More Pics from Professional Photographer - Pa

And we do!

The mysterious NICU!

Loving touch.

A grip of steel.

Much needed rest.

"If you take one more picture of me...."

Peeking at the world.

Day 13 of Life - UPDATE

Sha is now receiving 1 cc of breastmilk every 2 hours now!!! He is bundled up and on his back. Ma reports that he is much more calm and collected today. The little one obviously loves food as much as his mama...he now ways 950 g (2lb 1oz). His oxygen requirements are also down to 34%. The little one knows how to bounce back from dips in his journey, that's for sure.

The really happy news is that Ma and Pa may get to hold him tomorrow, as long as he continues to be good. However, this means that no visitors are allowed for the day, as there is a lot involved with taking him out of the incubator and Ma and Pa will need the time to enjoy their little one. I hope to have pics of this happy event tomorrow. Sha is pretty lucky to have a dad that takes great pics...as are we!!!

Day 13 of Life - July 1st

Well, not much to report on little Sha today...which is always a good thing! They have turned the flow rate down on his ventilator from 25 to 20. This means that he is now receiving 20 breaths per minute, instead of 25, which is what he's mostly been at since birth. Also, his oxygen requirements are down to 40%, which is much better than yesterday. They are considering giving him another dose of Lasix (the diuretic given yesterday to clear his lungs), but it also causes nutrients (ie. protein) to pass through his system, so they want to wait a little bit before giving him another dose.

Pa and Ma have been catching up on some much needed rest and are now headed to the hospital for a visit. Hopefully, Ma will remember to get some more sterile containers for milk...and if she reads this while at the hospital, maybe this will help to remind her!!!

Day 12 of Life - UPDATE

Little Sha's oxygen requirements have gone down. They still are high, but are much better, which is a good sign that the drug is doing it's job of getting the fluid out of his lungs.

The little one is much more relaxed today. He is resting comfortably, but often opens one eye to make sure that he's still the centre of attention! Don't worry, Buddy, you still are and always will be.

Ma is quite exhausted tonight. Personally, I think she may be overdoing slightly. She's so excited after escaping from her prison, that she gets caught up in having a life again...or at least being allowed to have one. Napping has begun between pumping sessions and this will likely do wonders in her healing.

Ma and Pa are spending most of their free time at the hospital. Ma and I joke that she spends more time there now than when she was working!

As an FYI, Cowboy Gerry's Wife has suggested that I turn this blog into a scrapbook for Sha...a "modern" type of baby book. So, a new project has begun. Kristine has kindly offered to help me with this endeavour...I honestly don't know what I would do without her. So, please keep in mind that your posts are not only read by Ma and Pa...but one day will be read by Sha. Although, as a favour, I would like to ask that you try to comment on the most recent posts, as I will be trying to create the scrapbook as we go and I don't want to accidently miss anyone's loving messages. And, I know that I say this almost everyday, but thank you. Even if Ma and Pa can't respond to all of you, your love and support is going to be fundamental through this journey.

More Presents for the Spoiled One!

Where all the action is... and the waiting happens...
From Cousin (Auntie) Soccer and Cousin (Uncle) Hydro

From Ma to Sha... "The angels danced the day you were born."

From Elmo!
From Cowboy Gerry's Wife for Ma's charm watch.

Day 12 of Life - June 30th

The neurologists have finally looked at Sha's head ultrasounds. What they do is they compare the 2 head ultrasounds to see if there is any differences. Good news first...they don't see an actual brain bleed at this time. Bad news...there is a difference between the 2 ultrasounds. The ultrasound done this week shows more "white" spots. Now, this could mean several things. It could be a variation of normal or a matter of differences in the technician's scanning technique. Or, worst case scenario, it could be a sign of bad things to come. Unfortunately, they will not do another ultrasound until next week...so the waiting game begins again.

Otherwise, he is acting like a normal infant of 27+4 weeks gestational age. He does get in a bad mood sometimes, although some could say that he comes by this honestly!

Sha also had a chest X-ray last night and it showed that he has fluid in his lungs, thus the reason why his oxygen requirements have increased. The docs are going to start him on Lasix, a diuretic, to try to get the fluid out of his lungs. We should know if this works within a few hours.

They are also going to give him another blood transfusion, because they've been taking samples from him for testing, and his little body doesn't hold much blood. The transfusion will start shortly.

His feeds are still going well, but they are going to keep him at feeding every 4 hours, just because there is a lot going on with him right now and they don't want to put him under any unneccessary stress.

So, we wait. Please continue your messages of positive love and support, as the next week is going to be particularly difficult.

Pictures - Courtesy of Cousin (Auntie) Soccer

The touch of love!

Blowing bubbles! (Look closely.)









The perfect little "Dutch" foot!!!







Baby Sha's little soother. Awww!!

Day 11 of Life - June 29th

Sha has now reached 27 weeks and 3 days gestation and he now weighs 840 g! His head and length are in the right range, based on his gestational age. These are all very good signs that our little boy is doing well.

The nurses have moved him onto his tummy and he is wriggling around...they have him strapped down because he won't sit still! His still feeding well every 4 hours.

His oxygen requirements are up again, but the staff doesn't seem too worried.

Ma went shopping for preemie clothes today...but didn't have much luck...although that's probably good for the bank account. She has also made some headway on her sick leave, although her work is still giving her a hard time, but she has copies of the actual laws being faxed to her office. (Apparently those 2 years in the paralegal program have finally paid off!!!)

Day 10 of Life - June 28th

Surprise, Sha actually had a head ultrasound yesterday! Unofficially, his little brain continues to look good! Also, cardiology has been brought in to look at his PDA. Good news, its closed!

He seems to be tolerating his feeds and has increased to 1 cc every 4 hours. Such a good boy! His blood pressure is good, but his oxygen requirements are up slightly. He seems a little agitated today, but is otherwise going strong! Keep it up, Little One!

When Ma was visiting last night, the little guy opened his eyes and looked at her! Then he repeated the process for Pa. He already knows who to suck up to! Ma also got to change his diaper last night, which was the first time that she has seen him nakid!!! (She was knocked out when he was born!)

Ma is having problems getting her sick leave started. She got a note from her OB/Gyn, but her work is giving her a hard time, saying that she must start her maternity leave now. That battle continues, but I hope it will work out in Ma's favour.

Day 9 of Life - UPDATE

The nurses had started Sha on breastfeeds again, with the same schedule as before. He was receiving 1 cc every 6 hours, until 8:00 this evening, when he was supposed to switch to 1 cc every 4 hours. When I last spoke to Ma, the staff felt as though he wasn't tolerating his feeds as well as he did last time. As a result, Sha will likely be taken off of feeds again.

The nurses also suspect that his PDA is opening again. This frequently happens, especially with large PDAs. When they re-open, sometimes they are smaller than they were originally. If it has indeed re-opened, then he will be started on Indomethacin again, with the hopes that it will re-close the PDA.

Ma and Pa are attending their first Parent-Supporting-Parent group meeting tonight. Ironic, as Ma used to make the posters to advertise these meetings.

Cousin (Auntie) Soccer spent some time with Ma this afternoon and then had a quick visit with Sha. As with everyone who has had the priviledge to meet this little miracle, she lost her heart. Ma tells me that Cousin took a lot of pictures and will be e-mailing them to me to post on the blog. Stay tuned!

Day 9 of Life - June 27th

For those of you who haven't visited the comment section of this blog yet, please do so. Now that Ma is out of the hospital, her and Pa have started posting comments. Also, if you have any messages for them, the comment section is the perfect way to pass them along. Thank you to all who have taken the time to worry, love and support the Booblah family.

Ma is now at home, resting comfortably. She is enjoying the freedom of being able to pump without worrying if one of her employers are going to walk into the room! Blood pressure is still down and Ma is going strong!

The little guy has stolen many hearts... Sha continues to improve. The docs took him off the high frequency ventilator last night and his oxygen requirements are continuing to decrease. The PDA can no longer be heard and we hope that it stays that way. They didn't do a head ultrasound yesterday, but one is now scheduled for Wednesday. However, his nurse reports that he is not having any episodes (ie. floppiness) that would indicate a brain bleed.

Day 8 of Life - UPDATE

Ma has escaped from her prison! She has to stop and buy a blood pressure cuff, so that she can monitor her blood pressure at home.

The parents will come back later this evening to visit with the little guy.

The docs are going to start weaning Sha off of the high frequency ventilator to the conventional ventilator. This means that Ma and Pa might be able to hold him in a few days. He has received his last dose of Indomethacin and it appears to be closing the PDA. Keep your fingers crossed!

Day 8 of Life - June 26th

Sha has now reached 27 weeks gestational age. What a boy! It appears as though the Indomethacin is closing the PDA, which is good news. His oxygen requirements have decreased from 40% to 32%...so things are improving. He hasn't had his head ultrasound yet, but I will let you all know as soon as I hear something. Other than that, not much is happening with our little Sha, which is a good thing.

I would LIKE to report that Ma is on her way home...unfortunately, that is not the case. She's still in "prison" and is waiting to hear if she gets to escape. After a brief spike last night, her blood pressure is back down. She's quite tired today and the waiting around is killing her, but Grandma Cush is distracting her and keeping her company.

Pa got to sleep in his own bed last night and is back at work...

Day 7 of Life - June 25th

Sha has reached 26+6 weeks gestational age and is doing very well. The docs have started him on Indomethacin, which will hopefully close his PDA. This dosage will take 48 hours to administer. If it doesn't successfully close the PDA, then they will try a second dose. Basically, although the surgery for this is very successful, they will try to avoid it.

His oxygen requirements are still up, but this is not surprising considering the PDA. Dr. dS believes that his current pulmonary hemorrhage correlates with the PDA and is not concerned about Sha developing a brain bleed (IVH). However, they still plan to do a head ultrasound on Monday, just to rule it out.

At this time, they have stopped giving Sha breastmilk. Indomethacin restricts all of the blood vessels in his body, not just the ones around his PDA, so to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on his systems, they have decided to stop the breastmilk at this time. He has been handling the feedings so far, so it will just be a matter of restarting them after his meds are complete.

Ma's blood pressure is finally down! Yippee! They found another med that is safe for her to take when pumping and started her on that yesterday afternoon. She is still taking the Labatelol, as well. She reports that her diastolic is down to 88 today! So, right now they are saying that they will discharge her tomorrow morning. She finally gets to break out of prison!!!

Pa is coming home tonight to sleep in his own bed and will be back at work tomorrow. He'll be happy to have some routine back!

Grandma Cush is going to stay at the hospital with Ma tonight and drive her home tomorrow. Lord Uncle B and I went to see the little one yesterday. Little Sha's head fit in the palm of Uncle B's hand. We also brought home Ma's vehicle, as it's been in the parking garage since last Friday. (Thank God we didn't have to pay for each day it was there!!!)