Day 2 at Home

Today, I spent the morning and early afternoon camped out in our bedroom upstairs. Brian headed off to work and I didn’t attempt to make the trek downstairs on my own, so I had a nice cooler full of snacks, compliments of Brian, not Beaumont. It was hard to be here and not at the hospital with Andrew, but we are able to call Andrew’s nurse anytime for updates. I have to say that I was able to move around a lot better today, after spending some time resting. Yesterday felt like a marathon event and I started to feel the affects take place in the evening. I waited for Brian to come home from work today, to take only my second standing shower for the month…just so I wouldn’t fall over. It has been quite a luxury for the past two days, just to do that. We headed to the hospital right away to be with Andrew. We are able to be with him 24 hours, except from 7-7:30 am and 7-7:30 pm when the nurses have their shift change. When we called this morning, the nurse told us that he has been fine and that they changed his IV from his hand to his little head. We were sure that this would happen soon, as they have said that they move it often and we saw a baby across the way having the same thing done the night before. It actually is better because he loves to have his hands so close to his face and the IV in the hand kept smacking him in the face. The IV is checked often and moved often. The nurse also told us that he had pooped and that his bilie level was still not high enough to present jaundice. So good news on that part! When we arrived at the hospital, he was free from the cannule and breathing without the little oxygen that he needed. The nurse told us that they did a chest x-ray to check his lungs and he still has a little surfactant (or liquid) in his lungs. This is not a huge concern and it is actually a con for having a c-section, as a vaginal delivery would have helped to squeeze some of that liquid out of his lungs. He was bundled up in blankets and had a new outfit on…a onsie, shirt and pants. The nurse said he seems to be cold and they definitely are keeping him snug, as he likes the warmth. I told them that I am always cold and he must have gotten that from me! The best part of today’s visit is that he opened his eyes right away when we got there and he kept them open for a long time! He is usually so sleepy and snuggled in…he barely gets his eyes open. It was such a blessing to see his eyes and watch both of us as we talked to him and changed him. We checked his temperature and changed his diaper. This has gotten a little easier, although the diaper change was a two man job…he had pooped and it is still “tar like” (according to the nurse) from some meconium. But we were thrilled to see the poopy diaper even though he does still look a little yellow. Another change for today was an increase in feedings. They increased from 5 cc. to 10 cc. So basically they added another teaspoon. The nurse did put the gavage tube through his mouth and not his nose (in case he needs the cannule for more oxygen). This seemed odd to see; however, he is handling the milk well and we were able to feed him through the tube for his 5:00 feeding. Brian snuggled him until we had to leave for the shift change…which didn’t go as slowly last night. We dined at the Beaumont café and of course rushed right back up to be with him for the evening. The new nurse helped us strip him down and I held him kangaroo style, skin to skin. He was able to have his 8:00 feeding like this and he feel asleep immediately after eating. He seems to enjoy being held like this…the nurse commented on how he snuggles in so quickly and seems very content. Brian and I have to agree and the research says that this is very important for a NICU baby. This nurse was there last night and she said that he really enjoys his pacifier and he let her know when he dropped it from his mouth. She told us he is an eater & grower!