Nolan had a couple of appointments on Wednesday; the results of both were very encouraging to us.
The first was with our family practitioner, Dr. Buhl. At this appointment we were excited to discover that Nolan weighed an even SIX POUNDS!!! This means that he has doubled his birth weight in approximately five weeks which seemed to make 3:00am feedings worth it :). Dr. Buhl also remarked that he seemed more alert and aware of his surroundings than a term baby of his age would normally be. He's been "out" for over five weeks so this would make sense. Nurse Kate gave Nolan his second Hepatitis B vaccine and he only cried for a few seconds after the injection. It's more proof to me that he is a tough little bugger considering all he's been through!
The second appointment was with the nutritionist and Kolleen's lactation consultant at Legacy Emanuel Hospital. Both seemed quite impressed by Nolan's development and told us that we were doing exactly what we needed to be doing to pack the pounds on our baby boy. Nolan's growth has put him in the 10th percentile for his head circumference and about in the 3rd percentile for his weight and length. We will continued to supplement breast feeding with fortified bottle feeding through his first year.
The lactation consultant, Margi, is wonderful and has really helped Kolleen through some breast feeding difficulties. She provided some valuable pointers and great encouragement to Kolleen that already seems to be paying off. Nolan has always fed very leisurely at breast but Margi and Dr. Buhl both suggested that his behavior needed to be modified. Being on Mom's breast is to be a dining experience not a lounging experience. In the past couple of days he seems to be more alert and more participatory in his feedings.
(Sorry if there's more information than you were counting. I'm trying not to be too obnoxious as a father but it's hard sometimes. It's hard not to now that I'm so enamoured with Nolan, the little cutie!)
Love to all,
Dave
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
Updated Photos
I've just uploaded some recent photos of Nolan and various members of his fan club. Click on the photo below:
Also, I've placed all of Nolan's previous photos in a single album which can be accessed by clicking the picture below:
Please note that preceding blog entries that referenced the former photo albums will give you a 404 NOT_FOUND error which I apologize for but there's only so much free storage on Picasa.com... Not the most elegant solution to the problem but you'll get over it; I did. :)
Enjoy,
Dave
PS. More stuff to come including weight progress, milestones, etcetera.
Also, I've placed all of Nolan's previous photos in a single album which can be accessed by clicking the picture below:
Please note that preceding blog entries that referenced the former photo albums will give you a 404 NOT_FOUND error which I apologize for but there's only so much free storage on Picasa.com... Not the most elegant solution to the problem but you'll get over it; I did. :)
Enjoy,
Dave
PS. More stuff to come including weight progress, milestones, etcetera.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
More Pictures of Nolan at Home
Click on the photo below to see pictures of Nolan meeting his cousins Allison, Tyler and Katelyn Vassar and of Nolan getting his first bath at home.
Dave
Dave
Friday, January 5, 2007
Pictures Of Nolan At Home
I've posted a few more photos of Nolan at home. Click on the picture below to view the online album.
Enjoy (we did),
Dave
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Nolan's A Little Safer
I wanted to let you know that Nolan's a little safer tonight because Kolleen and I attended an Infant CPR class at Legacy Emanuel Hospital's NICU. It goes without saying that attending a class of this nature is like buying insurance or learning a martial art - you hope you never need to use it but...
It was expertly led by a NICU Critical Care Registered Nurse who had obviously taught the class a bazillion times but kept it fresh with a good sense of humor. She presented a lot of very useful information about cardiological and pulmonary conditions that parents of prematurely-born infants might encounter. I can't remember exactly which conditions preemies are more susceptible to but there were a couple that a baby like Nolan might be more likely to encounter than a full-term baby.
We spent quite a while with infant-sized manequins that allowed an eirily realistic hands-on experience for what it would be like to perform CPR on a baby. We learned the ABC's and 2's and 30's of the CPR on an infant. As a bonus we learned how to clear an infant's airway of a blockage in case of choking. Both of these acts make me flinch at the prospect of doing it on a baby but I'm confident that adrenaline would take over and I wouldn't second guess saving a life. Luckily for me there were a lot of handouts that were given to refresh our memories after the class was a memory.
Again, we don't ever want to have to use the techniques we learned today but I think both of us will sleep a little better knowing that we've been trained as well as possible in case of an emergency.
Dave
It was expertly led by a NICU Critical Care Registered Nurse who had obviously taught the class a bazillion times but kept it fresh with a good sense of humor. She presented a lot of very useful information about cardiological and pulmonary conditions that parents of prematurely-born infants might encounter. I can't remember exactly which conditions preemies are more susceptible to but there were a couple that a baby like Nolan might be more likely to encounter than a full-term baby.
We spent quite a while with infant-sized manequins that allowed an eirily realistic hands-on experience for what it would be like to perform CPR on a baby. We learned the ABC's and 2's and 30's of the CPR on an infant. As a bonus we learned how to clear an infant's airway of a blockage in case of choking. Both of these acts make me flinch at the prospect of doing it on a baby but I'm confident that adrenaline would take over and I wouldn't second guess saving a life. Luckily for me there were a lot of handouts that were given to refresh our memories after the class was a memory.
Again, we don't ever want to have to use the techniques we learned today but I think both of us will sleep a little better knowing that we've been trained as well as possible in case of an emergency.
Dave
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Nolan Sees His Pediatrician
Nolan had his first appointment with his pediatrician Dr. Walt Buhl this afternoon. Dr. Buhl is actually a Family Practioner who serves as Kolleen, Dave and Kolleen's father doctor as well. Kolleen has seen Dr. Buhl on and off since she was 5 years old.
Dr. Buhl would have delivered Nolan if the final hours of Kolleen's pregnancy had not developed so quickly in such serious ways. Incidentally, Kate, Dr. Buhl's nurse worked in the Legacy Emanuel NICU previous to going to work for Dr. Buhl so we have as strong a sense of family with Nolan's medical team as one could expect.
At his exam Nolan tipped the scales at 4 lbs. 15 oz. which is 2 lbs. more than when he was born 3-1/2 weeks ago. This is a gain of 6 ounces since he was discharged from the NICU 4 days ago. Although Nolan wasn't any longer his head had grown a little, too. Apparently our little eating-and-sleeping-machine is putting his caloric intake to good use!
Dr. Buhl told us to keep up the good work and that we were doing everything right which was a reassuring thing to hear from such a wonderful doctor. Stay tuned for an updated chart showing Nolan's growth since birth - it's vivid visual portrayal of the growth of our little peanut.
Dave
Dr. Buhl would have delivered Nolan if the final hours of Kolleen's pregnancy had not developed so quickly in such serious ways. Incidentally, Kate, Dr. Buhl's nurse worked in the Legacy Emanuel NICU previous to going to work for Dr. Buhl so we have as strong a sense of family with Nolan's medical team as one could expect.
At his exam Nolan tipped the scales at 4 lbs. 15 oz. which is 2 lbs. more than when he was born 3-1/2 weeks ago. This is a gain of 6 ounces since he was discharged from the NICU 4 days ago. Although Nolan wasn't any longer his head had grown a little, too. Apparently our little eating-and-sleeping-machine is putting his caloric intake to good use!
Dr. Buhl told us to keep up the good work and that we were doing everything right which was a reassuring thing to hear from such a wonderful doctor. Stay tuned for an updated chart showing Nolan's growth since birth - it's vivid visual portrayal of the growth of our little peanut.
Dave
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Updated Photos on My Picasa Web Album
Drum roll please. The moment (many of) you have been waiting for...
(click on photo below)
Updated photos of Nolan at the NICU. I hope the wait has been worth it.
Love,
Dave
(click on photo below)
Updated photos of Nolan at the NICU. I hope the wait has been worth it.
Love,
Dave
Monday, January 1, 2007
Nolan's Home!!!
Happy New Year! Kolleen and I are happy to announce that little Nolan is finally home with us. Although we will miss the wonderful nurses, doctors and staff of the Legacy Emanuel Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, we are grateful that our son was finally able to come home and celebrate New Years with his mom and dad. As you might imaginge, we were changing a diaper when the clock struck midnight.
The speed at which Nolan's turn-around happened surprised Kolleen and I even though we had heard that this could be expected with Inter-Uterine Growth Restricted babies, like Nolan. When Kolleen arrived at the NICU on the morning of Saturday, December 30 she noticed immediately that his high-tech Isolette had been replaced by a more conventional crib. Upon further examination she found that Nolan's feeding tube had been removed. Soon thereafter he was approved to face his "Car Seat Challenge" which would prove whether or not he was safe to travel home with us. Even better, Nolan was now on "ad-lib" feeding, meaning he had a minimum amount that he needed to eat but could eat more if and when he wanted.
This had all come about because his feedings and weight gain for the previous 24 hours had been so impressive; Nolan had fed either by bottle or breast 8 times in 24 hours and had gained nearly 100 grams which is approximately 3 ounces. We spoke with the on-call neonatologist on Saturday morning and he told us that we should schedule our "room in" for that night or the next because our little boy could home with us on New Year's Day. Rooming in is where parents spend the night with their baby at the NICU prior to discharge to familiarize themselves with caring for the child on their own.
We roomed-in on Satuday night and got a total of 4 or 5 hours of sleep. Needless to say, Kolleen and I woke up that morning looking forward to getting caught up on our sleep on Sunday afternoon and evening. Instead, the neonatalogist informed us that because Nolan had fed so well with us on our "sleepover" that we could take him home on Sunday afternoon.
Although we had so wanted to have Nolan discharged from the NICU, we found it very sad to say goodbye to the wonderful nursing staff that Kolleen and I had grown so fond of and reliant upon. We were excited and scared at the same time. Would we be ready and able to give Nolan the kind of care that he had been getting in the NICU?
At the time I'm posting this message to the blog Nolan has been home for more than a day. He's eating well, sleeping a lot and crying a little. Please pray for Kolleen and I that we will feel God's presence and love in our time of anxiousness and fear. We know in our heads that we will be good parents but we sometimes forget when his demands seem overwhelming.
I would like to have made more blog entries over the past week and half but I have found it very difficult to find the time. Also, I'm a perfectionist so I get it my head that I don't have enough time to make a Pulitzer Prize winning entry so I don't make any entry at all. Enough about me. Nolan is the reason for this blog so I'll make sure to mention how much Kolleen and I love our little peanut. Welcome home, Nolan!
Love to all,
Dave
PS. More pictures and information to come.
The speed at which Nolan's turn-around happened surprised Kolleen and I even though we had heard that this could be expected with Inter-Uterine Growth Restricted babies, like Nolan. When Kolleen arrived at the NICU on the morning of Saturday, December 30 she noticed immediately that his high-tech Isolette had been replaced by a more conventional crib. Upon further examination she found that Nolan's feeding tube had been removed. Soon thereafter he was approved to face his "Car Seat Challenge" which would prove whether or not he was safe to travel home with us. Even better, Nolan was now on "ad-lib" feeding, meaning he had a minimum amount that he needed to eat but could eat more if and when he wanted.
This had all come about because his feedings and weight gain for the previous 24 hours had been so impressive; Nolan had fed either by bottle or breast 8 times in 24 hours and had gained nearly 100 grams which is approximately 3 ounces. We spoke with the on-call neonatologist on Saturday morning and he told us that we should schedule our "room in" for that night or the next because our little boy could home with us on New Year's Day. Rooming in is where parents spend the night with their baby at the NICU prior to discharge to familiarize themselves with caring for the child on their own.
We roomed-in on Satuday night and got a total of 4 or 5 hours of sleep. Needless to say, Kolleen and I woke up that morning looking forward to getting caught up on our sleep on Sunday afternoon and evening. Instead, the neonatalogist informed us that because Nolan had fed so well with us on our "sleepover" that we could take him home on Sunday afternoon.
Although we had so wanted to have Nolan discharged from the NICU, we found it very sad to say goodbye to the wonderful nursing staff that Kolleen and I had grown so fond of and reliant upon. We were excited and scared at the same time. Would we be ready and able to give Nolan the kind of care that he had been getting in the NICU?
At the time I'm posting this message to the blog Nolan has been home for more than a day. He's eating well, sleeping a lot and crying a little. Please pray for Kolleen and I that we will feel God's presence and love in our time of anxiousness and fear. We know in our heads that we will be good parents but we sometimes forget when his demands seem overwhelming.
I would like to have made more blog entries over the past week and half but I have found it very difficult to find the time. Also, I'm a perfectionist so I get it my head that I don't have enough time to make a Pulitzer Prize winning entry so I don't make any entry at all. Enough about me. Nolan is the reason for this blog so I'll make sure to mention how much Kolleen and I love our little peanut. Welcome home, Nolan!
Love to all,
Dave
PS. More pictures and information to come.
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