Sunday November 23 visit

Well today I went up to the hospital while Mark stayed at home and packed for our move on Friday. to ensure that I was not walking into a bad news situation alone, we called the hospital before hand so that we would know the status of things.
Ayden is doing well again today. No changes from yesterday. He is still doing what they call “swinging” with his oxygen. Swinging means that he is not staying at one rate, he is fluctuating. I asked the nurse if there was a “normal” rate for oxygen levels and heart rate at this age of baby, and the nurse assured me that there is not a normal, basically it’s individual for each child. Right now Ayden is calling the shots on his oxygen levels! On Friday, Ayden weighed in at 760 grams and as of last night he is 750 grams. I was told that this will fluctuate as well, up and down. I was told by the nurse that by the time the child reaches 1500 grams or 3 pounds, they hope to be off the oxygen at this point (again this all depends on the needs of the child) and you will also start to see some pudgy cheeks. It seems like such a long way away. I also asked how the feedings were going as they up’d the feedings yesterday to 3 mil’s every two hours. Apparently Ayden is really enjoying the milk he is getting. every 24 hours if Ayden is tolerating the milk well (meaning he is not bringing it back up) they will increase the amount by 1 mil. So if Ayden is doing well with the 3 mils, tomorrow they might up it to 4 mils every 2 hours. the more milk he gets, the better. The milk will help him grow, but it also has proteins and anti-bodies in it as well, it’s so healthy for him.
My Dad and step-mom Lyli joined me at the hospital today. Dad got to see what is called handling time. I don’t know if this has been talked about in an earlier post. every 4 hours, the nurses handle Ayden. Changing his diaper, moving his position and just making sure that all the tubes are in place and clean. It’s cool cause at this time during the day, they open up the incubator so you get to see Ayden a bit better. He does not like to be disturbed so you can hear him cry. not pleasant for him, but it’s the most beautiful sound in the world.

So all in all it’s been a good weekend. Ayden has not had any “steps back” this weekend, and even though it might change tomorrow, at least this weekend was a good weekend for him, Mark and myself.

the anti-biotic’s have started to kick in as well so I am starting to feel better…thank goodness!!!

this week will be really busy as we are moving on Friday. we will post whenever we get the chance!