snowdeal.org > ex machina: the eric update - day 56: eric's second lunar birthday!

ex machina

the eric update - day 56: eric's second lunar birthday!

thankfully, eric's alarms stopped alarming and everyone feels quite confident that the whole hullaballoo was just eric's way of saying that he needed a little more help breathing that we thought. without the constant alarms, we were able to enjoy a relatively quiet 8 week birthday. eric's friends all gathered around to wish him a very happy birthday. after eric was finished socializing, i had the chance to give him his very first "spit bath"! it took me a little longer than kris takes when she gives him a bath, but we eventually made it throught he process relatively unscathed.

kris will claim that she doesn't know how to take nice photos, but i think this series proves that she's fibbing.

clinically speaking, eric is doing very, very well, which is amusing to say considering all the alarms just yesterday. he's tolerating his feeds as well as anyone could expect and the amount of undigested material that they are pulling out of his stomach between feeds is gradually diminishing. i think that it might be possible for him to be back on full feeds by the end of the week. he's looking a little pallid due to a gradually decreasing number of red blood cells. so, despite the hope that he might have recently had his last transfusion, it looks like he might get one ot two more.

i haven't been giving any updates on his weight because he hasn't been adding on any weight. i discovered that being on the vent is a great way to add weight to a micropreemie, since it's doing all the work and they can convert the extra energy towards gaining weight. since eric's not on the vent, it's not unusual for him to stop adding weight as quickly as he had been; however, i think they'll look at adjusting his diet a bit in the coming days, since it's not a good thing to not put on any weight for five whole days.

we always know that odin's lunar birthday is approaching because it coincides with the full moon. well, technically, it's a day after the full moon, but it looks full enough to me. i realized tonight that i hadn't bothered to capture a photograph of the moon 4 weeks ago, and i couldn't let it happen again.

it's seemed like a big, bright birthday candle in sky as we took the dogs for their nightly walk.

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8/29/2004 11:50:00 PM 2 comments

2 Comments:

Your late-night dog walk has finally spurred me to comment after a couple of weeks of silent voyeurism... I have to tell you that I am very impressed with your dedication, both to your son and to your four-legged 'kids'. I've known many couples whose dogs end up permanently out in the yard after the arrival of the 'official' child, and none of them were even premies! My heart goes out to you both during your struggles and challenges with Eric IV and I thank you from all dogs and dog-lovers for remembering that they need just a little bit of your time too.
Kathy in Ozark, AR

By Anonymous, at 7:00 PM

thanks kathy! you can see a few more dog pictures, here.

the dogs get walked 3 times a day, every day, but that doesn't happen without a lot of help. we just moved into a house that doesn't have a fence and i'd be lying if i said that i didn't wish we had the time and money to put a fence in to help reduce the burden just a little :-) but even if we had a fence, they'd still get their trips to the dog park.

so we obviously love our dogs very much, which makes it all the more difficult to think about the fact that we may still have to find new homes for them after ericIV comes home. we hope that it doesn't have to happen, but small particulate matter can aggravate micropreemie lungs and people sometimes find that animals in the house can affect their babies respiration. but for now we remain positive that we won't have to give them away and enjoy the time that we do have together.

By e3, at 11:11 AM

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[ rhetoric ]

“"it is hard to be brave," said piglet, sniffing slightly, "when you're only a Very Small Animal." rabbit, who had begun to write very busily, looked up and said: "it is because you are a very small animal that you will be Useful in the adventure before us."”

the complete tales & poems of winnie the pooh

[ about ]

this site chronicles the continuing adventures of my son, odin, who was unexpectedly born on the fourth of july at 25 weeks gestation, weighing 1 pound 7 ounces.

he's quite a fighter and you can always send him a postcard to the most current address listed here if you're inspired by his adventures. see the postcard project/google maps mashup to see a map of the postcards.

if you're new, you can browse the archives to catch up. and don't forget to watch a few movies that i made while we were in the neonatal intensive care unit. or if you want the abridged version and you can find a copy, you can read about his adventures in the november 2005 issue of parents magazine.

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