Emorett’s Fight- Emorett Fulcher’s NICU Journey

It’s been a few months since our last update and a lot has gone on in our world…

Emorett turned ONE on October 29th and we had the most special party celebrating all he’s been through this past year! We can’t believe how far he has come and everything he has accomplished. We took a little trip back to the NICU on his birthday to say hi to some former nurses and he got to see his old room…very bittersweet! 🎉🥳

Emorett has been doing great with his milestones and PT said he’s caught up to his adjusted age, which was great to hear! He’s crawling all over the place, sitting completely unassisted, transitions from sitting to crawling, and pulling himself up onto everything. He’s doing fantastic 💪🏻👏🏻

Little man came down with his first ear infection this last week and is cutting 5 teeth at the same time…YES 5!!!!! So he’s been getting all the snuggles and loves, and has been a trooper through all of it! He seems like he’s starting to feel better which is good news ❤️🤒🦷

Emorett looks forward to watching our Vikings play each week, and thinks it’s real funny when mommy gets real worked up over a play 😂💜🏈💛

He had a great 2nd Halloween as Charlie Brown! We went trick or treating to both sets of grandparents houses and they all had a blast 🎃

And some of the most exciting news… 🥁 Emorett’s now got a new, bigger house to play in! We moved into our new house about a month ago and it’s been great for everyone and he just absolutely loves all the space he has! 🏡

So blessed with our miracle. We couldn’t have made it through this past year without all the love, support, and constant prayers from all of you. We appreciate you all 💙 Thank you!

It’s been a minute again since we’ve made an Emorett update!

Things are going really really well for our little man! It seems that since his hernia surgery back in March, things have just been on the uphill climb. He’s gaining weight well & still in PT and OT weekly and that is really helping him get stronger and meet his milestones!

We will be heading back to Billings the end of this week for another check up with his pulmonologist. This time they will be doing chest imaging to see how his lungs look and see if things are developing okay. We are praying things look healthy!

He’s the happiest little boy, and we are so thankful everyday that we get to make these memories with him 💙

Heres a photo dump from the last several months of all that we have been up to! Emorett has enjoyed meeting all sorts of new faces, playing in the pool, and he even started solids! He’s rolling over and doing really well sitting by himself. He’s changed so much since April 🥹 time is a thief.

As always thank you to everyone who continues to reach out and support and love our miracle! Blessed with the best!

We haven’t posted an Emorett update in a while, so we figured we would since so much has happened!

First off, yesterday marked 3 months since we’ve been home with our boy from the NICU! It feels like so long ago now but also like it was just yesterday. The feelings from being there are still very raw for Victor and I.

On March 8th, Em had his tongue and lip ties revised by laser. This is something that Victor and I found on our own after multiple doctors and a feeding therapist dismissed us about Emorett having them. They were causing a lot of issues with his eating, but we are happy to say he’s been eating much better after we got these done.

Emorett turned 5 MONTHS on March 29th, and he also had inguinal hernia surgery that day as well. Victor and I brought Em into the ER again that morning for the 4th time due to us not being able to reduce the hernias. His surgeon was going to have us come back the next morning and just get the surgery done, but while we were waiting to be discharged from the ER, he started to p**p blood and at that point it was an emergency. He did very well through the surgery, but was taking a little longer to come off the vent. We ended up spending a night back in the NICU while he recovered and weaned off respiratory support. He is healing very well now, and you can just tell the difference in him! He’s not in any pain and discomfort from those anymore.

Next week we will be heading to Billings to see the pediatric pulmonologist to check and see how Emorett’s lungs are doing, since he got the diagnosis of chronic lung disease while still in the NICU.

Emorett has now started to reach and grab for things, he’s cooing and babbling all the time, and we are like 3 ounces away from hitting 10 pounds!! He lost a little bit last week due to his surgery.

As always, thank you all so much for the continued prayers and support ❤️

Another Emorett update!

Yesterday Emorett had his eye exam in Helena, and passed with flying colors again! The doc said that there are no signs of ROP so he will not need to have another exam for another year with a regular eye doctor!

We also saw the surgeon this past week about his ingunial hernias and he will need surgery. The doctor doesn’t like to repair them until about 50 weeks gestational age so we have to wait 10 more weeks before he can have them repaired so there is less of a chance of them coming back.

He has been gaining weight at home, even with some challenges eating. Emorett is still fighting some severe reflux and we are doing our best to try every possible solution in the hopes that the next one has the answer.

We have now tried 3 different formulas, various mixes of breast milk and formula, and straight formula. As of right now, we think he might have a slight milk allergy because the best he’s done is on a hypoallergenic formula, so we will continue to try the dairy free formula at this point and hope that this is the answer to his discomfort 🙏🏻

We are loving having our little man home and can’t get enough snuggles! 💙 he loves to sleep in mommy and daddy’s arms and we are loving every minute of it.

As always, thank you all for the continued support and prayers for Emorett. We appreciate all of you!!

K & V 🤍

What a week it has been…

Last week Emorett was discharged from the NICU. Something that we have been looking forward to for so long, and seemed to happen overnight. We went from tentatively preparing to full blown panic over not having even the essentials ready.

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First off, thank you to everyone who has followed this page, and given your support to our Emorett. He, and us, could not have done this without you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

His fight is not over, and we will continue to post updates. If you are interested, please keep following our little Superman in his continued journey.

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Thankfully in actuality we were more prepared than we thought, and he came home to be in our arms 24/7….literally.

Tired is for sure an understatement.

I am sure all parents can relate, but this week has been a long, draining, and hard exercise in patience.

Em has given us a lot of sleepless nights so far. From being fussy to borderline colic, we are getting a crash course in parenting an preemie now “newborn”.

We met with his pediatrician last week, and next week we will be meeting with the eye doctor in Helena for his in person exam, as well as the hernia doctor to hopefully get a plan in place for his ingunial hernias and possible surgery.

His eye exam is in person just to double check everything. When preemies are discharged it’s required to have an in person exam. Originally it was supposed to be in Missoula but the clinic there was nice enough to squeeze us their satellite location in Helena so we wouldn’t have to drive so far…thank goodness 🙏🏻

We are so proud of our little guy. His journey so far has been long. It isn’t close to being over yet and that excites and scares us in equal measures.

Here’s to 2023, a year of firsts for all three of us 💙

Emorett was taken off respiratory support!

Please.…asking for prayers that he makes it these next several days without having to have it back on. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 we are so close…

TWO MONTHS OLD 💙

Can’t believe it’s already been 2 months that we have been on our NICU journey with baby Emorett.

It’s been such a long and draining road, but Emorett has shown so much resilience and fought so hard each day. We are so blessed to have such a strong and tough boy!

It’s all at his pace, but we are trying to remain hopeful that he will continue to do what he needs to do so we can come home soon 🙏🏻

These past 2 months would have been way more difficult if Victor, Em, and I didn’t have the amazing team of doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and respiratory therapists looking out for us and taking such amazing care of Emorett. They truly are heroes and we appreciate them all so much ❤️

Big day yesterday for Emorett…he got his feeding tube removed from his nose!

He’s been doing so well with bottle and breastfeeding and hasn’t used his tube in 2 days, that the nurses and doctors said it was time for it to come out. He needs to continue to eat well and take his vitamins okay so they don’t have to put it back in, but so far he’s done great!

He’s up to 4lbs 6.2 ozs and down to 1/32 L of oxygen flow. The biggest thing that we are working on now is weaning him off the oxygen and getting him breathing room air!

His eye exam last week came back okay again as well as his echocardiogram of his heart!

With the feeding tube out we are one step closer to coming home! Praying we will get there soon. He’s fought so hard and we know he will continue!

As always thank you to everyone for the prayers and support for Emorett 💙

Day 58

Merry Christmas from the Fulcher’s 🎄❤️

Emorett made the 4 pound club!

4lbs 2ozs! 🤗

Emorett update!

52 days we’ve been on our NICU journey.

The past week has been one defined by ups and downs and has been a roller coaster.

To start, he has hit what is called the “35 week slowdown”. This is when babies really start to grow their brain and develop as a true baby in utero. For preemies, this means they slow down on feeding and become almost uninterested in wanting to take bottles. The nurses describe it as having a teenager, in the sense that all they want to do is sleep because they are going through a huge brain growth spurt. He gets tired pretty easily…it’s hard work for such a little guy!

The second roadblock comes from his ability to breath. He had a chest X-Ray that showed fluid in his lungs making it hard for him to breath. On top of that, he has low red blood cells again , so he has to do another round of EPO shots to help raise it back up. He’s also been started on a round of diuretics to try to help get the fluid off his lungs. All of this has been pushing back his progress on weaning his oxygen flow down.

Em had an echo of his heart today to check the pressures in the heart and lungs and to check for any potential heart abnormalities. We are praying all comes back okay.

He will have his 3rd eye exam this week to make sure no signs of retinopathy of prematurity have developed.

On a more positive note:
-He had another head ultrasound of his brain (routine for 35 weeks) to check for brain bleeds again and all came back great! He will not need another ultrasound of his brain now

-He now weighs 3lbs 13 ozs! He lost a little due to the diuretic and all the fluid coming off him but we are happy he is still gaining weight.

-He will be 36 weeks gestational age tomorrow!

We are praying our boy can pull through this with time and continue to improve so we can be closer to coming home 🙏🏻💙

Momma is back!!

Emorett was so excited for his momma to come back. After a bath night with just his dad, they both realized just how much they missed momma being there.

Em had his first bath in a big boy bath! He did super well and we were so proud of him. Up until now he’s only had spit shine baths and small tub baths, so this was really awesome to see! 🫧🛁🧼

He hit 35 weeks gestational age today! Lots of exciting things coming up in the next few weeks, but so far the little man has been doing well.

Emorett had his hearing test this morning and passed! He even got a certificate that’s hanging on our fridge 🙂

He’s still eating from a bottle like a champ! He gets so excited that he sucks too much down at once and gets overwhelmed. Mom and Dad are learning how to pace him so that he can go the whole feed without dropping his oxygen.

We are super excited, and nervous, for the next few weeks. Lots of major milestones are still to come and challenges to overcome. We know that Em will fight through them with the same strength he has had the past 6 weeks.

K&V 💜

Another big milestone happened today!

Em has been having consistent temperatures and so he was able to move from his isolett to an actual crib. His room seems so much bigger now!

He reached 3 lbs 8ozs! He is starting to show his weight in his face, with an adorable double chin and chubby cheeks.

They are conducting a hearing screening on him today to check his hearing and response to noises. We are praying all comes back okay 🙏🏻

On a more unfortunate note, Katie developed Mastitis at the end of last week and has been out for the count while she is recovering. She has stayed strong through the pain and sickness, and we are so proud of her for it. She’s missing Em like crazy though.

As always thank you to everyone who has continued to send positive thoughts and prayers Emorett’s way.

K&V 💜

Pleasant surprise this morning and some more updates on Em!

They popped the top off of Emorett’s bed last night because he’s been regulating his temps well! If he can keep good temps through Sunday night after his bath he will be moved to a big boy crib! Very exciting as he’s been in his isolette since he’s been born.

We have now upgraded to a green paci! The purple one was getting a little too small and the green one will help him better with his sucking as it’s a bigger size.

Emorett gained weight again last night and is now up to 3lbs 5ozs! he’s been taking his bottles well, but likes to take more from Dad than Mom lol. Dad got him to take 23mL the other day! 🍼

When we called yesterday to see how Emorett’s night went, the nurse said that he was kind of crabby so she gave him a bottle…and he took the whole thing!!! This little boy is so amazing ❤️

As always thank you for all the continued thoughts and prayers for our family. We appreciate you following along on this journey with us 💙

We are on day 37 of our journey and Emorett has had quite a lot going on this weekend!

First off..Emorett hit 3 pounds on Thursday night and tonight he was up to 3lbs 3 ozs!!

He can now have up to 2 bottles a day based off his cues, and he was able to start nuzzling to try and start the process of learning how to breastfeed!! He’s been doing good with both. Daddy got to feed him tonight and he took 22mL out of his 28mL for Dad!!! 🍼🥛

Emorett’s oxygen has been lowered again down to 1L, so we are hoping he continues to tolerate it well.

We did have a bit of a scare again the other night when Em had a small amount of blood in his stool again. From what the doctors and nurses could tell, it looked like another fissure that they continue to watch. We always trust the benefis nicu team to take the best care of Em! 💙

For fun, here’s a side by side photo of Victor and I’s baby pictures next to Emorett 😁

Super big day today!

We were pleasantly surprised this morning when the nurse told us that Emorett has been showing signs that he could start learning to bottle feed. Up until now he has had all his food pushed through his feeding tube. They have certain milestones that premies have to hit before they can bottle feed though:

✅ High Flow Cannula at 2L of oxygen or less
✅ Interest in Binky that correlates closely to feeding
✅ High energy and alertness/rooting
⚠️ 34-35 weeks old

Even though Em is not quite 34 weeks, he has hit all of the other markers that are a better indication that he’s ready! As you can see we were able to give it a shot tonight!

He did super well! He drank about 13 mL of the 27 mL he gets from his feeding tube and then got super tired which is normal. Momma also got to try feeding Emorett the bottle! It was a very special moment ❤️

The hardest part for these little guys is remembering to suck, swallow, and breath all at the same time. It was so amazing seeing him swallow, stop for a second, take a few breaths, and then continue drinking. We will try the bottle now once a day if he’s showing the cues he wants it.

When he was born, we couldn’t picture this day as it was so far away, but here we are! One more step in his journey, and one more milestone to cross off the list.

BTW - thank you Leslie for making him the hat he is in! He’s got a little ways to go before it totally fits, but he’s rocking it anyways 💜

ONE MONTH OLD!

Emorett is one month old today 💙 what a month it’s been of many highs and lows, but we are blessed to have this month of loving our boy. Watching him change and grow everyday has been such a miracle to witness.

He now weighs 2lbs 12.6 ozs, is down to 2L of oxygen on the high flow system, and is 33 weeks gestational age. We are so proud of our boy!

We also found out today that Emorett has an ingunial hernia with fluid on the left side of his sc***um and fluid on the right side. This is extremely common in preemies to develop these hernias (about 1 in every 3). This is something that they will just continue to watch for right now to make sure it’s not causing him pain, changing color, etc. He many need surgery at a later date if it doesn’t resolve on its own. Of course not news that anyone wants to hear, but we will continue to work through these setbacks as they come as hard as all of this is sometimes.

Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers for Emorett during his first month earthside! We appreciate all of you 💙

Keep going and growing sweet boy, you are so loved!

Emorett’s 2 favorites…

Purple paci and shark outfits! 🦈💜

Thanks grandma Toni for the new PJ’s!

Hello again everyone 😊

We are so thankful for our little turkey. Our first thanksgiving as a family was spent like many other days here. Although it was a different style of thanksgiving, we couldn’t be more thankful for Em, the nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, and all of you supporting him.

Emorett has officially gained an entire pound since birth! He weighs 2lbs 9.4oz! And this is after the 3 blowouts he had today! 💩

We had a few nerve-racking days as we waited for the results of Em’s first eye exam to come back, but they finally came back today! He was given a clean bill of health for his eyes! The doctor in Billings who read the scans said that they didn’t notice anything abnormal this time around. He will have another exam in 2 weeks and continue to get them until he is discharged.

We are trying to remember to celebrate the small victories, and this is definitely one to celebrate! 🎉

On the flip side, some recent blood work showed that he had a low red blood cell count. Since this is normal to see in Preemies the treatment for it isn’t too abnormal. Albeit, it’s still hard for us to watch. Em has had to get shots in his legs this past Monday, Wednesday, and today. He will get the same next week before they retest his blood cell count to see if the treatment worked. He has been strong through it, as long as he has his binky by his side.

We are continually inspired by his strength through this. He has been poked, prodded, and has had more stickers & tape on his face, but takes it like a champ. He has faced every challenge like the little Superman he is.

Thank you all for your continued support of Emorett. The three of us are so grateful and appreciative of each and every one of you following him and his growth.

We continue to pray for our boys strength everyday.

K & V 💜

Emorett’s room is all ready and festive for the holidays 🎄✨❤️

We hope he enjoys looking at his tree now that his cover is off his bed 💙

Lots going on today and tomorrow for Emorett!

Today Em is 32 weeks gestational age so he now gets to have his cover off his bed AND we moved from CPAP to high flow oxygen/cannula! He is starting on 4L high flow and they will slowly try to wean him down if he tolerates it ok. Now that his cover is off his bed he is getting exposed to more light as well.

Tomorrow Emorett will have his first eye exam to check for ROP (Retinopathy Of Prematurity). Normally, the blood vessels of the retina start to develop in the fourth month of pregnancy and finish developing around 9 months of pregnancy. If a baby is born very early, these blood vessels may stop developing normally. The retina then develops new blood vessels that are abnormal and it could potentially lead to blindness. They do these exams several times to check and see how things are developing.

We are praying for a good outcome for Em’s eyes tomorrow and hope that it all turns out okay 🙏🏻

Mom and Dad have been advised not to be at the exam because it can be kind of uncomfortable/emotional for parents.

We appreciate all the continued love and prayers for Emorett 💙 love you all!

Day 2 vs Day 23 💙

Emorett is changing everyday!

Does anyone have any ideas of who he’s starting to look like more…mom or dad?

Another journey update!

Emorett is now 3 weeks old and hit 2 lbs 5 oz!

This has been the longest, yet somehow shortest, and absolute scariest, yet beautiful 3 weeks of our entire lives. Feeling all of the emotions of being NICU parents…this experience has been life changing for Victor and I already.

That purple binky has become Em’s best friend! He is learning how to suck on it without our help, strengthening his jaw muscles in the process. If he starts to fuss, chances are he wants his binky.

We are starting to hear more about the next steps and the next milestones that are coming up, and are preparing to tackle them as a family. Emorett still has a long ways to go, but we are so proud of how far he’s come already!

As always, a special thank you to all of you reading Em’s story and our updates. We couldn’t do this without your support.

K & V 💙

Today, November 17th, is World Prematurity Day.

If you’re able, show your support for Emorett and all the other beautiful miracles by wearing purple or sharing this post!

Let’s spread awareness for the thousands of preemies fighting their battles or who have fought and overcome their battles 💜💜💜

Yesterday marked a few milestones!

Emorett was having trouble regulating his body temp and so the nurses thought that he might be ready for clothes! It was a pleasant surprise that the nurse chose shark pajamas for his first outfit. We must give off an ocean vibe to the nurses….or at least Katie does of course! 🦈😆

They have turned off the humidity in his incubator now, so that’s causing him to do some extra work to stay warm.

He is swimming in his little onesie, but will certainly grow into and out of it soon!

Em also reached 31 weeks (adjusted age) and his progress is so inspiring. Next week they will take his giraffe cover off his bed to expose him to more light, which is awesome! In a few weeks, he will move to an open air crib if he tolerates everything accordingly.

He is also back up to his full feed amount after the scare we had last week. Everything seems ok, but the only real solution is just keeping a sharp eye out and continuing to monitor everything closely. Hoping that is behind us!

We cannot say thank you enough for everyone’s support and love for our boy. He has been so strong, and definitely has some “Little Man Syndrome” because he acts like he’s bigger than he is.

K & V 💙

First real bath tonight!! 🛁🫧

Emorett was able to have his IV taken out again and his umbilical cord finally fell off so we were able to have a real full bath this time!

He had a better day today…his is lab work and x rays have still come back okay so he was able to start his feedings back up at a lower amount and slowly increasing to his full amount over the course of the day today and tonight. He’s still being monitored very closely, and we are so thankful for the great team of doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapist’s looking out for him!

As always thank you for the continued prayers for our sweet boy 💙

Thank you to all who have donated to the gofundme page for Emorett, for the meals and gift cards dropped off, & for the adorable loving gifts for Emorett.
For the love, prayers, and kind words you have given to all of us…we are grateful for each and every one of you. We truly feel blessed by your support and kindness.
Thank you so very much from Katie, Victor, Emorett, the Tabaracci family and the Fulcher family ❤️