4 Days Old!

Hi everyone! To keep you updated on Foster's progress, we're creating this blog that you can check everyday. We'll try to update it daily with any news and/or pictures on his progress. For those of you just tuning in...a brief recap of the last week. Last Saturday, May 16th, Chris and I had a great time at our Jack-and-Jill baby shower. Unfortunately, many of us picked up a stomach bug that resulted in major GI distress. After my 12-hour bout with it, I realized I was having contractions. Thinking I needed to get rehydrated quickly, I went to the hospital for some IV fluids. Despite IV fluids, bedrest, and an arsenal of drugs, labor eventually prevailed and Foster arrived at 1:23pm on Friday the 22nd. Luckily our hospital, Capital Health Systems in Trenton, NJ (only 10 minutes from home), has an amazing NICU and Foster is now in excellent hands until we can bring him home.

Today 5/26: Foster is 4 days old and doing well. Last night was the first session of "kangaroo care" which is skin-to-skin contact. Chris got the honors of the first hour last night and I got my chance today. It's great to feel him curled up on your chest and resting quietly. Foster is doing well...still under "triple" phototherapy (three types of lights) for his high bilirubin, but his levels came down a bit today. High bilirubin is common in preemies, and just takes time to resolve. He has to wear cool purple shades to protect his eyes while under the lights. He didn't lose any weight yesterday, which is great. They can continue to lose throughout the first 2 weeks. He is 3lbs 15 oz now (at birth, he was 4lbs 6.5 ounces). He is on CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) the majority of time, which is administered through nasal canulas (tied onto his hat in the pictures) They are trying him off of CPAP for 2 hour stretches, three times a day. So far he's done great off it...keeping his oxygen stats up. They will gradually increase the time off CPAP until he is completely independent of it.

Chris and I are doing well, although it's strange to be home from the hospital and not have him with us. We have 24/7 visitation rights, but we make 2-3 trips to the NICU a day, trying to schedule them when he can be taken out from under the lights for 1-2 hours to hold. Since he is supposed to still be in the womb, he should sleep 18-20 hours a day, so we try not to disturb him too much if he is quiet. It is very hard not to wake him up though! We are currently fighting over who gets to change his diaper...how quickly that will change!