You've probably heard of this baby - he goes by the name Stevie Wonder.
Samuel's cardiologist told me this story some weeks ago, when we were still grappling with his PDA. It's fascinated me since, particularly understanding that we have the medical advances we have now because of babies like Stevie Wonder. For example, doctors learned that the high levels of oxygen had caused his ROP and blindness - so now, they closely monitor blood oxygen levels and try to keep Sam below a certain percentage.
I bring this up because on Sam's last eye exam, the doctor found some early signs of ROP. He explained that the blood vessels in the eyes normally branch out like a tree. In ROP, the vessels grow a bit scrambled, which is what is happening with Sam. The doctor said it was fairly mild at this point, and would not even discuss future treatment plans with me. He said at this point they'd just monitor it, that Sam could grow out of it.
Sam also has landed himself back in isolation after he tested positive for MRSA again. As mentioned before, it's a colonization not an infection, so it doesn't really hurt him. The isolation is to protect everyone else. He was given a round of antibiotics. The doctor has told me before that they aren't going to aggressively attack it, because it could do more harm than good (we don't want him to develop any further resistance).
On the upside...Sam now weighs 1,034 grams, which is about 2 lbs 4 oz!!! I hollered when the nurse told me that. I'm SO excited that he made it past 1,000 grams.
When he makes it to 1,600 grams, he will be big enough to come out of the isolette.
He's also 32 weeks and 3 days. At 34 weeks, they'll bring in a speech therapist to see if he can coordinate his breathing, sucking, and swallowing. When he can coordinate those motions, he'll be able to start feeding from a bottle (and I can attempt to breastfeed)!
We're in the last two months before his due date, and hopefully the time he comes home. Time has flown by faster than I expected!
As Sam continues to fight, so shall I.
"Why is someone always taking a picture of me? Knock it off already!"
"Please let them take these tubes out of me soon"
"I see you still taking pictures, y'all ain't slick"
"This is MY pacifier. There are a lot of pacifiers in the world, but this one is mine."
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