Baby Joshua Biggun Keslar: 03/27/12

Donations

I wanted to extend my thanks to all those who have helped us over the last three months. Had it not been for your generosity, we would not have survived. And most importantly, we would not have been able to be by Biggun's side. There are no words that can express how much it means to me that I was given that opportunity.

Our situation is not nearly as dire as it was. We still take it day by day and manage our money very carefully. Hike for Heroes recently assisted us by putting $2000 directly towards bills we owed, which was a huge relief for us.

If you are still interested in helping or donating, we most definitely need items to gear up for Biggun coming home. There are certain things we still need such as a baby swing, bouncer, walker, bottles, diapers, wipes, and any/all sorts of baby clothes. He is currently wearing 0-3 months.

Donations can still be done the same way - You can go to www.paypal.com and donate to the email rachelxkeslar@gmail.com. You can also go to any CHASE bank and put in a deposit to Joshua Daniel Keslar. Any questions you might have can be sent to the rachelxkeslar@gmail.com email address.

Again, thank you for all your support. You kept us alive and by our baby's side. I cannot thank you enough for that.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Big update

So we had another care conference with the doctor on rounds with our little Biggun. They want to try him on straight formula, because they think the medication I take when I pump might affect him. It's all safe for nursing babies, but say they grab a frozen specimen from when I was on Zoloft, then next grab one from my change to Celexa, his body isn't properly acclimating to the changes like our normal bodies would.
So right now his primary reasons for being in the PICN are feeding and eyes. According to Dr. Moshfeghi, his eyes are doing phenomenal! But they just want to be sure before they release him since they know we will be leaving the state once he is released.
Their other concern is he isn't nipping. I found this a little odd because just today I decided to shed my bra and shirt and hold him skin to skin, and not only did he latch, but he drank me out! All the while being hooked up to be fed via machine into his nose down into his tummy. So he got his usual 50 ml of milk plus the extra 20 or so that was supplies via breastfeeding. I'll tell you, it was the most AMAZING feeling to feel him breastfeed. There really is no other feeling quite like it. I felt like I could contribute, you know?

He is also now a whopping 5 lbs 4 oz and counting! His weight gain has been nothing but phenomenal since his upturn into health. I am so proud of his progress. The only negative thing to report was the developmental team seemed concerned that his movements weren't super coordinated. He was able to reach up and suck his own thumb which was awesome! But they worry he is behind on his milestones... Not totally unexpected for his age and issues thus far. They say he is 37 weeks, but by my calculations, he should only be 36 weeks. Joshua and I have to wonder if that would make a difference in their assessment of him.

We are able to go in there and change him into the adorable clothes we have received which I will post pictures of. I can pick him up and hold him. I've been holding him swaddled, but they think it might be better if I held him skin to skin instead, so the plan is to start that immediately.
We discussed discharge and the upper elevation in Utah. So they are going to do a hypoxia test on him to see how his lungs manage the altitude change. Which is a pretty big deal given how much higher Utah is in elevation. They also told us we would know two weeks in advance on discharge, and that he isn't even within two weeks of discharge at this point. But fingers crossed!

Keep the prayers coming!
Much Love,
Rachel and Joshua

PS second picture is breastfeeding, but you can't see anything, so we thought it would be okay. No offense intended!