Avery

2.2.05

Avery Merrick Ruiz was born at 2:54pm, weighing 1 lb. 11 oz. and measuring 13". He came into this world ready to go. He urinated on one of the delivery nurses almost immediately. This little guy was the active and unpredictable one in the womb and it appears he's the more active one on the outside as well. We'll see if he also proves to be unpredictable.

2.5.05

Avery is making a lot of progress already. His bilirubin levels are relatively low and he had only needed to be on "under the lights" to treat jaundice for a short time. This doesn't mean the levels may not go up and the need for phototherapy in the future, however, juandice is the most common and easy to treat problem he will face during his time in the NICU. He's on minimal respiratory assistance with the ventilator. Mommy's breastmilk is already being fed to him through a gavage tube in his nostril, along with a neutral high calorie formula.

Mama (Mary) read him his first bedtime story tonight, The Hungry Caterpillar (Thank you Phoebe!). She wanted to be sure to let Avery and Mason know that with a little nourishment they will soon become butterflies.

2.6.05

Avery needed his first blood transfusion today. They temporarily stopped his feeding for this. It was also determined that he has a PDA. Unlike Mason, Avery is able to take indocin to help close up the ductus. We are hoping this works and he will not have to have it surgically closed.

2.7.05

All appears very stable today and Avery will be back on formula and breastmilk feedings tonight. He's back to his birthweight already, at 1lb. 11oz., -- a positive sign.

Mommy and Mama both wore small cloths on their chests and each gave one to Avery so he could feel comforted by their scent. They also brought him a small plush mommy frog with her baby for Avery's isolette to keep him company and to be used to help gauge his growth progress through photos.

2.8.05

Avery is continuing to eat well, but his stomach contents are too full so they may cut back his intake a bit.

Mommy witnessed him yawn and open his eyes for the first time today. One eye is still partially fused shut and he is determined to get it open. He shifts his eyes all over the place and really wants to see what is going on in this world!

2.9.05

One week old and Avery is nearly 2 ounces bigger than his birthweight ... that's a great sign. He was anemic today, so he received another blood transfusion and was temporarily taken off of his feedings. He has completed his doses of antibiotics. He's also finished the Indocin to help close up the PDA, but appears to still have a murmer so he will get another heart echo tomorrow. If the ductus hasn't closed, then he will likely have the same surgery his brother had a couple of days ago. He's also scheduled for another routine head echo tomorrow. His initial one came back with normal results, and they expect they will see the same this time. If all is normal, they won't do another one for about 3 more weeks. The doctor stated he's doing well over all.

Week 2