had a spinal tap yesterday, to make sure he doesn't have meningitis. Poor baby. And then I had to have a colposcopy done today. Poor me.
But...after I go see him tonight we're going out...so the day isn't a complete loss.
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09/17/05
We went out to Texas Roadhouse on Thursday night. Cole & Amy, Amanda, Yessica, Aty, and a couple of Aty's friends (Phosy & Annie I think were their names) were there. We had a few beers & discussed all kinds of interesting things. I believe epidurals, baby blow outs, and baby snot were Cole's favorite subjects. It was great. Then Amanda & I went to Coconutz, where there was all kinds of fun drama I shouldn't mention here. Once we'd had a few shots, though, it really got fun. Met a guy with pretty eyes & messed up teeth. He was my favorite because he acted like he really gave a crap about our lives, and then bought us each a shot of Patron. Then when I found out his name was David, I mentioned that was my son's name, and he disapeared!! HAHAHA. Men. Then there was the funniest guy in the world, his name was Antonio, I believe, and he kept telling Amanda he could eat her up with a Diet Coke. I don't really think that she was his type, though, if you know what I mean :) Aww well...I had a good time. Gotta take advantage of nights like this since once I get my baby home they'll be far and few between....
David is doing good. I think I posted before that his spinal tap came back negative for meningitis (thank God). He's up to 21 ccs of formula every three hours. He's on two antibiotics, one for his yeast infection and one for his staph infection. He weighs 2lbs, 7 ounces now, and I got to hold him last night! Oh, and he's the cutest baby in the world. Ever.
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09/18/05
I'm so mad I could spit!!!!
So I didn't get to see my baby all day long today because I worked from 9am-7pm. After work I rushed over to the hospital to see him.
I arrived at about 7:20pm. I buzzed in. He tells me "Hang on a minute, Mrs. Escobar, let me see if they're finished with shift change." I say ok.
About 7:30pm he lets another Mommy in. He calls out to me "Mrs Escobar? They said it'll be another five or ten minutes." I say ok.
About 7:40pm I start wondering when he's going to call me. He lets a few other Mommy's in.
AT 7:55PM I BUZZED AGAIN. He says "Oh! Come in, Mrs. Escobar!" SO I go in. By the time I washed my hands & got into the gown & got back to David's room THE NURSE WAS FINISHED WITH HIS ASSESSMENT!!!!!
WHY THE *&^% DIDN'T THEY CALL ME IN? Because he forgot. That's why. The nurse tells me "Oh, I didn't know you were coming to this assessment, so I didn't wait."
OMFFFFFFG. I said "well, I was out in the hallway for more than THIRTY MINUTES!"
I am devestated. I didn't get to see him all day long. And then, when I get there, TEN MINUTES EARLY, MIND YOU, the stupid @#!$ of a receptionist doesn't let me in to see my baby because HE FORGOT!!!!!
When I was leaving she apologized for me waiting out in the hallway. I told her it wasn't her fault, but I was about to cry so I had to leave. She probably thinks I'm mad at her, but I'm not. I'm mad at the stupid receptionist. DOESN'T HE REALIZE HE'S DEALING WITH PARENTS OF SICK BABIES????
Sorry. Had to get that off my chest.
Anyways, David is fine. They switched the feeding tube from down his throat to up his nose, so he wouldn't use his toungue to get it out anymore. She said that he has "thick walls" or something like that in his bowel, but it isn't dialated yet? I'm not sure what that means, but I will find out more later. They stopped his antibiotic for his yeast infection, but still has a couple more days on the staph infection. He also had to get his repiritory tube changed today. She said they had to retape it after they changed it because it was too high. But he's doing okay right now.
And I joined the official "motherhood" club on 9-16. I was holding him, and he crapped all over me. Soaked through the blanket, through the yellow gown I have to wear, and down onto my shirt. THEN, on 9-17 he did it AGAIN! Except that time the stain was HUGE! It's funny because I still had to go out into PUBLIC after I left the hospital.
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09/19/05
We're sick :(
Javier & I are both getting sick. Both of our throats hurt, and Javier's got a runny nose. What sucks is that it means that neither one of us can go see David :( Seems like I'm always getting sick this time of year. Usually bronchitis. Once it even turned into pneumonia. That really sucked. If I don't get better in the next day or two, though, I'm gonna have to go to a doctor so I can get on antibiotics. I can't take very many more days w/o my baby :'(
BUT he's doing good, he's real sensitive today, the nurse said. They're also watching his tummy real close because it looks really round.
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09/22/05
Yes ma'am! :)
Aty says I don't update this often enough....I guess she's right, I've been a slacker. I'm still sick, and I haven't seen my baby since Sunday. I know he's in good hands, I just can't shake the feeling that I'm abandoning him up there. Thank God he hasn't gotten sick while I've been sick, because I don't know what I would do if my poor baby was sick & I couldn't go into the NICU. Javier is feeling a little bit better, though. He thinks he'll be completely over it by tommorrow. Thank God, one of us can go see him. Thankfully Meme & Lizzie have been going to see him everday so maybe he doesn't feel like an orphan :'(.
Meme had surgery yesterday on her ear and then decided she wanted a new dog :) it's a golden retriever puppy. I am going to go see it today whenever I get out of the emergency room and laundrymat. Well, that's pretty much all the news for today. Have fun entering medical bills, CS EE's!! hahahahah....I think I'll enjoy my day off!!
It's Strep.....
Went to the ER today (because I don't have a private physician, and BSA urgent care won't take my medicaid) and was in and out of there in 40 minutes, thankfully. I do have strep throat but it's a mild case & they put me on antibiotics. Good news is, after I've been on the antibiotics for 24 hours I get to go see David. I'm gonna have to remember to take pictures, the last pictures I have were from 9-16!!!
Wait a minute...
Woah!! I just realized I don't even have the latest pictures up here!! Here they are:
These are from September 11th:
And these are from September 16th:
The hospital just called......
David has air in his stomach, and has loops that apparently are visible through his abdomen. They've stopped his feedings and drawn a bunch of labs. I feel soooo helpless because I can't go see him. I've enlisted Meme to go, though...she is supposed to call me when she gets out.....
Update
OK...I just called the nurse & she said they have a tube down his throat to pull the extra air out of his tummy. I asked if he had nec (click here if you're not sure what that is) and she said no, they had caught it just in time. She said he's being ornery, which means he isn't feeling too sick. She said he keeps trying to pull the tube out of his mouth! Javier just went to see him, but he isn't back yet. She said she will call me if anything happens. I will be worried sick tonight.
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09/23/05
Update on David!
He's doing so much better. They figured out that it was nowhere close to nec. Thank God. They're thinking he may have had an allergy to the milk. They asked me to find out if that runs in my family, and after asking Meme, I learned that both Dad & Amy had horrible allergies to milk & had to be put on soy. Soooo...that's probably what it was. She said they're going to do one more xray in the morning, and if it looks good they will resume feeding him. I still can't go see him because I'm coughing really hard...but I would rather go another day or two w/o seeing him then have to live with the guilt of getting him sick just because I couldn't wait. It has now been 5 days. Hopefully tommorrow!!!
I ordered some digital prints from www.snapfish.com and picked them up at Walgreens today. They turned out wonderful, and I can really get started on the baby book now. I'm pretty excited. I also ordered birth announcements with David's pictures on them, and I should recieve them in the mail soon. I spent way to much money...but it'll be worth it I think.
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09/25/05
Finally got to see David!!!
David is doing much better. They still haven't been feeding him, hopefully they will begin tommorrow! I finally went to see him tonight, I had to wear gloves & a mask because I am still coughing. It had been an entire week, and he's gotten SOOO much bigger, just in that time!! I couldn't even believe how chubby his little arms are getting! AND...much to Javier's dismay, David is starting to look like ME!!! Javier always teased me about David only looking like him, but now you can really start to see what his facial features look like!! Anyways, here are the pictures that Javier took today:
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09/27/05
He's growing!!
Just a short update on David...he's gone up a size in diapers!!! WHOOHOO!! The new ones are a little bit too big for him still, but the nurse said he was peeing out of the little "thumbelina" diapers...he's getting so big!! YAY!
Oh, and they started feeding him yesterday again. They're feeding him 1cc/3hours until they are sure that he's digesting the food, and then they are going to go up. HOWEVER, they've got him on the same kind of formula, which doesn't make sense to me. Why the heck did they even ask me if there was a history of milk allergies in my family, if they weren't going to listen to the answer??
Today I was feeling a little bit discouraged about taking David home. I mean, is it EVER going to happen? Is he EVER going to be at home, where he belongs? So, feeling a little bit philisophical, I went through the drive through at Chicken Express. There was a little red & black bug that was trying so hard to climb up the window sill. He kept falling down. Over and over and over again. He'd fall down. Sometimes he fell on his back, and struggled to right himself, and immediately returned to his task. Seriously, I began to feel sorry for this poor bug (and if it wasn't so gross I would've probably helped him out). He continued to try to climb this window sill. It struck me as strange. How easy it is to say "screw it". But it takes a stronger person to keep going. I know. Cheesy. But that little bug inspired me.
I saw a car accident today. It was weird. I was in the middle lane at I-40 and Coulter (going to see David) and there were two or three of those line-painting trucks in the right hand lane, blocking traffic. To my left was a semi. Well, this little red truck pulled in front of me, cutting me off, trying to get to the left hand lane. I guess he didn't see the semi, I don't know. But he pulled right into it. We were going about 50mph. The semi kept going. Weird.
I'm so upset I could cry. Remember the birth announcements I ordered? Yeah, well they came in. And I'm stupid. Here's a scan of one:
Notice the grossly misspelled word? I'm an idiot. I'm currently deciding if I want to send these out even with the error, just so I don't have to spend more money that I don't have. By the way, the picture isn't that dark on the actual print. It's just a bad scan.
Please keep David in your prayers, he's having the ROP test done on his eyes tommorrow. (Click HERE if you want to know what that is) I'm really hoping that there is nothing wrong with his little eyes, but even if there is, apparently it can be easily fixed with laser eye surgery.
Here are the latest pictures of my little man:
By the way, Cole, look what I found: (In case you can't see it, it's a picture of my pregnancy test)
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09/28/05
Update on David's eyes...and more
David has stage 2 of ROP. Stages 1 and 2 customarily get better on their own. They will redo the test in two weeks to make sure it hasn't progressed to stage 3, where he would probably have to have eye surgery.
However, David does have little hernias in his testicles. He will have to have surgery on that, but no until he's about to come home. Nurse says it's way common for little preemie boys to get these. My little brother had them also.
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09/29/05
More pictures of my baby boy!
David is down to 45% oxygen now, and he's handled it well today. I'm so proud of him. It's funny, because I told him the other day, he needs to start working on his lungs so he can get off the vent and come home where he belongs! Well, apparently he was listening to me!!! I saw him sneeze for the first time today, and it was so cute!!! He looked so alert today, here are the cutest pictures so far:
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