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week one

2.2.05

Mason Andrew Ruiz was born at 2:55pm, weighing 1 lb. 15oz, and measuring 13.5". He is definitely on the big side for a baby born at this gestational age, and we hope that helps him out a little as he encounters some of the initial hurdles. In the womb, he was the more deliberate, methodical and consistent of the two when it came to movement and heartrate. It will be interesting to see if this characteristic carries over into his life on the outside.

2.3.05

Mason seems very stable today, although he needs a fair amount of respiratory support as compared to his brother. He seems mostly calm and settled.

A routine head echo was done to take a look at the brain, as a brain bleed is common in preemies, particularly at this size. It may take several scans over a period of time to determine if there's bleeding, and at what level.

When we visited with him this evening, he had his eyes wide open. He sorta had this look like "who are you and how did I get here?". I think he was content in the womb, and had no desire to be on the outside like his brother appeared to.

2.4.05

Our first major scare ... Mommy (Andrea) received a call in her hospital room at 1am from Mason's doctor. He informed her that Mason had a pulmonary hemorrhage and was not doing very well. He was about to give him a blood transfusion and said he wasn't sure if he'd make it through the night. Mama (Mary) had just gone home to take a shower and get some much needed rest. After receiving the news from Andrea, she returned to the hospital. Because Mommy was in the heart of recovery from the c-section, Mama sat with Mason during the transfusions and provided much love and support to get him through this. He appeared considerably stable at about 3am and Mary spent the rest of the night on a cot in Andrea's hospital room. Mason remained stable for the rest of the day and the blood continued to clear from his lungs.

2.5.05

It appears the blood continues to clear from Mason's lungs. Mason's dependency on respiratory support has been high over the past day, but he is now doing much better with less support.

He had another head echo today to see if there was any change after the hemorrhage, especially given the results of the first echo were translated as abnormal.

2.7.05

Mason was diagnosed with a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) of moderate size. The best treatment option for him was to surgically repair it. The little trooper made it through the ordeal with no problems. His mommies listened to his heartbeat through a stethoscope both before and after the surgery and it was clear what a difference it made. His heartbeat sounded like slush before, but strong and succinct afterward.

His mommies each brought him a small cloth with their scent on it, along with a small plush elephant mommy holding her baby to keep him company and to help gauge his growth through photos.

2.8.05

Mason was recovering well from his surgery, gradually having his ventilator support reduced. He may be strong and stable enough to finally start receiving mommy's breast milk soon. Like Avery, there will be a gavage tube inserted into his nostril to receive his milk and fortifier mix. He is back to his birthweight already, which is a positive sign.

2.9.05

It's hard to believe a week has passed already. What a week it has been.

Mason was very anemic this morning and received another blood transfusion. Overall, he is definitely on a progressive path. He continues to get his lungs xrayed every day and the blood is now very minimal. He started feeding on sugar water today and will likely graduate to breast milk tomorrow. They continue to decrease his ventilation support.

Our biggest concern right now is Mason's head echo results. He had one at 2 days old, and another a couple of days ago. For now, the results are inconclusive. There is no difference between the two scans, so that is good news. However the results are still abnormal, so they will continue to follow up with more echos. There may be a brain bleed, but the doctor said he showed no clinical signs of a serious one.

Week 2