7 pounds!

Parker is now over 7 pounds! I weighted him last night and he was 7pounds 1 oz.  When I was burping him today I noticed he finally has fat enough cheeks to jiggle. He also finally has a little belly so maybe now shorts will stay up.

I will post some pictures of him once I get a chance to take more.

First Doctors visit

Monday Parked went to see the Pediatrician.  He weights 6 pounds 8 oz and is 21 inches long.  That means he gained 6oz in 3 days!  We are very happy to see him growing. The doctor said he looked wonderful and that his jaundice is clearing up nicely.  He still is a little yellow but it will go away.

Margaret our midwife also came to see Parker on Monday.  She is extremely thrilled with the progress he has made and is impressed with this little man.  He truly is our miracle baby. She also said that she thinks people at the hospital will be talking about Parker and his birth for a while.  Not only do they rarely see natural labor, but to see a breech birth be delivered without a c-section is quite the sight to see.

Henry and I have been so amazed to see God's hand in this entire situation.  He ordained ever detail of Parker's life. I am so excited to see what God does with Parker's life.

Today he is still doing great he was 6 pounds 14oz this morning. probably be 7 pounds tomorrow. Here are some pictures I took of him yesterday and today.  He sure is turning into the a chunky monkey.

look at those rolls!

HOME

Parker is finally home. Friday we brought our little guy home it was such a big day for him and dad... 

Splish Splash!

This afternoon Parker made two big strides.  He got off of the bililights and got a bath! The doctor said he is pleased with Parker's poops and thinks his levels will come down naturally.

I have been very excited to give Parker a bath. He has not had one since he was born and so he is sticky everywhere.  Between just normal baby goup, the sticky substance that keeps his tubes in and leads on, and the stuff they have had to put on him for his EEG and other tests he was pretty funny feeling.  When we gave him his bath we noticed that his hair is actually brown.  This whole time I was thinking he had black hair after all he is Asian.  He also got to wear cloths for the first time! It was so great to get to dress him.  Strange to have a baby finally bathed and dressed.

Today Parker did not eat all that well.  It seem like every feeding he was either interrupted, or so tired he just didn't eat much. The doctor wants him to be gaining weight before he goes home.  I told Parked he needed to eat well and boy did he!  After his bath he ate for 30 min!  He has never ate for that long.  He was very content after that.  

Today we started the go home check list.  He has several things he needs to do before he can go home. He will do a lot of them tomorrow so we are very excited for tomorrow.  It will be a big day.  He is close enough to going home that we get to bring his car seat in tomorrow.  No for sure day of when he is going home but hopefully in the next few days!

More improvements

Well Parker had quite the exciting morning.  When Henry and I got there to feed the little man this morning we had just started feeding him and a code was called for some other baby. They had to move the baby into Parker's room which made no room for us to feed.  So we went to a different room and finished our meal.  Because everyone was busy with the code I got to snuggle Parker for about an hour (including his feeding time.) At that point they decided he was healthy enough to move to the intermediate nursery!  This is one step closer to going home.  It is still a part of the NICU but it is only for babies who just need to gain weight and or finish up light therapy. It is much calmer down there and nice to be out of the offical ICU. Parker also got to move into a normal crib that most newborn babies are in during their stay at the hospital.  He took it all in stride.  His feeding this morning was not best but for all the interruptions he had he rocked it.

At noon Henry came to help feed Parker and about 2 minutes into the feeding we felt and heard quite the rumble from our duders and sure enough he filled his pants again.  I don't think we will ever be so excited over poopy diapers.  We met with a developmental therapist who watched him eat and did some exercises with Parker.  She was very happy with how well he was doing and will give us some exercises to do with Parker when we take him home.  There exercises will be to increase his muscle tone and help prevent any type of long term problems.

Parker gets his bilirubin level drawn again tomorrow morning and that will determine if he gets to stop his light therapy.  The nurses and doctors think it will be normal and that he will be able to stop the therapy tomorrow but we shall see what the number say.  His pooping habits are still not where they would like them but he is making improvements.

The nurses all think he is adorable and comment on how cute is he.  I agree with the nurses and doctors but I think I have a bias opinion. :)

He Poops!

Today Parker did an amazing job at Pooping! He waited all day for dad to get off work so he could fill his pants just in time for dad to change him.  We are so happy!  I spoke with the doctor who said his EEG was normal so the neurologist will probably not come to see him.  She said he is acting like a normal baby and his test show he is a normal baby so no need for a specialist at this point.  The doctor also said there are 3 things he needs to do before he can go home.

1. breath on his own (he has been doing that for a few days now)
2. Maintain his temp. ( he has been doing that well for a few days as well)
3. he must continue to poop so they can observe his poop for 2 full days.

So as long as he keep pooping we should be out of there friday-ish.  Doctor said by the end of the weekend.

Now that he is pooping his bilirubin levels should come down quickly.  The nurse said tomorrow will probably be his last day of light therapy.  Then we can hold him more and he gets to wear cloths! It always looks so strange to me to see this little newborn baby in only a diaper.  It will be nice to get to see him dressed.

As far as feeding he has been doing a great job. At his 3pm feeding he breastfeed for about 20 min and then drank 1oz! He is doing so great! After eating so much he couldn't even stay awake as I burped him.  It was very cute. I can not wait to be able to show him off to everyone.

He got his central line out today (the IV doing through his umbilical cord) and he had an NG tube put in.  The NG tube is a tube that goes in his nose, down his throat, and into his stomach.  The NG tube is just a precaution at this point it will only be used to give him any fluids or food if he stops eating as well as he is. A NG tube should not be put in when a baby is full because they usually vomit when it is put in if there is much in the stomach. Also a NG tube carries a lot lower chance of causing any type of infection to our little guy.  We wish he didn't have to have it but it is better then and IV so we will take it.

Good little eatter

Yesterday Parker got to start eating as much as he will eat on his own. This was very exciting for us.  This also meant that we got to start breastfeeding! It took him a couple of attempts to figure it out but by his 9pm feeding he had it pretty well figured out.  He is eating about 30 ml or 1oz every 3 hours.  As he starts eating more he can have his central line removed and if he is eating really well then he may not need an IV.  He finished his antibiotics yesterday but is still getting some artificial food via his central line until he really starts eating more.  He had a very small poop Sunday night but has not moved anything since.  This is one thing he needs to be doing regularly before he can go home.  I told Parker a Do-Do is on his To Do list. :) The doctors are still very pleased with is progress and it is basically just a waiting game now.  He had an EEG yesterday and we will not know the results until tomorrow.  Parker is still doing light therapy. He wears the white "sunglasses" to protect his eyes.  He doesn't seem to mind them, I would think it would be kind of nice to get to have a completely dark room to sleep in.

This morning he ate very well. He latched on with hardly any struggle. It was like he was a normal baby.    Because Parker is doing so well he is not a high priority to be seen by the doctors when they first get here so he has not see the doctor yet.  The neurologist are going to come see him hopefully today and it will be nice to see what they have to say.

Cranky pants Parker

Today Parker was very upset. The nurse said that he basically cried all morning. It could be as simple as he is hungry or it could be stress. Parker got to start eating today. He receives one teaspoon of breast milk every 6 hours. They have to start very slow or he could get a blockage. His bowls have never had to work before and they may still be waking up from the cold therapy.  We got to hold him for a few minutes and let him try to breastfeed.  He was unsuccessful at feeding but at least it was helpful for my milk supply and bonding. 

Parker also started what is called Light therapy today.  He is a little Jaundice because he is not eating and therefore not pooping.  With him not pooping bilirubin builds up in his system and causes the Jaundice.  The lights change the bilirubin into something easier to excrete.  It is to treat the minimal jaundice he has now and to prevent further jaundice as well.  Because he needs the light therapy he must be naked under the lights at all times so we cannot hold him very much. 

The doctor said they sent my placenta for testing and found it was small for the size of Parker and that 3% of it was dead. It was a very small section but it probably had a little stroke and that is what caused Parker's problems and for me to go into labor early.  They said it was just a fluke thing and does not predict how our other pregnancies will go and no certain thing caused it.  It is nice to have at least one answer.   

The doctor also said she is very optimistic about Parker and does not think he will have any long term problems.  His MRI came back normal and tomorrow the neurologists will look at it and come evaluate our little man.  His neurological exam is almost normal to the nurses but we will see tomorrow what the neurologist says.  He also has another EEG tomorrow or Tuesday to recheck the wiring in the brain.  

As far as coming home the doctor said it will probably be not until next weekend when he gets to come home.  He needs to be able to take all food by mouth which is a very slow process.  Like I said before they must introduce food very slowly.  He is also finishing up a round of antibiotics that have to be put in via and IV. Those will not finish till mid to late next week depending on how he is doing.  Finally he must poop.  He probably won’t do this for a few days because he has nothing in his stomach to excrete. 

Prayer requests:

1. Continued healing for Parker's tiny body.

2. For Henry and I to continue to turn to God with our fears.

3. That I would not go crazy with all the hormone changes in my body and stress.  I have been doing pretty well so far but I know as my hormones try to get back to normal it can be a very bumpy ride.  

4. Continued healing for my body and that Henry would be able to stay rested. 

An exciting day as we were finally able to hold baby Parker.

Baby's first cry as the nurse pulled out a catheter. What a sweet sound...for now

One of the issues that the doctors were testing for were seizures...because...

...this was happening every few seconds at birth. He had an EEG and it came back negative for seizures.  Unsure what is causing it but it has stopped.

Parker Snores!

Tucking in Parker

Last night Henry and I went to tuck Parker in for the night.  The nurse told us that while she was doing his oral care he gagged!  Yeah!  He is back up to a normal temperature and now just needs to show he can maintain that.   He is much more active when he is warmed up.  He was moving his lips like he was yawning or trying to suck.  It was very cute. He also was making little snoring sounds yesterday. I might not have been snoring it could have just been phlegm in his airway, but I am calling it snoring because that is much cuter.  It was probably the cutest thing I have ever seen!

A Breath of Fresh Air

Today when Henry and I went to see Parker we noticed something was missing. He no longer has a breathing tube!  He is now breathing on his own.  He was extubated (removal of the breathing tube) at about 830 this morning.   This was very encouraging to Henry and I and we are very excited. This was the first time I got to see his entire face.  He is much more handsome when he doesn’t have a tube down his throat.  They also started the warming process today.  He is still only about 91 degrees Fahrenheit but getting warmer slowly.    We spoke with the doctor and she said he is doing well but still not out of the woods.  He doesn’t have a gag reflux and does not cough but that might just be because he is cold.  His blood work is also not normal but the doctor thinks it is because of a bad specimen. They will redraw the labs tomorrow and see how it looks.  They were especially concerned about his red blood cell count.  We will know more tomorrow.  His chest x-ray looks practically normal.  It will get better once he cries and coughs.  We are very excited to hear him cry.  The doctor said best case scenario he probably will not be able to go home until next Friday.  There are many things he needs to be able to do before he can go home. She said he needs to be able to breath, eat, potty, poop, and keep his temp. at a normal temp.  The eating part will probably be the thing that keeps him there. Because he has been cold for so long his digestive system has not received much blood so it is basically not working. Once he gets warm it can take up to 5 days to really start working.  It will be so exciting to feed him.

On another note Yeet Fai (Parkers middle name) basically means exceedingly bright future and smart. 

The Parker Story

I know many are waiting for the official story of Parker so here it is:

Monday night my water broke at 11:18pm which surprised Henry, our midwife and myself. Our midwife Margaret came over and we were quickly on our way to welcoming Parker into the world. It was a little hectic because we were not expecting to go into labor for a least another two weeks so we didn't have all our birthing supplies. Henry got the pleasure of running to Wal-Mart not once but twice that night. At about 5:30am we realized Parker was coming butt first. This is called a breached position and is not something you want to happen during a home birth. Margaret told me we were going to the hospital and I told her I felt like I needed to push. She told Henry to call 911 and she began to call the hospitals to see who oncall was and if any of them had ever delivered a breach baby before. We were lucky thar there was a doctor on call at deaconess who had delivered several breach babies. The paramedics arrived and carried me to the ambulance telling me "don't push!" Margaret came with me in the ambulance just in case Parker decided he wanted to be born on the road meanwhile Henry quickly grabs some cloths for us and our cell phones. Henry told me later that the drive from our house to Deaconess was the longest drive in the world. A drive that normally takes 15 minutes felt like it took an hour.

We got to the hospital and they rolled me into the operating room. The Doctor came over and introduced herself and said we can either try and push or we can do a c-section. I told her no c-section and finally got to push. About two hours later Parker was born with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck . He took his first breathe and then went limp. They intubated him to help him breath and he was off to the NICU. The Neonatologist told us that at some point during the pregnancy or birth Parker didn't get enough oxygen to this brain. They said he was a great candidate for cold therapy to prevent any long term complications from the lack of oxygen. Basically cold therapy prevents swelling of the brain and swelling equals brain injury. The cold therapy is done by keeping Parker in a hypothermic state. He is kept at about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. He also had a small pneumothorax (slightly collapsed lung.) He might have an infection, and his kidneys have not been working right. They said they expected his kidneys to not work so well because of the brain problems. He is still intubated but is taking some breaths on his own and they have been able to decrease the amount of ventilation he needs. When we saw Parker Tuesday he really had no reflexes. His pupils would not react light and unlike most newborns if you touch his feet or put something in his hand there was no reaction.

Yesterday when we went to see him his pupils were reactive to light but still not normal. He does have more reflexes he will now grasp something placed in his hand and move away from a cold hand on his foot. Today he will start to be warmed up very slowly. It takes about 12-24 hours to increase his temperature about 8 degrees. We are hoping that as he warms up he will start to take more breaths on his own, that his kidneys will improved, and that his neurological exams continue to improve. Tomorrow he has a MRI to look for brain damage and then the neurologist will come visit him to make an official decision on if they think there is permanent damage or not. It has been a hard time for both Henry and I. It is so strange to be a parent but not have a child that you can hold or snuggle. We are not able to hold Parker until he comes off of the ventilator and both are greatly looking forward to that day. Yesterday we got to change his diaper for the first time and take care of his tiny lips. I am sure in a few weeks we will be laughing about the fact that we could not wait to change Parkers diaper or hear him cry. The doctors, Henry, and I are all optimistic about Parker's recovery but it is still a long road. We still have no idea what caused all of this or what this will mean in the long run for our little guy.

 We would appreciate prayer for Parker today as he warms up. Here are some specific prayer requests.
 1. As Parker warms that God would protect his brain. That he would not have any increase swelling.
2. That he would start to breathe on his own so that he can be taken of the ventilator.
3. That Henry and I would be drawn to God’s word and not distracted by all that is going on.
4. That we would be able to show grace and kindness to all those around us and hopefully show Christ to the doctors and nurses we are in contact with.

welcome Parker

On tuesday 6/5/12 Henry and I welcomed Parker Yeet Fai Yan into the world at 821am. He was 6pounds 1 oz and 19 inches long! Parker did come in a breach position and so we did an emergency transfer to Deaconess medical center. His cord was also wrapped around his neck. He had some problems at birth and so he has been in the NICU ever since. Please pray for him as we are unsure as too if he has any brain damage or long term side effects. Henry and I are doing pretty well considering. It is very strange for both of us to be parents but not have a kid to snuggle. We have not been able to hold him yet and are greatly looking forward to that day.