Hours into Days

          

It seems like we have had our little tube filled and wired bundles of joy for days now. Hmmm – I guess we have.

 This morning Annabel was once again wide awake for her 9am feeding. She was quiet as could be with wide eyed expectation. I think she is begging to learn when it’s time to have her tummy filled. She is really sweet and quite expressive too! She will begin her phototherapy today for jaundice and will probably continue to “tan” for another 3 days until the bilirubin leaves her system. Heh – Billy Reuben – I mean why don’t they call it Jilly Rueben, or Milli Rueben, or god forbid Willy Rueben or Dicky Rueben … humor it heals all wounds, riiiight? In all seriousness, it’s sad to now be limited to only 30 minute increments of QT with her.  

Annabel "tanning" under the lights.  Notice the cute eyelashes on her sunglasses.

Meanwhile Sophia continues to struggle to breathe on her own. The chest tube has relieved all the pressure caused from the air cavity in her chest and the doc thinks the hole in her lung has sealed itself but we won’t know for sure until tomorrow. They plan to pinch the tube early tomorrow morning and if all goes well, remove it by midday. However, it didn’t solve little Sophia’s breathing difficulties. The X-ray this morning showed that her lungs are still under a lot of stress. As a result, they introduced artificial surfactant into her lungs to help them to develop. An hour after the introduction, the blood / gas levels still had not improved. She is still receiving about 40% oxygen mix and she is both sedated and relieved from pain from various medicines. She seems to be breathing more easily but it’s hard to really tell given all the meds that are in her system.  They plan to monitor her for time being and see if her blood / gas levels improve. Ultimately, the doc says she is going to be ok with no long term problems but it’s terribly hard to see your baby girl laying there sedated, full of tubes, wired in every direction, and struggling to breathe to the point that your attempts to soothe her by talking to her or stroking her head may actually be detrimental to her progress.

Sophia getting a short reprieve from her CPAP face mask for a little face massage.

To end this post with some fun – here are some new and wonderful things that a husband gets to learn about life in the “ward” –

Ambulate – the act of a mother moving around the ward or to and from the NICU. (Personally, I think if one is going to Ambulate they should get a light and siren on their wheel chair)

Charting – what nurses do when they aren’t helping patients (we have had some nurses that seem to REALLY like to chart. I won’t mention any names  … cough, cough … Aletha)

Meshies – Super sweet see through mesh panties. (I mean a pregnant mom has to stay cool down under and still look super sexy)

Medical Housekeeper – a person who empties trash. (I don’t know why they need a mop, duster, and a cart full of chemicals to throw out the trash)

Feather Strokes - __________________ (ugg I have been censored, once again!)

 - Daddy David