May 12

Ok, priorities are shifting. I didn't do my scrapbook page today. Instead, here I am. Hopefully our social worker will think this is appropriate as well! I promise to do the page tomorrow. :)

Well, Jaime's coming down with a cold. My dad had one the past few days, and now Bug has it. Joy. Only thing we could get him to eat tonight was ice cream. At least that's not too bad considering how skinny he still is. Add tylenol to the mix, and I'm hoping he has a good night.

Maryn has had a busy day - mostly good. But lots of medical jargon to wade through.

First, they are taking her from constant feeding to bolus feeds. So she'll be getting 3 hours of food in 2 1/2. Then 1/2 hour off. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Her hematocrit number (something to do with red blood cells) were still a little low today, so she got her 2nd transfusion in 2 days. Yesterday, it was 31. Today, it was 35. So hoping the transfusion helped and tomorrow she'll be 40. Fingers crossed. But of course, then I start worrying that she'll gain too much water weight from the fluids. AAAAAAAACK!

Her blood gasses looked good, so they weaned her to a vent rate of 20. They did up the pressure support a touch, but it's still a good thing. The new neonate on our case is hoping for another try on CPAP (an improvement from venting) late this week. AKA tubes in nose instead of mouth. But her right upper lobe of her lung is looking a little congested with fluid. Something called atelectusis. Say that three times fast. But they are watching it and treating it. We'll probably have to do some diuretic stuff in the next several days, but the docs and RTs are good about making sure she's still doing well.

She did have an eye exam today too. She has what's called retinopathy of prematurity. All I know is it's something to do with blood vessels. They need to watch it, or it can get serious. But for now, her grade was better than I expected. Zone 2 and Grade 1. Yeah, she'll probably still end up with glasses, but she was already doomed to that with David and me as parents. Optho will come back in a week since she's at high risk for it getting worse. (If it did, laser surgery usually does the trick.)

She did have another brain ultrasound today, but we didn't have the results by the time I left. After holding her AGAIN for over an hour. Have I mentioned recently how freakin' adorable she is?

And if you have made it through my "short story," please go have a BIG shot of tequila for me. Extra salt.