Max Isaac L's online diary (August 1994)


This diary is pulled together from updates that my dad sent to his friends about my progress. Don't just read --- send him a note!

The entries here are arranged from most recent to least recent. That way you can find out the latest news easily!

Wednesday, August 31st

Max is doing well. He's out of his warming table and into an isolette (plexiglass box that muffles the loud sounds that fill the nursery). His skin looks good and he's starting to gain weight regularly. As of yesterday, he was up to 610g (1 lb, 5 oz) and we're expecting some steady progress for awhile. He's still not being fed. That may have to wait until he's 700g.

Tuesday, August 30th

Max is doing pretty well. This weekend he was moved from his ``warmer'' (allows easy access for the doctors and nurses but exposes him to lots of noise) to an ``isolette'' (quieter for him but harder to get at him). They only do that when the babies are pretty stable so that seems like a good step. He's up to 610g (1 lb, 5 oz) today.

Monday, August 29th

Max is doing pretty well. He's gained another ounce and he's up to 1 lb, 5 oz. They moved him to an isolette (which is a step up from the warmer that he's been in) and he looks good and alert. Still a long way to go.

Sunday, August 28th

My spouse and I just had a baby. Max Isaac L. was born 4 weeks ago when my wife was only 6 months pregnant. He is still in the hospital and is slowly getting bigger. Currently he's about 550g (just under 1 pound, 4 oz). He seems very strong and we have high hopes that he'll be home with us by Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, August 23rd

Max is having a less good day today. Man, oh, man. This whole thing is running me into the ground. And the light at the end of the tunnel is that someday he'll come home and keep us up all night and we'll be as exhausted as other new parents.

Monday, August 22nd

Max is hanging in. I gave him some more blood recently and he's off the ventilator and gaining weight (slowly!). Things look not-too-bad at the moment.

His weight is currently 540g, which is a tie for his all-time high. Hopefully he'll break through this tonight. He looks pretty good though he's been pretty tired since they switched him from a ventilator to ``positive pressure'' for breathing. Hopefully he'll get stronger and stronger every day.

Max is doing ok. He's back to his all-time high of 1 pound, 3 ounces and he's breathing on his own. He looks pretty good although he's working very hard and he's tired most of the time.

Saturday, August 20th

Max is doing well. They had to change his main IV this morning and that was scary but he keeps doing great so we're optimistic. Currently he is down 10g to 530g (1 pound, 2 ounces).

Tuesday, August 16th

Max looked good the past few days. He's still not really growing but he's gotten more stable on a few things. He looks pretty good.

Sunday, August 14th

My son, Max Isaac L., was born 2 weeks ago at 1 pound 1 ounce. He is three months premature. He seems to be doing quite well for his size but my spouse and I are constantly going back and forth between home and the intensive care nursery to visit him. Hopefully he'll pull through and I'll get to be a ``normal'' father sometime this winter. We'll see.

Friday, August 12th

Yesterday Max had a really good day. He seems to have gotten over his stomach ache and his blood, bladder, and IV access is good (these were some of the more recent pressing problems). He dislodged his breathing tube and the nurse let him try to breath on his own for about half an hour. During that time, she got some nice photos of him with no tubes in his mouth. He looks cute!

Friday, August 5th

I became a dad last Friday. Max Isaac L. was delivered 3 months prematurely weighing a whopping 1 pound, 1 ounce. In spite of his tiny size, he seems to do be doing well in the special care nursery at the hospital. We visit him every day and, with luck, he'll be home by Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, August 4th

Max Isaac L. was delivered 3 months prematurely on Friday. He weighs about a pound (490g) but he is fighting hard and we're hopeful that everything will be ok.

He is doing alright. Occassionally he forgets to breathe but he's on a respirator so that's ok and apparently it's very common in kids his age (-3 months!). Lisa's home and doing well.

I'm now a dad. Max Isaac L. was delivered 3 months prematurely weighing in at a whopping 470g (about a pound). He'll be in the special care nursery for the next few months but he seems to be fighting hard for such a little guy.

Wednesday, August 3rd

I've been out of email contact but I wanted to let you know that I sent in my NIPS reviews. Then, the next day I think, the doctors decided to deliver my kid 3 months prematurely. Lisa is doing well. I brought her home last night. The kid, Max Isaac L., is in the special care nursery at the hospital for the next 3 months or so. He is working hard but looks like he's doing ok.

While the baby was still inside, Lisa was very involved in the decision making process. That was a lot of responsibility and stress for her. Now that he's in the nursery and the pediatricians are helping him, we feel more like regular people.

Tuesday, August 2nd

Rather suddenly on Friday, the doctors decided that my baby would do better being born three months prematurely than staying inside. So on Friday, July 29th (5:05pm) I became a dad.

My spouse is still recovering from the surgery (she returned home today) and my son, Max Isaac L., will be in the special care nursery for several months. He seems stable now but it'll be a long time before we can celebrate.