Day 35

The doctors started another round of steroids on monday-they started seeing progress yesterday (Wednesday) and they will continue the steroids through Friday. Monday was a good day, then on Tuesday, they tried to move his ventilator settings down, but he did not like it (of course). Wednesday morning, his amp was on 38, but the oxygen in his blood was good, so they moved the amp down to 35. Then at 6 pm, he was doing so well that they moved it down again-to 33. I called today around noon, and they said that they moved it down this morning to 30. So let's see what happens for the rest of the day and tonight. The doctor actually said he might move to a regular vent soon instead of the oscillator-well, that better be true b/c it is not nice to get all of our hopes up. It is really all up to Tucker anyway, though, so we hope he does well. He weighs 2 pounds, 8 ounces, which seems big for him-he is almost to 3 pounds, which is exciting. Last night I went to see him. He had on his baseball shirt-he looked so cute:) He has a lot of hair, I think, and it is fuzzy looking. He has been behaving very well lately. He is very active, though. He moves all around in his cage (that's what we call his bed), so the nurses have to keep putting him back, but they say he is just acting normal for his age and size.

Day 33

Tucker is doing fine today. His breathing could be better, so they are starting him on steroids today. He will have a five day course of steroids, which usually helps breathing quite a bit. He has not gained any weight in a while. Yesterday, his nurse told me he weighed 3 pounds, 14 ounces-I told her "not my baby." She had picked up the wrong folder!! He is still at 2 pounds, 4 ounces. He has been using his energy to breathe, not grow, b/c he has been having quite a few good days lately. Tucker was baptized last Friday. Father Tim baptizes babies at Woman's hospital, so he came out to perform the ceremony. It was very nice; Tucker slept through the whole thing. Once he comes home, we are going to have another ceremony with everyone at church. Tucker has seemed pretty relaxed lately. Most of the time he is in the frog position, with his knees bent, and his feet actually resting on his diaper. It's so funny b/c his diaper is too big for him, so it serves as his footrest. Sometimes he is on his tummy, too, which is so cute. Yesterday his nurse put his blue shirt on him. He looked so comfortable. It's nice to be at the hospital when he's awake, but the majority of the time, we visit while he's sleeping. We keep getting gifts for Tucker, and they are all so cute. It is funny b/c we have preemie clothes for him, which we used to think were so small; now those clothes look huge compared to Tucker. He won't be big enough for preemie clothes for awhile. He has special shirts for babies under 3 pounds that mom bought at the hospital gift shop and over the internet. Most of the time he just wears a diaper anyway, but on good days he wears a shirt.

Day 27

Today the doctor called and said they are increasing his calories again and adding iron to his food b/c he lost weight two nights in a row. He still weighs over 1000 grams, though, so he still gets weighed every night. If he drops below that, then he will only get weighed twice a week. This is b/c weighing him gets him aggravated b/c he doesn't like to be fooled with, and getting aggravated makes him lose weight more easily. They expect him to be gaining an ounce a day at this stage. Mom and I went to see him today for about an hour. It was so nice to see him after I skipped a day. I really missed him. I just sat near him and held his legs still in a fetal position to make him feel more secure. He needs to feel like he is still in the womb as much as possible, and being secure is very important. He got his IV out of his arm, so he is moving both arms very freely now. Now they administer any medicine he needs through his feedings, so it takes a little longer to work since it's not put directly into his bloodstream. His nurse talked to us for a long time, and she told us that his sats have been high for several days, so he is doing well with oxygen. He is still on high breathing support,but they might just leave him there for a while to rest. When they change his support, he doesn't usually like it, so then he uses a lot of energy to breathe that he could use to grow instead. He is opening his eyes a lot lately-his nurse says he is nosy. he tries to look around to see what is going on all of the time.

Monday

Yesterday we started Vacation Bible School, and the buddy was Ray, the sun. Of course that reminds me of Tucker Ray. The sun was the buddy b/c it helps us grow (like Jesus)-that is what Tucker needs to do-grow. He had a good day yesterday. Everything is pretty much the same-they weighed him last night, and he lost a little weight, but nothing really serious. He's on medicine to get rid of his fluid on his lungs, so that makes him lose weight. He had good sats and lower oxygen support yesterday, but not enough for the doctor to change any settings. His digestion is still good. Vicki said, "you can tell he's part of our family. He'd rather eat than breathe." Well, that is the truth. I just noticed last night that Tucker is surrounded by girls. He always has female nurses, and the other two babies in his pod are little girls. I told him that's why he's so bad-he's trying to get all those girls' attention. My dad said today he has another baby next to him, another girl, so now there are three baby girls with him. Chris says he's bad to let them all know he is the boss. I hope not-he is already going to be spoiled enough at home. He does not need to also be the boss at the hospital.

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. Here is yesterday's update. So it was Father's Day yesterday, and we went to see Tucker. Tucker got his daddy a card, and so did I. The doctor had already called, and he said that Tucker was getting weaned a little off of the vent. Baby step, of course, but they all add up.When we went to see him, Chris wore his "I'm a new Daddy" pin that Tonia got for him. Tucker was just laying around, like normal. His nurse said he did not act up yesterday. She was on her sixth day in a row with him, so he was good for her. Chris talked to Tucker and told him all of the things they will do when he comes home, like going to LSU games and riding in his boat-since Tucker's coming home fully grown. I told them both that was not happening until Tucker was older-I am no fun. He is still getting the same amount of food as before, (6.5 ml per hour) but they added more calories to help him gain weight. It worked, b/c he was weighed last night, and he gained three ounces.He is at 2 pounds, 5 ounces now:)Nana and Pappy (that's my mom and dad-we're not quite sure about that Pappy name-he chose it himself) went see him yesterday, and he was on his tummy. He has never been on his tummy, so I am anxious so see that.I called the nurse to ask what being on his tummy is about, and she said that it helps him breathe better. Babies usually aren't allowed on their tummies b/c of sleep apnea (short stops in his breathing), but since he's hooked up to so many monitors, they'll know if he stops breathing. His oxygen support was down to 62%, so that's good. He goes up and down all day. Oxygen support is not the same as sats. Regular air has about 16% or 26% oxygen in it (I don't remember which), but most people can still pull the oxygen out and breathe fine. Tucker needs extra oxygen in his air in order for him to breathe it in and get it in his bloodstream (which helps his sats). Tucker is usually b/t 90% and 100% support. When his sats stay over 95% for awhile, then his support can be moved down, and it stays down as long as his sats are okay. If his sats and his support are low enough, then I think that's when they change his actual ventilator settings-there are three settings, and the doctors and nurses have a hard time explaining them to me. Uncle Andrew bought Tucker a little Astros bat and an LSU football, so we're going to see if we can put them in his isolette. Aunt Gina wrote Tucker a song, by the way, so I might post it if she gives me permission. Also, Tucker's nametag on his bed is on a frog now. When he was born, it was a fish, which is perfect b/c his dad (and grandpas, and every other male relative) is going to take him fishing. Now it is on a frog, which is funny b/c it is frogging season-I doubt the nurses knew that.

Our New Journal

Today we went to visit Tucker a few times. He saw his mommy and daddy, his Townsend grandparents, Alexis, Justin, Jessica Christian and Mrs. Lynae-so he was pretty busy. He is now up to 6.5 ml of food an hour, and his calories have been increased, so he should be putting on weight. He is currently at 2lbs 2 oz. The doctor says he could not be more pleased with his digestion, so that's great. Not for the nurses, though-b/c digestion means lots of poop. Last night, he pooped so much that it went through all four blankets and stank up the nursery. His nurse told us it was awful, but of course that is good for him. He has had two brain scans, and they both look normal. Also, his eyes will be checked next week for the first time, since he just started opening them. He is not breathing that well-he has been weaned a little from the respirator, but sometimes he goes back up. Each day is a different story-sometimes he breathes a little better, and sometimes a little worse. Keep praying for him-so far, prayers seem to be working. We want him off of the ventilator for the obvious reason-he needs to breathe on his own, but also b/c once he's off of the vent, mommy and daddy get to hold him, which will be great. All of the nurses say he is B-A-D. Like we need that. He pulls out his breathing tube on a regular basis. I told him if he wants that tube out so badly, he is going to have to breathe on his own. Last night he pulled out his tube at shift change, so the room was full of nurses. He likes to be the center of attention already. He also kicks when they change his diaper or try to put him in a certain position. He likes to do the opposite of what the nurses want. They call him "Mr. Townsend" b/c he demands respect. Today his nurse said "he's so bad, but it doesn't matter, b/c he's cute as a button." Vicki made him a blanket that says "Our Little Fighting Tiger," and apparently, Tucker took that literally.I have to say that he likes it when his mommy and daddy touch him, though. His sats (oxygen saturation) go up or down depending on his mood. They like them to be b/t 85% and 95%. His sats go down a lot when he's mad, like when he gets a shot or something. Well, his sats always go up when we touch him. Today, Chris covered his bottom (his hand pretty much covers Tucker's whole body), and I put my hand on his head, and he calmed right down. He closed his eyes and laid still, but then I moved to get a chair (I was getting tired of standing there), and his sats dropped. Chris said "It's okay, mommy's coming right back," and once I came back and touched him, his sats went back up. When Chris talks, Tucker opens his eyes so wide. He also gets active, like kicking and moving his hands. I really think he already knows that daddy is fun and mommy calms him down.Well, I'll post some more info when I get it, or when I remember something else.