The Adventures of Miracle Baby and GloWorm Friend

First of all, Happy First Father's Day to my husband who is really the standard by which other fathers should be set from! Landon had a terrific week, doing so well with the pressurized oxygen mask that he is able to switch to just a nasal prong oxygen delivery system for a few hours a day. We love when he is on the nasal prongs because he is much more aware and wide awake without all of the pressure in his face. Nasal prongs are very important because they are giving him the opportunity to build his lungs so eventually he will be able to breathe with less and less oxygen support. You can see so much more of his face and (though I am probably extremely biased) he is really really cute!

Landon also began work with the NICU's physical therapist, Dan. Dan's job is to assess how Landon is doing from a physical and cognitive perspective. He does this by working his muscles with stretching and helping Landon to learn to calm himself when he is upset. Dan is amazing and obviously loves working with the NICU babies. He was impressed with Landon in his initial session. Although Landon is behind in some of his motor function, Dan assured me that Landon has the cognitive capacity to catch up. It is no surprise he is behind when he was immobilized for the first 9 weeks of his 11 week life due to being on the ventilator.

Also, the third trimester is a time for babies to build muscle tone and learn to calm themselves by doing things such as putting their hands to their face and sucking. Since Landon was not inside me for the third trimester, he needs to be prompted to use what is really reflex for full term babies. The good news is that with Dan's help, we have been working with Landon and we have already seen his progress with calming himself. Even more amazing is when Ryan and I stand at each side of his crib and call his name while we watch him turn his head to see who was talking. I can't wait to see how much further he progresses each week.

On the gut front, he has completed the 14 day antibiotic course from his last infection, but won't be fed until sometime next week. The surgeons want to perform a procedure on him before they begin to feed him. They will inject a contrast dye into his stomach in order to make sure there aren't any more holes or blockages that could cause problems if he ate. If that test comes back clear, they will begin feeding him again shortly after. I know he is one hungry little guy and will be happy to be fed again. Imagine not eating for 2 weeks and having to breathe on your own which is the equivalent of 24/7 aerobics to a preemie...not very fun. He definitely shows us how irritated he is by all of this by turning into the baby version of the incredible hulk a few times a day. Usually his best friend the GloWorm is enough to calm him down (sometimes with the added help of his other friend Ativan). GloWorm has the added benefit of being a developmental toy, I think Landon prefers looking at it more than me sometimes! He has every reason to be angry and thankfully he has a cute face so it is easy to forgive his tantrums :)

This week was also significant for me because I started work again after being off since February. Google offers an amazing maternity package and I actually still have a few months left, but I decided to go back on a part-time basis now in order to save some time for when he comes home. I figure he is basically in the world's most expensive day care with amazing caretakers, so I don't need to worry about him when I am not there (though I do). I am working in the afternoons 4 hours a day so I can be at the hospital in the morning when the doctors and nurses come up with Landon's plan for the day. I jokingly told his medical team I have to be there in the morning because how else will they come up with a plan without me. After work, I go back to the hospital so I can give Landon his bath and hopefully feed him once he starts eating again.

My first week went amazingly well. I thought it would be weird to join the 'real world' again after being at the hospital for so long. However, it was easier than I thought it would be. It was nice to see all of my co-workers who are really like family now. It was also nice to do something productive that I am good at that didn't involve anything medical. I am so blessed to work for a company that is so incredibly accommodating. I will work until Landon has his stomach surgery and then take the rest of my maternity time for his healing and when he comes home. We still don't know when that will be and truthfully I am afraid to ask again for a time frame since the setback with his last infection.

For now we are content with the amazing progress he has made just in the last week. We know he will continue to learn and grow and heal so that one day he will come home and be the perfect little boy we know him to be.