April and I have just arrived at a hotel near the hospital. We will be staying here for at least the next two weeks to avoid the 40 minute to 1.5 hour drive depending on the traffic. April was officially discharged early today but we stayed around till almost midnight to get our money’s worth! April is feeling much better and is actually enjoying her hotel bed (which is actually pretty nice). All the kids even got read to today by April a book called “Put Me in the Zoo.”
/
/
/
/Today has been another difficult day for Sawyer, with many ups and downs. We were informed this morning that they had found a small amount of air in his left chest cavity (the air earlier was only in the right side). The good news is that his 6 pm x-ray showed that this small amount of air was resolving itself and would not require any type of treatment to remove it (such as another chest tube or small needle). The right side also has improved as his lungs appear to be breathing. Not sure that I have mentioned this before, but he is off the ventilator and on the C-PAP and doing pretty well. He now is at around 22-28% oxygen depending on his mood. Our normal air is 21% oxygen, so he is pretty close to breathing what we all breathe.
/
/
/
/This afternoon, Sawyer’s blood pressure kept dropping. They tried to support it by giving him saline solution to increase the volume of blood, hoping this would improve the blood pressure, but it only did for short amounts of time. They performed some blood work and determined that he was lacking haemoglobin, which is needed to effectively carry oxygen throughout the body. To counteract this, they gave him a small blood transfusion this evening. His blood pressure and breathing both improved and they hope/believe that this will be a one-time deal. Unfortunately, they had to put in yet another IV, which is difficult to do in an infant so small. They finally got it on the fourth try. The poor boy is running out of spots to be poked.
/
/
/
/Some good news for Sawyer: He is eating well and is now on the moderate track for increasing his daily food intake. He also has reversed the normal newborn weight loss and is now at 3 lbs 7 oz (up from 3 lbs 5 oz a few days ago). He had a very tiring day but let his dad change his diaper a few times and was resting comfortably with the pain medication he is receiving. He is stable and just needs to catch up and overcome the trauma he has had. He is having a rough start to life but is improving. He has now resumed more of a typical fetal position, which typically means for babies that they are self soothing and have more energy to do so.
/
/
/
/Brinlee and Kimball (not to short them their own write-ups but it is past midnight so I guess this is the first update for October 26, 2006) are both doing very well. April and I held both “kangaroo” style (skin to skin). They are tiny but really cuddle in when they are held. They have both also reversed/stabilized their weight loss. Brinlee is right under 3 lbs (formerly 2lbs 15 oz so just a little gain) and Kimball stabilized at 2lbs 13 oz. April changed her first diaper today (Kimball’s) and Adam changed Brinlee’s before we held them. There is some hope that one or both of them will be home for Thanksgiving.
/
/
/
/Adam’s mother has also been here and been a great help. She even was able to calm Kimball down when he became slightly upset when April had to put him away in his isolette by placing her hands on him.
/
/
/
/A lot happened today, so I’m sure I forgot a bunch. Overall, all are well. I am now showering everyday (should I take a bow?) and am also glad to not be sleeping at the hospital tonight, which I have been doing since last Thursday. We took some great pictures that I will post tomorrow (now today).
/
/
/
/Going forward, the doctors will aim for about an ounce of weight gain each day as the food increases. Kimball is now at 22 ccs at each feedings, Brinlee is at 12ccs, and Sawyer is at 10ccs.Â