Friday, August 20, 2010
Welcome home Trey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Howdy Everyone,
Phew, what a few days! I took a big trip, my first. It was from the
hospital to my own house! That’s right, I am finally home!!! When I
left the hospital and breathed real air for the first time, my eyes
opened very wide; I was so excited to take it all in. One hundred and
two days in the NICU was just too much, and I sure am glad to be in a
real house…
My first night, mommy and daddy had the room very dark and quite. I
was not sure what to think of that, and made lots of noises and kept
them up all night long. They figured out that I was used to the NICU,
with lots of lights, buzzers, and commotion. After they left a small
light and noisy fan on the second night, we all got some sleep.
As you can see from my pictures, I still have a feeding tube and vital
sign monitor, at least for the time being. While not optimal, Mom and
Dad are looking at this as ‘insurance’ so I don’t have to go back into
the hospital. I do use the feeding tube for three feeds per day at
night, which helps me get the calories I need given the severe reflux
that I’ve been battling. And the monitor is ‘mobile’ in that it has a
shoulder strap and 16 hour battery life (almost good enough for a
hurricane, so I’m told). There are lots of special doctors that also
want to see me over the next few weeks. So while I require some
additional care and attention, I’m doing everything possible to insure
that I will be a ‘normal’ infant soon enough.
I met my dogs for the first time. Minnie danced around and barked, and
Duddley was quick to give me a kiss on my foot. They both can’t come
in to the nursery, but wait by the gate to protect me if I should need
it. I know I’ll have fun with them when I get a bit older.
Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts, phone calls, etc. through
this journey. I look forward to meeting you all very soon!
Love,
Trey ‘33
PS – I left the NICU weighing in at 7 lbs .03 ounces. 19 ½ inches in
length. That is a lot of growing from my start at 1 lb 15 ounces and
13 inches!
Phew, what a few days! I took a big trip, my first. It was from the
hospital to my own house! That’s right, I am finally home!!! When I
left the hospital and breathed real air for the first time, my eyes
opened very wide; I was so excited to take it all in. One hundred and
two days in the NICU was just too much, and I sure am glad to be in a
real house…
My first night, mommy and daddy had the room very dark and quite. I
was not sure what to think of that, and made lots of noises and kept
them up all night long. They figured out that I was used to the NICU,
with lots of lights, buzzers, and commotion. After they left a small
light and noisy fan on the second night, we all got some sleep.
As you can see from my pictures, I still have a feeding tube and vital
sign monitor, at least for the time being. While not optimal, Mom and
Dad are looking at this as ‘insurance’ so I don’t have to go back into
the hospital. I do use the feeding tube for three feeds per day at
night, which helps me get the calories I need given the severe reflux
that I’ve been battling. And the monitor is ‘mobile’ in that it has a
shoulder strap and 16 hour battery life (almost good enough for a
hurricane, so I’m told). There are lots of special doctors that also
want to see me over the next few weeks. So while I require some
additional care and attention, I’m doing everything possible to insure
that I will be a ‘normal’ infant soon enough.
I met my dogs for the first time. Minnie danced around and barked, and
Duddley was quick to give me a kiss on my foot. They both can’t come
in to the nursery, but wait by the gate to protect me if I should need
it. I know I’ll have fun with them when I get a bit older.
Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts, phone calls, etc. through
this journey. I look forward to meeting you all very soon!
Love,
Trey ‘33
PS – I left the NICU weighing in at 7 lbs .03 ounces. 19 ½ inches in
length. That is a lot of growing from my start at 1 lb 15 ounces and
13 inches!
Friday, August 6, 2010
3 months
Trey will be three months old on Monday August 9th. Here is his latest update.
Howdy everyone,
Things have been going well with me. I am finally over my infections,
and have the IVs out, hopefully for good! Last week the PIC line
developed an infection, so it had to be removed. This meant that I had
to go back to having IVs placed everywhere; my hand, arm, side of my
head, back of my head, scalp, etc. Sometimes the IVs lasted for only a
few hours, as my veins aren’t that developed and the antibiotics were
very strong, causing the IV to ‘go bad’. I am so glad that the IVs are
out now, as I did not enjoy being stuck several times each day.
With all the IVs and me feeling under the weather, I barely had time
to believe that Berkman got traded. That is horrible news; I thought
he was an Astro for life. He does deserve a winning team, and I hope
he gets it, but did he have to pick that team? Yuck.
Lately, I have been increasing my feed volume and bottle frequency.
Currently I’m on 55cc of formula every three hours. Every other feed
is with a bottle, with the feeding tube taking over the other feeds.
Working up to more bottles is hard work; I often sleep right after my
bottle feeds (and sometimes during the feed!). Mom and Dad are
learning this whole bottle thing, but we all are getting better at it.
I do have reflux, which causes me discomfort and to ‘spit up’ quite
often. The doctors have put me on a new medicine for that, and it does
seem to be helping. My new trick is that when is bottle time, I often
smack my lips in anticipation of eating. Dad and Mom get a kick out of
that, so I make sure I do it before each feed now!
I am becoming more active too. I really enjoy batting practice by
flaring my arms and gripping my family’s hands, and also practicing
for my future as a placekicker by flexing my legs and feet. Daddy
caught me yesterday, and swore that if he could put me on the floor
that I would have crept away.
This week I plan on increasing the number of bottles I get each day.
Once I reach 6 bottles per day, and each feed under 30 minutes, they
can talk about me going home. I can’t wait for that! I weigh in at a
hefty 6 lbs 2 oz now, and have officially outgrown my preemie clothes.
Daddy tells me football season starts in 29 days, and I want to be
home for that!
Thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and patience. My
parents had a busy week, and hasn’t had time to send this out to
everyone in too long. They do apologize for the delay, and appreciate
all of your emails and well wishes.
Trey ‘33
Howdy everyone,
Things have been going well with me. I am finally over my infections,
and have the IVs out, hopefully for good! Last week the PIC line
developed an infection, so it had to be removed. This meant that I had
to go back to having IVs placed everywhere; my hand, arm, side of my
head, back of my head, scalp, etc. Sometimes the IVs lasted for only a
few hours, as my veins aren’t that developed and the antibiotics were
very strong, causing the IV to ‘go bad’. I am so glad that the IVs are
out now, as I did not enjoy being stuck several times each day.
With all the IVs and me feeling under the weather, I barely had time
to believe that Berkman got traded. That is horrible news; I thought
he was an Astro for life. He does deserve a winning team, and I hope
he gets it, but did he have to pick that team? Yuck.
Lately, I have been increasing my feed volume and bottle frequency.
Currently I’m on 55cc of formula every three hours. Every other feed
is with a bottle, with the feeding tube taking over the other feeds.
Working up to more bottles is hard work; I often sleep right after my
bottle feeds (and sometimes during the feed!). Mom and Dad are
learning this whole bottle thing, but we all are getting better at it.
I do have reflux, which causes me discomfort and to ‘spit up’ quite
often. The doctors have put me on a new medicine for that, and it does
seem to be helping. My new trick is that when is bottle time, I often
smack my lips in anticipation of eating. Dad and Mom get a kick out of
that, so I make sure I do it before each feed now!
I am becoming more active too. I really enjoy batting practice by
flaring my arms and gripping my family’s hands, and also practicing
for my future as a placekicker by flexing my legs and feet. Daddy
caught me yesterday, and swore that if he could put me on the floor
that I would have crept away.
This week I plan on increasing the number of bottles I get each day.
Once I reach 6 bottles per day, and each feed under 30 minutes, they
can talk about me going home. I can’t wait for that! I weigh in at a
hefty 6 lbs 2 oz now, and have officially outgrown my preemie clothes.
Daddy tells me football season starts in 29 days, and I want to be
home for that!
Thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and patience. My
parents had a busy week, and hasn’t had time to send this out to
everyone in too long. They do apologize for the delay, and appreciate
all of your emails and well wishes.
Trey ‘33
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Working my way home
Well it has been awhile since we posted. Trey has told a few stories about his stay but mom has forgotten to post them for him. He is making good progress even if it isn't as fast as mom thought it would be he is teaching me patience. At the end of June we got up to full feeds so we no longer needed the permanent IV so he has been IV free for quite a while now and it is eaier for the nurse to change his clothes. On July 4th independence day he got off of his CPAP and is now just on a oxygen cannula and doing very good with that. They have been weaning him off of needing oxygen but it is still unknown if he will need it when he goes home. On July 6th we made the big move to level 2, which means I am more stable and mom and get to help with his care more. On July 9th we got to try our first bottle, now we are up to three bottles a day and once he is up to 8 bottles a day he gets to go home. He weighs 5 pounds 7ounces now and is getting to be a big boy. Here are his latest pics. http://sarahandvince.shutterfly.com/
Thursday, June 24, 2010
You can hear me cry
Phew, I am tired! Some changes this week, followed by not many
changes. More on that below….
The highlight of my week was excavation of my ventilator. I am so glad
that I don’t have that down my throat any more! The feeding tube is
still in my mouth, but that isn’t so bad. The nurses put the CPAP on
me on Father’s Day. It was my present to Daddy, since I didn’t have
time to go to the store. The CPAP is held into my nose by a nifty camo
hat and lots of tie downs. It looks like I have orthodontic head gear
on, but hey, I know it is a step in the right direction.
I’ve been very busy eating, and my feeds have gradually increased. In
addition to my IV food, I now get 27ml of formula from my feeding tube
every three hours; once I get to ~40ml, I will be off of IV fluids.
That will be very welcome as the nurses can then take the long term IV
out of my left arm. It really gets in the way during batting practice…
I’m told that after I get to ‘full feeds’, I can then work on breast
milk and bottles.
All this feeding is helping me grow up to be a big boy. I’m now firmly
at 4 ½ lbs. And with the ventilator out, everyone can now hear me when
I cry or sneeze. So far, these sounds are very muffled. That is not a
surprise given the duration that the ventilator was in, and I’m sure
I’ll be ready for Yell Practice soon enough.
But the real change this week is…not many changes. That’s right, I’ve
settled down into a period where I am stable, and I just increase my
feeds and lower my CPAP settings to get me to ‘normal’. Given the
excitement of the last few weeks, ‘not many changes’ is welcome
indeed!
Thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes.
All for now,
Trey ‘33
changes. More on that below….
The highlight of my week was excavation of my ventilator. I am so glad
that I don’t have that down my throat any more! The feeding tube is
still in my mouth, but that isn’t so bad. The nurses put the CPAP on
me on Father’s Day. It was my present to Daddy, since I didn’t have
time to go to the store. The CPAP is held into my nose by a nifty camo
hat and lots of tie downs. It looks like I have orthodontic head gear
on, but hey, I know it is a step in the right direction.
I’ve been very busy eating, and my feeds have gradually increased. In
addition to my IV food, I now get 27ml of formula from my feeding tube
every three hours; once I get to ~40ml, I will be off of IV fluids.
That will be very welcome as the nurses can then take the long term IV
out of my left arm. It really gets in the way during batting practice…
I’m told that after I get to ‘full feeds’, I can then work on breast
milk and bottles.
All this feeding is helping me grow up to be a big boy. I’m now firmly
at 4 ½ lbs. And with the ventilator out, everyone can now hear me when
I cry or sneeze. So far, these sounds are very muffled. That is not a
surprise given the duration that the ventilator was in, and I’m sure
I’ll be ready for Yell Practice soon enough.
But the real change this week is…not many changes. That’s right, I’ve
settled down into a period where I am stable, and I just increase my
feeds and lower my CPAP settings to get me to ‘normal’. Given the
excitement of the last few weeks, ‘not many changes’ is welcome
indeed!
Thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes.
All for now,
Trey ‘33
Monday, June 21, 2010
Father's Day and Trey's latest pics
Well it was a good but busy weekend. Vince had his first Father's Day. Trey made him a tie with his footprints on it. We went to the Astros game with Sarah's Dad and called everyone to wish them a Happy Father's Day.
The big news of the day is that Trey got extibated. He is now breathing completely on his own and doing good. The nurses were kind and took a picture of him without any tubes for us. He now has a CPAP machine that helps make it easier for him to breath. The next big steps will be a nasal cannula followed by bottles.
http://sarahandvince.shutterfly.com/
The big news of the day is that Trey got extibated. He is now breathing completely on his own and doing good. The nurses were kind and took a picture of him without any tubes for us. He now has a CPAP machine that helps make it easier for him to breath. The next big steps will be a nasal cannula followed by bottles.
http://sarahandvince.shutterfly.com/
Friday, June 18, 2010
Week of First
My Week in the NICU
By Trey
This was a week of firsts. I wore clothes for the first time this
week, which was very exciting. I was getting quite embarrassed going
around with just a diaper on for so long. Cousin Cindy and Alli
bought me some cool clothes that have snaps all around them, designed
just for kids like me that have lots of monitor wires on their chests.
My favorite one has a Texas theme, complete with cacti and gushing oil
wells. Spindletop!
But my favorite thing about this week is that Mommy and Daddy finally
got to hold me. It was great! I got to leave the incubator for the
first time since I was born, and each of them got to hold me in a
rocking chair for around 20 minutes. It is quite a process to get me
out of the incubator; my tubes and monitors all need to be untangled
and disconnected, and the machines that monitor me have to be wheeled
into different positions. I’m also pretty sore from the removal of the
chest tube, so it is kind of painful and all very agitating. But once
I get in their arms, I calm down very quickly, and I even managed a
small smile. That is a new trick for me!
I’m still quite bloated, but am continuing on the diuretic to help
with that. This makes it difficult for me to open my eyes, but I am
trying. While my weight fluctuations, I am firmly above 4 pounds now.
That means I more than doubled my weight since I was born. I’m a big
boy now!
So, Daddy tells me all the conference realignment stuff has been
resolved (at least for most teams), and that A&M will stay in the Big
12 (or whatever it will be called). While I’m happy that the Aggies
will get more than double their current TV money, I’m also a bit
disappointed about not going to the SEC. Playing in Baton Rouge or
Gainesville would have really beat out playing in Lubbock or Waco. But
I understand it was the safe move. Still, by the time I get to A&M, I
highly doubt the Big 12 will be around in its current incarnation, so
I may just get to see the Aggies play at ‘The Swamp’ on a conference
road trip one day.
This weekend I plan on pulling my ventilator out. Really. I think I’m
ready for it to be gone, and I’ve been doing my best to pull it out.
It is so uncomfortable and really gets in the way during batting
practice. I overheard the nurses say that if it ‘accidently fell out’
they would not try to put it back in, but instead give me the CPAP.
Maybe I can help them out! My breathing has been good at 18 breaths
per minute at ~40% oxygen, so it is time. Come on nurses!
I’m also tolerating my feeds much better then before. I’m on a special
formula that will not leak into my lungs, and I’ve already doubled the
amount of food I receive (from 5ml to 10ml every three hours). I plan
on increasing my feeds until eventually I will be only milk/formula
and no IV food.
Ok, all for now. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers.
Trey ‘33
By Trey
This was a week of firsts. I wore clothes for the first time this
week, which was very exciting. I was getting quite embarrassed going
around with just a diaper on for so long. Cousin Cindy and Alli
bought me some cool clothes that have snaps all around them, designed
just for kids like me that have lots of monitor wires on their chests.
My favorite one has a Texas theme, complete with cacti and gushing oil
wells. Spindletop!
But my favorite thing about this week is that Mommy and Daddy finally
got to hold me. It was great! I got to leave the incubator for the
first time since I was born, and each of them got to hold me in a
rocking chair for around 20 minutes. It is quite a process to get me
out of the incubator; my tubes and monitors all need to be untangled
and disconnected, and the machines that monitor me have to be wheeled
into different positions. I’m also pretty sore from the removal of the
chest tube, so it is kind of painful and all very agitating. But once
I get in their arms, I calm down very quickly, and I even managed a
small smile. That is a new trick for me!
I’m still quite bloated, but am continuing on the diuretic to help
with that. This makes it difficult for me to open my eyes, but I am
trying. While my weight fluctuations, I am firmly above 4 pounds now.
That means I more than doubled my weight since I was born. I’m a big
boy now!
So, Daddy tells me all the conference realignment stuff has been
resolved (at least for most teams), and that A&M will stay in the Big
12 (or whatever it will be called). While I’m happy that the Aggies
will get more than double their current TV money, I’m also a bit
disappointed about not going to the SEC. Playing in Baton Rouge or
Gainesville would have really beat out playing in Lubbock or Waco. But
I understand it was the safe move. Still, by the time I get to A&M, I
highly doubt the Big 12 will be around in its current incarnation, so
I may just get to see the Aggies play at ‘The Swamp’ on a conference
road trip one day.
This weekend I plan on pulling my ventilator out. Really. I think I’m
ready for it to be gone, and I’ve been doing my best to pull it out.
It is so uncomfortable and really gets in the way during batting
practice. I overheard the nurses say that if it ‘accidently fell out’
they would not try to put it back in, but instead give me the CPAP.
Maybe I can help them out! My breathing has been good at 18 breaths
per minute at ~40% oxygen, so it is time. Come on nurses!
I’m also tolerating my feeds much better then before. I’m on a special
formula that will not leak into my lungs, and I’ve already doubled the
amount of food I receive (from 5ml to 10ml every three hours). I plan
on increasing my feeds until eventually I will be only milk/formula
and no IV food.
Ok, all for now. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers.
Trey ‘33
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