Last week, I never thought I'd hear the nurses and doctor mention the "D" word (discharge). I felt like we would spend the rest of our lives at Northside, especially in Pod G. For the past two days, the nurses and doctor have been discussing with me life after the NICU. His doctor has been getting all of her ducks in a row, making sure that she has everyone's contact information (my OB and perinatologist, Jackson's pediatrician). She has been going through the discharge checklist ordering final tests. Today, she discussed with me what doctor's we would see after discharge and the follow-up schedule for these doctors (eye doctor, audiologist, lung doctor, developmental specialist at Emory, etc). There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's getting bigger and bigger each day! When I asked how much longer she (the doctor) thought he would be there, she said anywhere from two to four weeks depending on how he does taking his bottles! I suddenly began feeling the panic to get my house in order! I told Ryan that he and I would be "having a baby soon"! :)
Yesterday, Jackson had his hearing test...and he passed! It's one of the big things that has to happen before discharge. The audiologist said that both ears came back normal at all frequencies. They did a brain response test to test whether or not the physiological parts all work properly. She said that this doesn't test how he interprets the sounds, but that the sounds are physically going where they need to go properly. It's another normal test that has come back and a huge sigh of relief for us. So far, nothing has come back abnormal. He may actually make a full recovery and have no special needs (at least no major ones)!
In other news, Jackson took half his bottle yesterday morning (waking him up was a nightmare), did well breastfeeding at 5pm (tough to tell how much he took because the scale, yet again, didn't work properly), and then took a full bottle at 8pm! His nurse, Sharon, said that he seemed eager to eat at 8pm (he was rooting, smacking his lips, sticking his fingers in his mouth, etc) so instead of waiting until 11pm she went ahead and tried it to see what he'd do. This is exciting a) because he took a full bottle! and b) because he took a full bottle at a back-to-back feeding time which means he's picking up some endurance! This is a great sign for things to come!!
The only other real news I have is that we were told by someone yesterday who will remain nameless that Jackson needs to have the part of the tongue that connects the actual tongue to the bottom of the mouth clipped. She said it's a common problem in little babies, very minor, but needs to happen because it is preventing him from latching properly now and can affect speech later on. I'm going to talk about it with his doctor today, so tonight I should have more information! :)
Current Stats:
Weight: 5 pounds 8.9 ounces (a 5 1/2 pound baby!)
Respiratory: No support! One desat during his bottle this morning, but that's it!!
Feeds: Full feeds, 40 cc every three hours. Calories in breastmilk reduced to 26! Half bottle at 11am, good breastfeeding session at 5pm (scale was broken so we don't know how much), and full bottle at 8pm! That's three feedings a day and we need to complete 8 before we can go home! We're getting closer!
Goals:
1. Keep on gaining weight!
2. Take full bottles at the two feedings we're trying right now.
3. No desats or bradys!
4. Wean off caffeine and lasix (plan is to do it by Saturday!)
5. Come home ASAP! :)
With love,
Anna
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