Mum and her camera

This is my third day at home and Mum and Dad are coping well, although the bags under their eyes have increased tremendously. I am a very easy baby, sleep, eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat. How difficult can it be to handle that.

Dad still took these first few days off from work to help Mum around the house and he is still doing my bottles and my burps, which I really appreciate.

Mum has been photographing me constantly and is constantly saying how cute I am.
I think I better keep my eyes shut for a while now as the flash is making me blind

 I sleep well in my cot and wake still every 3-4 hours for my feeds and Mum is still giving me 2 breast feeds every day and 4 bottles with expressed  breast milk around 90-100 mls.

That Winny the Pooh looks still pretty big, but I will grow fast.

Maternal Health Nurse home visit #1

My first night in my new cot was great. It is already a big cot for big boys, not a tiny bassinet like in hospital. Mum put the big Winnie the Pooh and all my Tiggers and Eeyores in my room to keep me company. My little bunny night light (that changes colour and I got from auntie Vesna) helped me to sleep and I know Mum and Dad are only a little cry away.

Today Mum and Dad are slowly trying to figure out what to do with me. I mostly sleep and eat and since my breastfeeds still take up to 1 hour I am keeping Mum occupied. Daddy does help out with the bottle every now and then and he is also improving on his burping techniques.

In the afternoon the Maternal Health Nurse stopped by to check up on Mum and me and to discuss how the visits to the Maternal Health Center down the street are planned. My first visit is on 9 Aug 2010. She also weighed me at 2830 grams.

Maui and Molokai, our two cats, are not very interested in me yet and rather sleep then check me out just yet.

Going Home

Today is the day I am going home! Dr Mills told my Mum yesterday during his final checkup, that he wanted to discharge me today from Hospital as I had done so well feeding on Mum's breast twice a day and sucking on additional bottles. My current weight is 2740 grams.

                   Look at my big hands! Mum says they look like grandpa's (Mum's Dad).

Mum and Dad had the car seat installed this morning at the last minute, so they were able to take me home.


They arrived at around 11am and after having some tea/coffee with Dad's baked speculaas taart for the whole Special Care Unit, it was time to say goodbye and finally see my new room at home. I am going to miss Charlie,who will still be in Hospital for another week, but our Mums will set up coffee dates at first and later hopefully play dates.

Me and Charlie

Mr Stork, who flew all the way from Netherlands (from Auntie Monique and Uncle Bas) was already welcoming me at the front door!



And look how big my cot is. Great to sleep in the big cot already, very exciting!

My Winny the Pooh room is just awesome

No more tube feeding!

I switched my feeding schedule last night and started to do 4 hourly feeds instead of 3 hourly feeds, so when Mum and Dad arrived at 645am for the 7am feeding, they were told that the next feeding was due at 9am and not at 7am (on a Sunday) I love to surprise people!!! Feeds increased to 65 mls every 3 hours or 85 mls every 4 hours.
I have been doing so well with my sucking that as of tonight, my tube feeds are gone and I am only doing either breastfeeds or bottles. I am again one step closer to home! Mum can finally now take pictures of me without that tube in my nose.

Uncle Anthony (Mr Iron Man) came by to visit today in Hospital today and he brought the cutest outfit (Mum's favourite, as it has a zipper and no buttons). He thinks he can make me into an Iron Man as well when I grow up. Dad and Uncle Anthony were already setting up a training schedule for me. How exciting!


And one more surprise to go for poor Mum!
Mum and Dad booked a nice little restaurant for Tuesday as they are expecting me to leave the Hospital by end of the week, however they found out today that I will be coming home already on Tuesday!!!! Luckily Mum was able to switch the dinner to Monday evening. Enjoy your last night of peace and quiet Mum, as I am coming home soon!

                                      Dad has done a great bath again tonight.

New pictures!

    

  My favourite sleeping position, hands in the air!

                                          Practicing my sucking skills on the bottle

Proud Mum and Dad and little me!

Weight is increasing

Today I was weighed again and my weight has increased to 2570 grams again. I am still drinking 60 mls each feed, but am now doing alternate bottle or breast one feed and the next feed via tube. As of yesterday I have also started some extra vitamins. Dr Mills said that vitamins are added in the last month in the womb and since I decided to miss out on the last month, he thought it would be wise to add them for the next 3 months, to make sure I am not missing out on anything. My interest in breast feeding is slowly increasing. Mum was advised to use a nipple shield as it makes it easier for me to latch on and with some help from one of the nurses, I sucked for at least 5 good minutes today.

                                           Hurry up I am tired and want food!

                                    Just finished my bath, don't I look clean!

Dad tubing my food down, but not for long anymore. My sucking is improving quickly.

Proud auntie Kim was visiting me today! She has been a great help for Mum and also for me, she knows exactly how to burp me, can't wait till she is baby sitting.

                                                   My biggest yawn yet!

Mum and Dad going home

As of this morning I do not need to be on the apnoea monitor anymore. My weight has decreased a bit more and is now 2460grams. It is normal for all babies to lose weight in first week, so there are no alarm bells yet.
I am drinking 60mls each feed, still every 3 hours.
Mum bought a breast pump and will be using the electric pump to express milk at home. As of today I am on only breast milk, via bottle twice a day and the other 6 feeds still via the tube.Today Mum and Dad are leaving the hospital, as they were only allowed to stay for 5 days after my arrival. 
Mum will be staying until 11am feed and will then go home to get some rest, express milk and she will come back again for the 4pm and 7pm feedings.
Mum was not at all happy going home without me after carrying me with her for almost 8 months, but she knows that I will do my absolute best to suck as good as I can, so I can come home as quick as I can.
At 1pm Mum received a phone call telling her that I was coming out of phototherapy, so she rushed back to hospital to cuddle me. Also Dad was able to bathe me that night as I did not have a bad in 3 nights!

                                    Don't I look good after my 48 hour sun tan!

                                       Loving my bath after 72 hours no bath!

Still in phototherapy

I am still in phototherapy today, as my blood results improved but were not good yet.
Additional blood was taken from my heel for regular health checks again today. I did not cry at all, as I had already so many heel pricks these last few days, that I have become a needle professional.
My feeds increased to 50 mls. I am on 2 bottle feeds a day since yesterday to practice my sucking and the rest is being tubed down, so I can save my energy.
Mums milk has come in, so I am now half on Formula and half on expressed breast milk until Mums supply is sufficient. Keep up the good work, Mum!
No bath tonight as I am still enjoying my sun light!

Jaundice and phototherapy

This morning I received my Hepatitis B vaccination and weighed in at 2500 grams. My feeds were increased to 40 mls and they also collected some blood for jaundice testing. I was allowed to stay in Mums and Dads room from 8am until 1pm.

At 1pm, Fiona the Special Care Nurse comes into our room with some bad news....Little Brett has jaundice...(too much Billirubin in the blood) and needs phototherapy for potentially 48h.
Mum and Dad were pretty upset, we still had a few moments to say goodbye and then they have to bring me back at 1 pm so they can put me under the phototherapy lights. Mum was crying as she saw me lying there, with no clothes, only a nappy, and unable to hold me. 

She was able to touch me through the holes on the side, but according to Mum, that is not the same as cuddling. I actually thought I was looking pretty good: First sunglasses, headband, working on my tan already.... The works!!!!

One positive thing is that Mum and Dad become very handy in changing nappies in very difficult angles, as they still have to change my nappy via these holes in the hot box.
Another good thing, I made a really nice friend: little Charlie who also had to undergo phototherapy at the same time (and his parents Mel and Jason).

First activities in Special Care Unit

Dad and Mum woke up early, had breakfast and the goals of today were listed on the activity board in the room by the nurse:

• Spent time with little Brett 
• Learn how to do the bath
• Improve nappy skills
• Express colostrum every 2-3 hours (every microliter counts for premmie babies)

First thing in the morning, Oma ringing to see how the first day was after the birth, so Mum was on the phone for ages.

I am staying in Special Care Unit and am on an apnoea monitor still, but this is just a precaution. My nappy is being changed every 3 hours right before my feed. My feeds have increased from 20-30 mls every 3 hours.
Mum tries to do almost all of my nappy changes, she even came in at 4am in the morning this morning to change and feed me. She recovered perfectly from the delivery and Dad is keeping a close eye on her and telling her to rest, which knowing Mum ( she is not doing!)

Dad went home to spend some time with Maui and Molokai ( as they must be in shock as well with nobody at home). On his way back he picked up Kate at the University, as she also wanted to meet me.

There was also a little surprise that afternoon at 2pm: Mum was allowed to bring me back to the parents room and out of special care untill the next feed at 5 pm! Mum loved it and cuddled me a lot, especially because we did not get to share any time lying next to each other since delivery. Mum watched me sleep the whole time.

 I even started to have my first hiccups when I was in Mums room (I had them almost daily, when I was still growing inside Mum). Mum made a little video of it.

At 630pm, one of the nurses showed us how to do the bath and I seem to enjoy it. I was also measured at 47 centimeters with a head circumference of 31.4 cm.

Mum did the first bath and Dad helped her with everything. I will be having a bath every other day.

Dad loves to cuddle me, especially nose to nose, as he just can not believe that my nose is so tiny compared to his.

Mum and Dad try to do as many of the tube feeds and nappies for me. My schedule at the moment is (7am,10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm). The feeds at night (1am and 4am) are mostly done by the Special Care Nurses, as Mum needs her sleep. Mum is starting to see expressing colostrum as a sport and since the milk has not fully kicked in yet, every microliter of colostrum is being pushed out manually with a lot of care. Mum wants to make sure that I get my nutrients sooner rather than later! Until the milk kicks in, the nurses give me formula in my tube and add the colostrum microliters each time as it does contain all I need.

My Arrival.....

Mum was having a rough night because the lady next to her, kept ringing for a Midwife at every contraction, so Mum was unable to sleep and completely exhausted. Poor mum!!!!
At about 3am in the morning I had enough of that crazy woman keeping my Mum awake and thought I am just going to come out to tell her off. I put on the contractions at about 10 minutes a part at 3am as Mum still tried to sleep through the night. In the morning at 6am, when the Midwife came in with the new  medication, Mum said to the Midwife: "I am having contractions every 5 minutes." The Midwife said: "How can you sleep so quietly, when contractions are 5 minutes apart. We have to get you in a delivery room ASAP, you are having a baby in a few hours." Mum in shock again. I was just laughing: Surprise, surprise, me again!!!!


At 6am, Mum texted Dad on his mobile: "Please come to the hospital (do not rush), I am having contractions, about 5-7 minutes apart…". Dad as usual freaked out as he realised that Mum would go into labour today and that I would arrive!!!


Dad arrived at the hospital at around 7am, Mum was already in the delivery room, on the monitor looking beautiful. My heart rate was fine, contractions quite regular with an intensity that she could easily cope with. Mum did not have any breakfast and she was quite hungry but not allowed to eat anything as this would definitely result in vomitting during labour. The Midwife (Maree) suggested using laughing gas to cope with the contractions. Mum could not stop gassing, she was loving it.

At around 830am Grant came to see her and we learned that Mum had 3-4 cm dilation. Contractions got more intense and Mum decided to take the suggested pethidine injection in her but, especially since I appeared to be turned the wrong way and Mum felt the contractions in her back ( Sorry Mum, it is hard to tell what is front and back from the inside). At 11am Mum had full dilation and was allowed to push. Drs Grant (obstetrician) and Dr John Mills (paediatrician) arrived and after 40 minutes of pushing I was born..... and placed on Mums chest at 11:40 am.

 Mum looked a bit shocked (probably because it was such a surprise that I came 5,5 weeks early). I started to cry immediately to show Mum I was fine, as I new she would be checking my ten fingers, ten toes and whether I was breathing. The doctors were quite impressed by my size. Dad cut the umbillical cord and Dr Mills did the necessary checks for my health; he gave me a 9 on the Apgar Scale score card immediately after delivery! It will be hard to beat that 9 in school later!
I was wrapped in blankets and Mum was able to cuddle me again. As with all premmie babies they are taken away quite quickly for a full check up and  because I did not want Mum to worry whilst I was away with Dad, I even pointed my little lips to send her a little kiss.

Of course Dad, who went with me, was taking heaps of pictures when they took me away, so Mum would not miss any of the action Dad and I were up to with Dr. Mills in the other room.

Then Dad took me to the nursery where they checked my weight and blood glucose levels.

 I weighed a whopping 2590grams, heel prik showed that my blood glucose dropped down to 1.8 so I immediately received special formula to increase my blood glucose. Dad was not worried at all, because he knows all about blood glucose and it was quite a trip I had to do!
Dad had his first wrestle with me already to get me into my first tiny little nappy and my little jumpsuit, which turned out to be pretty dificult for Dad.

They also put in a nasogastric feeding tube, as at 34 weeks and 3 days I did not have a sucking reflex yet and am unable to breast/bottle feed.

After that I was wrapped in blankets again and was pretty tired… but so cute (Dads words not mine). I fell asleep quite quickly, pretty happy with myself after the first nasogastric tube feed.
Dad went back to check on Mum… Mum was still in the delivery-room all alone and a bit upset, although on the otherhand quite happy that she was finally able to eat and she had a massive lunch… this was the first time that Mum and Dad could express to each other how happy they were with their little boy. Dad said to Mum:" Je hebt hem goed gebakken"! Also the first moment for the new parents to call their parents and friends. Mum did not care that it was 4am in Netherlands, she just woke everyone up.
When the pain medication stopped working, Mum was allowed to walk and Dad and Maree helped her into the shower. After the shower a clean Mum was escorted to our new suite (16) and Dad brought all the stuff we had (and that was a lot). Then of course it was time for Mum to check out her baby-boy ( that's ME!) in the nursery and cuddle him. Mum had a real adrenaline rush and kept repeating that she was not tired at all (very funny!) 

Just after dinner Laura stopped by (on her way to the airport to go back to Sydney) and was our first visitor in the hospital after I was born. Mum and Laura went to see little me sleeping in the Special Care Nursery.

The second visitor was Sarah. She came in with a massive Winnie the Pooh and more gifts.

Mum tried to breast feed me, but that was more having a little play than actual drinking, as I had no clue what to do at all yet, but Mum was very patient and understood that I was still tired.

Today I am getting 20 mL every 3h via tube feeds and Mum and Dad are being taught by the special care nurses how to change nappies ..... exciting stuff!
At around 730pm Ben and Kim stopped by for a quick peek and they brought wonderful flowers and delicious cupcakes for Mum to get her strength up and at about 830pm Mum and Dad went to bed after Mum had Oma on the phone to catch up on the first day of Brett's life.

The happy Koopman Family

The Day before I was born........

Mum’s water broke this morning at 34 weeks and 3 days gestation and she decided to contact the Freemasons hospital. The operator told us immediately to come to the hospital for a check-up.

After arriving at the hospital Mum was put on a monitor, no contractions and my heart rate was good. At about 11am the obstetrician Dr Grant Saffer came to check up on Mum, he prescribed erythromycin to decrease chance of infections and told Mum that she would have to stay in the hospital for 48h observation as it was highly likely that she would go into labour within next 24-48 hrs. However, he also said that it could be possible nothing would happen and in that case he would induce labour before week 37 of gestation ( after week 37 potential infection makes it too risky). Mum was in complete shock, started crying and was definitely not prepared for a surprise like this! (But that's me I love surprises)
Silly mum only brought her laptop and her work stuff, therefore Dad had to run home to get her some clothes, underwear and of course some baby clothes for ME! Mum was transferred to another room and Dad went home to collect clothes and silly Dad was so flustered, he packed all the baby clothes he could find and forgot half of mums stuff!!! I think he was a bit surprised with my potentially early arrival as well. Dad arrived back at the hospital later that night and had dinner together with mum.

Mum also received some beautiful flowers from work.

Laura, Mum's colleague also came by to visit Mum, as she was in Melbourne for a work visit. I received my first Aussie present from Auntie Laura: little Ugg boots.After Laura and Dad left the hospital Mum and I were finally able to get some rest and sit out the next 24 hrs to see what would happen. 
Mum thought she felt a little bit of contraction activity late in the evening but it was so irregular it was too hard to tell.