PICU – Page 3 – Keeping up with the Hoffmans

Today Emmett took a step backward from the great progress he’s been having. He had one brady overnight, which automatically reset our jailbreak clock back to five days. He also had a lot more desats today. They were all quick and not terribly low, and it’s not enough to put him back on oxygen just yet, but they also wouldn’t send us home if he were still doing that. He was also just really sleepy today and not very interested in eating. The nurse said he was probably just really tired from all the progress we’ve made in a short amount of time, and that this rebound effect is very typical of a preemie after making such big strides forward.

So it looks like we’re not as close to going home as we originally thought. He’s still doing really well, considering all he’s been through. But it was a bummer to realize he’s not going home in the next few days like we thought he may be. That said, this rebound could be short-lived and we could see him start trending upwards again very soon. It’s kind of a wait and see game at this point. He’s up to 6 lbs 10 oz now and doesn’t fit in most of his preemie clothes anymore.

Today was a good day. As I’ve mentioned before, we’ve done two trials off oxygen before, and both times he made it about 12 hours before he got tired and needed it back. I’m happy to report we passed the 12-hour mark. And then the 24-hour mark. And then they removed his tank altogether from his room because it was clear he was rocking it on his own. Yeah!

Feeds were kind of hit and miss today. I nursed him at every feed except the 2:30 a.m. feed, during which I slept and the nurse gave him a bottle. He’s averaging about 60 percent of his feeds by mouth currently. One was as high as 84 percent and one was as low as 24 percent. So we’ve still got some work to do to get to the required 80 percent over 48 hours. He seems to prefer breast over bottle, which as the nurse pointed out, is a nice problem to have. He will take both, though, which has been the goal all along.

We’ve been talking to Theo a lot about E coming home, now that we’re getting closer. I know there will be an adjustment period while he learns how to share us (or maybe we’ve already begun that since D and I have been splitting our time?), but so far he is really excited. His daycare teachers say he’s been talking a lot about “his” baby too. He’s been asking for a few days to go see baby Emmett so I picked him up after school today and brought him back to the hospital. I nursed E while T sat and played a game on the iPad. Aside from the fact we were in a hospital room, it felt really normal, and I got a glimpse of what it might be like on a random afternoon at home with my boys.

This evening they moved us to the pediatric wing, which we have been told is a springboard for going home. The room is nicer and bigger, and is meant for rooming in (we get an actual bed instead of a daybed/cot), as they like parents doing more and nurses less as we get closer to discharge.

He lost half an ounce at his weigh-in tonight, which is a bummer, but not surprising. Over the past two days he’s gone from having most of his food delivered straight to his belly to having to work for every meal. Hoping he keeps getting stronger and more efficient at eating, so we can finally go HOME. Tomorrow we’ll have been here 11 weeks.

Tag: PICU

NICU day 77

NICU day 76