Visit with Gram & Gramps

This weekend Michael, Dave and I enjoyed a nice visit from Gram and Gramps. They came up Saturday afternoon and stayed until Sunday afternoon. We took a lot of pictures of them with Michael and have posted them on our online photo sites. (See below posts for links)

Later Saturday Gram and Gramps babysat Michael (first official babysitters!) while Dave and I went out for a little Mommy and Daddy time. We went to see the Indiana Jones movie (very good, by the way), and then had an enjoyable dinner afterwards. It was very nice to get away for an afternoon, but towards the end we both were soooo ready to return home to our little boy. It's amazing how much you miss your baby...emotionally and physically. I was literally holding back tears at dinner missing him so much. We got home though and saw him, then everything was fine. :)

It's been very hot and humid here...we've been using our fans and AC a lot. Hoping it cools down a bit soon...Michael sleeps better when it's less humid.

We are planning our first big trip out to PL for the Fourth of July. We will most likely stay until Saturday, if all goes well. This will be Michael's first overnight stay since being home. We are also planning a much bigger trip at the end of August to visit Gram and Gramps in NJ...and possibly the NJ Mangans while we are out there.

Hope everyone is doing well. Drop me a line. :)

All is well

Michael had his first pediatrician appointment yesterday morning. She was very impressed with Michael's stats: he now weighs 8 lbs. 13 oz. and 22 inches long. He has been waking regularly to feed every 2-3 hours. The past few nights he has been doing very well. We are trying to help him distinguish between day and night by keeping it quiet and dark at night and bright and noisy during the day. It seems to be working so far.

Daddy gave Michael a bath twice so far this week and Michael seems to enjoy it. Right now Michael is in his swing watching me type away. He is very content at just looking around at things in the room. He is very observant. Mommy's hoping his eyelids will start to droop and eventually he'll fall asleep.

Gram and Gramps are coming to visit for the weekend from NJ. This will be their first time seeing Michael out of the hospital. We're very much looking forward to their visit.

Hope everyone is doing well. Love to all! Visit previous post link to pictures...I uploaded more today (towards the end).

Home Sweet Home

HOME!

Michael and I came home yesterday afternoon after the doctors all agreed it was safe. He is able to be home without the oxygen or a monitor...so for the first time since Michael was born, we can hold our WIRELESS baby!


Dave had set up a nice little homecoming surprise party for Michael and I. He had a few friends of ours and some family come down for a little get together. It was really nice seeing everyone outside of the hospital and under better circumstances. Gram and Gramps are coming to visit this weekend, so that will be another enjoyable visit. (We're hoping to get some Mommy and Daddy alone time while they are here too.) :)

Here is a link to more pictures that Dave and I took while at the hospital: http://picasaweb.google.com/pamelamangan/BabyMichael?authkey=MrXfnyE-jXI

Michael had a hard time adjusting to home life last night, so was up pretty much every hour last night. Meaning=Mommy & Daddy didn't get much sleep either. But, your body surprises you on how well you can operate under no sleep conditions when you must. It's an amazing thing. You hear about other moms and dads saying "enjoy your sleep...it won't last long when you have a baby"...you just don't know how true those words are until you become a parent. So true, so true! Sleep is so valuable...don't take it for granted! Haha!

Must close now...Michael is napping and so should I. It's good to be home!! :)

Going home?!

After 13 days in the hospital (as of tomorrow), Michael and Mommy may be heading home! The doctors all agree that Michael has improved dramatically and has outgrown his breathing condition. They are continuing to monitor him tonight and tomorrow, but if his monitor download tomorrow is still as great as it has been...they will send us home!

This is very exciting news and Mommy & Daddy are very happy. Michael is so smart already. If we stick out our tongue at him, he will mimic the action and after a few seconds he sticks out his tongue. He loves to look at our faces and coos as we hold him. There is nothing like it, he's just amazing. (All you mothers and fathers out there know what I'm talking about.) :)

Michael is doing great with all his feedings. He is sometimes fussy, as babies tend to be. But, for the most part he does extremely well. He is the best eater in the NICU...all the nurses are impressed. He has also gained some good weight too! Michael now weighs 8 lbs 3 oz, compared to 13 days ago when he was born at 7 lbs 10 oz.

Thought I'd give a quick update on Michael, since I skipped yesterday. Will post more pictures, and hopefully they will be from home this time!! Love to all!

Big Boy

Michael with his eyes open, breathing all on his own!

Another update on Michael...although there will probably be another one sometime tonight. I'm waiting for Dr. Chai to finish looking at his monitor data. He did have a couple of desats that were real (not false alarms) since he was off his oxygen, so they are deciding whether it is better to wait it out in the hospital or send him home with a monitor. He would need a foot attachment type monitor, which isn't normally the kind of monitor they need. He seems very healthy and strong, other than these darn desats...we are so eager to get him home. But, again...we definitely want him to be okay...so waiting is fine with us.

Mommy is a well-known face here at the hospital. Usually a mother has to ring a bell and get her id verified by saying her name before entering the maternity ward (to go to my guest room), but now the nurses know me so well that they just see me coming and ring me right in. It's great for those late night feedings! They moved me into a room right next to the doors, which also is very helpful since I don't have to walk as far down to the NICU...but still it's kinda a hike every time they call for a feeding...but anything for my Michael!!

I took some more pictures last night and this morning of Michael without his oxygen. He looks like such an angel, but is definitely more alert and active since he had the oxygen. I also took some video, but this family waiting room computer doesn't let me download it. :(

Hope everyone is doing well. Thank you to everyone who sends me emails and their best wishes. I truly appreciate hearing from everyone. Most of the day I am alone, except for when I go to feed Michael...that is our bonding time...which I cherish, of course. Other than that...I'm trying to grab a bite to eat before getting called on again to feed, or trying to get some much needed rest.

Enjoy the pics!

OMG...I love him so much!

My boys. The two loves of my life.

I love you, Michael!!!

Update on Michael

Michael last night sleeping after nursing

Michael is doing very well. Last night they started weaning him off the oxygen to see how he does. They started at 80%, then down to 60% and he did extremely well, so this morning they took him off completely.

He is continuing to do very well without the oxygen, breathing entirely on his own with no desats! They will download the monitor data from the last two days with him on oxygen and then compare it with the next few days with him off from it. If all goes well, and his desats stop, then they will talk about sending him home. But, for now they aren't talking about sending him home until they absolutely know his desats have stopped.

After his stay at St. Joseph's, we are most likely going to get a second opinion, probably be at University Children's Hospital, on Michael's condition. Better to be safe than sorry.

Below are some more pics I took with my camera phone last night:

Introducing Michael Edward Stern!

Michael Edward Stern
Born Monday, June 9th, 2008

7 lbs. 10 oz.
21 inches long

Dave and I are proud to annouce that Michael Edward Stern was born June 9th (his due date) at 4:54 AM and weighed in at 7 lbs. 10 oz at 21 inches long.

My water broke around 6:00 PM on Friday, June 8th. I called the Dr. and he told us to go to the hospital. Sure enough, they confirmed my water was broken and they admitted me. We were going to have a baby VERY soon!! Labor was about 10 1/2 hours, and went very smoothly for mommy and daddy. (As smoothly as labor and delivery can be, that is.) :)

As soon as Michael was born though, and Dave cut his cord, he was whisked away from us to a bunch of NICU nurses in the corner of the room. Michael was very pale and was having difficulty breathing, so they brought in extra help to check his vitals. After what seemed like eternity, they brought him over to us for our first good look at him since he was born. I got to hold him for a minute as Dave looked on, and then they whisked him away again to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit for further evaluation.



I was taken care of...given breakfast and moved into a recovery room. Dave stayed with me for a few hours, but then had to retreat home for back medicine and much needed sleep. All this time we were waiting for any word on Michael. A few hours later, Dr. Chai came in to visit me and told me that after he was born Michael had "forgotten to breathe" (they thought) and had turned a dusky grey/blue color. Since then they had to give him some oxygen to help him breathe, but didn't have to keep him on it. So, because of all of this they admitted him into the NICU for continuous monitoring.


I called Dave immediately and let him know what Dr. Chai told me. It being very scary news, Dave rushed to the hospital to be with me as we waited to see Michael in the NICU. About 2 PM we were able to finally see our little boy. He moved up to be in a heated incubator to keep his body temperature up. Michael looked like this when we first saw him in the NICU:

It was very overwhelming taking in all the information the Dr. was telling us about Michael. Especially seeing his tiny body all hooked up to monitors and cords dangling everywhere. I started the adventure of learning how to nurse him, and Michael started to learn how to nurse at the same time.


Since Michael's birth he has been tested to all extremes trying to find an answer to his desaturation levels of oxygen in his blood. "Desats" as they call them...are any time his blood oxygen level dips below 90. Since he kept having these desats, they ran blood tests, an MRI, an EEG, and yesterday (June 17th) they did a heart sonogram, which I was able to be present for.

Michael and Mommy have been at the hospital now for 8 days. That makes Michael a little over a week old! Hard to believe! Since I was discharged on Wednesday, June 11th, I am able to stay as a guest here at the hospital so I can breastfeed Michael. The nurses and doctors have been extremely helpful and supportive of Dave, Michael and I. I was able to stay in a normal room until a few days ago, where they had to move me into the regular nursery's storage room where they have a couple of beds for guests when the normal rooms are filled up with patients. I don't mind that much, even with no tv, it's a place to sleep and I'm still able to be real close to Michael.

Waiting to hear the results from the heart sono...I'll update later on. I will also send out a link to more pictures of Michael that Dave and I took yesterday. Hope everyone is doing well.

Love to all...we're so happy Michael is finally here with us. Now we hope to bring him home, healthy and stable, soon.

Love,
Pam, Dave and Michael!