ParkLand Log (formerly the Lando-Log)

Boy has it been a long time since I have posted…and I am so tired that it is taking extra long just to remember which keys get pressed by which fingers. But it is all worth it. Landon is truly amazing and though we’ve only had him home for a week, it almost feels as though he has always been here (minus our interaction with friends and family because of germs…which are all dearly missed…the family and friends that is).

Yesterday we had our first doctors appointment after our release from the NICU and things look great. Landon now weighs 4 pounds 3 ounces! I think it is mostly his cheeks which are becoming quite chipmunk-like. He is eating well, pooping well and staying awake for longer periods of time. He now fits in preemie size clothes which is great because we have so many (thanks to grandma’s, aunts and friends). This is good because with his aim, we go through many outfits a day. In fact, Landon even welcomed the doctor by peeing on her too! The nurse thought he was adorable (she also has a 2 1/2 month old except she is 10 pounds) and asked if she could simply hold him. Landon is already wooing the ladies =).

Let’s see…what else…Landon now focuses on objects like mobiles and bright lights. He does not yet interact with faces too much, but he does respond well to voices. We are so thrilled with any interaction because right now he is still considered a month premature. Though it will take awhile to close the preemie gap, we are making a lot of progress…especially in the weight department. The doctor again stated that we have an excellent chance of Landon having no preemie set backs that will effect him for life…though again, only time is a predictor of this. 

The hard part about being away from the NICU is the bonding that occured with other parents and the staff. We miss his nurses and it is hard not to show them just how big and handsome he has become. In August there is a NICU reunion…but I want to show them now how well we are doing. Without the nurses and all their love, we would not be where we are today. We also miss seeing the progress of the other babies. All of Landon’s friends are still there (we get updates from his friend Baby Harrison) which only confirms how well Landon has done. Hopefully all of his friends will be home soon!

Alright, I think i’ve written enough and now I am too lazy for spell check so you all will just have to make due.

Apparently there has been some controversy about myself holding Landon in the wheel chair for the ride out of the hospital. Well new evidence has come to light and here is the photo. Incidentally this was taken from the grassy knoll and we are reviewing the Zapruder film for evidence of this “second shooter”.

In other news Landon gained an ounce and is 1701 grams (3 lbs 12 oz). His length is now 16.5″. He also had to go in for his second eye exam where we were told he has the mildest rating (stage 1) of ROP. This is expected for babies born so early and the good news is the doctor said at Landon’s gestastional age he has never seen it progress further. We still have to go back in a few weeks for a follow up just in case.

Here’s a few shots of Landon in his crib:

 

  

 

Landon has been paroled, for good behavior! He’s home, he’s happy, and so are we. It was a long night but we all made it through! We’d like to share with you some pictures (of course) and a poem that Landon wrote for his outstanding NICU team.

Through the Eyes of Landon:  

No more Wires
No more Pokes
No more freezing Stethoscopes

No more Beeping
Or Blood Gas
No more life in Plexiglas

No more CPAP
No more Crits
No more neighbor baby …. Fits

No more Tubing
Or Pulse Ox
No more warm Isolet Box

No more Bagging
Or Desats
No more Volunteer made Hats

No more Oil
In my Feeds
No more pulling off my Leads

No more Bradies
Or Head Scans
No more changing doctor’s Plans

I’M GOING HOME
I’M FREE AT LAST
MY NICU LIFE IS IN THE PAST!

Mom thought it would be funny for dad to ride out with Landon:

Here’s Landon in his carseat for the lengthy 3 minute trip home:

Landon with Mom in his bedroom:

If your reading this Sunday morning, and you haven’t already set your clock ahead an hour guess what:

“YOU’RE PROBABLY LATE!!!”

Now go set your clocks ahead and call whomever you were supposed to meet an hour ago.

Landon has been doing great in the open crib. Here’s a picture:

Landon in his open crib

Landon’s NICU buddy has been doing great too. We took a picture of the two of them just “hangin’ at the crib” (okay at the isolette to be exact)!

Landon and his buddy

Landon made it into a open crib today! At about 2:00 last night they transferred him into the open….and so far he has been holding his temperature like a pro. It will take him a couple of days to prove he can still gain weight while keeping up his temps…but so far so good. Our big test will be tonight when they weigh him. If he is still gaining weight then we are doing well. If he doesn’t gain weight, they will simply put him back in the isolet for a few more days. He is now 1580 grams or about 3.5 pounds. Yeah Landon, we are so proud of you.

Not much has changed from yesterday besides Landon’s weight. He is now 1525 grams, a 25 increase from yesterday. It is now looking like an open-air crib may take awhile longer, as he needs more fat to better maintain his body temp. His major change from yesterday is that we can now put him into the smallest of preemie clothes. Although they are very baggy, it actually appears that he will fit quite nicely in them by next week.

Today Landon weighed in at 1475 grams. He seems to be gaining weight like a big boy now and it definitely shows. More importantly, he began his transition today from his condo into an open-air crib bed. He is not in the bed yet, but could be there as early as tomorrow or perhaps by Thursday. Right now they are slowly lowering the temperature on his condo to match the NICU’s room air temp. Once he shows he can stay warm in blankets, they will transfer him to the open crib. Once there it will take a couple of days to see how well he continues to hold his temp. Our hopes are high as stability in an open-air crib means a few short days until home coming. So lets all route Landon on in holding his temp over the next several days.

Today is Landon’s 2nd month b-day…and does he have a big day ahead of him! He began the day with his normal Lab checks, all of which came back good. Next, he had his air cannula completely removed so he is now breathing entirely on his own. So far, he has done very well. It is the first time we have seen Landon with no tubes…I mean none. He has a completely wire free, tube free, gear free face. Of course there will be pictures tonight.

Landon’s day continues with Immunizations (a total of 3 shots =(…) and a head ultrasound which should be his last before he comes home. Then we have a meeting with a consultant to help with breast feeding, assuming he can stay awake after all his shots. There’s still more…

As if this is not enough, they have also turned down the temperature on his isolet condo and now wrap him in blankets instead. This is to prepare him for his transfer to an open crib which will happen sometime this week =). ALSO, he now gets to eat whatever amount he wants. This means they have stopped giving him extra boost calories and are now giving him as much breast milk as to his heart’s content. He should really begin packing on the pounds now.

Landon also had a bath scheduled for today which I kindly asked to be postponed until tomorrow. This way dad can go in and bath him and Landon will have a little extra rest after this long day. Woo, it took a lot of energy just to type all this stuff that our boy is going through today. Oh ya, Landon gained 30 grams yesterday so he is now at 1445. Way to go Landon, and happy b-day little guy.

Today Landon is 1395 grams = 3lbs 1 oz. He remains at .2 flow for air (mainly because the doctors are too busy with the other babies) but were not pushing him this time. As of 5pm today Lando Lakes^TM will have gone 24 hours taking all feeds by bottle! Landon has been doing so well in fact, that we were able for the first time to let Grandma She and Grandma Connie come hold him. I think they were both thrilled to say the least!

It’s hard to believe, but Landon is still 1345 grams. He is simply stalling on becoming 3 pounds. He must be burning more calories than we can imagine with all the bottle and breast feeding. We are hoping he will be 3 pounds tomorrow, but he had a really big day today. It started with a bottle feed (hold the vitamins please) which he really enjoyed. Around noon, he had his first eye exam, which he hated. They classified his eyes as “Immature” which is completely appropriate for his age. He will be examined again in two weeks. Tonight when we go back he will get a bath and change into his new outfit from the Burke’s. For a little man, he’s had quite the day. Hopefully he has had great napping opportunities in between where he can gain those grams.

Landon continues to work miracles. He is now at .3 flow on his nasal cannula and has had no reported desats for several days. Simply marvelous. Today he has gained no weight (still at 1305 grams) which means the 3 pound goal continues to elude us. Because of his learning how to bottle and breast feed….plus his baths and outfit changes, he seems to be burning up all his calories on everything but growing. Perhaps they will raise the amount of his feeds tomorrow. The sooner we hit near the 1500 gram mark (which means he can enter an open crib), the sooner he will be coming home. He should be getting his eye exams this week too which was postponed from last week (busy doctor). Hopefully we will have the results from that later this week. In the meantime, enjoy more pictures.

 

“Dad Feeding Landon”

“A New Hat Made By Omi”

Today Landon is 1290 grams or 2 pounds 13.5 ounces. He is getting closer to our next goal of 3 pounds, but some days he takes his sweet time. Last night, and again this morning, he got to try breast feeding. This will not be as easy as the bottle feeding; it is definitely something mom and baby have to learn. His air flow on the cannula is down to .4 and I am expecting it to be at .3 by the time we go in tonight. In other big news, Landon is now at the stage where they want us to dress him everyday. It is not easy dressing a squirming and very tiny baby, but both Jay and I are getting better at it. We will post pictures tonight of Landon in his outfits (which should only last another week at most). Everyday he gains weight and is looking more and more like a preemie (no longer a micro-preemie).

Landon is still doing very well….daddy was just too lazy to post yesterday. Although only gaining 5 grams…we both got to bottle feed Landon yesterday for the first time. We will post pictures and more information about Landon\’s progress later.

That’s right, the cool (or cruel depending on your perspective) preemie parents that we are, we dressed “The Don” for St. Patrick’s Day. He was such a hit, that some of the nurses want to take him out for a green beer after work. Just like his dad, smooooooooth operator!

 

 

 

“Landon the Leprechaun”

 

 

 

“Landon the Leprechaun”

 

 

 

“Landon the Leprechaun”

We also decorated his condo:

 

 

 

“Landon’s St. Patty Party”

Today Landon is 1225 grams…just over 2 pounds 11 oz. According to the doctor, he is in the 10th percentile on premie growth charts. They are happy with his progess because he was always in the 10th percentile (even in utero). Guess we really do have a little guy on our hands. As I was leaving they lowered his flow from .8 to .6 (they would like to now try increments of 2 because he is doing so well). If all continues to be well, he will be off the nasal cannula in a few short days. He, so far, has only been desating (his oxygen level drops a few points) and fixing it on his own….which is a big improvement from the apnea spells. This has occured for the last 3 days and we are so proud of him. He really is making huge strides.

Due to dental work (which I want to have done before Landon comes home…cleanings, fillings…) I haven’t had a chance to visit him yet this morning. But, I did call in to the nurse for a quick update. Landon has gained another 30 grams so he is now at 1200 grams..or just over 2 pounds 10 oz =). Emma’s and Zach’s wishing and praying are obviously keeping our little guy on track with the weight gain. He is also still holding up with the low flow cannula and is now at a flow of .8/1.0. Landon is such a good boy, the nurse even conveyed that he did his massive “duty” for her instead of saving it for mom and dad. Yeah Landon….we need all the free yucky diaper changing we can get until you come home. By the way, I know a lot of you are curious about projected coming home dates. Babies can come home as early as 35 weeks gestation…which is about 2 1/2 weeks away for us. But, I am holding my breath because Landon still needs to grow to around 3 1/2 – 4 pounds, take all feedings by bottle and have no apnea spells by that time. I am hoping he will come home between 36-37 weeks gestation, but really it is all about his progress. Really, his homecoming should be right around the corner. And, thanks to everyone’s praying, Landon’s roommate is doing fine. He still has a long way to go, but things are going well and moving in the right direction. Someday, Landon and his roommate will be best buddies and they will never know why. There is nothing like the bonding of NICU parents. And Omi, Landon can’t wait to wear his new hat!

“Wandin” (cousin Zach’s version of Landon) gained 5 grams today. Not a huge gain, but a gain none the less. His cannula flow level was lowered to 1.0 last night and so far he seems to be doing okay. He did seem to have a few desats while I was holding him, but it was hard to tell if I had his neck in funky positions or if the desats were from the pressure being lowered. Either way, non of them were severe and I don’t think they were even written down in his notes. Because of his recent weight gain, they also raised his feeds to 20 cc’s…which means he eats about 5 oz of food a day. Pretty soon he will be nearing the 1200 gram mark.

Sarah

Landon is doing great today. He hit the 1100 gram mark (exactly) 2lbs 7oz. He’s hanging at a flow of 1.5 on the high flow cannula, but he hasn’t had any apnea for the past couple days. One of Landon’s ladies was moved to the PICU (Pediatric ICU) because she’s doing so well and they needed room! Soon we’ll be catching him trying to sneak out of the NICU so he can go see her!

 

 

“Landon’s Bootie”

 

 

“Landon Swaddled with Mom”

 

 

“Landon Swaddled with Mom Again”

So I got to swaddle Landon today for the first time (mom got to yesterday). He really seems to like it, and he doesn’t end up all covered in my hair after either!

“Landon Swaddled”

“Landon and his Pacifier\”

“Landon Snoozing”

Here’s Landon’s sophisticated temperature control system. His condo’s air temperature is usually kept around 31-32 degrees C or 88-89 degrees F. Kind of like being in Hawaii in July!!

“Isolette HVAC”

Well, after a rough morning for Landon, they had to switch him back to the high flow nasal cannula (and the doctor had just told me he was doing well this morning). After I left this AM, His heart rate was (and continues to be) high and I guess he’s had more apnea spells, so they decided his lungs were working too hard. He is back on the high flow at a flow rate of 2. They say this sometimes happens, where you take the baby off one cannula only to put them back on it after a couple of days. It is the old one step forward, two steps backwards routine. This is actually the first time that they have had to switch his cannula back, so all-in-all Landon has done quite well. I think he may have gotten too excited becuase he is now right across from his girl friend and he likes to peek in on her. Hey Landon, try and impress her by showing her how big and strong you can grow, and how to breath without desats and apnea spells =).

Here’s a couple pictures by request from Emma. Landon did okay tonight. He had a couple little desats and one pretty big desat with apnea when he had dinner. As his hermatocrit (amount of red blood cells) has droppped a little the apnea and desats seem to be occuring a bit more frequently. Again, the doctors are not worried, but we don’t like seeing him apnec!

 

“Landon close up”

 

“Landon close up again”

Yahoo….Landon finally made the 1000 gram mark! Today he weighed in at 1005 grams which is slightly over 2 pounds 3 ounces. He looks great. His ears are getting more cartaledge in them so they stick out more (they used to fold in half and be flat against his head). His little toes are becoming quite bulbous and fat, rather than skinny and long. His nails are growing, he is staying awake for longer periods of time and he has really leaned to suck on the pacifier. There was no bottle for him today, but we know that is coming this week or next. Times are getting exciting. Soon I will be spending a lot more time at the NICU feeding Landon and even putting clothes on him (that will be in a few weeks…but it feels soon). And, because he is still doing well with having very few apnea spells, they are turning his air flow down from 1.0 to .9 sometime this afternoon. If all goes well, they will probably turn it down even more tomorrow. Since it is Monday, he also had all off his lab/blood work done and things look great. I can’t wait to visit with Jay tonight because I know any visit now will be his first breast feed (it depends on how the nurse feels for the day and how Landon is doing).

Lan the Man is doing great. His flow is still at 1 and he is maintaining good saturation levels (blood oxygen). Landy has been having very few desats or a’s and b’s these past few days. Our Lil’ Pounder put his 10 grams back on today. He likes to tease us a bit before he puts weight on. We’re so excited that he’ll be starting to nipple soon, we can barely contain ourselves.