(Originally published to Sam’s Caring Bridge site on 8.12.18. To read all previous entries from Sam’s NICU journey, visit his Caring Bridge site: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/samueldwenger)
It has been a couple of weeks since that exciting day that we were able to bring Sam home from the hospital and we thought it was time for an update:
Sam is getting BIG! He already weighs over 9 pounds!! Needless to say, eating is not a challenge for him! Sleep on the other hand… we are still getting the hang of. If you haven’t heard from us in a while, it’s might be because we’re in a fog and forget to respond to calls/texts/emails in a timely manner! Luckily we’ve had some help from family that gives us a chance to take a nap here and there!
Despite the sleep deprivation, we love interacting with Sammy and seeing him grow. We’ve started taking him out in the stroller in the evenings, but he’s still getting used to the idea of sitting in the car seat so it may take some time before he enjoys our walks. He loves tummy time and has some pretty amazing muscle strength, despite his young age. It’s strange having a three month old who is more like a three WEEK old!
Sam has had two checkups with the pediatrician and everything seems to be going well. He still has some edema from time to time and is on a mild diarrhetic that we hope he can be weaned off of soon. He will also have a follow up appointment with the NICU Clinic at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in a couple of weeks. Other ongoing care will include a 6-month visit to an ophthalmologist to make sure his eyes are still developing correctly and he will likely need to see a urologist in a few months to determine whether he’ll need to have surgery for a hernia. We are hoping that will not be the case, as it would require general anesthesia.
While in the NICU, we were also asked if we would like Sam to participate in a non-invasive study that looks at preemies born before 30 weeks. Through four appointments with Cincinnati Children’s over the course of three years, they will be looking for markers on an MRI that would indicate developmental delays. These markers will help preemie kids receive the appropriate therapies earlier in life than they typically would. Participating in the study is free to us and could help us determine if he will need additional developmental support as a result of being premature. But the challenging part of participating in the study is taking a newborn – a newborn who is not fond of his car seat – on a day trip to Cincinnati for his MRI. That appointment will be on August 23rd, so please pray that things will go smoothly and that the process won’t be to stressful for him (or us!).
As always, we are grateful for all of your love and prayers