Day 36,

Well we had some great news tonight! They did an eye test on Ronan today and he has no signs of ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) so that is a HUGE weight off! After going through that with Mark and now being blind in the left eye that is the last thing we needed.. They will test again in 2 weeks time as a routine check up so fingers crossed there are NO signs!

He was weighed today and is now 1953 grams however they are still watching for fluid build up.. His tummy is a little swollen but it is soft so if it was fluid i am guessing it should be hard! We will see in a few days what they wish to do because they can either leave it or give him medication where he wee's out the excess fluid..

Dad got a nice long hold tonight as it was certainly his turn and he loved every minute of it!

Total Weight Gain To Date: 813 grams

Day 35,

I had another hold tonight but it was a different hold! I was able to hold him skin to skin close to my breast (sorry for the details guys) so he could smell my milk and i was told to express by hand a few drops in his mouth and he certainly did a few little sucking movements with his mouth..

I didn't think it would happen but whilst he was lying there my breasts started to tingle and i could feel my milk moving around so it was good stimulation as i have been noticing my milk supply going down a tad in the past week. I told the nurse about it and she said it was common for someone who had been expressing for 5 weeks and to just keep going like i have been.. If i continue it shouldn't dry up!

Thankgod i didn't have to change his nappy though because he did a HUGE botty burp whilst i was holding him.. hehehe We needed to go because we hadn't eaten so i left it to the nurses to take care of as they needed to do a few other things first..

His feeds have gone up to 23mls every 2hrs.. They said from about 34 - 36wks they will start him with the process of learning to breastfeed just at the moment whilst still being a little too small premmies at his age (32 wks) still don't know how to suck, swollow & breath at the same time hence why they didn't want him to try tonight.. Tonight was already a huge step for us so i am happy to wait!

Day 34,

Well i got another hold tonight! I held Ronan for about an hr and he slept the whole time.. hehhe

He is about to get a medication which will help with the fluid build up so to speak as they think it "could" be some of the cause for his saturation levels going low at times but also it's because of the PDA.. He was weighed again yesterday and he is now 1832 grams which is a much better weight gain of 32 grams in 2 days (the other day was a bit too much) but he is still thriving & his temprature is at a steady 36.8 degrees so being out of the crib is agreeing with him..

He is now on 22mls every 2hrs!

Day 33,

There isn't too much to tell you tonight other than he is VERY content being all wrapped up and isn't as crazy as what he was so he is looking very cute!

He seems to be still having spurts of saturation with the CPAP but his chart is looking better everday as it's not a constant thing anymore.. He is now on 21mls of milk every 2hrs so that is an extra 12mls a day..

Other than that there is no more news! I will be finishing work in more than likely 4 to 6 wks so fingers crossed that he will be ready to come home in 6 wks.. :)

Day 32,

Wow what a day! Ronan has now been placed into an open cot because he was constantly HOT! The crib was on the lowest setting and he was still hot so they changed him over tonight.. They don't normally move the babies until they are at least 1800 grams and they weighed him quickly before we went to bed and he was a staggering 1800 grams!!

Apparently he has a bit of fluid though which is to be expected so they think minus the fluid he is around 1770 grams but that still makes it a weight gain of 86 grams in 2 days!

We both got a nice long hold tonight as you will see with the new pics i have added..

Total Weight Gain To Date: 630 grams

Day 31,

Ronan was a very lucky boy today as he had a few visitors.. Aunt Mandy, A (Aunt Margaret), Cousins Issac & Tilly.. Because he was fed just before we arrived he was in quite a somber mood and wasn't moving around much (to relaxed after his feed) so we didn't bother him too much.. 

His saturation levels were great today and the only time he desat was when they were touching him (it is normal at this stage in growth) so it looks like a pattern may be emerging rather than it being a constant thing.. His temprature was OK, his feeds are still continuing (20mls per 2hrs) although i have a feeling they are going to go up soon because he's putting on weight so quickly..

Other than that there is no more news which is fantastic!

Day 30,

Well we had a big day today! We went to our nephew Jesse's 1st birthday and had a wonderful afternoon with family..

Ronan was in a cranky mood tonight because when we arrived they needed to suction his nose and retape his CPAP.. He was moving his arms about having a tantrum and went all red (it was actually cute to watch) because you really see an emotion other than lying there sleeping.. After they did that i wiped his eyes, took his temprature (he was 37.7c) so they put his bed down to 28.0c (we thought it was already on the lowest setting) then i changed his nappy and he never got annoyed! I looked at him when i was changing his nappy and talking to him and he was too busy trying to open his eyes and was calm and quite relaxed which was wierd after his tantrum 5mins earlier.. hehehe

Other than that he was up and down with his breathing all day (it's the norm now) and about 2 times now i have seen him stop breathing for about 2 seconds but then he kicks back into gear although it feels like the longest two seconds of my life but it's to be expected because he is still learning to realise he is doing the breathing himself now and apparently sometimes they forget so it is a godsent having monitors around just in case.. He will grow out of it once he gets a little bigger and he is still growing and learning everyday..

Speaking of growing they weighed him again today and he is now 1684 grams so he has put on another 36 grams in two days so before we know it he will be 2kgs!!

I forgot to mention we heard him cry for the first time Thursday night and it was gorgeous and i won't be getting sick of it in a hurry.. (im sure i will eat my words soon) hehehe

Total Weight Gain To Date: 544 grams

Day 29,

Well there isn't too much to report today on Ronan other than he is going well.. He had a few saturations today but that is more than likely because he was lying on his back! He absolutely lovessss lying on his tummy so i think they were going to turn him a little later.. He is still on CPAP and the oxygen was around 28/29% so it is slowly going down and the pressure they have going through the CPAP is now on 8 since last night (9 being the highest).. 

His tummy has gone down a little (remember there was a little too much gas so they had to suction him) so it was good to see.. His temperature has since gone down since last night and his bed is set at 28.4c which is actually the lowest setting so it will be interesting to see how he goes..

Otherwise he pretty much slept the whole time we were there so we didn't stay for long, but he was content which is all we care about..