It's very flattering that many of you seem to like reading about me.
My parents started this blog to help my grandparents and friends know how I was without the need for lots of phonecalls. The extended network of family and friends covers a few countries but now I have 129 followers and have been looked up in over 40 countries around the world.
My individual updates have been looked at over 45,000 times. This has got rather bigger than just relations!
So I thought I'd ask: who are you and what makes you follow me? Especially those of you who live a very long way from me.
If my Dad has got the settings right then anyone can leave a comment on this post. You'll have to recognise some funny looking words to make sure you're real (not an automated response). So feel free to say hello.
Many thanks
Arthur x
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Ezzibody's a bit tired
Hello all,
I'm fine. I'm just rather tired. I've lost 40g in weight mainly because I'm not being fed very much. Life is a bit tiring and I'm sorry not to be more bouncy.
They've given up on the drip - since the last blog there've been multiple attempts and two cannulae which tissued - that is two drips which stopped working sending their contents into my muscles/skin not my veins. It's all a bit irritating.
I had another go at feeding direct from Mum. it sort of worked but I managed to drop my heart rate a bit too far at one point. Everybody got very excited but I got better quick enough.
I'm still breathing room air - so that's all good. And no more blood in the poo. Mum and Dad also looked rather tired today but have promised to get more sleep so they can entertain me even more.
Hugs and contentment,
Arthur x
I'm fine. I'm just rather tired. I've lost 40g in weight mainly because I'm not being fed very much. Life is a bit tiring and I'm sorry not to be more bouncy.
 |
| Quiet little man today |
I had another go at feeding direct from Mum. it sort of worked but I managed to drop my heart rate a bit too far at one point. Everybody got very excited but I got better quick enough.
 |
| She's winding me rather than strangling me! |
 |
| Look at me - ready for a walk! |
Hugs and contentment,
Arthur x
My new trick
Boobies.
It turns out that the soft pillows Mum always has on her chest are full of food. Whoever would have guessed? Well this afternoon Mum showed me, helped by Rose the community nurse. I drank a whole breastfull which was lovely. Only teeny desats and only one Brady which I fixed/sped- up all by myself.
Mum and Dad both looked rather tearful. Apparently getting food straight from Mum is a big deal. It seemed easy enough to me!
My breathing has also stayed good and I have remained off the oxygen. And I had cuddle after cuddle and slept for a long time too.
The only hassle has been my drip. I have rather bad veins because they've been used so many times that they've all stopped working. So they keep having to resite my drip. And it takes many attempts each time. And this hurts.
Mum showed me more pictures this afternoon. She seems very excited by them so I try to give them my full attention.
I tried feeding from Mum again this evening but I think I may have got a bit tired so I only drank a little. But it's still a good trick and I will keep practising.
By the way, did you know I am 37 weeks old today? Nearly ready!
Hugs to all,
Arthur
x
It turns out that the soft pillows Mum always has on her chest are full of food. Whoever would have guessed? Well this afternoon Mum showed me, helped by Rose the community nurse. I drank a whole breastfull which was lovely. Only teeny desats and only one Brady which I fixed/sped- up all by myself.
 |
| A little post-prandial nap |
My breathing has also stayed good and I have remained off the oxygen. And I had cuddle after cuddle and slept for a long time too.
The only hassle has been my drip. I have rather bad veins because they've been used so many times that they've all stopped working. So they keep having to resite my drip. And it takes many attempts each time. And this hurts.
 |
| Talk to the hand... |
Mum showed me more pictures this afternoon. She seems very excited by them so I try to give them my full attention.
I tried feeding from Mum again this evening but I think I may have got a bit tired so I only drank a little. But it's still a good trick and I will keep practising.
 |
| Dad seems keen to show me off, no need to dress up though |
Hugs to all,
Arthur
x
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Super Tuesday
Well hello peeps,
Funny sort of day today. No more blood in the poos so they've restarted the food - really slowly at first - but it's not caused any problems and my poo today was completely normal - that means super smelly, but no blood.
Good news - I spent the whole day just breathing air - no oxygen. And no desats or bradys. So it seems that it really is only the reflux that is causing me breathing problems.
More good news - I've managed to put on weight despite the diet - so most of me is working just fine!
And I made Mum and Dad very happy by behaving like a proper baby - see the video:
Love to all,
Arthur,
x
Funny sort of day today. No more blood in the poos so they've restarted the food - really slowly at first - but it's not caused any problems and my poo today was completely normal - that means super smelly, but no blood.
Good news - I spent the whole day just breathing air - no oxygen. And no desats or bradys. So it seems that it really is only the reflux that is causing me breathing problems.
More good news - I've managed to put on weight despite the diet - so most of me is working just fine!
And I made Mum and Dad very happy by behaving like a proper baby - see the video:
Love to all,
Arthur,
x
Monday, 4 April 2011
Ups and Downs
Hi all,
Today has been a series of ups and downs for me, M+D. Where to begin...
When M+D left me last night, I had had another episode of blood in my poo. The doctors and nurses took this more seriously than they had been doing earlier on in the week and repeated my blood tests. When Mum got to the unit today she found the registrar trying to put yet another sharp pointy needle in my left hand, my left hand again, my left hand again, my right hand, again, again, my right wrist. I could get to resent this if I was less good natured.
He asked Mum to sit down (bad sign) and explained that more blood had been in my nappy overnight and they had stopped my feeding, done an X-ray of my tummy and started antibiotics as they had to assume the worst - the dreaded NEC.
NEC = Necrotising EnteroColitis, almost literally 'gut rot'. It is the gut infection that can be very serious in babies. Mild NEC can be treated with antibiotics. Bad NEC requires surgery to remove the rotten bowel. It has killed three of my little friends whilst I've been on the unit. (Chelsea is a specialist unit which gets sent the worst NEC cases from a very wide area).
As Mum sat there, she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, but ignored it as what she was hearing was much more important than any phone call and much more scary. The Surgeons came to see me at this point and examined me and said that whilst I looked bright and bonny, the blood in my poo meant they had to treat for NEC even though it was unlikely and see how I was in 48 hours. Humph - no food = cross Arthur.
Mum then checked her phone. She had 2 messages saying 'Congratulations'. It was 12pm and the results of her exam had come out. She's passed and is now a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists (FRCR). Wow. Clever mum.
Another up, is that my breathing has improved. This is another reason to believe that I am too well to have NEC. I had several hours off oxygen. This may well be because I'm not being fed and my reflux has therefore settled down but we'll take all positives right now.
Cuddles with Mum and Dad were nice and I had my new dungarees on to keep my legs toasty.
So it appears I am a bit of mystery to the doctors at the moment. The blood in my poo is worrying and definitely not normal but I appear too well to have NEC. I could have a milk allergy (so not having food will help) or I might have something called a Meckel's diverticulum (but I'm a bit young). In the meantime, the doctors are treating me like I have NEC as it's the most serious thing I could have and we'll see how I get on over the next few days.
Fingers crossed I'm just being mysterious!
Love to all,
Arthur
xx
Today has been a series of ups and downs for me, M+D. Where to begin...
When M+D left me last night, I had had another episode of blood in my poo. The doctors and nurses took this more seriously than they had been doing earlier on in the week and repeated my blood tests. When Mum got to the unit today she found the registrar trying to put yet another sharp pointy needle in my left hand, my left hand again, my left hand again, my right hand, again, again, my right wrist. I could get to resent this if I was less good natured.
He asked Mum to sit down (bad sign) and explained that more blood had been in my nappy overnight and they had stopped my feeding, done an X-ray of my tummy and started antibiotics as they had to assume the worst - the dreaded NEC.
NEC = Necrotising EnteroColitis, almost literally 'gut rot'. It is the gut infection that can be very serious in babies. Mild NEC can be treated with antibiotics. Bad NEC requires surgery to remove the rotten bowel. It has killed three of my little friends whilst I've been on the unit. (Chelsea is a specialist unit which gets sent the worst NEC cases from a very wide area).
As Mum sat there, she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, but ignored it as what she was hearing was much more important than any phone call and much more scary. The Surgeons came to see me at this point and examined me and said that whilst I looked bright and bonny, the blood in my poo meant they had to treat for NEC even though it was unlikely and see how I was in 48 hours. Humph - no food = cross Arthur.
 |
| Me blowing a raspberry! please note the lack of tubes! |
Another up, is that my breathing has improved. This is another reason to believe that I am too well to have NEC. I had several hours off oxygen. This may well be because I'm not being fed and my reflux has therefore settled down but we'll take all positives right now.
Cuddles with Mum and Dad were nice and I had my new dungarees on to keep my legs toasty.
So it appears I am a bit of mystery to the doctors at the moment. The blood in my poo is worrying and definitely not normal but I appear too well to have NEC. I could have a milk allergy (so not having food will help) or I might have something called a Meckel's diverticulum (but I'm a bit young). In the meantime, the doctors are treating me like I have NEC as it's the most serious thing I could have and we'll see how I get on over the next few days.
Fingers crossed I'm just being mysterious!
 |
| I always have my name badge visible! (tee hee) |
Arthur
xx
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Happy Mothers' Day
Happy first Mothers' day to mum and to all the other mothers on the unit and beyond. I've tried extra hard to give her good news as a present.
I've had a good weekend with no major changes. I continue to need some oxygen every now and then, especially when feeding as it puts a bit more strain on my little lungs. I've gained more weight. 94g to be precise so now I weigh 2.694kg. I'm nearly 6lb! I have had some more blood in my nappy but I remain clinically well so the doctors don't seem too concerned but M+D will talk to the doctors tomorrow to get an update.
The nurses helped all the babies give their Mums Mothers' Day cards. It did result in slightly blue feet but the result was wonderful.
Some babies were able to give their parents more presents over the weekend too by moving to SCBU as they're doing so well. I'm still in HDU but getting a little bit better everyday and from my cot you get a lovely view of the Chelsea rooftops and sunset so for now, I'll stay put thank you.
M+D had a lovely day off yesterday and they came and told me all about it today. I'm looking forward to coming home and spending time with them out in the real world. It sounds exciting. They promised to take me to lots of different places once I'm bigger.
TTFN,
Arthur xxx
I've had a good weekend with no major changes. I continue to need some oxygen every now and then, especially when feeding as it puts a bit more strain on my little lungs. I've gained more weight. 94g to be precise so now I weigh 2.694kg. I'm nearly 6lb! I have had some more blood in my nappy but I remain clinically well so the doctors don't seem too concerned but M+D will talk to the doctors tomorrow to get an update.
The nurses helped all the babies give their Mums Mothers' Day cards. It did result in slightly blue feet but the result was wonderful.
 |
| You know what they say about boys and big feet.... |
Some babies were able to give their parents more presents over the weekend too by moving to SCBU as they're doing so well. I'm still in HDU but getting a little bit better everyday and from my cot you get a lovely view of the Chelsea rooftops and sunset so for now, I'll stay put thank you.
M+D had a lovely day off yesterday and they came and told me all about it today. I'm looking forward to coming home and spending time with them out in the real world. It sounds exciting. They promised to take me to lots of different places once I'm bigger.
 |
| Happy parents and camera shy little man |
Arthur xxx
Friday, 1 April 2011
That Friday Feeling...
Evening all.
I've recruited Mum as my typist for this post to give Dad a break. I've had a 'stable' day. I managed a few hours off oxygen but still need it sometimes during feeds to help stop my desats and bradys but I'm handling my feeds much better. My poo is being scrutinised and a sample has been sent off to see if we can tell where the blood is coming from.
After a small weight loss yesterday I've gained 24g so now I weigh 2.560kg. The small increase in weight is promising but it's less than I normally manage so may mean I'm working quite hard and using calories to maintain rather than gain weight. It's a bit early to be concerned so M+D are going to see how things progress over the next few days.
I've had cuddles with both M+D today which was nice and Mum says she is now trying to express milk for me overnight as well as during the day so she can provide more of the food I need and replace some of the formula. Hopefully this will have an impact and make my poos less smelly!
M+D are having a day off tomorrow so no post but I promise they'll update on Sunday.
In the meantime, happy April 1st. Where does the time go? I was due at the end of this month. Not long to go now!
xxx
I've recruited Mum as my typist for this post to give Dad a break. I've had a 'stable' day. I managed a few hours off oxygen but still need it sometimes during feeds to help stop my desats and bradys but I'm handling my feeds much better. My poo is being scrutinised and a sample has been sent off to see if we can tell where the blood is coming from.
After a small weight loss yesterday I've gained 24g so now I weigh 2.560kg. The small increase in weight is promising but it's less than I normally manage so may mean I'm working quite hard and using calories to maintain rather than gain weight. It's a bit early to be concerned so M+D are going to see how things progress over the next few days.
 |
| Gimme 10! |
I've had cuddles with both M+D today which was nice and Mum says she is now trying to express milk for me overnight as well as during the day so she can provide more of the food I need and replace some of the formula. Hopefully this will have an impact and make my poos less smelly!
M+D are having a day off tomorrow so no post but I promise they'll update on Sunday.
In the meantime, happy April 1st. Where does the time go? I was due at the end of this month. Not long to go now!
 |
| Enough photos already mum! |
xxx
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