3.26.09 Visit

My little pumpkin is developing so well! Michelle and I spent some time researching preemie babies on Babycenter.com last night and we came across a ton of great information. We found that developmentally, christian seems to be exhibiting the behavior and mannerisms of a preemie at 27-28 weeks in gestational age. He will be at 26 weeks tomorrow. This was a very comforting thing to read, as Christian has been audibly crying at times for us, he has spontaneous movement with his arms and legs (lots of it!) and he has an iron grasp on our fingers. I take all of the credit for each of these traits, though I'm sure Michelle with argue that with me.

We found out today that Christian has had his feeding volume increased to 1.0 mL of breast milk per hour, which means that he is taking to mommy's breast milk extremely well. According to the formulas the doctors utilize, he is currently receiving about 25% of his maximum nutrition for his age via the breast milk, and about 75% intravenously. He is moving along very, very well thus far.

Today also marked the day that the doctors were going to remove the IVs attached to his belly button. Michelle and I spent about 30 minutes or so chatting with the team about potential options. We were told that the belly button IV he currently has is only meant to last about 1-2 weeks after he is born. Beyond that period, he will need a new IV to be inserted elsewhere to encourage abdominal healing and to decrease the risk of infection. Every time his skin is broken with a needle he is prone to infection, so a minimal amount of poking is optimal. I tend to adopt this credo myself. I once fainted at ten years old when faced with a simple menangitis shot in Kuwait...... but that is another story for another day, and is neither here nor there. Anyway, back to topic- the doctors were attempting to replace Christian's IV with something called a PIC line, which is a plastic piece attached to a very thin, spaghetti-like wire that would transfer nutrients directly into his major artery. A successful implantation of this PIC line would mean that he will only need to have the IV changed this one time if all goes according to plan in the future.

Our little boy did such a wonderful job with the procedure!! They sedated him to eliminate most of the pain, and they were able to successfully implant the PIC line on the first attempt. Christian is now able to receive better nutrition from here forward. Mommy and I are extremely proud of him... he is such an incredible little boy.

Also, his eyes are beginning to open! We can see the eyebrows forming now. We can also see more hair developing on the top of his head (dark brown like mine). Well, mommy has dark hair too, but I'll claim the genetics. His eyes appear to be half-fused and half open, so we'll see how long it takes to see those beautiful little brown eyes of his (also going to be mine). I'm predicting this will happen in less than a week.

I told all of my clients about Christian today and sent them multiple pictures. The outpouring of support we have been receiving is phenomenal, and we are so thankful for it. It really helps to lift us up especially on those difficult days.