Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Ears To Hear
A quick update on yesterday's visit to the Audiologist...he passed both ears!!! Praise Jesus! We are done with that doctor for another 6 months or so. They will continue to follow him to be sure he does not have progressive hearing loss. She even gave us a print out that shows that he passed and I fully intend to keep it as proof for when he is a teenager. :)
Monday, August 17, 2009
Saying Goodbye to O's?
We have very big news to share...(drum roll)...Benjamin has been without any oxygen assistance for an entire week!!! Could we actually be saying goodbye to his O's? I sure hope so! Before I kick the oxygen tank to the curb (figuratively speaking of course - if abused the big heavy tank could explode, not to mention this seemingly delightful action would likely result in broken toes for me) I know Benjamin's lungs need more time and strength. His Pulmonologist recommended keeping the tank around through the cold season, as it is very possible he will need assistance if he became sick. He is also still on a couple diuretics, which we hope to discontinue in the next couple weeks. That will be the real test of how strong his lungs are, since the diuretics apparently make it easier to breathe by getting rid of extra fluid. Benjamin is still on the monitor and will be for quite a while as needed. Regardless, there is rejoicing in our home! Thank you, Jesus!!!
Benjamin is up to 9lbs. I remember one of the first days after Benjamin was born our friends Don & Diane came for a visit and gave him his first outfit. It was newborn size and said "beary cute" on the front with fuzzy bears and a couple trees embroidered on it. At the time I thought it was huge compared to the little baby in the NICU, but Diane reassured me that he would wear it some day. That day has come and almost gone! He is starting to outgrow some of his newborn clothes.
Do you remember 1972? If you happened to be around, you might remember a dandy little toy invention made that year by Fisher Price. It was called the Happy Apple and was a large apple with a smiley face and chimes inside. I remember our family had one. I did not appreciate it all that much, but now I do. We have been loaned one by Benjamin's physical therapist. She says they are great for children's development because just the slightest touch produces a chime and they are weighted so they will stay upright, allowing for hours of chiming fun a baby learning about his surroundings. Benjamin seems to love his borrowed Happy Apple. Here he is enjoying it:
Here he is abusing it:
Tomorrow (Tuesday) is Benjamin's appointment with the Audiologist. If he passes both ears he might not have to go back anymore. Please pray for good results (and accurate equipment!)
Benjamin is up to 9lbs. I remember one of the first days after Benjamin was born our friends Don & Diane came for a visit and gave him his first outfit. It was newborn size and said "beary cute" on the front with fuzzy bears and a couple trees embroidered on it. At the time I thought it was huge compared to the little baby in the NICU, but Diane reassured me that he would wear it some day. That day has come and almost gone! He is starting to outgrow some of his newborn clothes.
Do you remember 1972? If you happened to be around, you might remember a dandy little toy invention made that year by Fisher Price. It was called the Happy Apple and was a large apple with a smiley face and chimes inside. I remember our family had one. I did not appreciate it all that much, but now I do. We have been loaned one by Benjamin's physical therapist. She says they are great for children's development because just the slightest touch produces a chime and they are weighted so they will stay upright, allowing for hours of chiming fun a baby learning about his surroundings. Benjamin seems to love his borrowed Happy Apple. Here he is enjoying it:
Here he is abusing it:
Tomorrow (Tuesday) is Benjamin's appointment with the Audiologist. If he passes both ears he might not have to go back anymore. Please pray for good results (and accurate equipment!) Monday, August 10, 2009
A Breath of Fresh Air
Benjamin will be 5 months on Thursday (7 weeks adjusted) and continues to grow and amaze us. If you check out his big boy stats on the sidebar you will find that he is over 8 and 1/2 pounds! He has outgrown his preemie clothes and is on to newborn and 0-3 month articles. A big piece of news is that Benjamin is getting closer to being off oxygen. For the past 10 days or so, we have been conducting trials where we remove his oxygen and keep him on the monitor. The result has been nearly no oxygen during the day (we still keep it on him at night until we are more confident) with only a "whiff" here and there and some help during carrides. Today we visited the Pulmonologist, who manages his oxygen, and he confirmed that we can continue the trials and move forward as Benjamin allows. His mommy CANNOT WAIT to be free of oxygen and a monitor. I daydream about going places with only a diaper bag, not tripping over tubes and cords in my living room, and not hearing alarms go off.
We visited the audiologist last week. I was very excited to see that he passed the ear that had failed in the NICU, but then he failed the ear that had previously passed. He went on to start the beginning of a 3-hour long test to determine if there was any potential loss until he decided he had enough of having his ears poked and solved the problem by throwing up all over the audiologists equiptment. She was very gracious and despite the mess she still ooh'd and ahh'd over him, and after booking 2 more appointments (*sigh*) she let us go home.
Are we adjusting to our new life at home? Somedays. I never in my wildest dreams believed that one so little could be so very time consuming. God was so smart to make babies cute. Otherwise Eve would have only had one and none of us would be here. I have also figured out why the oldest son had a special blessing in the Bible and inherited the family goods. That was his reward for the survival of being his parents first child. Since Brian and I were both the youngest of our siblings growing up, we never fully appreciated the fact that our parents got to work out most of their parenting on our older siblings. Poor Benjamin. Good thing he is a survivor!
We visited the audiologist last week. I was very excited to see that he passed the ear that had failed in the NICU, but then he failed the ear that had previously passed. He went on to start the beginning of a 3-hour long test to determine if there was any potential loss until he decided he had enough of having his ears poked and solved the problem by throwing up all over the audiologists equiptment. She was very gracious and despite the mess she still ooh'd and ahh'd over him, and after booking 2 more appointments (*sigh*) she let us go home.
Are we adjusting to our new life at home? Somedays. I never in my wildest dreams believed that one so little could be so very time consuming. God was so smart to make babies cute. Otherwise Eve would have only had one and none of us would be here. I have also figured out why the oldest son had a special blessing in the Bible and inherited the family goods. That was his reward for the survival of being his parents first child. Since Brian and I were both the youngest of our siblings growing up, we never fully appreciated the fact that our parents got to work out most of their parenting on our older siblings. Poor Benjamin. Good thing he is a survivor!
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