Well, Charlie's done it - I just spoke with his nurse, and he gained a whopping 80 grams last night and is now over the three pound mark, weighing in at 3 pounds, 1 ounce! Clearly those extra calories they've been fortifying my milk with are helping! He's been requiring more oxygen the last few days, which isn't great, but hopefully will resolve itself as he continues to grow and his lungs get stronger.
Charlie had his first eye exam yesterday, and everything seems to be fine preliminarily, although they'll keep testing him every few weeks and be able to tell more as he gets older. I definitely wasn't sticking around to watch them do the exam, but the eye doctor made me feel better - he said he didn't watch his own kids get them! According to Maria, his nurse, Charlie handled it like a champ. Maria made a cute little sign for his isolette that says "We love Charlie" - seems he's charming the nurses right and left!
Nana is here for a visit at the moment; she hadn't seen Charlie since just days after he was born, so she was pleasantly surprised to see that he'd gotten so much bigger! And she got to touch him for the first time, which was exciting.
As luck would have it, I've either good food poisoning or the stomach bug, so I'm home in bed for today. I HATE to miss a day seeing my little guy, but it would be the worst if I infected him or anyone else in the NICU. Hopefully it's just food poisoning and will pass quickly, and I can get back in to see him tonight or tomorrow. And Dad and Nana will see him tonight, so he'll have company either way.
UPDATE: I just called to check on Charlie again, and found out that they decided to discontinue his blood pressure medication! I think it's a great sign that he's able to regulate it on his own now. Now we just need to get those lungs stronger!
3 comments:
Well, my bet was Saturday for breaking the 3-lb threshold -- guess I shouldn't head to the track anytime soon! I'm glad I lost and Charlie is growing by leaps and bounds!
As for Charlie's eyes, it is a possibility he'll be very myopic because of all the oxygen that he is getting. But it could happen either way. As a fellow preemie, I was given lots of oxygen also when I was born and ran the risk of blindness. It surprised no one when I needed glasses at a very young age and was blind as a bat until having lasik surgery 9 years ago. At one of the lasik pre-exams, the doctor told me that they can tell when poor vision is caused by heavy doses of oxygen or genetics, and mine was pure genetics all the way. So destiny will run its course no matter what.
I hope you are feeling better soon, Marie - rest and take care of yourself because you need to be strong for your little guy. I know you will be!
steph
Marie and George,
I am sorry that I've never had the chance to meet you. I have worked at SGR for many years now, and Marsha Herring passed on the wonderful news of Charlie's birth to me. I immediatley emailed Rex just to say that I was not surprised to hear that his grandson would come early, of all things! I've promised to teach Charlie about the benefits of being fashionalby late when he is old enough to understand.
In all seriousness, I am a mother of triplets, born at 34 weeks (thankfully). Although we were so blessed in our own experience, we are quite familiar with the NICU, premature birth, and the emotional roller coaster that is the life of parents who have babies in the hospital. (In fact, my husband was born at just 27 weeks in 1970!)
We are following Charlie's progress as often as possible, and we keep you all in our constant thoughts and prayers. From everything I've read, it looks like Charlie is doing a wonderful job, and we are hopeful that the worst thing you face now is a late night feeding or two!
You are both doing a phenomenal job. I know the road seems long, but hang in there. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, whether you can see it or not.
With love,
Shannan and Jay Oliver
This was the best update yet! Charlie is making Great progress! Try to remember that even if he was carried full term development has its own natural slow speed. I am so very proud of both of you. Charlie is truly blessed with a loving mother and father.
God bless the three of you,
Uncle Bob S.
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