Showing off

Happy Thursday!

Well I am happy to say that Jack and I had quite the uneventful day again. We are no longer being seen by the Grey's Anatomy team. We were visited by Dr. Knapp, who mentioned we will be getting a follow-up ultra sound to see if his right hip is in the right place, and Dr. Layham, who said he looks good and we are continuing on the current course of treatment. 

Mr. Logan woke up only three times during the night to eat and be changed. ld slept in 2-3 hour intervals, which was fine with me. He would eat for a half hour and then fall  asleep. Then we did the same all morning, he would sleep for 2 hours, then wake up on his own for a feed. During the afternoon he must have been cluster feeding, I don't know, but I swear he was up every half hour to hour in order to eat. But we went with it. He sat up for me to have a bath in the morning as well, I am telling you, that hospital tape is hard to get off! He still is not moving that right leg much, going to bring that up with Dr. Knapp when he comes in tomorrow. Plus he didn't get the ultra sound today,  so I'd like to know when they are going to do that. 

Dad came home around 645, and he is now getting to cuddle with Jack. They look very cozy! Going to take this opportunity to take a shower, and get out of the "comfy" recliner, which by the way if you spend more than a couple hours in it stops being comfy.

Here are a few shots of my guy after his bath, he was very awake. Loves making faces at every one. He got to show off his cool PICC line for a group of student nurses today as well. 

Sleepy

Sleep Tight

Wednesday:

 Today started out rough, Jack didn’t want to sleep last night, so we were up and down all night. He was very restless. I think we got 2 hours total. At 5am, the nurses came in because he needed to get blood drawn for his labs today.  The floor nurses of course missed the first stick, so I requested the NICU nurse. She came 20 minutes later, Jack didn’t cry at all, and she got it on the second stick. I think it is a matter of confidence. The floor nurses are used to big kids, Jack makes them nervous. Which I don’t blame them, he’s small.  Jack and I returned to our room, and Dad headed off to work. After a quick feed (back to nursing today), Jack wouldn’t lay down in the crib, but he went to sleep with me. We got a few hours then. When he woke up we were able to feed again, gratefully a little longer this time. It has been hard nursing since the beginning for us, Jack likes to latch on then fall asleep. We stuck to it today, have had no formula at all. I also started really making a point to pump after every feed. ALL I AM DOING IS FEEDING THIS KID IT SEEMS LOL. I still don’t get much, but I am hoping with the demand up, and the supplements on board my production will go up soon. Here’s hoping.

Dr. Knapp came in to look at Jack’s hip, still says it looks good. He had seen the lab work, and the numbers were good! No surgery right now. Also, Jack’s fever has gone down, and he has been normal temp all day.  He did say I should try to go home once in a while. Sorry, not going to happen unless JR is here, and even then, I won’t be gone long. I just don’t want to leave Jack, and I am more anxious when I am away. Dr. Layham came in the afternoon. Again, confirmed that the labs looked good, and that he would be here officially 4 weeks getting his antibiotics, and he is doing well. Thank you for the prayers! They worked that’s for sure. We will of course be following up with his pediatrician, and ortho regarding the hip for a while. 

After he left, Jack ate again, and slept for a few hours, we did this a couple times. So we have gotten our rest from last night, I hope that we are able to get some sleep tonight. One of those naps, he slept in the crib, which is a good thing. I don’t mind him sleeping on me, but the chair in here is awful.

Hopefully the rest of our stay here is uneventful, and this blog gets super boring. Will continue to post updates every day J

A Day Off

Tuesday:

Today JR headed back to work, and Jack and I were on our own. His many doctors rounded early. He is being followed by peds, ortho, and infectious disease.  His peds resident came in early 645am, she mentioned that because his CSF was negative, the peds will probably discharge him from their services because they are not needed. Which is fine, cause when the team comes in to round on him, it's like an episode of Grey's Anatomy. "Who's presenting." "I am." "Jack Logan, 21 days old, 4 days post right hip debrievement and aspiration..." Not to mention there are like 10 doctors on that team, and they are all cute little blondes, no even kidding! JR and I have both decided that in order to work here, you have to be a gorgeous, young female...which makes sense since it is Arnold Palmer's hospital. No, in all reality, the staff is wonderful, doctors, all the way to the environmental services lady who took the time to learn Jack's name, and converses with me every morning as she cleans up. Right after the peds resident left, Jack's surgeon came in, Dr. Knapp. He took a look at the hip, and decided it looks so good he no longer needed the dressing. The brace is still bulky and a pain in the ass, but whatever we have to do.  Dr. Knapp mentioned that the labs from Sunday were funky, so on Wednesday we would repeat them, and if they are continuing to rise, surgery will happen again. He came back a second time to check on Jack. We discussed "pain." I told him that mostly it seems Jack is one of those kids that just doesn't like to be "dirty." And now, it seems it is more fussy about the unclean factor, than pain. Before, that hip was definitely causing him pain, now as soon as he is cleaned off, and the diaper is snapped, he is instantly quiet.  Dr. Layham, his infectious disease doctor, came in later. He basically said the same as Dr. Knapp. So we will know more after the labs come back on Wednesday.  Then the Grey's Anatomy team came in. 10 doctors total! They just confirmed what the resident said earlier.

Then Jack and I had some time to ourselves. I turned on Disney Junior, and we made faces at each other for almost 2 hours. Stacy and Mary (nurse, and CNA) took good care of us all day long. Stacy even let us get a weight on Jack. And guess what? Friday he was 6 lbs 9 oz fully clothed in the ortho's office...today completely naked he was 7 lbs 4 oz, 2 oz up from his birth weight!!! As much as I hate that we are giving him formula now and again, I am grateful for the weight gain. I want him to be as strong as he can possibly be for this ordeal he is going through.  Not to mention, it seems I am not producing enough to pump and get a supply up, I just started some herbal stuff to help with milk production. I'd like to have him on BM when I go back to work, but if I can't make enough, formula it will have to be. All I can do is try.  After we made faces at each other, Jack and I made videos for dad and a few friends. He is so alert it is wonderful! He is looking at you when you speak, looking at big lights, and making wonderful faces. I love it!

For lunch, we got a visit from Ty, one of our running buddies. It was such a wonderful visit. Ty is the first of our friends who have gotten to meet little Jack, other than April, who came while we were at the hospital after delivery. It was nice to get an adult conversation in during the day. I am not much of a TV watcher, and I was going stir crazy lol.

Grandma Stevie, and Tom came at dinner. They got to see Jack for a while, and we went to grab applebee's for dinner. JR came home before that, and was able to get some time in with Jack.

Plan for tomorrow, 5 am labs, and planning from there He has been running a low grade fever on and off since last night (he has enjoyed not having to wear much clothing today) and we are unsure of where that puts us regarding the bacteria. I will keep everyone updated. Thank you for your love and support, your prayers have been keeping us in good spirits. Jack may be sick, but you'd never know. He is happy, and interacting the way he is suppose too.

Baby Jack

On January 8, 2013, my husband and I welcomed our first child, a son, into the world. John Rock Logan V, or "Jack" as we like to call him came tumbling into the world under interesting circumstances. All-in-all, my pregnancy was very easy. My first trimester I was fatigued, and nauseous, but that was the extent of it. Before I knew it, that was over, I could start sharing the news of the baby that was to be after a year of trying to get pregnant. The second trimester I felt like myself, just in stretchy pants. I continued to run and train for half marathons, do regular yoga with amazing support from friends, and family. The third trimester I of course started to show a little more, was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, and at 39 weeks, baby Jack was scheduled to come.

We checked in on Monday, January 7, 2013. I was given Cervidil to get things rolling. I was placed on a monitor. And thus began my labor. By midnight I actually started to feel contractions, but they were not bad. By 7am, I was started on Pitocin, and at 7am, my doctor broke my water. This is where it got real. Contractions got strong and were coming quickly. After 10 hours, I was starting to lose focus, so I did agree to an epidural. Thank God I did! When it was all said and done this mom walked away (well, not walked) with a 4th degree tear, which I'm sorry, I don't care how strong you are, would have sucked without drugs! Jack decided to hold his breath when I was finally allowed to push, so the doctor pulled him out via vacuum extractor, and then I was able to hear the sweet sound of my son crying. His dad immediately got to hold him, and watch over him as I got fixed up. He was amazingly perfect. We were discharged home 3 days later.

At home we got a nice flow of family for 2 weeks. We faced difficulties with nursing, but were starting to figure it out. He was also having trouble gaining weight, but his pediatrician kept a close watch.  Also noted, was that Jack didn't want to move his right leg much. He also seemed to have pain any time we touched his leg, or moved him. By 2 weeks, his doctor decided that it was too "strange" that his leg hadn't relaxed. She referred us to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in Orlando. We visited Dr. Knapp on Wednesday January 23rd. His x-rays were negative, but this doctor too thought it was 'strange' and ordered an ultra sound for that next day. Thursday we got to go home after the ultra sound, we weren't sure what the results were. We had to wait until the next day at Dr. Knapp's. On Friday we went in, Dr. Knapp informed us that Jack had fluid in his hip joint, and because of the pain he was experiencing (which was out of the ordinary) he wanted to order a stat MRI, and there was a possibility of surgery. The MRI showed fluid on that hip, and it was some sort of bacteria that was causing it. The hip was almost completely dislocated because of this infection. They mentioned Group B Strep, which if you've been pregnant you know that we are tested for this quickly. I was GBS negative. So if this was the GBS, he picked it up somewhere between the hospital and home.  Because of the fluid/infection, Dr. Knapp did decide to go into the OR. So, my 2 week old went under the knife very quickly. Longest hour and a half EVER!  My boy came out like a solider! They had removed all the infection, and drained the fluid. Now it was fighting the infection. His blood cultures were positive as well. When we got to see him in recovery he was so disorganized as he came out of the anesthesia.  He was unable to latch for breast feeding, and hadn't eaten in over 12 hours. I let them bring us some formula. And priorities shifted quickly.  I told myself I'd keep trying to breast feed, but I want him to be comfortable, I want him to be strong, and I want him to be happy, if that means to give formula, then so be it.

We were admitted after the surgery, and we began to hear that it could potentially be weeks before we get to take our precious boy home. We had to wait until Monday before we'd know for sure what the bacteria was that caused the infection in the first place. We wouldn't know for 6-7 months about the permanent damage that has been done on the right hip because of the infection. Saturday we began to meet his team. Dr. Knapp, of course is his orthopedic doctor, we then met Dr. Jordan with infectious disease who would dictate his antibiotic course and how long he stays, then the "peds" team introduced themselves. Why? Because now they were concerned that the infection had spread to his brain. "I'm sorry, what now?" So not only do we have the possibility of him not being able to walk, now we are worried about neurological function. Ok. So, my 2 week old got to experience his first spinal tap (LP).

Now, it's Monday. We have met many doctors, the nurses here at Arnold Palmer hospital are amazing. Scratch that, the staff, down to the lady who cleans the room (who knows my son by name, and is amazing) have been wonderful.  It was confirmed that the bacteria was Group B Strep (GBS). His bone was involved, but we are unsure of to what extent. He has not ran a fever, he is happy, and is eating well...even returning to almost all breast feeding :)  He received his PICC line, again one of the hardest thing for a parent to watch as they stick a needle in your kids head.  He is now on his antibiotics, and we are beginning the count down to going home. Hence the blog :)

My husband, JR, what a strong man he has been. You can't tell at all that he is going through what he described as, "worse that anything in Iraq." He has been our "Rock" this whole weekend, not just for our son, but for me. Because, it is one thing to see other people's children in the NICU, or to see procedures done...but when it is your son...puts thing into different perspective.

I wanted to thank the countless friends, and family that have been praying for us, adding us to prayer lists, checking in on us every day, and sending love. Just knowing that we have a vast foundation of love out there is helping each day...and nothing is better than prayers being sent to God! Thank you! I love you all!

Here's to a quick 4 weeks...may be less :)