Changes Good and Bad...

Nick has been doing really well with taking his bottles. They are still giving him a bottle every other feed. He has taken every bottle they have offered him for 2 1/2 days now. He has also been off oxygen since Tuesday. I hadn't wanted to blog about it, because it seems like when ever I do, he ends up going back on. We will see. So far, he has been doing really well with it. His breathing is a little rapid, and his heart rate is a little elevated. He is definitely working hard, but he is doing it. On a really positive side, he seems to be taking the bottle better without the oxygen. So, hopefully, the third try will be the charm for him. The only problem we are seeing right now is his weight. He was 7lb 14 ounces on Wednesday, then Thursday, he dropped to 7 lbs 10 ounces. All the breathing on his own, and bottle taking is using a lot of energy and calories. That might prove to be the thing that prompts the doctor to put him back on oxygen. Last night, he did gain an ounce, and is 7lbs 11 ounces. It is something they are just going to watch closely for the next few days.

Nick had his discharge MRI on Tuesday as well. All babies born before 28 weeks get a MRI before being discharged. They were looking at his brain, making sure there were no more signs of brain bleeds or another disease, the name of which escapes me because it is so long I couldn't even begin to tell you what it is. He does not have the disease. His brain, however, did have a little atrophy. Basically, a portion of his brain is underdeveloped. This is somewhat common in preemies that were born as young and sick as he was. The atrophy portion of his brain is on the left side, in between the two speech areas of the brain. There is no way for anyone to know what kind of affects this will have on Nick in the future. They feel that it is a mild case of atrophy, however, they can not tell me what it might affect on him, or what, if any, problems might arise due to this. The brain was just underdeveloped, and will not be able to catch up. Because he is so young, they do feel that other parts of his brain might just take over the functions that portion should be in control of, and he may be totally fine.

Some of the issues we need to watch out for with this, are problems with gross and fine motor skills, especially on the right side of his body. Issues with cognitive development, especially once he starts school, and speech issues. Just because he has this brain atrophy doesn't mean that he will have issues. If he does, it shouldn't be major, just something that may need a little occupational therapy, or a little extra help in school. Right now, we are hopeful, and praying that he won't have any issues. We always knew this was a good possibility, as with any preemie. Like I said, there is still a good chance that he won't have any issues. It is just something that will be monitored as he starts to reach certain developmental stages.

All in all, we are doing really well. Right now, his nurses have brought in a bouncy, vibrating seat. He loves it! Lately, he really likes to look out in the hall while he is awake. When he is in the vibrating seat, he can see all the fun stuff going on in the hall. His eyes get real big and he just watches everything. I got to take a few photos yesterday. Sorry the paci is covering his face so much, that is also a new favorite thing of his. He is so funny, he holds it while it is in his mouth...