First Week

Well we have had busy week this week. Since last Saturday Blake has been fighting like a champ. He was on a breathing tube up till Wednesday where they then took him off and put him on a Cpap which goes in his nose and gives him air. He has to breath on his own but sometimes rides the vent when he gets tired. His lungs are still very clouded and week. He has had many challenges this week but has over come all of them and so have I. They finally got my blood pressure somewhat under control using two different meds and released me on Wednesday. We have sinced moved in to the Ronald McDonald House here in Austin which is a just a few miles away from the hospital. The best hospital we could have asked for! Their NICU is ranked one of the best in Texas and the US. We have been very blessed. It was deffinitely a GOD thing that brought us here. I will be staying here in Austin for the next 15 weeks until he is released. Robert had to go back home this weekend to work but my mom has been staying with me to help out. I kind of overdid it the other night when Rob and I went to see Blake. I was under the impression that once the baby was delivered the Preeclampsia went away, but apparently that is not the case. While we were walking up my blood pressure bottomed out twice and I almost passed out. Luckily Robert caught me and the night shift officer that was next to us grabbed a wheel chair and put me in it. They took me back to L&D where I was readmitted and my vitals ran and blood taken to check everything out. My doctor released me but said I had to rest which I hate doing. He told Robert that the Preeclampsia and Toximia would take 6 weeks to leave my system and that my body would not heal from the c-section for 6 weeks as well. So I am being forced to do a lot less than I would like to. It takes me forever just to walk anywhere. I look like a little old lady waddling around. LOL

So about Blake....sorry...I am trying to give updates on us both. The last couple days he has developed a blood infection which they are treating with two of the strongest antibiotics they have. His PDA (Patent ductus arteriosus) which is a bipass out of the heart between that pushes blood between the body and the lungs that should close at birth has since opened way up. It is supposed to clamp down allowing blood to flow to the body and lungs seperately. It is not doing that. With is being opened the blood is bipassing the lungs and going to the body. This is making it harder for him to breathe and his lungs are cloudy. They have given him three rounds of medicine to try and shrink it down so that it will close on its own. We will know in the next couple days if it has worked or not. If it does not he has to have surgery where they will open him up and fix it. Since he is so small they call him a Mircro-Preemie. He is the smallest and youngest baby in the NICU. He is also beginning to have Apnea where he forgets to breathe and his heart rate drops drastically. He sometimes brings himself out of it but most the time he has to have someone tap him a few times to stimulate his breathing. He is a fighter though. He is very strong and pushes himself up off the bed. He loves to sleep on his belly all tucked up in a ball with his legs underneath him. He likes to feel contained so they use a little blanket to contain his bottom and one strap that goes over his backside to make it feel like someone is holding him down. I am not aloud to touch him for too long. He can only have so much stimulation before it stresses him out so all I can do is put my hand on his backside or let him hold my finger.

I got to help change his diaper yesterday which is too big for him so they have to fold it in half and tuck it in. He opened both his eyes for the first time yesterday. He was just opeing his right eye but has not gotten both eyes open. He looks like a little old man. I have gotten to hear him cry...well try to, it sounds more like a little whimper. His blood pressure has been pretty good for a baby that has such a large PDA and so has his O2 levels. They are not fluctuating too much which is a good thing.

We ask that everyone keep praying for our little family..especially Blake. We really appreciate everyones cares and concerns. We are just going day by day and praying that GOD will heal our son and make him better. The doctors say that he is very fiesty for a micro and is a fighter. Just like his Daddy. We have the most wonderful doctors ever! Oh the second day that they changed his diaper, he peepeed on the nurse and then grabbed his crotch...again just like his daddy. LOL He does not like his diaper changed, but apparently liked his little sponge bath last night. The nurses said he was wide awake the entire time. He does not have really any hair right now but the hair he does have is bleech blonde. We will see if it changes. He has also gained several ounces and is now 1 lb 8 oz. YEAH! He is taking 1 ml of breast milk every three hours, but has been pushed back to every 6 hours due to his heart PDA.

I apologize for the first two blogs being so long. I am trying to put a weeks worth of info in two little blogs and it is hard.

On the right side under LINKS is a link to pics (Blake Daniel Pokluda Photo Album) that we will be updating constantly on photobucket. Please feel free to go there and see how he is coming along.