We love care times

Brian and I try to be as hands on as possible during care times.

Close ups

We love when we get to weigh him because they take off the CPAP and we can see his entire head and face. Yesterday was especially fun to see him in his new gigantic outfit. The thing next to his face is has oxygen in it so he can get a little while he's off the CPAP. As soon as the nurse put him on the scale, he reached over to it and pulled it to his face! I guess he likes the O2! Of course we think it's because he's already so brilliant and strong.

Dressing our boy for the first time

Max feeding and no pick line

Yesterday was also a big day because they took out his pick line which was how he was getting his IV fluids. Now he is almost at his max feeding (26 ml right now), he doesn't need the IV any more. He loves having his arm free since it was a bit cumbersome with the needle and the bandage that covered almost his entire arm. One less tube coming out of our boy - yeah!

My wonderful birthday

Yesterday, June 29th was my birthday and I had a fabulous day hanging out with my two favorite boys! Brian and I spent the afternoon at the NICU and Finn did great.

He is now being swaddled and wearing clothes! They are seeing if he can maintain his own body temperature so he's still in the isolette but it's kept at a constant temperature rather than being fluctuated by his skin temp. They dressed him in a preemie outfit donated by a NICU graduate but as you can see it's still a bit big. He looked so cute though and loved being swaddled. Since he had just eaten and was cozy in his swaddle, I held him this way. This was a fun since it was a new way to hold him and I could get a good look at his face. We will still hold him skin to skin in the future since that really benefits him since he can hear our heart beats, but he loved being all warm and snuggled in his outfit and blanket. We also got to weigh him again and change his outfit. This was quite a task since he's so little and feels so fragile, but the nurses assured us we won't hurt him. He was a good boy for us as Brian and I were all thumbs trying to get his large outfit on him.

30 weeks old!

Finn turned 30 weeks old on June 28th. We had a bit of an eventful week - last Monday, the doctors did another echo and noticed that his Patent Ductus (PDA) was open more. They proceeded to give Finn another course of Indecin which meant he had to stop being fed and just get IV fluids. We were very anxious about this because if it didn't work, it would mean they'd have to close the PDA by surgery. By Friday, they did anothe echo and saw that the PDA is now very small, less than a 1 mm open. They have decided to see if it will close on its own since it's so small and Finn isn't showing any other symptoms of a PDA like needing supplemental oxygen. By Saturday, Finn was being fed again through his feeding tube. They don't want to jump to his max feeding right away so he started at 6 ml.

Wakeful boy

Finn is having a great week and now has periods of being awake every day. It's such a treat to see him with his eyes open. During care time, he watches us when he hears our voices. He makes the cutest expressions and is really developing quite a personality even at this young age. Nana and Papa Cavoli visited him today and noticed how big he's getting. He's up to 2 lbs 8 ozs now. I held him again and he had a nice nap on my chest.

June 23, 2009

Today was an amazing day - I got to hold Finn for 2 hours! He slept soundly and sucked on his binky the whole time. Before we put him back in the isolette, we weighed him so the nurse took off his CPAP and hat. He woke up but didn't cry and just watched us as we talked to him. This is such a treat to see him with nothing on his head and face. His head does get a little squished from the CPAP but it will bounce back to its original round shape once he's done with the CPAP. He still has his dark hair like his mommy but I think his facial features look like his dad right now. Also, check out his huge diaper. He's getting to be such a big boy now that he's progressed to these larger diapers. He also pulled out his feeding tube last night - what a feisty boy!

Weighing Finn

Brian and I got to help the nurse weigh Finn the other day. The best part was we got to see all of him without any apparatus or hat. These were taken after the hat was put back on but you can get a good look of his face. It's such a treat for us since he usually has the CPAP on when we visit him. Today, June 23, he is just under 2 lbs. 8 oz.

Beth gets a quick swaddled hold

I got a quick hold of Finn when the nurse was transferring him to Brian to hold on father's day.

Brian's First Father's Day

Brian had a fabulous first father's day holding Finn. Again Finn was very content on dad's chest and slept the whole time. The nurse surprised Brian with a homemade father's day card from Finn that had his hand prints and a photo in it. Finn also gave his dad a Patriots onesie so that they can watch the games this fall and wear their matching jerseys.

Care times

Every 4 hours, Finn has care time which means the nurse will check his temperature, change his diaper, feed him through his feeding tube and give him any medications he needs. They do all these things every 4 hours so that they're aren't disturbing him constantly and he can get his sleep. Brian and I schedule our visits around these times so we can participate in these activities. We're getting pretty good at checking his temperature under his armpit and changing his very tiny diaper. We love any interaction we can have with him.

Daddy holds Finn for the first time

Brian gets to hold Finnian for the first time and loves every minute of it. Finn slept the whole time even on Daddy's hairy chest.

June 10, 2009

Finn had a brain ultrasound today and they found no bleeding which can be common for preemies. This is a huge relief! They will do another ultrasound in 30 days to make sure the brain devlopment is normal.

Mom and Finnian's first kangaroo

Mom gets to hold Finn for the first time which they call kangaroo because you hold the baby skin to skin on your chest. Finn seemed to love it and slept soundly for the hour I held him. I was pretty thrilled myself! He was so warm and precious to hold.

June 9, 2009

Today, the doctors removed the IV lines into Finn's belly button that was giving him nutrients. They put a Pick line into his arm where he will now receive IV fluids and nutrients. The good news about this is that we can finally hold him!

Our boy is long!

For a 26 week baby, Finn is pretty long at 15 inches and has good size feet and hands! He loves to stretch his long "Kevin McHale" arms and legs.

June 8, 2009

Finn had another echocardiogram today and the doctors believe the Patent Ductus is very small and will close on its own. What a relief! He also received his first feeding of breast milk through a feeding tube that goes into his mouth to his stomach. He received 1.7 ml.

June 6, 2009

Today he graduated from ventilator to CPAP which is the snorkel looking device that pushes air into his nose to help him breathe. This is a huge development that he's moved from ventilator to CPAP. He also received a blood transfusion today to help restore some of the blood loss from birth.

June 5, 2009

Two days after he was born, Finn went under Phototherapy lights to decrease the bilirubin in his blood which causes jaundice. He has to wear shades over his eyes to protect them from the light. He also had an echocardiogram today which detected a small Patent Ductus Arteriosus which is a blood vessel in his heart that is slightly open and needs to close once a baby is born. They will give him Indecin through an IV to help it close.

June 4, 2009

Finn is in an isolette at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston so that he can grow bigger and stronger and eventually come home with Mom and Dad. We expect him to be there until about his due date which is Sept. 6th. Finn let out some healthy cries when he was born, but was soon intubated and put on a ventilator to help his immature lungs breathe.

June 3, 2009 - Welcome Finnian Tenho!

Finnian Tenho was born on June 3, 2009 at 2:24 PM. He was 26 weeks and 3 days old and weighed 2 lbs 4 oz and 15 inches long. Even though he came a little earlier than we expected, we are overjoyed to welcome Finn to our family.