Michael sitting on the sofa and loving it!
You'd think he doesn't get fed, by the way he is trying to eat his entire hand!
Claudia is feeding him his last bottle before we hit the road, back home to Miami
What is that thing in my face all the time? Get that light out of here...
Paul and Tracey and little Munchkin...
Michael really likes hanging out with Paul :) 
There is that thing in my face again...
Am I cute or what?!
Michael hangin with Tracey and daddy... He already looks up to his daddy :)The PT/OT assessment on Thursday went very well. They said Michael is doing really good and he only needs PT/OT (and ST) once a week! Great!! The therapists were so nice and they gave us 'homework': exercises to do with him at home.
Friday we went to the NICU again. It was so nice to see Dr. Z, Terri and the nurses!!! Michael had a follow-up meeting with Dr. Z for the apnea monitor. He did not receive all the monitor print-outs from Apria healthcare, but on the print-out he received for one particular week, Michael had 254 episodes where he stopped breathing (apnea) or his heart rate dropped under 80 bpm (brady). 5 Of these episodes were real, so we have to continue with the monitor, but we can start reducing it. When he is awake we don't really need to use it, only when he is eating or sleeping. You can imagine with that many episodes in one week, that the alarm goes off quite frequently. Luckily we were able to use the nurse at night. That was a great help. We stopped using her as of Thursday. We actually hired a girl - Natalia (from Colombia) - to help us out (part-time) during the day. This way I can catch up on some sleep during the day (I know, I am spoiled!!). Natalia is a doctor in Colombia and is currently passing her board exams. We are so excited and it seems to be a perfect fit!!!
Our friend Jeff came over and visited us on Friday and Saturday and he picked up our dog Shiva. She is staying with Robert's parents and we really miss her. It was fun to spend some time with her! (Sorry Jeff, we forgot to take pictures of you with Shiva and Michael!!)
This weekend (Sunday) we decided to go to Orlando to help Claudia distracted from her great loss. I am sure she loved having Michael over, and we hope we were not a burden to her!!! As always, she cooked enough for an entire orphanage (as they say in Dutch). Her desert - the trifle - was soooo good!!! This was Michael's first trip and it went so good!!! On the way to Orlando we stopped by mimi and poppy (Rae and Jules), so that Michael got to spend time in his grandparent's house for the first time. He seemed to enjoy the change of pace. Michael was such a little angel. He slept during the entire car ride (4 hours)!!! I woke him up to eat, he ate in 10 minutes and went back to sleep. The same happened on the way home. It
In Orlando, we hung out next to the pool during the day. I had hoped to go in with Michael but it was too cold. We enjoyed it anyway. Michael's favorite spot in the house was sitting upright on the sofa. He would look around for hours. He also has a few new things: he is smiling all the time; he keeps sticking out his tongue and even imitates you when you do it; he now sucks on his entire fist, even after he just ate; and he keeps pulling out his nasal canula and puts it in his mouth so that he can suck on it; oh, and he sleeps LESS during the day (and hopefully will start sleeping MORE during the night, ha ha!)...
Our friends Paul and Tracey drove down all the way from Tampa to meet Michael. They had dropped their children Alexander and Lauren off with her brother since Michael is not supposed to be around children. It was so nice to see them!!! I posted some pictures of them. Thanks for driving down Paul and Tracey and thanks for having us all Claudia!!!!
So, all in all we had a great week and a great weekend!!! This week, Michael was cut back on different meds; his nebulizer treatments; and we are starting to wean him down from his oxygen. That is great progress!!! Tomorrow he has PT/OT/ST again. No news on the hearing aids yet.
Today, my brother Ehud received the keys to his first house!!! CONGRATULATIONS EHUD!!!!
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention: BABY CYRAH WENT HOME YESTERDAY!!!! WOOHOO!!! Another NICU-graduate. We are so excited for Lisa and Juan!!! We know she is going to do soooo good at home!!!! She is a lucky little girl, as she has amazing parents!!!!
4 comments:
He is so adorable! My little boy was born at 24 weeks 3 days at 1 pound 5 ounces and 11 inches,lol. Michael is doing awesome it sounds like!
Wow he looks so good. I remember the apnea monitor. It would go off alot especially at night, because of James moving. I remember one night it went off shortly after him being home and my husband and I both jumped out of bed and almost bumped heads I have nor have I ever seen my husband and I move so fast. James had his for 3 months post NICU. I however talked our Pulmonologist in to letting us keep it for an extra month because it was comforting to know he was ok. After all 4 months of monitors for this that and the other, I guess I just could not let go, ha ha. Keep up the good work he looks awesome. Tracy
Hey Nathali and Robert - I love the pics of Michael - he is so adorable. We can not wait to meet him. I wish it were sooner. It's great to see that you are traveling and visiting. By the way, we got the package back that we were trying to send for Michael. I suppose we'll just bring a long something special when we come in December.
Love, Mary
I cannot believe how big he is getting! And those eyes are just adorable...so big and bright!
254 times in a week? That is great!!! Ashton would have about 700 desats in 24 hours! Even his last 24 hour trend which was about four months ago had almost as many.
I hope you are able to get rid of the oxygen soon...it is so nice once it is gone.
Do you notice him reacting to any new sounds???
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