Kanga & Little Roo, part 6

Before I get back to Roo's story, let me just tell you that I have embarrassed myself a bit. I am typically known as a Grammar Nazi… but oh. my. word. Insomnia does not mix well with proofreading. I went back to read my post later and found way too many mistakes. I think I've fixed most of them, but seriously, no guarantees. Thanks for reading anyway. I hope you still love me.

Monday started off rough. Going in there and seeing poor little Roo in that isolette with the NG tube (feeding tube) and IV was awful. But his bilirubin level was improving. In fact, it was well within the normal range and most babies would have been out from under the lights at that point, but the doctors (I'm guessing because of his size) wanted to take extra precautions with him and keep him in there a little longer. Our current nurse (which changed every 8-12 hours) even told us that it probably wouldn't be a big deal if we didn't rush him right back into the isolette after we fed him………… J

And finally on Monday evening… we got to turn off the lights! YAY! They came and took away that scary-looking isolette and brought in the standard bassinette that most hospitals use for newborns. What a welcome change! Not that he was in there much—I held him every moment possible, and we had lots of visitors too.

And then more good news—they were disconnecting the IV. Wow, I was actually starting to be able to breathe again. The port would remain in his head just in case, but he would not be needing more fluids for the time being.

At this time, the doctor also reduced the amount of milk he needed to take at each feeding, but upped the number of calories. They did this by adding powdered formula to my breast milk. This allowed him to get the calories he needed without having to process quite as much milk each time. We're actually still doing that, although just with formula—the pumping didn't last long once I was home with three little kids.

His red blood cell count continued to be high, and they continued to monitor it with countless blood draws. Unfortunately, they kept trying to get the blood from his heels, which I mentioned before didn't provide accurate results because his blood was so thick, so then they would come back an hour or so later and draw from a vein. It was no easy task, finding a vein in a dehydrated 4-pound baby. It was very hard to watch, and they often had to get a team from the NICU or even the helicopter transport team to come draw blood.

One more concern came up on Monday—his sodium was a little high, and he wasn't peeing as much as they would have liked. These both pointed to possible kidney issues. They brought in a portable ultrasound machine, but had a hard time getting an accurate picture because he was so tiny. Still, he was peeing some, so they weren't overly concerned.

All-in-all, Monday went well. It was nice to get a little bit of a break and get rid of the isolette and IV. So very nice.

I know this is short, but it seems like a good stopping point. I think I'll take a little break here. Have a great 4^th of July weekend, everyone. J