Feb. 10 - Everything is in "Moderation"

Well - we got a bit of good news tonight! According to the latest heart ECHO, Colton's PDA went from "Large" to "Moderate". What this means is that the PDA is reducing in size and appears to finally be closing! Now of course we need the whole thing to close to get past this milestone. But, the fact that it's starting to close is a very positive sign. We are so grateful, thankful, elated and pumped that we got this great news tonight! Go Colton Go!

Wendy, Nick and I visited Colton again today. I did not get a chance to go by the hospital on Monday as I spent my first full day back at work. I was immediately amazed at the difference one day has made. He is truly starting to look more and more like a full term baby - albeit still on the small side. His color is looking great, he is cooing and making little baby noises when you hold him, and he cleans up real well. He's a good looking kid if I do say so myself! In fact, rumor has it that all the girl babies are on a waiting list to be moved closer to his area. :)

He was completely off his light therapy today which means his bilirubins dropped to an acceptable level. He also had the tube removed from his mouth that helped drained any excess air and fluid in his belly. Remember, he is still being fed by IV as they wait for the PDA to completely close. So today we really got our first glimpse of him without any tube, tape, or anything else stuck to his head or face.

I finally got to hold my boy today for the first time. It was great to spend a little quality time with him and tell him about all the fun things we have planned. I told him I have too much estrogen in my house (wife, daughter, 3 female dogs and 2 female guinea pigs) and needed a little more testerone to help balance things out. Don't get me wrong, I love all my girls but it will be nice having another guy around the house. I told him about all of the football games we'll be watching - hopefully he won't pick up my bad habit of yelling at the TV.

Tomorrow is sibling visit day so we'll have Sydney up again tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully, she will get to hold him for the first time.

While we are elated at the great news today, we all realize that this is a process. Wendy and I are both ready to get him home but we are probably looking at mid-March before that happens. But, we will take each success and celebrate it as we did tonight. Colton is a strong kid, is much loved, and has people praying for him all over this great land. I'll never tire of thanking everyone for their love and support. We'll continue to keep Colton in the capable hands of the good doctors and nurses at Texas Woman's NICU and under the watchful eye of God who is definitely hearing your prayers and is in complete control. With love and respect - Bret, Wendy, Sydney and Colton.

Feb. 9 - Grandpa Nick comes for a visit

Wendy's dad (Nick) is in town this week and got to visit his grandson for for the first time. Even at 30 weeks, it appears that Colton has more hair than his grandpa!

Not much change to report today. A quiet day is typically a good day at the NICU. Colton's bilirubin count fell below 10 as of this morning and will be checked again in the morning. I'm not sure what the trigger point is for removing the light therapy but hopefully that will come sometime this week.

Colton's last dose of indomethacin to close that PDA is at 11:00 p.m. tonight. Around midday tomorrow, he will have his heart ECHO performed again to check to see if he's made any progress on getting that PDA closed.

More updates tomorrow and thanks again for everyone saying prayers for our little guy....Love, Bret, Wendy, Sydney and Colton.

Feb. 8 - Wendy holds Colton for the first time!

Hi everyone. Sorry to be posting so late but we've had a busy afternoon/evening. We visited Colton today after lunch today and Wendy got to hold him for the first time! The umbilical line has been removed and the PIC line inserted so this finally allowed us to hold Colton. I'm not sure there would be anything you could offer to Wendy in exchange to wait another day to hold her baby. Let me just say it was just what the doctor ordered (for both Colton and Wendy). And there might be prettier sights in this world but I would have been hard pressed to find one at that moment.

Sydney and I both decided not to overstress him by moving him from person to person to be held. He still has tubes running to his PIC line and being held is unfortunately new to him. The most important thing for us right now is to touch him soothingly so he doesn't associate touch with being poked and prodded.

Colton started his indomethacin medicine to help attempt to close that PDA. He received his first dose today at 11 a.m. He gets another one tonight at 11 p.m., followed by another 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. dose on Monday. On Tuesday, they will run the ECHO of his heart again to check to see if that PDA will start to close. This is our last shot at closing that PDA without the surgical intervention.

Colton's bilirubin count dropped slightly overnight as well. He also got a bath (cleans up pretty nicely!) and weighed in at 3 lbs. 13.5 oz - a slight weight gain. His bruising is improving and his coloring looks good. I've noticed some of the photos I post make his brusing look worse than in person. However, I think it's just some of the camera angles and shadows. Not to say he's still not bruised but he is really looking tons better these days.

Wendy's dad (Nick) is in for the week and will be helping out. Unfortunately for me, I will not be visiting Colton tomorrow :( as I have to get back to work and catch up on a few things. I hope to arrange some sort of flexible work schedule to so I don't miss too many chances to visit with him. I have a great boss (and I'm not just saying that in case he reads this ;) and HP is very family friendly. My boss tells me to prioritize family above all else at this time. So I will hopefully get the balance right while Colton is in the NICU. Even though I can't do much for Colton even when I'm at the hospital, it's tough not spending my time with him. As you can imagine, it's tough laying your head down on your pillow at night knowing your child is at a hospital 30+ miles away. However, we know that it's important to keep up our health as we won't be any good to him when he comes home if we are down and out.

Nick will be driving Wendy to the hospital tomorrow so he can see his grandson in person for the first time. He is spending a week with us and then his wife, Joan, will be here the following week. Wendy and I can never tell everyone how much we appreciate the support of our friends and family. You hear the word "blessed" overused some times but it's appropriate for our situation right now. If I ever had any doubt about the quality of our friends and family (which incidentally I never did), I can put any of those doubts to rest.

We met a gentleman today who actually lives north of us and has been making the trek to Texas Woman's everyday for the last 6 months. His granddaughter was born at 24 weeks and weighed in at 12 oz. Think of this way - grab a can of Coke and that was the size of his granddaughter! He is hopeful that she will get to finally go home this month. He is also a man of Faith and has not given up hope. Small world - he has another granddaughter that goes to the same school (Salem Lutheran) as our daughter (Sydney). I think it's important to remember that when you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders, just remember that your neighbor or someone you know might have it a little tougher. Let's all pray that his little granddaughter gets to go home soon and sees a world beyond tubes, beeping alarms, and nurses.

Thanks again for all the love and support everyone has shown to us and keep the Faith! Love, Bret, Wendy, Sydney and Colton

Feb. 7 Update - Week #2 Begins!

Well, we all made it through the first week. I think Wendy and I are starting to come down off the adrenaline some and starting to breathe a little more now that Colton is making progress. It's been a rough start for all of us but we are grateful for all the love, support, prayers and hope.

We got to make a 2nd trip up to the hospital to see Colton yesterday. Wendy also got her incisions checked out by one of the docs while we were there. I've got her slowed down a little today because in the midst of all this with Colton, Wendy needs to heal from that c-Section. The incision will take some time to heal but she is getting there. I always said if it was up to men to have babies this would be a desolate planet. I have to say I admire Wendy's strength.

So the latest is the PDA has not reduced in size. Likely, this thing is not going to close on its own. So we hope to talk to the neonatologist (Dr. Gee) tonight or tomorrow to see the next course of action. The PDA is evident on the heart ECHO as well as hearing the murmur with a stethoscope. His breathing is not labored but his respirations are higher than desired due to that PDA still being open. We should have more details on next steps tomorrow.

The little man is still under the lights for his bilirubin although that bilirubin count did reduce slightly overnight. He had a couple of good poops last night so his plumbing is working correctly! He has his splint now on his right arm so that fracture can begin to heal. He also had another ultrasound of his abdominal area to detect any bleeds or other issues and I'm happy to report that came back normal. He had an arterial IV line removed as well. They had difficulty with the inserting his PIC line last night and they will likely try again tonight. The PIC line is more of a long term IV and will allow the NICU to remove Colton's umbilical line. Long term, it's good to remove the umbilical line due to increased risks of infection. Once that umbilical line is removed, we will finally be able to hold Colton. We are hopeful the PIC line is successful tonight so we'll all get a chance to hold him tomorrow (including Sydney).

On a personal note, we are appreciative of all the calls, emails, prayers, food, and support during this time. If we haven't returned your call or responded to your email, please know that we are reading everything and appreciate you. It's tough with the schedule we are keeping right now to get to everything. We are both looking forward to the day that we can repay everyone's kindness. It's important for you tall to know that we won't forget what you are doing for us - that you can take to the bank!

The hardest part for Wendy and I both is not being in control of anything. As a parent, there's not much you won't do for your children. I can tell you that Wendy and I either one would trade places with him right now if we could. While we remain optimistic and are pleased with all of his progress, the worry and fears can overtake you if you let them. We put our faith in the good doctors and nurses at Texas Woman's NICU and most importantly our Faith in God that he is in control 100% and will see us all through this.

Colton started out 10 weeks early, had to be resuscitated at birth, was bruised all over, had a broken arm, was intubated to assist with breathing and had a host of other issues. One week later, the guy is breathing completely unassisted and truly has made great progress in most areas in such a short time. I certainly will give credit to Colton, the doctors, the nurses and all of the trained medical staff for the tremendous progress that Colton has made this week. But I'm thoroughly convinced (and good look convincing me otherwise) that prayer does work and it's more than good medicine coming into play right now. Keep the Faith as will we.....Bret, Wendy, Sydney and Colton

Feb. 6 Update - Where did that CPAP Go????

Wendy and I just got back from visiting Colton at the NICU today. To our pleasant surprise, the CPAP was no longer connected! This is great news as he is now 100% breathing on his own!

Also, we got great news today from his head ultrasound. No brain bleeds! This had been a concern due to his traumatic entry into this world and the bruising around his head. So we are very thankful for this great news!

The ECHO of his heart did indicate that the PDA is still there. However, Dr. Hernandez does not know the size of it yet as it needs to be evaluated by a pediatric cardiologist. Due to his stability and the fact that he has been extubated, they will try to the medicinal route to try to close that PDA. A pediatric cardiologist at Texas Children's Hospital will read the results of the ECHO to determine if the PDA is closing. We hope to hear news on this later this evening. Keep your fingers crossed and those prayers going that the PDA is starting to shrink!

We also had a concern with him not moving his right arm. Well, turns out he had good reason for not moving it. His humerus is broken! An x-ray did confirm a fracture of his humerus that was not initially seen on his first x-ray due to the angle of the image. Dr. Epps evaluated Colton and he will be splinting him tonight. We told you he had a rough start!

Colton is also opening his eyes some to see all those scary people hovering over his crib. He also protests profusely when his diaper is changed. Today, I turned on my cell phone video camera when Wendy was changing his diaper. He definitely let us know his displeasure as you can see in the attached video on this post! That cry is music to our ears and we will gladly welcome that cry at home.

More updates soon! Love Bret, Wendy, Sydney and Colton.

Overnight Update....by Wendy!

Hello!

Col-T continued to do very well overnight! His night nurse states he has been on the 6 setting for cPAP since midnight and appears to be tolerating it just fine. His bilirubin did spike up to 14 overnight and so he is back on the lights. We totally expected this as they were pulling the lights to decrease his fluids to trigger that darn PDA to close. He has not had the echo yet today but it is scheduled for later today. We should know by this evening if it has closed. The nurse said he was moving his right arm more for her overnight. She has been with him several nights and been able to observe him. She also said Colton protested some over the night. She believes he might be beginning to feel hungry and asked if it was OK to offer the pacifier. I told her that is fine, I had observed his oral care being done by the nurse yesterday and he seemed to like it and would attempt to suck on the sponge, so it might offer him some comfort. He won't be given a tube feeding until the issue of the PDA is resolved. Once that is resolved, it is my understanding he will get an NG or OG tube and be given the tiniest amount of milk to see if it is tolerated. Bottles will not even be in the picture until 2 criteria are met. The first is that he has to tolerate 8 tube feeds per day and he must be over 32 weeks gestation. He will be 32 weeks gestation on Valentine's day. He will be fed EBM. (expressed breast milk). The nurse told me they have already performed his head ultrasound this morning and results will be available later today. The plan as I understand it for this weekend is to pull his umbilical line vein and place a PIC line. While I am not thrilled with him having a new line, this transition will allow him to be held, which will be wonderful! I can't wait to hold my tiny baby boy.


Hasn't Bret done a fabulous job with the blog? I am so proud of him not only for the blog but for how well he has handled everything from his wife in complete denial that she is in labor to every challenge we have faced in this week. I am lucky to have such a wonderful husband.

I am also very lucky to have such vast support from friends and family. I have been blown away with the e-mails, text and phone messages. I can not tell you how much they all mean to me. I know I haven't been able to respond to each one yet, but I want you to know I am getting them and they are just what I need to keep my spirits up. I am doing well and healing well. I have had a marked decrease in post operative pain over the past 12 hours and can actually get out of bed by myself now!

Thank you all for your love and support! We will update again this evening.

Wendy, Bret, Sydney and baby Colton

Feb. 5 Evening Update

We went to visit Colton about 11:30 today. He continues to make progress with his respiratory system. His CPAP settings will be reduced from "10" to "8" today and he is still only on room oxygen. If he shows progress at the 8 setting, then they move him to 6 and finally to 4. What this all means is that if he continues at this rate, he will be CPAP free within a few days. This is a huge milestone in moving from the Level III NICU to Level II.

We spoke to his neonatologist today (Dr. Hernandez) and she is removing his light therapy (for bilirubins) and reducing his fluids for now. She hopes this will help trigger the body in closing that hole in his heart. He still has the murmur so the hole is still open. However, he will have his heart scanned tomorrow to see if that hole is starting to close. If the hole is closing, that would be some of the best news we have received yet. If it isn't closing, he might be doing well enough on some of his other targets to try the medicinal route to close that hole. At any rate, we should have answers by tomorrow afternoon on if the hole is closing or not. We continue to pray for a good outcome on his PDA.

We got to remove his hat today and see a little more of his face and head. Wendy got to change his diaper today which was really good since she has not been able to hold our baby. She also held him up as his little bedding was changed. Colton decided to relieve himself a little more when his diaper was off! So his urine output is good which is yet another good sign of kidney function.

We also got to hear the little guy cry for the first time today! With that breathing tube in, he was not able to make any crying noises. Wendy kept messing with his right arm (as a pediatric physical therapist is prone to doing) and he showed his complete dissatisfaction of being messed with! We've determined that he has his mom's disposition when he is mad.

We do have a new concern with his right arm. He's not really moving it although he does make a fist and move his fingers on that arm. Wendy's pediatric physical therapy instinct kicked in and she brought it to Dr. Hernandez's attention. Colton will be evaluated by a pediatric orthopedic specialist tomorrow to determine what's going on. Wendy suspects something with the brachial plexus but that diagnosis will need to be made by the orthopedic doctor.

All-in-all, a good day for Colton. Continued stability of vital body functions, respiratory improvement on CPAP, and quality time with mom and dad. More updates tomorrow! Love - Bret, Wendy, Sydney and Colton.