Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Five Day Progress Report

Today, Patrick and Savannah are five days old and I am going to review their progress report as of this afternoon.

Patrick, (on the left) now weighs 1 lb 11 ounces for a total weight gain of 4 ounces. Much of this weight gain is attributed to the fluids that he is getting so we are not considering it a true weight gain but it is better than losing. In the good news department, his Jaundice levels have decreased enough to allow the nurses to remove the light from his incubator and he no longer needs to wear those funny looking sunglasses. We are aware that the Jaundice may return and that is OK as long as it remains under control. In the better news department, Patrick also received a brain scan today to determine if there was any bleeding in the brain and that came back completely negative, which is amazing!!!!! GO PATRICK! April and I were somewhat concerned with the possibility of bleeding of the brain with Patrick due to his size but now we do not need to worry about that. The doctor says that if the bleeding does not show up on the first scan that it most likely is a moot issue moving forward. They will, however, perform a follow up scan in a few weeks as a matter of procedure.

At this point, Patrick has not received any formula or milk and he continues to receive all of his nutrients via a feeding tube through his nose. These nutrients consist mostly of electrolytes and sugars along with a combination of about 8 other supplements that I can not name let alone spell. Finally, Patrick has a small vessel near his heart that has not closed as it was supposed to at birth or within the first few days. I am not educated enough to go into any type of detail about this vessel but the doctors are treating it with a three day dose of ibuprofen and are optimistic that this vessel will close itself over the next 7-10 days. Overall, we are very pleased with Patrick's progress up to this point and are looking forward to the day that he begins to feed on formula and milk.

Savannah (on the left) has lost about 1/3 of an ounce and now weighs 2 lb 10 2/3 ounces. She is still experiencing high enough levels of Jaundice to require the photo therapy to be continuously applied, hence, the fancy glasses that she is wearing. Savannah is currently being fed through a feeding tube via her mouth and at this time is receiving all of her nutrients through breast milk alone and her digestive system is working properly so it looks like the doctors will continue to increase the amount of food she receives every few days. Savannah also had a brain scan today and the doctor discovered a Grade 1 bleed in the left side of her brain. Grade 1 is the lowest grade so that is good but it is still an area of concern and something the doctors are going to look at again next week. Bleeding of the brain can result in dysfunctional delays but the doctors say that the majority of premature babies with Grade 1 bleeds turn out fine. April and I were obviously disappointed to hear this news but at the same time we are relived that it is not a Grade 4 or 5. Savannah is a real active sleeper and is always moving her arms and legs which is adorable. Overall, Savannah is doing well and we are pleased with her progress as well.

In the BIG news department, April was able to hold Savannah yesterday for the first time and they were able to spend about 15 minutes together in a true mother/daughter moment. It was a very exciting time for both April and myself.

Finally, for those of you wondering why Patrick always comes first in these updates I wanted to clear the air:) Patrick has always been referred to as Baby A and Savannah as Baby B simply because of their positioning in April's womb and therefore he naturally came first. Also, Patrick is officially the older of the two by one minute so again he comes first. I would like to point out though, that as the moderator of this blog, I do have the authority to make changes that I deem necessary and one day we may switch their names around just to see how it sounds and to keep things interesting.

I hope everyone has a great night and thanks for reading today!

2 comments:

six_zs said...

Patrick and April, I have been reading daily since Mike told me your babies were here and that you had this site. I am brought to tears each time a read, and I have been praying for your family. We miss you guys! Tricia Z

Pvtbenj said...

Patrick and April - we want to say congratulations!!! Rebecca passed along your blog to help us stay updated. We are so glad they are doing well and that April and Savannah got to have some girl time:O) We did lots of "kangaroo care" (skin to skin contact) with our twin boys when they were born (at 34 weeks) in the hospital. We continue to pray for you and your special babies. Please know that Mom and Dad (Norm and Sally) and Chris and his family are also praying and sending their well wishes to you all. I keep them updated as does your dad. Patrick and Savannah are beautiful!!

Love, Jennie and Robert Benjamin and family