Day 3 - Monday the 7th

Today we once again, spent our day in the NICU. Elias was still doing really good. They tried to take him off of the C-pap but he did not respond as well as they wanted so they had to put him back on it. They were however, successful in lowering the pressure down to 4 - so another step closer. They feel like he is very close to coming off of it, but want to make sure he doesn't have to work too hard at breathing which could set him back. Plus, he needs every calorie he can get right now and they don't want him wasting calories on trying to breathe. So, I am just trying to be a patient momma :)

I did ask the nurse today if he would spend the remainder of his visit in the level 3 NICU or if he would be moved to level 2. She told me he is actually probably "too healthy" to be in level 3. So that made me feel better. She said to not panic if we come in someday and he is not in his spot, that they probably moved him.

When we got there, they were putting a new IV in. They said he has very squiggly veins, so they had a tough time. They were trying to bribe him with sugar water in a syringe to keep him happy. The poor boy has poke marks all over his body from all the different places they have tried to get IV's and run different tests. I hate that he is having to be bothered so much, but I know it is for his own good. After no luck they finally had to settle for a vein in his foot. It was hard to listen to his unhappiness. I just want to scoop him up and take him home where he won't have to be poked and prodded so much.

He also has to spend all of his time under the lights for his jaundice. That means he can't be swaddled. So he is constantly flailing his arms and legs. Poor little guy :(

After they got the IV, they had to take the prongs out his nose and suction his nose and clean him up. They did this the night before, so we knew what to expect. Once again they had to upset my boy. They discovered he loves his pacifier and that seems to be the one thing that offers him comfort while they pick on him all the time.

After that, they made him happy by swaddling him and handing him to me! His reward for all their cruelty :) They also gave him his food in the tube during this time so he was quite a happy boy. We got to spend some time talking to the nurse about what else needs to happen before he can come home. He needs to continue to up his feeds and be able to eat without the feeding tube. In order for him to be able to eat without the tube, he needs to be off C-Pap. She thinks he will do well with the feedings as she said he sucks really well on the pacifier and is starting to let them know when he is hungry. He also needs to be gaining weight, which up to this point he has not done (which is normal). He does not need to be back at his starting weight, just needs to be gaining again. He needs to be able to regulate his own body temperature without being under the heater, which she believes he would be able to do but since he is naked under the jaundice lamps all the time, they have to give him heat. He may also need to pass a car seat test, since he is so small. This would mean he needs to be able to sit in the car seat for an hour and keep his vitals up during that time.

All these things seem doable. The biggest ones of concern are getting him to eat and having him start to gain weight. One step at a time..........

They also sent up someone from lactation to talk with me. So we are definitely getting some cues that we are almost through the breathing issues and then we can start working on the other stuff.

After awhile the respiratory therapist came in to check on us. I asked her if she needed him back and she said no. She asked if we wanted to switch parents though. I keep telling Peter that I will share, but he hasn't wanted to. He has been letting me have my time, which they really do push the bonding time with mommy! He still said no, but the respiratory therapist and myself kind of made him :)

Peter with his mini-me:

Eventually it was time for us to leave. Always the biggest bummer part of the day. But we still have a little boy at home who wants to see us and we also are really tired and need to get sleep. It will be so nice to have everyone back together in one place.

A picture of a picture of him when he was off C-Pap. Yup, looks like his daddy!

On the way home, I was thinking just how amazing medical technology is and I was so thankful that I live in a place where my children are able to get the medical attention they need. I think of all the babies born worldwide, maybe a week or two shy of the point where they would be okay, but they don't have the medical care options. It is hard to think of what happens to them. To realize, that Eli would not be here with us right now, to know that he would not have survived without this type of medical intervention puts it all into a different perspective and makes me so sooo thankful. I just cannot imagine losing him, especially to something that in the NICU they can treat so easily.

Update: I just talked with the doctor this morning. They are not going to try and take him completely off the C-Pap today, but they are going to lower the pressure to a 3 and the doctor believes he will do just fine coming off the machine tomorrow. They are also going to take him completely off IV feeds (they were supplementing him with a little bit of sugar water through an IV). They are upping his feeds once again to 25cc's and this evening will up him to 30 (so one ounce). His bilirubin levels are back down so no more jaundice lamp for him, which means he can be swaddled and happier! We are getting there - Go Elias!!!