Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Look How Far We've Come!

This one is a quick (yet long) update on Landon... I wrote it somewhat quickly, so it may not be up to par but I have felt so bad for not having posted the past few weeks.  Clearly, it has been a rollercoaster, but here is what is going on with Landon!

There is something to be said about the NICU... it's not as treacherous as one might think. Upon entering the room, it appears cold and clinical with concrete tiled floors, so many machines beeping, wires hanging from what seems every crevice of the room, including the babies, nurses quietly attending to newborns, squirming babies lying in large plastic covered bassinets.  As I make my way to Landon who is stationed on the opposite end of the room, tucked away in his own little corner, I pass by all the babies in their open bassinets and incubators.  Some parents are there regularly, some are not, some are new to the NICU which is made known by the hospital gown that still adorns mommy, some have been there for quite some time now, some come alone and some come with support.  The one thing we have in common... our babies are in distress and are giving every bit of energy they have to fight for their health.

I spent 22 days going back and forth between home and the hospital to spend time with Landon.  My day consisted of jumping up out of bed, pumping for milk supply, getting Merrick ready for school, dropping him off and racing to the hospital to be there for Landon's 9 am feeding.  My mom and I would spend several hours there throughout the day, go to lunch and return for additional feedings throughout the day.  During this time, we met with the drs., chatted with the nurses, asked tons of questions, held Landon, listened to the stories of other moms and their babies.  At the end of the day, we raced to pick up Merrick and do the best I could to spend the limited quality time I had with him, eat dinner, pump some more milk,  put him to bed, and rush back up there with Patrick as soon as his feet hit the front door for Landon's 9pm feeding. I did the best I could to create that bond that takes place during the crucial first few weeks and maintain the healthy bond with Merrick while he was also adjusting to our new life with another baby.

We were discharged from the NICU on April 8th.  We were so nervous about bringing this little guy home.  How were we going to handle him when he was so small?  As much as we hated them, we jokingly asked if we could take all those monitors with us so we could be sure he was fine 24 hours a day.  I mean he had already battled a staph infection and thankfully he was in the presence of medical help to treat him.  As we prepared for his departure, I found it to be bitter sweet.  I was full of tears the night before when I told our night nurses goodbye and held back a few tears as we told the day nurses good bye the following day.  The most heart wrenching goodbye was saying goodbye to one of the drs. that worked with Landon the majority of the time she was there.  She stopped by to say good bye to him and to tell us how amazed she is by his story and outcome.  She went over a few things with us and seemed to still be in shock there was actually nothing wrong with Landon.

We left the hospital with our two boys in tow.  Merrick has been a fantastic big brother so far.  He brings Landon his hat, paci, and loves to look at his feet and hands and giggle.  I think he is also marveling at his size.

The Monday after he came home, I found a small lump on his lower abdomen and immediately called the dr.  We were walking in to an emergency appointment within 13 minutes from the time I picked up the phone.  After examining him, our pediatrician referred us to a pediatric surgeon to assess the severity of his hernia which we would soon find out that it was a double hernia.  We are not sure how he acquired this, but it could have possibly been while his had the belly distention and was trying to pass the meconium plugs.  The pediatric surgeon scheduled Landon for an outpatient surgery this past Monday.  We were hopeful this would change things since Landon had been extremely fussy over the weekend and lasted into the week in which he had fits of inconsolable crying.  We were certain something wasn't right - finding the hernias made total sense as to why he seemed so unhappy.

This type of surgery is very routine.  To be honest, I wasn't worried about the surgery itself, but the fact that he would have to be put under for it and the fact that he could not eat after 2 am.  We arrived at teh hospital at 5:30 am for his 7:30 am surgery.  He was out in an hour and spent 2 hours in recovery.  We are so happy to say that we have a BRAND NEW BABY!  He seems so much happier and comfortable than before.  He is alert and rarely cries, except for the occasional demand for his food and diaper change.  He has gained 1/2 pound in a week and our pediatrician is thrilled - this puts him at 5 lbs. 10 oz!  Now, our goal is to get to 6!

I think we have traveled all the hurdles/mountains we could possibly climb.  He is still being closely monitored as he is anemic and his bilirubin seems to be higher than when we left the NICU.  Next week, he has a follow up with the cardiologist for some questionable things that came up on his ecocardiogram that he had after birth.  We are hoping that these things will have corrected themselves.

Right now, we are taking things one day at a time, step by step and praying things continue to remain positive for our little Landon.

I will do my best to post next week about the cardiologist visit.  I'm off to feed a hungry, growing baby!

Thanks!

4 comments:

  1. I cannot tell you how happy I am for you and for your family, Marlo! I love to read about the triumphs! Go, Landon, go!
    -Mary

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your post brings so many tears and so much joy. What a miracle Landon is and if we haven't said it enough mama YOU are part of that miracle. It is just as much your doing as it is Landon's for this miraculous turn around. You are a strong, devoted, tuned-in mama and you deserve just as much credit. I've come to greatly care for you and your family as you've taken us on this journey with you. Thank you for sharing it with us and for helping us believe in and appreciate these bundles of joy that we've all created. My family "hearts" your family. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is such great news! So glad to hear that everything worked out well and Landon was able to come home so quickly. Best of luck with your growing baby boy.
    -Jen

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just began to follow your journey with Landon after researching the problems we are experiencing with our pregnancy. I am currently pregnant with twins, one of which has low fluid, cardiomegaly, and IUGR (baby B). They didn't expect "baby b" to make it past 12 weeks but here we are at 21 1/2 weeks. Our baby A is a girl and she is doing beautifully. I have searched all over google for some kind of story I could relate to. I'm so glad I found your blog. Thank you for sharing your story. We have 2 healthy children at home (ages 3 and 5) so this has all been a shock. My husband and I are praying for a positive outome like little Landon had. Thanks again for sharing your story!

    ReplyDelete