Every time I see Rielly, he looks like a different baby. Look at how fat he is getting!

Kinda Sad

I'm a little sad today because they told us that Rielly has chronic lung disease which I guess alot of preemies get. The sad part about it is they said they have had to turn up the oxygen on the ventilator to 60% vs around 30% where he was before the pneumonia thing. They have concluded that he didn't have pneumonia because his lungs still look bad on the xray even after the antibiotics, plus he doesn't have any secretions from his lungs like he would if he had pneumonia. The bases of his lungs have either collapsed or are not getting enough oxygen because they are totally white on the xray. They said if they have to keep turning the ventilator up and they eventually have to get up to 100% on the ventilator, then there is nothing more they will be able to do. It will be up to Rielly whether he gets better or not and Morgan and Austin will have to make a decision on whether they want to continue or withdraw care because it's not good for his brain if his oxygen level is low. I know they have to prepare us for the worst possible case, but I wish they wouldn't tell us these things. I don't want to know all the bad things that can happen, I only want to know what is actually happening with Rielly. They gave him albuterol today to test and see if it helps him. They said it did help him because they were able to turn down the vent settings from 51% to 30% after he received it. It's time for some more prayers.

The Disadvantage of Working Nights

I wake up and the house is dead silent. I vaguely remember kids asking me while I am sleeping if they can go here or go there with such and such person. Apparently when I sleep, I say yes to everything the kids want. But then I wake up. I search the house, no one is around. I have no idea where my children are and I have no idea what I've agreed to. Hmm, maybe that's why the kids ask me for so much when I'm sleeping. Yeah, they have this routine mastered ...

Rielly is growing like crazy, he is 2 lbs 10 1/2 oz! He is starting to get chubby cheeks. It's so cute. He will probably be over 3 pounds by the end of the week! They have taken out all the IV lines and don't need to give him supplement nutrition anymore. He is solely on milk. He is getting one step closer to coming home every day.

Riellys lungs look clear on the xray so they are stopping most of the antibiotics. He is now 2 lbs 1 oz and is almost 14 inches long. He got down to 1 lb 8 oz last week so he is doing great with his weight gain. He is getting 12 milliliters of milk every 3 hours and is tolerating it great. THe next step is to try and wean him off the ventilator. I can't wait until that happens, his skin is raw from the tape they have kept on his face to hold the tube in his mouth. It will be nice to have that come off and to be able to see his face without the tube.

I'm laughing my butt off!!!!

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Lesson Number One

If you are going to try and color your hair on your own with coloring from the grocery store, make sure you have both the time and the money to go to the salon and get it fixed. That's all...

Love,
The idiot

It's still snowing! I don't care, I am heading to the hospital no matter what. I have to see my little man.

We didn't make it to the hospital, the roads were just too bad. We called the hospital instead and they said they still didn't have the results back but they are treating him with 3 different antibiotics for pneumonia regardless of if he actually has it or not. They also said they have been able to wean him more off the vent so he likely does have pneumonia and the antibiotics have been doing their job. They also have been suctioning his lungs and have found lots of goop in there. He seems to be doing much better tonight than he has the last 2 nights. So good news!

Apparently, the milk he has been getting (1 ml every three hours now) has been doing him good. He is now 2 pounds 1 oz! That's 6 oz in 2 days! It's so amazing to be able to see him grow so fast and how he changes everyday. I have to work tomorrow night but hopefully I will make it up there tomorrow. I'm going through withdrawals.

Yesterday, the hospital told us that Rielly might have pneumonia. They did an xray of his lungs and it showed he had some fluid in there. We will find out more today, hopefully we can make it up there with the bad weather. They said they can clear the pneumonia with antibiotics. It still scares me.

No real new news, Rielly is still doing great. I wasn't able to see him today but I will tomorrow. I can't wait!

When we got to the hospital today, the nurses told us they had moved Rielly to the next room, which is for less critical babies. Another big milestone! He turned 2 weeks old yesterday. The most exciting part was that they were switching out the isolette which they have to do every 2 weeks, so Morgan got to hold him for a few minutes while they did that. She was so excited.

Rielly opened his eyes today! It's amazing how much he has changed in so little time. The other day when I saw him, he had some hair but today he looked like a little gorilla man. He has long hair all over his body, and the hair on his head is getting darker and more thick. He also was lifting up his head today while he was lying on his belly. He amazes us everyday. The nurse said that they were able to wean him off the vent some today because he is breathing more on his own. She also said he is out of the woods for anything major that can happen, except infection. I wish I could set up a bed right next to his because I don't want to leave him.

Oh my gosh. He is perfect! And where did all that hair come from? It wasn't there the other day.

He can finally open his eyes!

Look at that scar. It's alot larger than they said it would be.

Cutest baby EVER

Just before his surgery on Monday

Rielly is still doing great. They started feeding him milk today. He only gets 1 milliliter every 6 hours. I didn't get to see him yesterday because I had to work and it was yucky weather. I also can't get my camera to connect to my computer so I haven't been able to put any pictures up. Sorry!

Oh yeah! He also had another brain scan done today and it was totally normal again. No brain bleed! They won't do another one for a month! Woo Hoo!

Rielly had his surgery and it went well. We were worried sick and can't believe they can even do surgery on such a little guy. He was pretty doped up after the surgery but he looked so cute. His skin is getting really dry now and is starting to peel. He has definitely stolen all of our hearts. I'll add some more pictures as soon as I can. I'm working tonight and tomorrow night also but I'll try tomorrow.

I had to go back to work Friday night and haven't been able to go see Rielly. It's killing me! Yesterday was his worst day so far, they had to keep adjusting the vent settings. I'm assuming that is why they scheduled the surgery for Monday because the day before the nurse said they weren't in a rush to do it because he was doing so well. They weren't too concerned about his bad day yesterday though, they said it was completely normal and not to worry. Yeah right! I worry about him 24/7. Every time the phone rings and I see that it is the hospital calling, my heart sinks. Luckily, they have only called once about his condition, which is great because no news is good news. He is one week old!

The medication was not able to close Riellys ductus arteriosus so they are going to do surgery on Monday. They said that they go in under his armpit and they put a tiny little titanium clamp in which will be with him permanently. I'm still amazed at how well Rielly is doing and grateful that this is the only complication he has had to face so far. We are still taking it day by day.

****UPDATE**** The "credit card" I used is only a gift card and a used one at that. Sorry to all the psychos who thought they were going to go on a Christmas shopping spree!


Oh my gosh! I just want to grab those cute little toes! He had his hands up to his face all day today. He has little froggy legs. A credit card next to his leg. Wow We tried to put the ring on his foot but he didn't like it. He's a feisty one already. The credit card is bigger than his head!

Rielly has had a good couple of days. They did an echo of his heart today which shows that the hole in his heart hasn't closed yet with the indomethacin they gave him. They are going to give it to him again tonight and hopefully that will close it. If not, they will have to go in and do surgery, which they say is pretty minor but it's still scares me. They will also do another ultrasound on Monday to see if he has a brain bleed. He is back up to his birth weight now. I was able to touch his feet today. It was awesome. Morgan read him a few books, which he seems to like alot. His O2 sats keep jumping all over today but they made a small adjustment on the ventilator and his labs came back perfect, meaning the adjustment they made worked. The ventilator is pumping at 600 beats a minute! They are giving him Versed and Fentanyl to keep him sedated. Here is a video of Morgan changing his diaper for the first time.

Good News!

Just after his blessing on Sunday

The ultrasound shows that Riellys brain looks good. He does have patent ductus arteriosis (the hole in his heart that is supposed to close when the baby is born) but that is pretty normal and even full term babies can have that. He might need surgery to fix that but I'm so happy to know his brain is fine. He still can get a brain bleed at anytime though. The nurses are saying he's doing fantastic for how early he was.

Morgan was able to change his diaper yesterday. He received a blessing from great uncles Kirk and Steve on Sunday. They did a great job. We are just taking it day by day.

Don't bother me! I'm getting some sun

I love my mommy

The nurses hand

Still hangin in there

So far Rielly (as opposed to Riley) is still doing great. His kidneys aren't functioning yet (normal) so he's peeing off everything that is going into him so his sodium and potassium are high. He also had to have a little blood transfusion (11 ml). They did an ultrasound of his brain and heart yesterday and we will find out the results to that today. If he has a brain bleed, we will know what kind of brain damage if any he will have. The nurse said most babies his size will have a bleed but if it's small, the body can absorb the blood and the brain damage can be none to minimal. I am very anxious about getting the results because Morgans cousin who is in the next room and is 3 weeks old (born at 26 weeks) has significant brain bleeds and they said he won't walk and will have major brain damage.
The ultrasound of the heart will tell if the "hole" in his heart closed at birth or not. If not, he will need surgery to close it. I will post again when I find out anything more.

I'm a gramma!

Riley decided he wasn't going to wait another day and came tonight at 4:51 p.m. It all went VERY quickly, by the time the doctor realized she was actually in labor, they rushed her to delivery and he popped out 10 minutes later after 1 push. They just cut the cord and ran him to NICU but the nurses said he was crying and that he looks good. He is only 1 lb 11 oz. I'm sure we are in for a long road ahead but I'm relieved that so far things are going well. Here are some pix

Crazy week for Crazy Mom

Morgan is in the hospital and will be until she has the baby, which hopefully won't be for at least a month. She started having contractions on Wednesday and we rushed over to Jordan Valley Hospital where the doctor found she was dilated to a 4. They wanted to Lifeflight her to the U but the helicopter was too far away so she went by ambulance and they were able to stop the contractions. Well early Friday morning her water broke. So now she is on strict bedrest and as long as she doesn't develop a fever, she will be stuck lying flat in her bed until she has the baby.

No she didn't get arrested, Morgan went on a ride along with Stacies hubby who is an officer for West Jordan. She had a great time and wants to do another. Most of the calls were animal related so not too exciting but she loved it. Thanks Kevin! You're awesome!

I would like to put my Halloween pictures on here but stupid me, I gave Breanne my camera so she could take it to her little Halloween party and she ended up leaving it there. So, when I get it back, I can post some pictures.