May 27, 2009

We are going to the hospital at 5:00 this evening to begin our overnight stay with Hilton. He passed his car seat test last night so he is ready to go home! We should all be home together tomorrow night. We can't wait!

May 26, 2009

We found out today that we will be staying the night at the hospital tomorrow night with Hilton. He should be coming home sometime on Thursday. He never had an infection and he has been taken off of antibiotics today. He now weighs 4lbs 14ozs. We are so proud of him and so excited that he will finally be coming home!

May 24, 2009 Update

Hilton is showing no signs of an infection at this point. The cultures still have two more days to grow, but he is looking good. He has gotten all of his blood and he is no longer getting IV fluids. He is back to eating again and he is doing great without oxygen. The doctor told me tonight that he still thinks Hilton is on target for going home by Friday. Everyone just pray no infection shows up in the cultures.

May 24, 2009

Hilton has had a small setback last night. He began having a low temperature yesterday afternoon and he was not warming back up. The doctors did lab work and found out he was anemic and needed blood. They also decided to put him back on a warmer to regulate his body temperature. In babies, a low temperature could be an initial sign of infection, so they took a blood, urine and spinal fluid sample to be tested for infection. These samples will be looked at over the next three days for the growth of any cultures. At 12 hours, there is no infection noted which is a very good sign. He has been given blood and is being given antibiotics as a precaution. He has perked up considerably after the blood was started. Everyone please pray that they will find no infection and the blood is all he needed. In other news, he was able to get off of his oxygen successfully and all of his vitals are perfect.

May 21, 2009

Hilton got his feeding tube removed today. He is taking all of his feeds by bottle. He has also gone to the lowest oxygen setting. We are still hoping he will get off of oxygen before he goes home next week. Everything is going well.

May 19, 2009

Hilton now weighs 4 lbs. 6 ounces. He is getting to be a big boy. He is taking six bottles a day now. I just fed him at 2:00 and he took his bottle in five minutes. I also spoke to the doctor today and he told me Hilton should be coming home in the next 5-7 days. However, he may have to come home on oxygen which is something we don't want to happen. Please pray that Hilton can be weaned off of his oxygen successfully in the next few days. Otherwise, everything is going great.

May 17, 2009

Hilton has gone up to four bottles per day. He is doing so well with his feeds. He weighs 4lbs 3 ounces. All progress!

May 15, 2009

Hilton is continuing to do well. He is taking both of his bottles without any problems. He now weighs 4lbs 2 ounces and is getting bigger everyday. He has moved into a bassinet and is much more alert and fun to play with. He is progressing closer to coming home everyday.

May 12, 2009

Hilton is having a good day today. He took all of his bottle at 11:00 and had no drops in oxygenation or heart rate. We will feed again at 8:00 tonight. He is staying steady with his weight today. Everything else is going great.

May 11, 2009

Hilton had his swallow study this morning. After the study, the doctors determined that Hilton is aspirating his milk and will require it to be thickened. We did his first thickened bottle at 2:00 today and he did very well with it. He just has to get the hang of it and start taking in his entire bottle. He will begin taking two bottles a day and see how he does. Otherwise, everything else is going well.

May 10, 2009

Hilton is having some trouble with taking his feedings by bottle and breast. The doctors have decided to do a swallow study tomorrow which will tell us whether he needs to have his milk thickened before he can take it. He is still receiving his feedings by tube and now weighs 3 lbs 13 ounces. I got to give him his first real bath last night and he loved it!

May 7, 2009

Hilton is having a little trouble with reflux today. He has been spitting up quite often which causes his pulse oxygenation to drop. He has been started on medication for the reflux this morning. This is a common problem in preemies. He is doing well otherwise. Please pray that his reflux medication will work and his oxygenation will get back to normal. He did gain another ounce today which we are very proud of.

May 5, 2009

We got to give Hilton his first bottle this morning at 5 am. He wasn't too interested in it. He just wanted to sleep. He has moved to a NICU step down unit for babies who are preparing for going home. We still don't know exactly when that will be, but he is improving everyday.

May 4, 2009

Hilton now weighs in at 3 lbs 9 ounces. He is growing everyday. He will be getting his first bottle feeding tonight. He also got another increase in the amount of feedings he is getting a day to 30 ml per feeding. He is progressing well. His Mammaw and Martha Sue came to visit him today.

May 3, 2009

Hilton had visitors today. Uncle Michael, Aunt Christy, his cousin Jenna and her boyfried Josh. Michael and Christy held him today. He has increased his feedings again to 26 mls and is now 3 lbs. 7 ozs. I got to put his first outfit on him last night. He looks so cute. Another good day! We will be trying feeding again tonight at 8:00. He also got his final line out of his foot last night!

May 2, 2009

Hilton is continuing to do well with breastfeeding. We are only doing it once a day, but we will hopefully up that to twice soon. He is getting extra calories added to the breastmilk he is being fed through his feeding tube to help him gain more weight quickly. His feeding tube has been moved from his mouth to his nose to help him with feedings. He will probably get his IV line out of his foot, which is our last line out in the next couple of days. Continue to pray for his progress.