Ollie's First Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving with family yesterday and had a good visit and dinner. This past week Ollie turned 5 weeks old. He's a growing boy. We don't see the doctor again until December 22, but we are thinking he's pushing 10lbs. He's getting chubby. He's getting much more interested in the things around him and he reacts to our voices. It's neat to watch him develop these things. I've included a few pictures of Ollie yesterday. He at too much turkey and slept the whole day.

Pictures

This blog goes along with the one below it. I ran out of room for pictures so I'm adding more here.
These are simply a few miscellaneous pics I've taken.
One month old.
And hating getting his picture made. "HOLD ME"
He wore this shirt on election day. Worked out nicely.
I love the colors in this picture. And those long johns are TOO cute.
Handsome. Good looks run in my family!!

One Month Young

Today, Ollie is one month old...uhum...young. It's been an intersting day. He's been a little crabby. He did get his first big boy bath which I've included pictures of. He finally lost his umbilical cord so he got a real bath instead of a sponge bath. He hated it. He was not loving the shower like I was.

I tried taking some other pics of him today and he was not feeling it. He's wanted to be snuggled all day so getting pictures has been near impossible. It is nice to just snuggle him, though.

On Tuesday we took him to his doctor's appointment to check his jaundice level. She sent us to the hospital for another blood test and it was 7.9. This is great news because it is going down without the use of lights. We are very happy. I'm so sick of him having to have slices in the bottom of his feet!!! He weighed 9lbs 1oz at this appointment and the doctor was very pleased with this weight gain. He's eating pretty much every 2.5 - 3 hours and it's usually 4oz., but sometimes a little less and sometimes a little more.

He shouldn't see the doc again until Dec. 22. Hopefully, all will go well and he won't have to see her sooner!

He's holding his head up a little more each day. I just know time is going to fly by. He's getting bigger everyday. I've included some pictures for those of you who haven't seen him in a while. Enjoy!!
He lost his cord and has a real belly button. He's growing up so fast!!



And here he peed on me after I got him out of the tub. Thanks!!
I've run out of room for pictures so I'll post another blog with a few more pics.

Ollie is Better!!

Today we took Ollie to the hospital for his LAST blood test. His level of bilirubin was 10.2. Before we knew the test result we went ahead and decided he didn't need the lights anymore. I just wanted to hold him and snuggle him. So that's what I did, all day. So I was really happy when the doctor called and said he didn't need the lights anymore.

Now, we have a follow up appointment on Monday, but I don't think anything will come of that. They'll weigh him and check his color. He should be just fine. The last weight we have is 8lbs and 4oz. so hopefully, he'll be weighing more than that.

We haven't started him back on breast milk just yet, but we probably will tomorrow. It's easier on his digestive system. He has a hard time with the formula and he spits up so much with it. Makes me sick!! Ugh.

So, we're well and happy!!

Must be Me!!

Good news!! We took Ollie off the breast milk after his bilirubin level started going back up. We did that at about 6:00pm last night. He's been under the lights since Friday night. At 11:00am he had another blood test and this afternoon the pediatrician called to tell us his level is now 12.4.

His results have looked like this:
Friday 18.7
Saturday 18.1
Sunday 15.3
Monday 14
Tuesday 15.3
Wednesday 12.4

The pediatrician said we can put him back on breast milk and continue the lights for one more day. We are going to continue with the formula until we KNOW his level is down and isn't coming back up. We go again in the morning for his "last" test. We hope it's his last. I think we'll more than likely start him on breast milk once he's better and then we'll supplement a bottle a day with formula just to ensure he's getting what he needs to keep the level down. At least for a few weeks.

I forgot to mention that on Sunday at the hospital he weighed 8.4 oz. He's a growing boy. Today is his 3 week birthday, but we haven't felt much like celebrating. We miss him, yet he's here. It's strange. We haven't been able to hold him much without feeling guilty because we know he needs the lights as much as possible. It really takes away from just enjoying him. It's so nice to take his mask off when he's awake so we can see his little eyes. Just in a week he's come so far with looking around and really taking in his surroundings. I can't wait to get him off the lights and get him well!!!

Stay tuned and I'll keep you updated.

Breast Milk Jaundice???

Well, we went for another blood test this morning. Yesterday the level was 14 and today it is 15.3. Bad news. That means its going up and we don't really know why. It should be coming down, even if slowly. So, we're testing the Breast Milk Jaundice theory. If we take him off breast milk and supplement with formula then the bilirubin level should drop rapidly. He's eating randomly. About every 3 hours, but never more and often less. He eats between 3 and 4 ounces, but today at his 11:30am feeding he had 5oz. He just kept wanting more and more. This is good because the more he eats the faster the bilirubin can leave his body. We're encouraging his healthy eating!!

We have to keep the lights going again all night and give him formula and then off again in the morning for another blood test.

Oh and one more thing for all you parents out there. You know those little mitts you can buy to put on your babies hands so they don't scratch themselves? Don't use them!!! We had some for Ollie and we put them on his hands last night because he kept getting mad and ripping the mask off his eyes. We didn't want him to do this while we slept and then be exposed to the lights so we put the mitts on. Big mistake. This morning his little hands were swollen. It cut off the circulation and we didn't even know. We felt terrible. We should have checked to make sure they weren't too tight, but they went on easily so we didn't think about it. UGH!! Don't use them. Or at least check every half hour to make sure they don't get too tight. Lesson learned at poor Ollie's expense. He is fine, by the way. His hands must have been sleeping in those mitts though because when I took them off he waited about 1 minutes then started screaming so I'm assuming the blood was then moving around and he got the prickly feeling that we all hate!!! Poor baby! He's had it rough!

Keep checking back for more updates! Hopefully, we have good news tomorrow.

Ollie's Jaundice Terror

What a rough week. Ollie celebrated his two week birthday on Wednesday last week. He's thriving very well and packing on some weight. Then on Thursday we noticed he was beginning to look more and more yellow. Friday we decided to call the doctor before waiting for the weekend so we wouldn't have to worry all weekend about his condition. I called the pediatrician and told her my concern. She ordered a blood test at Harrison County hospital to check the level of bilirubin in his blood.

Bilirubin is a waste product from dying red blood cells. The bilirubin is supposed to be flushed out by the liver, but in newborns sometimes the liver isn't mature enough to do this. Usually it shows up on day 1 or 2 of life and goes away on its own in 2-3 weeks. When we left Norton Hospital on Oct 25, Ollie's bilirubin level was 11.7. This is an okay number so we were told to simply keep an eye on it and if his color got worse they would do a blood test. We kept watching and it was going away. When he had his one week check up his pediatrician said his color looked great and she wasn't going to order any tests.

Now, back to Friday. We took him to Harrison County and they did the blood test. That evening the pediatrician called us back and said it was a good thing they ordered the test because his level was 18.7. Rarely, does jaundice go away and then come back. This concerned the pediatrician so she sent us to Floyd County ER for admission and phototherapy. The phototherapy breaks down the bilirubin into a water soluable component that is then more easily flushed out of his system in the form of feces and urine.

Friday night they hooked him up with some lights and then tested him again on Saturday morning. His level was then 18.1. It was going down, but not very quickly. This meant another day and night in the hospital. Because his level was so high and he was 2 weeks old they were again concerned so they ordered a whole panel of blood tests. This time 6 vials of blood were taken and he was tested for many many different possible disorders. On Sunday morning we were told that everything looks normal and there is no cause for concern. Again, his bilirubin level was tested and it was 15.3. Going down still. This time we asked for phototherapy for our home so we could leave. We had a HORRIBLE room and TERRIBLE accomodations at the hospital. Our request was granted and we were able to bring him home on Sunday with home phototherapy. I've included some pics to show you how this looks. The mask for his eyes is to protect him from the lights which can be damaging.

Today, Monday, we took him back for another blood test and it was 14. Again, going down. We will continue the lights and blood tests daily until we reach 10. After that he should be good to go!! He's as tired of the lights as we are.
His soccer injury. Okay, this was actually the first of MANY needle pricks he got. His IV was the worst!!! This is a good picture to compare the color of his arms to the color of his face. You can really see the jaundice.
His suitcase of phototherapy lighting. If we have the drape up he doesn't have to wear the eye mask, but he hates the drape.
The mask protects his eyes.

Like Father Like Son?

What do you think of the resemblance? I see many similarities. The first picture is Josh as a newborn. The second is Ollie at 4 days old and the last at 10 days old.

Baby's First Halloween

Ollie really enjoyed his first Halloween. He peed all over his jack-o-lantern onesie. Ugh. I did manage to get a few pics before though. He also made his first debut at Wal-Mart. Fun. He slept through the whole experience. Yippee!! Actually, he pretty much slept through all of Halloween. At about 10:00pm he decided it would be fun to wake up and enjoy the night. That was not fun for us, but he seemed to enjoy being awake.

Enjoy the pics of our little punkin.