Breathing Better (all of us)

Caelan James Perry

Saturday, July 5

How awesome! Caelan was taken off the vent yesterday morning and is a much happier little guy. This is one of my favorite pictures from yesterday- he was just laying there with his eyes wide open, looking all around. I had just whispered his name to him and he looked up at me- WOW! Made my day for sure!

So many accomplishments yesterday- in addition to being off the vent, his weight is good at 6 pounds 2 ounces, he is alert, he is hungry for feedings, he is sucking extremely well (really works that pacifier)!

Today... I just hung up with Karen his nurse and she said he is a little 'crabby' today- some of that comes from still getting certain meds out of his system- but she also said he seemed to have a tummy ache. He is on his stomache right now- he seems to prefer laying that way; he breathes easier in that position too. And although his chest x-rays look better, the chest tubes do still have some drainage so they are not going to be coming out today. They are going to take the central lines out of his umbilical today, so that is progress. And we LOVE progress! I can't wait to see him today!

Karen

This was when we first got there yesterday- off that vent! Yay! It was so cute because his diaper is on backwards- just easier.

Feeding time- it goes through that tiny tube in his nose and straight into his stomach. You can see the nurse with the syringe full of formula- he was getting about 8cc at this point and they increase it by 1cc each feeding. He is on the 8,11,2,5 time schedule.

We got to help weigh him yesterday- this is Matt holding him (yes holding!) lifting him up to set the weigher thingie and then they lay him back on it to read his weight. It has been awesome watching Matt with Caelan- so sweet and tender. I love hearing him talk to him and telling him how much he loves him. Matt also changed his diaper yesterday.

I LOVED this moment! Had my hand on his head in that bundling manner and was holding the pacifier- he was squeezing my thumb really tight! Oh how my heart melts!

All tucked in for the night

Quick update

For some reason I am ssoooo tired tonight so I am going to keep this really short- Caelan is doing WONDERFULLY today! (Saturday) We visited three times today- we always go at night to tell him good night and that we love him. They took him off the vent this morning and he is so much better! His breathing is good and if he continues like this, they will take out the chest tubes tomorrow. I will write details tomorrow with pictures from today with the vent out and eyes open. Right now I am actually falling asleep while typing. Sorry so vague tonight- he is beautiful, strong, and made leaps and bounds today! Love and blessings to all-

Better....

Aaaah. Today was a better day- definitely still a ways to go- but better. We called the hospital first thing in the morning and Julie told us that they had given him more medications and that he was doing well- he had an 'uneventful' night. We went up there around 5pm- he looked pretty good- he was quite red when we first got there but it was because he was really irritated- its kinda cute actually! They had turned him over onto his stomach (they occasionally change their positions to prevent problems from being in one spot)... anyway.. he was angry about being disturbed and moved, and then he got angry again when they did an ultrasound of his head- they do that to check for bleeds (don't panic- it's routine). The neat thing though is how he calmed down when Matt had his hands on him. NICU babies can't be stroked but they do something called 'bundling' or 'nesting' which is putting a hand on his head and a hand on his feet or bottom and just stay there- the nurses do it from time to time and Matt and I did it this afternoon. Julie said that Dr. St Charles is going to extubate him and take him off the vent in the morning- hopefully he will do well on his own... if he does, then they will remove the chest tubes the next day. They had significantly reduced his sedation medicine too. This played into his being easily agitated because he is a little more sensitive to stimulus than he was when he was sedated.
Well, we just got back from visiting him again and he looks even better than he did during our first visit! They had flipped him back over onto his back and he was just sleeping. Annie (the night nurse) said he didn't get upset at all during the position change and that he had no sedation since before she came on at 7pm- YAY CAELAN! His blood work looks really good. They also started feeding him again- through the tube still, but that is fine- it is still a step forward. The other thing he did today was suck on a pacifier.... now this may not seem like a big deal, but it is. They can forget how to suck and have problems taking a bottle when the time comes- he did beautifully with it- in fact, he was sucking on the pacifier while he has the tube in his mouth!
So it was a really good day for him (and us) and hopefully tomorrow will go well when they take him off the vent.

Notice how red his skin is! This is when he got mad about them doing the ultrasound.

Bundling/ nesting- hands on his head and bottom- very calming for him at times. Notice his skin is going back to normal.

Daddy is doing a great job!

Grandma and Grandpa came to see (literally to see- no touching yet)

My precious friend Sharon came up yesterday (the afternoon of the not so good day!)

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful........
Beautiful Caelan....

His balloons on the mailbox- waiting to welcome him home!

His name

Caelan is Irish- it means 'strong fighter'
More appropriate than we had anticipated! Love it!

The NICU Dance

One step forward.. two steps back. This is the dance of NICU. We knew this of course- we witnessed it with Pat's kids. And today we danced the dance. Caelan is still doing really well- just a change in things. When I got there today, I walked in to find the respiratory therapist there and Caelan was intubated again and back on the ventilator. This was a bit of shock to my system and I didn't handle it well- I wanted to know what had happened to my son! The respiratory therapist said that Caelan's right lung had collapsed (originally it had been only the left one) and they have put in a chest tube on that side. I felt that moment of panic- I just knew that I was going to hold him today- that he would be one step closer to home. And here he was- back on the vent with chest tubes in both sides. The nurse came over to talk to me and they had paged Dr. St. Charles as well. Now, to back up a bit and be fair- the respiratory therapist is not the most comforting person- he is quite technical, does his thing and leaves- he is not the one for the gentle and compassionate interaction with the parents... that is more for the nurses and doctor who provide the constant care for the babies and parents. What happened was that Dr. St Charles and Julie (today's nurse) were watching for me to come in so they could explain Caelan's events of the morning... they both happened to walk out of the room for a second right at that moment that I walked in... so instead of being appropriately prepared, I walked in to something that was actually not as bad as it looked. AND... Caelan is ONLY 48 hours old- barely that... and the reality is that premies are NOT just all of a sudden ok and healthy enough to go home. We are still very early in the process... I should have known that- Reality check! I am ok now... I had a rough moment.... Matt was in Ludington of all times. But this is where our awesome and amazing God does what He does best- he takes care of us in our time of need.

I went out to 'take a breath' and call Matt. I used the courtesy phone in the waiting room- there was only one other person in there. I was a little upset and crying, trying to be strong- I told him about Caelan's changes and that he was going to be ok. I told Matt I didn't want to call family or anyone yet. He asked if I wanted him to call Pastor Brand to come visit me; I told him no. I was surprised by the fact but I actually wanted to just be alone. Matt understands me beyond belief! Anyway- as I hung up, the lady in the waiting room just smiled. She asked me how old he was- I told her a little bit about him. She said that she would pray for him. I asked her a little about herself- sitting in the waiting room of the maternity ward is an obvious sign that there is a baby involved! Then.... well, lets just say that God brought the two of us to each other... she is the adoptive grandmother of a baby in NICU- she had been there all night long... the baby was 5 weeks early, and the adoptive parents (her daughter and son in law) were on their way here from New Hampshire. They had lived in Burke for a while- around the same time we lived in Northern VA area as well. As we talked, there were so many similarities and connections in our lives. We hugged and we cried, we hugged some more. We talked about how much we each needed each other at that moment. God gave me the strength that I needed- He gave me that strength through this woman. One more 'coincidence'- her name is Barbara. I couldnt believe it. I told her I would pray for the baby in NICU and for the family; she will be praying for Caelan and for us.
So I went back in to NICU... and I was strong and focused. I felt God. And I put my hands on Caelan and prayed for him. And I prayed for him to feel God's hands around him. And for God to give both of us strenth. And I was fine for the rest of the day. Our God is truly amazing. And I love Him for it.
So.... Caelan is going to be fine. Dr. St Charles said that he is actually BETTER today. In spite of how it looks; the vent is a good thing- it allows his lungs to grow and heal. He is sedated in fact to keep him as low stressed as possible and to prevent him from working against the vent. Plain and simple, his lungs are premature.... this is so common in premies- boys especially. Once again- I KNOW that.... I just didn't want to. This will take him a few days to get over.... then we move forward. Right now is just the standstill. The pause in the process. Matt and I went back up there tonight to sit with him for a bit and tell him good night; God will take care of him.
So please continue to pray for our son- and for us.
Thank you to everyone for the support- the hugs were needed and the food was fantastic! We will post pictures tomorrow (sorry... none today... I need to go to bed!)

Caelan James Perry pictures

Caelan James Perry; July 1, 2008 at 1053 pm;

5 pounds 9 ounces; 19"

Minutes after he was born





A couple of hours later in NICU. He had a collapsed left lung- pretty pink though! The thing on his face is a CPAP- just like what adults with sleep apnea wear- so that is no big deal... everything else looks bad but isn't- mostly monitoring stuff.

Barbara (birth mother) and her mom

This is Tom Bonhoerst- he is the social worker with Catholic Human Services that we have been working with for 9 months- awesome guy! We're in NICU just watching Caelan.

Hey Little Guy! I love this cause his eyes are open! This was around 3pm on Wednesday July 2nd. We had gotten a call around 3am (right after we went to bed the night he was born)- they had put in a chest tube for the collapsed lung and intubated and put him on a vent to put medicine straight into his lungs- they told us he would be on that for 24-48 hours. NOPE! Not our little guy- he was off that in less than 10 hours- that's my boy! So these are from a couple hours after that- you can see his face now! He is only on a nasal canula for oxygen now- the chest tube is still in though.

This one was taken in night mode- we can't use a flash in NICU. The color ones simply have the flash turned off... but it still shines light in his eyes as it focuses... too much stimulus is not good for preemies so we do some of them in night mode. It is easier to get him with eyes open too.

These were also after his diaper change- I got to do it! It was that gooey, tarry, sticky stuff- meconium. It was cool though to be able to take care of him.... the nurse will let us do whatever we are comfortable with... I told her I will do WHATEVER she will let me do! I just don't want to cross any boundaries. So I took his temp, relocated his pulse monitor, changed him a couple of times. The challenging part is doing those things through the little holes on the sides of the incubator... and then around all the wires. Awesome though! He did NOT like having a dirty diaper! Once that was taken care of- he settled down and then just laid there looking around. I could sit and just watch him forever- and I love seeing his eyes open!

Because of the things he has been dealing with... he hasn't eaten by bottle. Once all of this thing with his lung settles down, they will work on his feeding. Right now it is just through a little tube in his nose. So... he has to graduate out of the chest tube and into feeding class! Once he can eat, I am sure we can go home. Hopefully no more than a week.

So that is the latest in our little world... our son is only 28 hours old right now. Wow. Can't wait to see him tomorrow.. cant wait to HOLD him!

Thank you all for the continuous prayers and support! We love you all and blessings to you!

****** REMEMBER**** Clicking on the picture should open it to a full size on your screen!**

Pictures

ok.... just tried to post and got an error message... I need to get up to the hospital so I dont have time right now to focus on that... sorry! Love everyone much!

Caelan James Perry

He's here! July 1st at 1053 pm; he is 5 pounds 9 ounces; BEAUTIFUL! It was such an amazing moment- beyond what I can express- and since it is currently 2am, it has been a LONG day- we are exhausted- I will put up the extra details later. He is in ICU as we expected- he is having a problem with his left lung- air around it (pneumothorax) and the lung collapsed. They are watching it tonight- trying to avoid a chest tube; they gave him some meds to keep him relaxed to get through it. Barbara was amazing and she is doing really well. Thanks for all of the support and prayers!
amanda, matt & caelan

Oh Baby!

Well... some of you know by now... they are inducing Barbara in the morning at 7:30. Her doctor had called and the baby had lost weight from the 32 week sono to the 35 week sono (the one we had last week). So he will be 4 weeks early and will go straight to the NICU- we are more than ok with everything, just so much so fast! I will continue to update here as things occur- I will be there with her through labor and delivery so I may not even be home for a couple of days much less on line. Please keep them both in your prayers! We're gonna be parents!!! TOMORROW!!!

Ultrasound

I went with Barbara to her ultrasound appointment this afternoon- it was so cool! I have a couple of printouts- one of his face (I have a hard time seeing that) and the other is a shot of his foot- it was so cute, he was wiggling his toes! I will have to get Matt to scan them into the computer so I can post it. She also had a non-stress test- they hook Barbara up to the fetal monitors like they use in labor and they watch his heart rate while she just lays there and what his heart does when he becomes active- everything was normal today; they do want her to have a non stress test twice a week though. The only thing that has been mentioned is that he is "small" So is Barbara though- there are no real concerns. He is currently 4 pounds 5 ounces according to the ultrasound- that can be off as much as ten ounces though. His femur is 6 and a half centimeters long- someone do the math for me to figure out about how long that makes him please. I could see all the organs- his heart (cool), liver, kidneys, stomach; his spine was quite obvious too. He is already head down- just waiting! Thanks Barbara for the great afternoon!

Beach Bums Game

We have started the tradition of taking Samuel to the Beach Bums baseball game at the beginning of each season- the Beach Bums are only in their 2nd year here but have become a really big part of Traverse City. We took Samuel to opening game last year and to the first Friday game this year. It was a bit cool this night- thats ok- we snuggled in our Beach Bums blanket! We both wear our Beach Bums t-shirts to the game and of course he has a baseball and little bat too. He has a lot of fun cheering on the players and loves the mascots, Suntan and Sunburn (which is his favorite) I never had a chance to get a picture of him with them though- just in front of the poster. Of course we also have to have popcorn and hotdogs- and I taught him the baseball song (Take me out to the ballgame) and he likes to sing it on the way to the game. He is such a wonderful little boy- we love him to death!

(PS- if you click on the pictures, they will open to full size on your computer)

Samuel and Amanda Banana snuggling in our Bums blanket

I haven't figured out how to rotate yet- sorry! Just tilt your head to the right!
Grandma and Grandpa went this year as well

Uncle Matt and Samuel
Sunburn and Suntan cheering the team onto the field

Sunburn... Samuel missed it! He and Uncle Matt had wandered over to the playground just before that
Suntan

My Beautiful Drive Home

I absolutely love where we live- I think it is one of the most beautiful places there is. And since I drive 30 miles each way to work, I have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty quite frequently- over a few days I took several pictures on the way home- I work mids so these were all taken after 7 am.

Carpets of Trillium through the woods..

Beautiful cherry blossoms!

Baby cherry trees


Older trees
Rolling hills of orchards
(notice the trees in the foreground have already lost their blossoms while the ones in the back are in mid bloom)
Wild Flox (LOVE these!)
See the bumblebee?!
Farm life
Black Star Farms
(local equestrian, cheese and winery)
Another cherry orchard- with the bay in the background

Cows!
The windmill
Silver Lake- where we live

Home....

Home...

Home...

Home...

Home.

More about Barbara

I wanted to tell a little about Barbara. She turned 22 in May and lives locally; she works in customer sales at JC Penny and goes to college part time with an interest in psychology or criminal justice. She grew up in a close knit family who spent a lot of time together and have strong Christian values. She enjoys singing, art, drama/acting, photography & writing. She really enjoys reading and enjoys being outside. She likes horses and horse sports; she likes cats (good thing!) She refers to TV as "brainwashing" and "neuron shrinking" I love that!

She is smart, laid back, very confident, level headed, and out going- these are the things that I picked up on right off the bat and really appreciate about her. She takes life one day at a time and grows through experiences in life. She is also very caring- this is obvious to us simply because she is going through adoption. We like her a lot and look forward to getting to know her more.

The "stats"
She is 5'5" with a small frame, pretty brown hair and blue eyes, fair skin- she comes from predominatly Irish family.... there is some German and a little Italian in there as well.

The birthfather's name is David. He doesn't want anything to do with the pregnancy so we don't know a lot about him. He lives in Petoskey and was discharged from the Navy. He is about 6' and husky with darker skin, dark hair and brown eyes. That's it.

We will be getting together with her for dinner soon. We will keep everyone up to speed!

We are gonna be parents!

We got our call from Catholic Human Services on the 19th. Barbara (the birthmom) chose our portfolio and we met a couple of weeks prior. She liked us a lot and came to see where we live. Tom called us on the 19th a little after 9pm to tell us Barbara had chosen us- we are so excited! We met with her again on the 28th to go over other details. She is due between July 28- August 1st; it is a little boy. I get to be in the delivery room! How cool is that? I get to watch our son be born! We will continue to get to know her more over the next couple of months (Catholic Human Services steps out of the middle at this point unless we need them). We have LOTS to do! We have done a little shopping and started working on the nursery. I will post soon to tell all about Barbara. Keep us all in your prayers!

His name will be Caelan.