Noon rounds, 7/12/12

Shannon and I just got back from visiting Weston. His nurse does rounds every four hours, and we like to be there for the rounds because we can participate in his care that way. Also, the nurses tend to do certain procedures during rounds, so if they are scary, painful, etc., we can comfort Weston with our touch during the procedures.

Weston continues to do well. I had posted on Facebook that he kept losing weight. He weighed 1 lb 6 oz at birth and has yo-yoed since then. He is currently at 1 lb 2 oz but has been stable at that weight since yesterday! S, his daytime nurse, just told us he was hoping this is the bottom plateau and that Weston will start gaining weight soon. The humidity in his incubator has been turned down again, to 60%, which is the lowest it has been, I think. Higher humidity helps with water retention and electrolyte balance but creates other problems. The other night it had to be turned up to 80%, which meant they had to delay putting in his picc line. He also cut his little arm on IV tape, so I was concerned that a cut + high humidity would increase his risk of infection.

Weston is still on the ventilator, of course. It helps him breathe. Ever since birth, though, they have been able to turn it down to help him learn to breathe on his own. This is pretty remarkable for such a tiny baby. The big news today is that his oxygen was turned off! They had weaned him down slowly until he is now breathing 21% oxygen, which is what you and I breathe.

Before I go any further, remember that I have NO medical training whatsoever. The lawyer in me says to make that known, and I hope no one is taking this as medical advice. If another NICU parent were to read this, I would never want to upset them by possibly giving out inaccurate information. This is just the medical terminology as I understand it. So there's my disclaimer. I won't ruin it any further by making readers sign a waiver. ;-)

Back to the technical stuff. I'm not sure exactly how or why, but too much oxygen for too long is a bad thing. We were not even close to that territory with Weston, but it is still a huge answer to prayer that he is off it! Things fluctuate daily, though, and he could be placed back on oxygen again.

Weston has metabolic acidosis. This means that his kidneys are not filtering acid like they should. So they gave him sodium bicarbonate, I think. His kidneys, like the rest of him, are just very immature, so he needs help until his body can do what it needs to do on its own. I guess there is respiratory acidosis, where the lungs don't function as they should, and Weston fortunately does NOT have that.

Weston was pretty quiet today. He had physical therapy yesterday, so he is worn out. He slept most of the time we were there. Shannon and I got to participate in his care: I changed his diaper, took his temperature, and wiped his eyes and mouth for the first time! Shannon did the colostrum care today, which is when he dips a q-tip in colostrum (the precursor to my breast milk, which is full of natural antibiotics and is soooo good for him) and swabs it inside his milk. Weston loves it! I must say, changing a diaper on a preemie is just about as difficult as changing a diaper on a wiggly toddler.

Weston had some jaundice (liver doesn't break down bilirubin effectively), so he has been on and off phototherapy for the last few days. The phototherapy basically consists of a very bright light on him at all times, so they put a mask over his eyes. Anyway, now that the phototherapy is over for now, he is trying to open his eyes! He got one little corner open while we were there! He won't be able to see anything once he does open his eyes, but that will be such a wonderful moment for us.

Weston needs a picc line placed, which is basically a central catheter that will deliver everything but blood to him. Otherwise, they would need to keep sticking him with IVs every time. The picc line can stay in place for six months, and almost all NICU babies have them, so it's a standard procedure. They are hoping to do it tonight. It is a sterile procedure, so we can't be there for it, and they will close his pod. It will be uncomfortable for Weston. Please pray, first, that it can go forward soon (his other IV will expire in a couple days), that it goes very smoothly, and that Weston is not too scared or uncomfortable. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.