Ups and Downs

Friday night and I'm sitting here hoping that my scratchy throat is due to the high winds in Dallas kicking up an allergy and not a symptom of a cold. I would not want to be in a position where I could not visit Thomas or have to quarantine myself from Rebecca (or would I?...no, I really wouldn't) either to keep her healthy. So I'm drinking orange juice and thinking good thoughts.

Thomas has had his ups and downs in the last couple days. We found out he has a hernia, which is very common in preemies. Its not hurting him, so he'll probably have surgery in a month or so, before he goes home (another scar! Probably a gun shot wound.). He's also got a hemangioma, which is kind of like a birth mark, but has to be watched, because it can cause some issues. It grew kind of quick this week, but its not a danger, so they are keeping an eye on it.

The other issue was that they had been having to increase Thomas' respirator settings this week. It turns out that because Thomas has grown a good bit, the tube they were using was too small. As he's grown, he has to work harder to get enough air out of the smaller tube. They figured it out today and made the decision to move to a bigger tube.

Unfortunately, we showed up unannounced while they were switching to a bigger tube. Never really cool when you're baby is surrounded by 4 people, huddled over him, working feverishly and you don't really know what's gong on. Another one of those routine events that as a parent, you're probably better off not seeing.

It was a traumatic experience for us. Thomas was obviously in some discomfort. I defy any of you not to be uncomfortable when a breathing tube is inserted, plus a feeding tube, which they put down his nose(gives me the chills thinking about it). He really didn't like that one at all. No parent wants to see their child in pain, even when its to make them better.

On the plus side of the experience, they let us see Thomas without the tape on his face. The other benefit was that Rebecca was there to comfort and calm Thomas down. Rebecca gave her finger for Thomas to hold and he grabbed it. He didn't let go and really seemed to relax as she talked to him. It was probably a coincidence, but several times when Rebecca looked away, Thomas would open one or both eyes and look at her and then quickly shut them when she looked back. We could have totally been imagining, but it was very funny.

As of this evening, the bigger tube seems to be working. They've gone down on the ventilator settings and he's not fidgeting, which indicates he's comfortable. He's also digesting his milk better now that they've eased up on the amount and frequency. He's taking 7 CCs every 4 hours and now weighs 1 pound, 12 ounces.

Until the next time...