Tummy trouble

For two babies who came into this world so early and face the potential of so many health problems, Colin and Veronica are remarkably healthy. Other than a little cold (thanks to Mom) when Colin first came home from the NICU, they have been untouched by illness — until this weekend, when some sort of stomach bug seems to have come calling.

Colin only seems to have gotten a little touch of the bug — he was crabbier than normal for a day, spit up a couple of times and had a little diarrhea on Saturday overnight into Sunday. By midmorning yesterday, he was back to normal. 

(He has completely recovered from surgery. The only sign he had anything done is the bandage, which stubbornly refuses to fall off, and is on so well that I couldn’t find an edge to lift to take it off myself.)

Veronica was a little harder hit and was throwing up more (of course, she sometimes just does that with her reflux) and still having diarrhea up until bedtime last night. But she made it through the night without doing either, so I am hopeful she has made it through the bug as well.

Other than wanting to be held a bit more, and being crabby when the diapers were dirty (and who can blame them — for either one), both Colin and Veronica behaved pretty normally throughout. The biggest problem (for Mom) was that they both wanted to nurse — a lot. I feel like I spent 2/3 of my waking hours yesterday nursing someone (and 4/5 of my night last night — although I can sleep through most of the night nursing). 

Oh well, maybe for Valentine’s Day the babies will both sleep through the night.

Back home

Colin is back at home now. He and John finally made it back here at about 10:30 this morning, both a little worse for the wear from the lack of sleep. 

Because Colin wasn’t technically ever admitted to the hospital, he was never given a proper room. So they spent the night in the surgical observation ward, in what was more or less a cubicle — three walls and a curtain. So between Colin’s monitors beeping, the mandatory every-four-hours check by the nurses and the noise from the other patients, neither one of them slept more than a handful of hours. 

But our little guy has bounced back nicely and really seems pretty much back to normal. As of tonight, he didn’t really have any swelling at the incisions and he doesn’t seem to be having any pain to speak of either. He had one dose of Tylenol at the hospital and one here at home and hasn’t been fussing (other than when he needed his next nap). 

So we’ll hope he continues to recover well, and soon this will all be behind us. We go back to the doctor for a follow-up in two weeks, and then should be given a clean bill of health (again) for our little guy. Yeah!

All done … well nearly

Colin’s surgery went well today — much better than expected in fact. They were anticipating a somewhat more complicated-than-normal surgery because it appeared that Colin’s bowel might have descended into his testicle. Talking to the surgery team this morning, they anticipated that the surgery itself would last an hour and a half, in addition to the pre-surgery and recovery. 


He did remarkably well with the “no eating after 2:30 a.m.” restriction and didn’t get crabby until just a few minutes before they came to get him. In fact, he was smiling and flirting with everyone at one point. 


They took Colin in to the operating room at 7:30 on the dot, and I moved our winter things into a locker and headed to the waiting room to wait. At 8:35 I looked up to see Colin’s doctor coming in to see me. Fortunately, he was smiling, so I assumed he had good news.


The surgery was much simpler than expected and went very well. Colin’s bowel was not involved — it was just an accumulation of fluid, lots of fluid. So, after repairing the spots in the abdominal wall and draining the fluid, he was out to recovery. Five minutes or so later, so was I. 


Other than being a little crabby from lack of sleep (and probably a little uncomfortable too), Colin seems to be enjoying his stay in the hospital. He enjoys being the center of attention, and smiles and coos at all the nurses when they come to check on him. He was very hungry coming out of surgery, and polished off two bottles of glucose water right off the bat. Since then, he has nursed pretty much every two hours. 


Because Colin was born prematurely and is less than six months old (adjusted age), he is at higher risk for having apnea episodes after the anesthesia. So right now we’re whiling away the hours in surgical observation, waiting for to get the green light to go home. They told us to plan on him being here for 23 hours, but there’s a chance they’ll send him home early if his levels all continue to be good. 

Under the knife

I took Colin to the urologist this morning (one at Children’s Memorial hospital this time), only to discover that he needed his hernia surgery NOW. 

We knew it would need to happen fairly soon. But to be honest, the last thing I expected was to be on the phone in the office, scheduling surgery for tomorrow morning. Yet that’s what I did. And so, tomorrow morning, Colin and I will find ourselves rising early — okay, we’re both usually up early any way … heading out the door early to make our 6:00 a.m. appointment at the hospital. 

After getting some pre-surgery blood work done, and meeting with the anesthesiologist, my by-then hungry little boy will have surgery to repair his hernias. (They'll do the surgery on both sides because apparently with preemies, this type of hernia usually comes in pairs.)

Normally this surgery is done on an outpatient basis, but because Colin is a preemie he’ll need to stay in the hospital for 23 hours to be sure he comes out of the anesthesia properly. 

Needless to say, this has thrown us off a bit. We were expecting to be able to schedule the surgery for a well-planned, convenient time. Instead, we’re scrambling to wrap up work projects and are facing surgery without time for mental preparation. (Of course, there is some merit to not giving yourself time to brood about the possible things that can go wrong too.)

The surgery itself is relatively “simple” — if you’re a pediatric urologist who specializes in these things. Fortunately, Colin’s surgeon is a pediatric urologist who does specialize in these things — he’s also the head of the urology department at Children’s Memorial. From that perspective, I am not overly worried. 

But Colin does have the chronic lung disease, and he has to be put under for the surgery. And that, I must confess, scares me a little. So please, everyone, keep us in your thoughts and prayers — yet again — as we help Colin through the surgery. And if all goes well, in two days he should be back to normal.

Appointment secretary

The babies had their week of appointments this past week — pediatrician on Tuesday, Synagis shot on Wednesday, Veronica’s follow-up at the hospital on Thursday. No matter what I try, we always seem to have appointment clusters. It gets pretty crazy some times.

Both babies are doing very well and growing very well. Colin is up to 9 pounds 9 ounces and Veronica weighs 14 pounds 2 ounces. Colin is still below the 5th percentile on the preemie growth chart (although he’s getting closer), Roni is in the 95 percentile. In fact, at her follow-up appointment at the hospital, they measured her length twice — they didn’t think it was possible that she could be that long.

Colin’s inguinal hernia has not gotten better on its own, so he’s most likely going to need surgery to repair it fairly soon. Fortunately, they are able to do it as an outpatient procedure now. We are meeting with a urologist from Children’s Memorial hospital on Wednesday to find out when we need to schedule that.

Colin and Veronica also start their occupational therapy on Monday. That’s a weekly appointment, but we’re fortunate that the therapist comes to our home for this one (as will the physical therapist for Colin when those appointments start later this month).

After this next week (during which Ethan and John both have dentist appointments too), we have a little break, with just the occupational therapy, before the next round begins. I’m just very grateful to be living in the city, where all of these doctors are close at hand. 

Little faker

The babies turned 6 months old today. It’s hard to believe that half a year has gone by already. But at the same time, that day in the hospital seems like a lifetime ago. 2010 was an exciting year for us, and while we’re happy with the outcome, we’re all hoping 2011 will be a bit duller.

Veronica is leaping into the second half of her first year with the discovery of cause and effect. She has learned how to fake cough, and loves to lay on the changing table and “cough.” Then John or I will bend down and smother her with kisses while asking her, “Are you okay? Oh sweetie, are you okay?” Then we’ll stand back up and say something like, “Whew, that was close.” And she’ll start the whole thing over again, laughing all the way.

Colin, too, is learning new tricks — although his are more practical right now. He finally is able to tolerate being upright for longer periods (rather than always insisting on being held horizontal in your arms, with his head just so). Now we’ll just have to work on pushing tummy time a bit more.

Colin also is getting much more skilled at using his hands. He doesn’t grab at toys as much or as consistently Veronica does, but he is starting to get that figured out. He definitely has the edge over her, though, when it comes to bringing both hands together to get something. She is still pretty much going after things with one hand. 

They are enjoying each others company more these days, and both will reach out for the other when we put them down to play side by side. As their schedules slowly start to get more in sync, it is becoming easier to give them this time together. They are far more likely now to have awake, happy time at the same time.

We still have the babies sleeping in separate rooms. Colin is very sensitive to Veronica’s crying, and she still often cries herself to sleep in the evening. And she is very in tune to the sounds of someone eating in the middle of the night, when Colin is more likely to cry. (Although John does bring him in to nurse, usually around 2:30 or so.) 

I hope that before too much longer, we’ll be able to set up the nursery (they are getting what previously was the master bedroom) and get everyone settled into their [at least semi-] permanent homes. Then, perhaps, I’ll feel less like we’re in a constant state of flux. (But then again, maybe not. They are babies, which means they change all the time.)

Happy New Year to everyone. May 2011 bring you many blessings (without all the drama that accompanied ours).