Merry Christmas and hopefully a Happy New Year!!

A very late Merry Christmas to everyone!! I have been in the middle of a tug of war the past few days so I have not had time for an update. First, I was supposed to go home on Tuesday, then Friday (tomorrow), and now, hopefully Monday. So yep, still here. Evidently, both home health nurses that are supposed to hook up my heart monitor are laid up in bed with the flu. Doc doesn't want them anywhere near me, my house, or my parents. I think they just like me over here and don't want to let go! Cut the cord already, sheesh!! I'm not going to lie, I am really going to miss my nurses!

Christmas day was great; I finally got to meet my big brother!!  The nurses snuck him in for a quick picture.  Unfortunately, he took one look at Mommy holding me and cried.  He was not big on Dad holding me either.  Watch out, buddy, there is a new sherrif in town.  J/k; I love you, Reid!  We will be best buds before you know it.

I passed my room air trial which began at 2am Christmas morning, right as Santa was strolling through the special care nursery. He was proud, but a little disappointed because the nurse wouldn't let me plug my tree in...I promised extra double stuff Oreos next year, so we are good. The head nurse on the other hand, pretty sure she is on the naughty list for that.

I am still doing great off of the oxygen except that I tend to breathe a little heavy when I eat. Speaking of eating, I am up to 55 mL every three hours. Sometimes, it is a bit of a struggle because of my reflux. Luckily, I get a dose of Prevacid each day, and I will grow out of it...hopefully sooner rather than later. I also like to hold my breath every now and then so mom has to watch me closely. I like to keep her on her toes =)

I have hit the 7 pound mark!!  7 pounds 2 ounce as of tonight. It's crazy to think that I was just a wee little thing two and a half short months ago. Can't call me little Beau peep now, huh Dad?  More like one of the three little pigs!  I have heard the name "Porker" thrown around...not sure if I am a fan, but it sure beats being 2 pounds!

I guess that is about it for now. Hopefully I will be able to ring in the new year at home, but if not, they say I can stay until my due date, January 3rd, before they give me the boot. We will just sit here and twiddle our thumbs until home health is back up and running. Have to study hard for my carseat test coming up, and I have pictures tomorrow...gotta get my beauty sleep! Can't wait to see what it's like on the outside!!

Love,

Beau Hudson

This was obviously about half a pound ago.

Eatin time; my favorite time of the day.

My new room

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Finally...all together!

So now he is happy...he has Mom all to himself.

Hanging out with Dad

It sure is rough being a baby!



Recovering...

Sorry I have not given you all an update, been busy recovering. I heard that Mom let you all know I had another hernia, yes, another one...sheesh!! Luckily, it was small, but just like the last, it was difficult for the surgeon to reduce so she felt that surgery was necessary. Not sure if I told you before, but hernias are common in preemies because our muscle walls are very thin. FYI - if it weren't for the surgery, I really could have been home by now...as Mom says, "aww nuts!". I cannot repeat what Dad would say.

Everything went fine, but when I woke up with that tube down my throat again, I knew I had to do something. I was not a happy camper and started trying to yank it out. The nurses got the hint and took it out for me. I put in a good word for them up at the North Pole; they are on Santa's nice list for sure! I was so glad I came off the ventilator right after surgery but I was still pretty out of it from the anesthesia. They put me on the low flow cannula and gave me a room air trial at 4. I did well for about an hour then failed. No biggie...I am still on the low flow cannula and my nurse will give me another room air trial tonight.

I am taking my bottle well, again, so they stopped the fluids and took my iv out today. I weighed a whopping 6 pounds 11 ounces last night...just call me chunky monkey II. I think part of it was the fluids so I may lose a little over the next couple of days, but I am trying to put meat on my bones as best I can.

Okay, bad news...I had a breathing episode tonight. That sets me back 5 days =(. I told the nurses that I was just kidding with them, but they didn't think it was too funny. No sense of humor whatsoever, ugh. Guess they don't teach that in nursing school.

Overall, I am doing well and hoping to get back to where I was before surgery. My nurses say that I am doing great, considering. Well, I'm pretty sleepy so I'll keep y'all posted. OH - I am now in the special care nursery and I have another amigo across the way!! Buenas noches!

Beau

9 week report card

I made 9 weeks on Monday, and all I have to say is, "watch out world, here I come...!!". I know my last update was not so great, but I have really taken a turn for the better! I just needed a break from life (and from breathing) for a few days, but I am back and ready to conquer the world!

I have been calling the shots these days...Friday night I started fighting that tube down my throat so the nurses gave in and took me off the ventilator Saturday morning. They started me at 4L on the Vapotherm and weaned me all the way to the high flow cannula (1L of O2 per minute) late Sunday night. Even better, I have been doing so good that they switched me to the low flow cannula (0.1 of O2 per minute) yesterday! This is the very lowest form of respiratory support available. The doctors were pretty impressed with me!

It gets better...I took my WHOLE bottle yesterday! Mom and Dad never knew they would be so excited about their son drinking 1.5 oz of milk...if that's all i have to do to make them proud, i am set for life! That was the first time I tried the bottle since my surgery, but I did really well. My nurse kept trying to slow me down because I just couldn't get enough. If they would have told me how good that stuff is, I would have behaved a LONG time ago!! I did so well that they gave me another bottle last night and now i have graduated to getting 3 bottles a day, yipee!

I am still taking meds for reflux and I am also getting some steroids to give my lungs a little boost.

Tonight I weighed in at 6 pounds 2ounces!!

So my report card since last week says I have all A's! BUT, just because I am being good does not mean that I will be home in time for Christmas. There is nothing that I want more than to be home with my family, but I still have a long way to go. I still have to be able to take a bottle at every feeding, and in case you didn't know, that's hard work! I also have to pass a car seat test and of course, they would like me to be off of the oxygen completely. If I get close to going home and have a breathing episode, that sets me back 5 days...good thing for insurance =). I will do my best to remember to breathe!

I overheard Doc telling Mom that the next big milestone will be Sunday night - a room air trial. Evidently they will take away the little bit of oxygen I am getting and see how I do. I'll do my best to perform well for everyone. If I am doing well without the oxygen, they will leave me off of it, and that will be all she wrote!! That will be my present to Mom and Dad since I can't really get over to the gift shop.

So glad I could give all of you some good news for a change...I am definitely growing up!!

Night!

Beau

Dad is finally getting comfortable holding me!  I promise I wasn't really blue...guess I wasn't too photogenic that day.

Snuggling with Mommy...excuse my Jamaican blanket; not sure where it came from.

Num num num!

The Occupational Therapist said I was too anxious.  Duh, like I said, num num num!!!

I may be little but I sure can burp!

Mom is super funny sometimes! 

Loving my mobile.

Let me introduce you to my friend, G.  He keeps me company when Mom and Dad aren't here =)



Post-Op Pics

Grounded

Mom and Dad haven't been on a roller coaster ride in a while so I thought I would help out with that. I was doing really well for a few days and then hit another bump in the road. First and foremost, Father Andrew came to baptize me Tuesday night! It was just me, my parents, and Father Andrew, but we will have a ceremony with the rest of my family once I get home and get a little older.

So here's what happened...late Monday night I started hurting very bad. I was fussy all night and nothing really helped. I also started having my apnea and bradycardia spells again. I had about 3 that night. The nurse wasn't sure what was wrong. Then, my day nurse came in at 7am Tuesday morning. I continued to fuss and I had three brady's before 9 that morning. The nurse called Mom and tattled on me then punished me by putting me back on the Vapotherm. Mom and Dad showed up shortly after and I was really being bad. It was very difficult for the nurses to get me to start breathing again so Dad even started knocking me around some. I don't have kids, but they tell me that it's not easy watching your child continue to stop breathing. Mom says blue is NOT my color. Come to find out, I had a bad hernia on my right side.

Doc says hernias are common in preemies, but they are usually able to "reduce" them and then repair it before going home. The surgeon said that mine was very difficult to reduce so she felt like they should go ahead and do surgery.

Got milk? NOPE, sure don't!! They stopped my feeds, started me on antibiotics and fluid, ran some blood tests, and got me all prepped for surgery Tuesday afternoon. Surgery was scheduled for 7am Wednesday morning as long as my blood cultures were negative (showing no infection). Luckily, they were negative and still are at 48 hours.

Surgery went fine, but seriously, what the heck is this tube doing down my throat?? Unfortunately, I am still on the ventilator. My blood gases are okay but not good enough for them to start weaning me from the ventilator. This morphine stuff is not too shabby though... am resting comfortably. I'll keep yall posted on my progress.

Dad says I am grounded...for life.

On a good note, they did my repeat cranial ultrasound on Monday, and the "hazy" spot they were concerned with looks normal. High fives all around!!

Hopefully before my next update I will be doing much better! Here are some pictures - a few from before my hernia and some from my baptism. I will add my post-op pics in a bit. Again, sorry they are not in order - this app needs an update! Talk to y'all soon!

Love,
Beau Hudson

Moving on up!

I know you all will be glad to hear that I am having a much better week than last! 

I have officially been weaned from the Vapotherm and have been on the high flow nasal cannula since Wednesday!  Yay!  I heard the nurses saying they didn't want to speak of it too loud - just because I am small doesn't mean I am deaf, dumb, or stupid...of course I noticed they took away my vapotherm...I am doing my best to behave though =).

I had a couple bad episodes earlier in the week (while still on the vapotherm) so Doc is trying a few different things to see what helps:

The respiratory therapist came in for a few days to give me breathing treatments in case I was having bronchial spasms, which could cause my episodes to be more severe.  I had an upper GI (gastrointestinal)exam earlier in the week which showed that I am having slight reflux with my feedings.  As a result, we are trying a week on Prevacid.  I actually spit up a good bit for Mom today - definitely won't be the last time so she should go ahead and box up all of her nice clothes for a while.  Doc also prescribed a diuretic to help get rid of some of the excess fluid around my lungs, and let me tell ya, that stuff works!  I even lost a few ounces.  Don't be jealous, ladies, I will try to sneak some in my bag when the nurses aren't looking!

Big news - I took my first stab at a bottle today!  It was, well, not so graceful, but I gave it my best shot.  I took 8cc (ml) and then started breathing very fast, so the occupational therapist let me rest.  If I breathe too hard or fast while drinking my milk, I will aspirate and I hear that is no fun.  To help you compare - 30 cc = 1 ounce.  I am eating 45 cc every three hours.  Gotta start somewhere!

This week I actually got up to 5 lbs 13 oz, but then lost once they started giving me the diuretic.  So, as of tonight, I weigh 5 lbs 9 oz!  I am getting up there.

That is about it for now.  Things are good and I will do my best to keep it that way.  Overall, I have been very alert and everyone says I am looking really good...duh!  I hear Christmas is coming up...Mom put my tree up, got my NICU room all set, and Dad put together my mobile today!  I have the coolest room in this place, hands down!

I hope everyone is doing well.  I will be cheering on the Tigers tomorrow!  I know you all want to see pictures, so enjoy!

Love,

Beau

My first big boy crib a few weeks back...

 Now this is what I call a big boy crib!

My room!

Exhausted from a rough week!

But now I am resting comfortably without the IV!

I am really starting to like this whole noony thing!  Now, if I could just keep it in my mouth...

YAY for Christmas!!!

Yep, that's me!

Mom trying to be inspirational

 My big bro is watching over me!

 The ornament Cathy (my nurse) helped me with...arts and crafts are a great way to pass the time in here!

No pictures please!!

Just hanging out with my monkey.

I try to be alert for Mom's photo sessions...

GEAUX TIGERS!!