February 13, 2009

Going into having a NICU baby, we were told it was going to be a rollercoaster ride with many ups and downs. Cohen had an amazing birth day and following two days, and we were really hopeful he would continue on that path and come home early. And then there was today. Cohen officially made some dips on the rollercoaster.

I usually schedule my visits for his care time so I can help do some of the tasks, see his little face and touch him. This morning’s visit with him was brief. His nurse said he had a few episodes of Apnea, but that was to be expected. I was hoping he would have gone the entire stay without a single episode but I guess that was just wishful thinking. He was really fussy and uncomfortable at about 8am, so she did his care an hour early and told me to come back at noon for his next care time.

Right at noon my mom and I went to see him. We entered his room to the sight of his nurse trying to get the oxygen prongs into his nose. (He switches between the CPAP and another machine every 4 hours so he doesn’t get blisters from the CPAP mask) After about 20 minutes of the nurse trying and another 15 of the respiratory therapist trying, the nurse decided to put him on the nasal cannula (which is what people usually get when they need oxygen at the hospital). The nasal cannula makes him work harder than the other two machines, but his nose was just too small and he was really expending a lot of energy and calories fighting with the nurse to keep the big prongs in his nose. The nurse said that if his O2 sats stayed in the mid 90’s, he’d probably be allowed to stay on the cannula and not go back to the CPAP. Great news considering we would be able to see his face all the time and he wouldn’t have to wear the uncomfortable mask! My mom and I left to meet John and Carter who came up from Moscow.

At 4ish, John and I went into see Cohen. He was still doing really well on the nasal cannula, only having a few drops in O2, but she did say he had a few apnea episodes. He was sleeping really well so the nurse had us return at 6pm to do kangaroo care.

At 6pm John got to do kangaroo care with Cohen. John holding Cohen made him look really really REALLY small. Cohen was pretty fussy and uncomfortable and kept pulling the nasal cannula out of his nose, which would then cause his stats to drop. After a good 15 minutes of fussing, Cohen had a brady while John was holding him. His whole little body went limp, and it took the nurses a few rough taps before he started breathing again. Needless to say, his kangaroo time was over. It was really a scary experience, and I can only imagine what John was feeling. It was a good thing John was the one holding him because I would have just freaked out (more than I already did).

The nurse put Cohen back in the incubator where he had two more Bradys before we left. She kept telling him it wasn’t nice to misbehave when daddy hasn’t seen him in a few days! I would have to agree! The nurse told us that Cohen has not been digesting his feeds at all today, and even having more residual than what was given to him. This means he has reflux and is not digesting his food. On top of that, he had not pooped in 24 hours. All systems are connected so the nurse was hoping that by giving him an enema, which would help get his little system back on track. In the meantime, his feeds were reduced back to 1cc. I don’t like moving backwards!!

We did have some good news today. Cohen’s cranial ultrasound came back negative for bleeds whatsoever, and the final diagnosis was a “normal cranial ultrasound”. We were SOOOO relieved. Bleeding in the brain is one of the more difficult complications from premature birth and can lead to developmental and mental retardation. Only a few more tests before John and I can rest easy (as easy as one can in this situation…)

We left the hospital a little discouraged with the backtrack of progress, but we know he is in good hands and hopefully we will have many more good days as compared to bad days!