Happy Easter

Happy Easter!

Maddox got a little bunny hat and a hot wheels car...Mason keeps trying to tell me that "baby brother says that I should just have his car"

We attempted to get pictures of the kids together...

Morgan was more interested in making sure Maddox was doing ok rather than looking at the camera...Mason was smiling big because we told him he could have candy if he did...

The Easter Bunny filled up their Easter baskets while they were gone to church

4 Weeks old

Maddox is 4 weeks old today! 

We had a check up at the pediatrician and he is 5 lbs, 15 oz and 18 3/4 inches long. He also got his hemoglobin and hematocrit checked again at this visit and all is looking well.

Little man is a good eater and is eating every 3 hours like clockwork. He loves to be held and bundled up but we are starting to make him lay down and play by himself while he is awake.

Mason and Morgan still adore him and are always wanting to sit by him or hold him. Morgan has tried to share her sippy cup and tried to feed him chicken nuggets already...can't turn around for a second with that girl around him! She also makes sure that he always has a blanket and that his pacifier is not far away.

3 Weeks old!

When Maddox was 3 weeks old, the Dr's said he could come home that day as long as he passed his car seat challenge. I was so excited that we could finally go home! 

 He had to sit in the car seat for 90 minutes and keep all his vital signs stable. He kept looking up at us and making faces that looked like "why are you guys making me sit here?"

 He looks so tiny in the car seat!

 Brad and Maddox getting ready to leave

 Mommy and Maddox getting ready to leav

 Mason and Morgan were SO excited to meet their brother. They kept staring at him and slowly touching him and they both kept giggling uncontrollably when they first saw him move. It was pretty cute.

 Our first family picture! 

Blood transfusions and blood patches

One of the times that I was getting my epidural, the needle went in too far and some of my spinal fluid leaked out. This typically results in a spinal headache, which is a really awful headache that only goes away if you lay completely flat. So, lucky me, I ended up with one of the headaches. To fix it, I had done what is called a blood patch, where they drew blood out of my arm and injected it into the epidural space to make a patch or clot where the fluid was leaking. This worked great...for about a day...and then the awful headache came back. Laying flat and waiting for it to heal on its own wasn't an option I wanted to do since I was going back and forth from the NICU a few times a day so I went back and had anesthesia do a second blood patch. This one did the trick and I have been headache free! Thank goodness! I ended up with a pretty bruised and sore back. 

While in the NICU, they monitor all sorts of labs on the babies. Maddox's hematocrit kept dropping and it was the only thing that was keeping him in the hospital so on March 20, they decided to do a blood transfusion. The poor kid had to get two IV's started, one for the blood and one for TPN during the transfusion, It took 7 sticks to get the 2 IV's, but this kid is a trooper. I give blood transfusions all the time but it was a lot different to watch the blood go into an IV in the head of my baby...but the transfusion did the trick and this baby went from super pale to nice and pink! 

Maddox Dane

On Friday, March 1st, Brad and I went to the hospital for an ultrasound check up of baby boy. Three weeks before this appointment, they had estimated his size to be 3lbs, 14 ounces. At this appointment, the estimated his size to be 4 lbs, 4 ounces...which wasn't enough growth for that time frame. So...the doctors all talked to each other and they decided to induce me right then even though it was still 4 weeks before his due date.  So, they walked us over to labor and delivery and within a few minutes I was admitted, hooked up to the monitors and pitocin was going. The pitocin was started about 2:30 and about 2:45 my doctor came in and broke my water. Brad left to get the kids settled at home with Kristin and to finish a few things at work. I got my epidural about 5:30. It took two different doctors and 4 tries to get the epidural placed...but I was relieved when they finally got it. Then at 6:45 pm, baby boy was born.

They set him on my chest for just a few seconds before they took him and rushed to the NICU. 

About 8:30 that night, they let me go and see him. He was getting an echo when I got there. Baby boy ended up having some pretty severe pulmonary hypertension, where the circulation in his heart didn't convert over from the way it circulates in utero to how it circulates after birth. He also had pneumonia. Both if these were made worse due to the fact that he was premature. 

 He was 5 pounds and 18 inches long.

 They started him on a CPAP, nitric oxide, oxygen, antibiotics, iv fluids, TPN, sedation medication, and started some small amount of tube feedings. 

 He was a pretty sick little boy for a while. 

 He was in an incubator and all covered up so he would stay calm and quiet so he didn't put any extra strain on his heart...we called it his little cage.

 Finally when he was two days old, we decided on the name Maddox.

 The poor little boy was going through an IV every 18 hrs or so. One IV infiltrated in his foot and left him with a pretty good burn.

 Mason drew him a picture to keep him company since kids aren't allowed in the NICU. 

 One day 3, they finally let me hold him. I was able to hold him once a day. On day 7, they took him off all the antibiotics and IV fluids. 

 On day 9, they started weaning him off of the nitric oxide. He was completely off of that on day 11. Then on day 12, they took him off the CPAP and switched him to vapotherm oxygen. They worked on slowly weaning him off of the oxygen and on day 14, he was on room air.

On day 11, we were able to start trying to feed Maddox through a bottle and he was moved out of the incubator and into an open crib. He started out drinking 9-12 ml out of 50 ml.

On day 14, Maddox was moved to the other side of the NICU, where the babies are more stable. 

Today is day 16. We were able to give him his first real bath today...but he didn't like it too much. At this point, he is completely stable and the pulmonary hypertension has resolved. Now, he just has to eat his full bottles before they will discharge him. 

We are grateful that he is doing so much better and that everything has resolved...now we are just rooting for him to eat so he can come home!