Day 51

I wouldn't call today a set-back day, but it wasn't a step forward either. I went to see Maks after church, and he had been having lots of bradys and desats. He was also requiring quite a bit more oxygen, and he wasn't doing well enough to decrease the liter amount to 3L. The nurse and I decided that it would be okay to try skin to skin with Maks in an upright position on my chest and see how he tolerated it. He did okay, but he really had a hard time keeping his sats up. We put him back in the incubator after about 20 minutes or so. (I sure wish holding him made everything better!) I stayed by his bed for quite a while because I was worried about him. While I was there, he continued to have episodes of bradys and desats, and he also had several episodes of tachypnea (rapid breathing). Dr. Anschutz has been wondering about the reliability of the last hematocrit that was done on Thursday because Maks has been looking a little pale. It was 41 the other day, but this number is a percentage and can fluctuate based on hydration status. Another hematocrit will be drawn tomorrow morning. If it is low, it could be the cause of his problems today. If so, he will need another blood transfusion, which also means another IV, but at least it would give us an answer to what has been going on, with a fairly easy fix.

I went in again for the evening cares to check on him. I noticed is belly was quite a bit more swollen than it was earlier. I had the nurse check it and measure it to compare to the morning findings. It was 28 cm this morning, and tonight it is 30. It is definitely bigger, but it doesn't seem to be causing him discomfort at the moment, and he shows no signs of pain upon palpation. He also was doing better with his oxygenation and having less "episodes" of bradys and desats. The charge nurse tonight has been Maks' nurse several times, so I had her come check his belly as well since she is more familiar with him than his assigned nurse. She said they will both keep an eye on it and watch for other signs of complications. The nurse put Maks on his belly to ease digestion and to see of it helps reduce the swelling at all. Hopefully it will, and things will be better in the morning.

He really is such a cute kid! The nurse was suctioning his mouth tonight, and he was just looking at me like, "I've had enough of this, mom. Can't we just go home and snuggle on the rocking chair?" He is such a trooper. I feel so bad that he has to go through this and that I can't just hold him and make everything better!

After he was placed on his belly, he was trying to suck on his hand. I decided to grab the pacifier and see if he liked it. It is a teeny preemie pacifier, and he couldn't quite get it all in his mouth, but he did suck on it! I thought it was so cute to see him doing a "normal baby" thing, so I took a picture AND a video of him sucking on it. I love how his hand is holding it in place!

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