Day 89,

Ronan was bathed and weighed today and is now a staggering 3.8kgs!! he is over 8lbs so he is a chubba bubba..

He is currently being downloaded so they can see how he is going on the lowest setting with the Low Flow and if he does well it will be coming home without any oxygen help, so that is a step in the right direction.. I noticed today that his little hernia doesn't seem to be there anymore.. It looks like the testies have dropped which is bizzare so hopefully the doctors will look at them over the next few days and will be able to tell us if he is still going ahead with his operation..

We had a breastfeed today and he was crying for food at his 8am feed.. He latched on about 5 times (i had to wake him up a few times) but sucked away for around 20mins.. He was pushing himself against my breast and was so excited that i had trouble at first getting him to lie still! We just hope that this continues and he continues to wake up for feeds because if he does he will be coming home soon!

Continued...

Well more disapointment tonight! Ronan wouldn't wake up for his 8pm feed, so after being there for 6hrs today and him only being awake for one of those feeds & then going back tonight at 8pm only for him to not wake up so all up he had 1 feed out of 3 that i was there for & I am OVER IT!

This has been going on for almost 2 weeks now where i am lucky to get one feed in because he is never hungry and no matter what i say it still keeps happening.. I know he needs his fluid intake for the day however what do they expect to happen when he is home? he will miraculously wake up each feed? i highly doubt it so it looks like he won't be home anytime soon and it's heartbreaking & i am getting frustrated with him when it's not even his fault.. I left crying tonight as it's just building up and up and i don't know what to do! I am coming to terms that he will NOT be coming home anytime soon so i just have to live with it!!!!!!!

Days 83 - 88,

Firstly let me apologise for not updating Ronan's website but things are VERY hectic around here and i am never home! I am at the hospital for 3 feeds a day and the feeds are 4hrs apart so i am hanging around the hospital all day and what feels like all night too..

He is cruising along great, still on the low flow but hasn't desated in 2 days, soooooo he may just be coming home with nothing but we will see.. He is still learning to breastfeed only he is asleep when it's feed time and i am going NUTS because they keep topping him up so he is never hungry.. We did success on the breast however 2 times over the weekend and he was great! He does everything right, sucks REALLY well but it's a matter of him being awake so i am going to tell the lactation consultants what "I" want to do with the feeding thing, not the other way around because their way doesn't work!

Ronan now weighs 3620 grams (8 pound) and is looking fantastic! We think he may be coming home within the next 2 weeks but we are not 100% sure at this stage.. What a longggg journey as it has been 12wks already, so we really hope he gets the feeding underway so we can have our son home with us finally!

Days 81 - 82,

Ronan had his ear test yesterday and it all came back 100% OK! He has now had hearing and sight tests done and they have come back normal so fingers crossed his follow up tests are just the same in 8 months time..

He was off all breathing help for 4 days after he moved down bays but they put him on low flow last night as he was having a few too many de-sats so he may just come home on oxygen but as the doctor said it could be for 2 wks or 2 months, however he needs it and is doing much better on the low flow so whatever suits his growing lungs!

He was bathed today and now weighs 3550 grams (7.8 pounds) so he is a big boy @ 38wks.. We are still trying with the breastfeeding however it is still going to take a while to learn as he keeps falling asleep, so that is something we are working on at this point in time.. He makes me laugh though because everytime i "talk to him" about his sleep times and that we need to work together on the breastfeeding, he just smiles at me and has been doing so for the past week! 

Total Weight Gain To Date: 2410 grams

Days 78 - 80,

Ronan has been moved into another bay which is the final bay before being transferred to another hospital or going home if at the correct weight.. The minimum weight they can go home at is 2.8kgs and today he was weighed at 3.4kgs so he has no problems there but they are still monitoring his breathing before they worry about anything..

We are guessing that they want to transfer him to a hospital closer to home so we can still concentrate on breastfeeding etc.. but once the download finishes that he is on (which sends information to a computer so the doctors can review how his breathing was over a 24hr period) then we should get a clearer picture.. His breathing yesterday and today was pretty crappy but after he did a gigantic poo earlier today he seems to be coping well again (he hadn't done a poo for 2 days) and amazingly it can effect their oxygen levels & he is still off ALL breathing help.. 

We have been breastfeeding everyday for the past 2 weeks and today he actually latched on about 3 times and didn't seem to choke like last time.. He actually did really really well! He lies there moving his tounge around in the air, eager for the breast so he knows he needs to do something when it's feed time, so we are slowly getting there.. 

I have finally finished work now so i can be at the hospital for 2/3 feeds a day which will work in better with him learning, so lets hope it's full steam ahead, not just with the breastfeeding but also with the breathing!

Days 74 - 77,

Ronan has been going well and is still growing.. He now weighs 3332 grams (7.4 pounds)!! 

He is off the CPAP and is breathing on his own with no help and has been off the CPAP for around 2/3 weeks! He is on 80mls of milk every 4hrs but seems to not be tollerating the full amount so they may take it down a little..

He is still needing to learn how to breastfeed and then he can come home & we are hoping it's only another 3 weeks.. I finish work this Friday so bring on the breastfeeding and sleepless nights!

He has had his full immunisations now and will most probably be having his hernia operation quite soon.. All in all he is going well!

Day 73,

Well Ronan had a lovely bath tonight but before that decided to make a mess when we took his nappy off and it lasted 10mins.. YUK!

He finally had his bath and was weighed and is now 3188 grams! (7 pounds)

We did some more breast contact and he stayed awake the WHOLE time, we couldn't believe it.. He had a fair amount of sucks and i had my milk let down 2 times and it felt like it lasted forever.. He didn't want anymore breast after about 25mins but kept lying there moving his tounge around and sucking on his lips like he knew what he was doing, it was quite cute! 

In the next few days he will be having his first lot of booster shots and i am just glad i won't be there for that as he is going to scream poor little man but it needs to be done.. He was strapped up to a "downloading" machine tonight where they monitor his oxygen levels and heart rate for 24hrs and decide whether to take him off the Low Flow or if he still needs it, so the results will be interesting.. I will keep you up to date with the news! 

Day 72,

Ronan had a great day today and now there are hardly any de-sats.. Mark had a lovely hold today and we watched Ronan fall asleep as always.. hehehe

He is now on 55mls of milk every 3hrs and is tollerating every feed which is a great sign.. He was actually having a few de-sats because of reflux but now because they have thickened the milk he has no problems.. The doctors are starting to look at booking Ronan in for his hernia so in a few weeks i think he will have his little operation.. The doctor told us that they call him "Ronan the Warrior" which i think suits him very well!

Day 71,

Ronan had a lovely bath tonight although he cried when his bottom got wet but as soon as he was totally in, he loved it as always..

He was weighed and is now 3087 grams!! (approx 6.8 pounds)

We did some more breast contact and he got a few more sucks in but as usual fell asleep, poor little man.. Apparently this is quite normal, him getting tired but he will soon get the hang of it - it's all about patience..

It is bizzare actually, around 15mins before his feed time he was crying and squirming and i said to the nurse "he is hungry" but i know he has to wait.. As soon as he got his feed he fell asleep, so i am guessing he was in fact just hungry! Don't tell me mothers intuition is starting to kick in? heheheh