An X ray at 3 am to check his PICC line placement.
The usual vitals check at 4 am which consists of flushing his stomach tube, listening to heart and bowel sounds, temperature check, diaper change, glycerin suppository, and changing of TPN fluids.
At 5 am, a member of the surgical team came to evaluate his closure site and palpate his tummy to check for signs of infection.
At 8 am he had another vitals check and a visit from the doc for an overall evaluation.
At 11 am he had his heel pricked for a blood gas analysis and a bag placed around his penis to catch a urine sample.
Another vitals check at 12 pm.
A cranial ultrasound around 12:30 pm to check for abnormalities in his brain (thankfully the ultrasound was normal).
More vitals checks at 4 pm, 8 pm, and midnight.
And I may have forgotten about a few things in between.
These are exhausting days for both baby and mommy! And throw in 6-8 pumping sessions per day for mommy, too. Remember the movie Groundhog Day? I now know how Bill Murray felt.
Today we received the much anticipated news that Joshua's stomach tube would be removed and we would try his first feeding. David and I were pumped! Unfortunately, the day did not turn out well. Joshua's tummy showed signs of increased swelling which was alarming. He slept right through my attempt to bottle feed him 5 cc's of my milk which was quite frustrating - I thought he would suck it right down. It turns out Joshua was trying to tell us his little body wasn't ready. This afternoon he vomited a yucky green substance during a vitals check. His Anderson tube was immediately shoved back down his throat and a bunch of green liquid was drained from his poor stomach. On the bright side, the swelling in his tummy subsided and that was a huge relief. For now we will wait and see how things go with the drainage from his stomach and try feeds again in a few days. Everyone tells us this is completely normal and not to be discouraged. Easier said than done.
On a happier note, Joshua and I have been practicing kangaroo care the last few days and that has been really rewarding. The objective with kangaroo care is to provide maximum skin to skin contact with baby and mommy (or daddy) which "stimulates physiological and psychological warmth and bonding". From Wikipedia: Kangaroo care arguably offers the most benefits for preterm and low birth weight infants, who experience more normalized temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate, increased weight gain, fewer nosocomial infections and reduced incidence of respiratory tract disease. Additionally, studies suggest that preterm infants who experience kangaroo care have improved cognitive development, decreased stress levels, reduced pain responses, normalized growth, and positive effects on motor development. Kangaroo care also helps to improve sleep patterns of infants, and may be a good intervention for colic. Earlier discharge from hospital is also a possible outcome. Finally, kangaroo care helps to promote frequent breastfeeding, and can enhance mother-infant bonding.
Photos courtesy of my multi talented sister-in-law, Anne Manning.
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