NICU Diaries: Week 7
Baby is 34 weeks adjusted gestational age.
Read about last week: Week 6!
Day 43: Roasty Toasty
Dr is upping Baby’s potassium, sodium chloride, and chloride to counteract the loss of electrolytes from his maintenance diuretic.
Nurse Hailey said Henry was “roasty and toasty” so she swaddled him loosely to let him vent a bit. He had been fussy all morning going from peaceful rest to a 212 heart rate in 20 seconds. When I got there, he was so tired which was unlike him, but I guess that happens when all morning you’re awake and using all your energy. I got a taste of it towards the end of our 2 hour skin-to-skin session when I’m sure he was sweaty and too warm to be comfortable. Weighs 2050g.
Day 44: Open Crib
He is in a Big Boy Bed (open crib)! And apparently he ripped his feeding tube out and had to be retaped twice on Nurse Brenda’s shift, and once right before she came on. It’s the same nurse who gave me predictions the other day 😆 Today says he has a “determined air”, and she wants me to come back in 2 years to update her on how he grows up.
Baby is back to CPAP for breathing; they weaned him off the NIPPV.
The therapy team taught me how to give him a baby back massage with oil while doing skin-to-skin. He LOVED it so much he slept deeply on me.
Nurse Eliza says that tonight he gained 26g and weighs 4lbs 9oz.
Day 45: Eye Exam
He ripped his feeding tube out all the way again before I arrived. A nurse put it back down his throat, 10 mins later his nurse had to re-tape his face. He was super warm so we let him air out while doing cares. I was in the middle of getting a baby massage lesson when they found out the eye doctor is coming and Henry needed his eyes dilated with those eye drops that sting. His eyes are really swollen while the CPAP mask is on, so they took off all the stuff from his face first. We did 2 sets of those eye drops 5 minutes apart.
I wasn’t going to hold him since we will have to put him back as soon as the eye doctor comes. I didn’t realize how unfun the eye exam is, involving metal clamps that keep Baby’s eye open and metal things they put in his eye… Dr. Jen told me it’s kind of distressing for parents to watch. But she encouraged me to hold him because we don’t really know if the eye doctor is going to be here in 5 mins or 2 1/2 hours, and I might as well hold him because Henry is gonna be upset for the exam anyway. We held for 3 mins.
They said baby is doing fantastic! He is still in zone 2, almost zone 3 for his eyes. His next eye exam is in a couple of weeks instead of next week so that’s good!
Day 46: Rollercoaster
On the way to the hospital I got pulled over for speeding 46mph on a 35mph road. I didn’t even realize it! He gave me a Warning and told me to be careful in the “suicide lane” where many accidents occur when other lanes try to cross. It shook me up a bit. I’m glad there was no accident, I didn’t receive a ticket, the therapist I was trying to meet on time moved our appt later, and I found a rare parking spot at the front!
Baby Henry got moved to the B side of the NICU! The grow and feed side. With his high temperatures, they changed to lighter cotton sheets and swaddles so it’s not too hot. Physical Therapist Larissa(?) taught me how to massage his arms and legs. As I massaged Baby, his heart rate was the calmest I’ve ever seen (150s)- he gave smiles and even fell asleep during.
After skin-to-skin his temperature was still fever high. Dr talked with me about ruling out infection by blood samples through an IV, collecting a sterile urine sample via a catheter, doing a nasal swab for a respiratory test, and performing a lumbar puncture (spinal tap I needed to sign a consent form for) to test for meningitis. He’ll be put on antibiotics to cover any major infections while waiting for test results.
As Dr talked with me, she already had everything ordered, and the nurses were getting things ready. It was urgent because he’s already had a fever for 2 consecutive days, and the antibiotics need time to work and counteract an infection. If we wait and it does turn out to be an infection, it would be able to do damage and wreak havoc on his body first. He has very little to no immunity.
Best case scenario he gets tested, everything comes back clear, they wean him from the antibiotics, and he just runs hot so they put more fans on him. They need to make sure because “‘tis the season”.
Dr tried to make me feel better by saying that every baby in the NICU has these infection tests before graduating, and it is just our turn. So far Baby has been able to avoid any major/serious issues here, but things can change quickly. We are praying, I’m just an emotional mess.
Jer wanted to see Henry as soon as I updated him. I came home during the heaviest traffic just to pump and join him back to the hospital. Nurse Ashli said his temperature was more normal for her. He has a scalp IV to administer meds. Baby looked comfy and was sleeping after a failed Lumbar Puncture. They will let him rest before trying again. He was just so exhausted!
Day 47: Infection Test Results
He sleeps just like Daddy- with a fan right on him 😆 Nurse Ashli got him all set up last night.
The nurses gowned up every time with Baby until test results are in, to decrease chance of spreading anything to other babies they work with. I also gowned up while doing Cares with him. He had explosive poop in 3 new diapers before I could finish putting the diaper cream on! I was so glad to be able to hold him after I pumped at the bedside.
And! Now 5lbs 3oz, but a different scale was used so not sure if it’s accurate.
Negative blood tests; they stopped the antiviral medication. The urine sample has a marker for infection (just a marker and not 100% clear), so working with pharmacist for suitable antibiotics. Not enough spinal fluid to test all they usually like to test, but results seem ok? If there are more questions with the fever they can consider getting more spinal fluid. Moving forward with treating a UTI with antibiotics for at least 5 days through the scalp IV.
Day 48
This little fella has stolen my heart. 😍
Baby’s all new nurses said he slept peacefully for hours after a massage. He’s just under 5 pounds according to his doctor (the scale from the other day was probably inaccurate). He loves his little fan, but it ran out of battery and he was hot when I arrived. I’m still trying to use less than 4 diapers each time I change him. While I grabbed the diaper cream he peed on the bed—a rookie mistake not to cover him up every moment! He was very happy after I held him loosely swaddled for a couple of hours, and holding his hand all the while. There was an unusual smell near his face, so I’m glad he will have a bath tonight.
Day 49: Special Visitors
I think maybe the smell was a head wound they found and Dr called me about this morning. The Wound Care team will look at it tomorrow to make sure it’s properly treated. They’re not sure of the cause, but it looks like it’s from pressure or friction unrelated to the scalp IV. Nurses put bacitracin antibiotic on it and it’s healing, shouldn’t be painful, Doctor isn’t sure if/how it will affect hair growth but it’s possible that in the white spots the hair might not grow back. Dr also says this is Baby’s second UTI since birth, so he wants to do an ultrasound to make sure the kidneys developed properly and aren’t the cause of the multiple infections.
Baby weaned on CPAP from 8 to 7. They moved the IV to his arm, and it took me hours of holding to get used to it. Jer’s sister Alyssa and her family were in town all the way from Oklahoma! She and Nic got to visit Henry along with Grandma Monica. Everyone was too nervous to touch him, but eventually touched his hand or his foot. Tonight he measured 5lbs 3oz, and 41cm (about 16 inches) long!
Read about next week: Week 8!
Check out more weeks from our NICU journey here.
