Today was the longest I've spent with Baby GL since Saturday. Late Saturday/early Sunday Baby GL's tests that show how well he's breathing were not giving the results that we want to see. So on Sunday the doctors decided to try a different ventilator, an oscillator. Unfortunately, Baby GL wasn't pleased with the the oscillator or the amount of moving and touching involved. He became very agitated, so much that they needed to sedate him. His agitation caused the nurses to move the other babies further away from him because he was disturbed by the crying and other noises around him. The NICU is a quiet zone now and the lights stay low. The hope was get him to sleep and relax. The oscillator only lasted until early morning. It did what they were hoping it would do, which was lower his CO2 levels, but it caused Baby GL too much stress. He was put back on the original ventilator early Monday morning. The difference between the ventilator is the original one just pumps a puff of air into his lungs. The other one gives air and removes air doing a lot of the work for the baby. He fought the machine too much which is why he was so agitated. It's taken some time but he is slowly recovering from the stress of everything.
The good news that happened yesterday was that Baby GL has been put back on milk feedings. He started at 1cc every 8 hours. The idea is to try to get his gut jump started. He seems to have enough air moving around to get some digestion. We really need those bowel movements to keep his gut happy. The doctors are keeping an eye on his liver because there has been some evidence in tests that something is happening. From ultrasounds the liver looks good. The hopes that we all have is that if we get some good bowel movements it will remove the waste that seems to be causing issue in his body and liver.
The other great news came today when I was told his feedings got bumped up to every 6 hours rather than 8. That makes me feel great because that is something from me and I know he'll get the nutrition he needs to grow. He also is a lot calmer today than he's been. The first thing I heard when I went to the NICU was that today was a very good day. He's doing much better at coping with the touching and moving around. What I'm being told is that he's maturing and has the mind of a big baby, one that wants to fight everything. I guess that should please me. Can't wait until he can talk, will he be this sassy then? He's already pushed off us kangarooing again yesterday. I was able to get in and change his diaper, which really makes me feel better and less stressed about how's his been. It was a quick change to not disturb him too much but I still got to touch him and feel him which a parent longs for.
I'm hoping now that when we get to Friday, when we are planning his next bed change, is that he'll be relaxed and allow us to hold him. I miss being able to snuggle him even the little bit I got.
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