Silas Update II 43 Days Old!

32 Weeks Gestation.
6 Weeks Old.
2 Lbs, 12.4 oz. <vs.1 lb 14 oz. at birth>
1260 grams. <vs. 840 grams at birth>

Silas, you little amazing little human man! You continue to teach us big grown-up lessons and for that we will forever be grateful. You had a real rough start to life but buddy you are gaining on us and we love it! You have been steadily gaining an average of 20 grams a day, which is all we can ask of you. We hoped you’d gain a bit more weight before you had to have surgery on your heart but after your echocardiogram this week the cardiologist has flagged a new condition that he’d like to take a closer look at so while we were waiting for you to gain another ~500 grams before surgery, you just swerved into the fast lane for heart surgery (sounds like something your mother would do - oof). That means you’ll be taking your first roadtrip over to Randall Children’s Hospital because that is where the best heart care for you is. Sadly, that means there’s a good chance we’ll probably never return to our humble beginnings here at St. V’s. 

We knew heart surgery was inevitable. You have a large PDA but the (best in Oregon) cardiologist at Randall now believes you might have what’s called a “co-art” (a coarctation of the aorta - a narrowing of the aorta). This is the main vessel that delivers oxygen to the rest of your body. The reason this has become a more urgent concern is because this can put more stress on the heart to force more oxygen-rich blood through that narrowed vessel and LORD KNOWS you don’t need even more stress on your heart. So let’s get that fixed, shall we? We are in it to win it little bud.

We have all of the feelings about leaving Providence St. V’s NICU. They are our family, our people. Ruby, Nikki, Janelle, Sherry, Toni, Lee, Melissa, all of these AMAZING people (and many whom I'm forgetting, and I'm sorry), they know you even better than I do. Every single one of these nurses knows you so dang well. They know your avg SAT levels, your preferred sides of rest, how much light you prefer, your venting preferences, that you like a bit of company after your O2 levels change, just ALL OF IT, buddy. I already can’t begin to imagine leaving the family we have built here. But this is what’s best for you, so we’ll roll with it and I will make a promise to our St. V’s family that we’ll be back to show them how FREAKING RAD you are when you’re bigger, holding up the famed Silas name in that NICU since you are the 2nd Silas who has defied odds. We’ll be back, fam, I promise you that....

Thursday, 5/24, Randall Children’s Hospital will have their meeting where your case will be presented to the chief cardiologist (the PNW King of Hearts) and after that point we’ll hear more about how soon you’ll be transferred. We anticipate it’ll be early next week, but maybe sooner.

Other quick news:

YOUR FACE. The breakdown on the bridge of your nose got too major so you were switched from CPAP mask (which was killing your face) to a high-flow cannula nose prong (see earlier blog posts - you really are too young to be on this at all, dude). Your face is healing nicely but it remains to be seen whether you can stay on cannula or move back to CPAP. I imagine your upcoming heart surgery will determine this as I’m guessing you’ll have to be re-intubated during the procedure and recovery. In the meantime dang it’s nice to see your sweet, beautiful, PERFECT face. For now you’re on a Cannula pressure of 7 (which is high, goes from a 2 to 8), so we’re staying kindly realistic here.
YOUR NUTRITION. Eating upwards of 20ml of milk per feeding every 3 hours. Sure it’s “Muscle-milk” which is what I call my breastmilk combined with tons of awesome prolactin and proteins added, but hey dude I still get the credit! and You’re loving it. Pooping great. Burping when you need to. I don’t know any different but the nurses say it’s clear I’m a “boy mama” who finds joy in big poops and projectile vomits. So cool, yes, power to the bodily fluids!

Finally, amidst all if this news and so many unknowns we are SO FREAKING HAPPY to learn that a good friend of ours has a sister who is a NICU nurse at Randall. And buddy, amongst all of the unknowns and insecurities we have about leaving our beloved family at St. V’s it makes your mama feel so much better to know there is someone there in your future home who is a friend. That’s all we need buddy. And from all we know of her brother, she must be a freakin badass - there is absolutely no doubt. We cannot WAIT to meet this angel and are given such relief just knowing she is there.

This week I’ve really become just so excited for you my love. You are really getting stronger. I cannot wait to see what you get into in your life. Based on this experience, you’ve proven you can pretty much crush anything in your path. So dude, we are just here to watch you crush. Thanks for choosing us to be a part of this awesome journey. We are learning so much about you, about life, and about ourselves. Thank you.

We love you.

Actually watching Handmaid's Tail on Hulu but you're cool too. ;-)

Grandma loves