Day 20: A Case of the "Mondays"

If you've ever seen the movie "Office Space" you know the meaning of that phrase.  I had a case of the Mondays today, as did Christie, and the boys.  Ugh.

Aiden was still under the lights.  Docs really like to get their rubin levels down to nothing.  They will be tested again tomorrow, and he may be off of them if all looks good.  After his infection that wasn't actually an infection scare on Friday, the culture came back negative, but his blood counts were low, and his CO2 levels were high, so his oxygen was upped on the vent to 33% (when I got to the hospital), and was also getting blood.  The reason for the blood and increased oxygen settings is to, in theory, bring those CO2 levels down to a normal range. Once that happens, the vent settings can continue to be lowered.  Aiden is also retaining a fair amount of fluid, which is normal for premmies, and he received lasiks to help him excrete it.  He's actually 2lbs. 2oz. now, but my guess is that 3-4 oz. of that is fluid retention.  It is also possible that the excess fluid has built up around his lungs, which is another potential factor in the lower oxygen levels, the need for new blood, and the higher vent settings.  What a perfect example of how everything is tied to together in the human body.  Amazing.  Aiden continues to give back at least 1ml of his 2ml feeds, and is having trouble pooping.  The nurses have an on-going order to administer glycerin to help him go every 48 hours.

Jackson also had a case of the Mondays.  He was re-intubated this morning, because he was having some apnea episodes last night on the SiPAP.  He rocked it hard for nearly four days on that thing, and was exhausted from all that work.  He was resting peacefully this afternoon when we visited, riding the vent the entire time.  It's tough to see him going from doing nearly all of the breathing work on his own, and then a day later, letting the ventilator do it all for him.  I had to be reminded by the nurses that it is completely normal for them to go back and forth a couple of times.  Their lungs are still very immature, they need to rest, and gain some more strength.  If I have not said it before, any time off of the ventilator is a step in the right direction.  Even if it is only for the four hours that Aiden was off of it on Thursday.  Jackson is slamming down mom's milk like it's nobody's business.  He'll be going up to 8ml delivered over an hour every three hours.  He continues to go up 1ml every 12 hours, and will plateau at 18ml for a while. Jackson was also getting blood today because his CO2 levels were off as well (we think).

Both boys had another echo again today.  Aiden still has his mini PDA opening, and a small murmur was heard on Jackson, so the echos were done to check both statuses.  No results as of 10:11pm.

No pictures today, as the boys were resting for the most part, and were not very active.  Christie got to kanagroo both boys yesterday though.  It was so awesome to see her bonding with her boys!  I hope they gain some more strength soon, so that we can resume kangarooing.  Maybe dad will have a turn later in the week!

Celine:  I bet you all of your earnings on that horrific "Titanic" song that we have your delivery story beat!
 http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20436792,00.html

'Til tomorrow -
Jeff