Cohen had a much better day today! His doctor finally put him on caffeine to help with his breathing problems. Caffeine is a stimulant that is given to him via IV; Cohen gets one dose per day. He apparently had more A&B’s during the night, and his nurse had enough of the waiting game! His doctor was waiting to give him caffeine because the caffeine can cause problems with digestion and input and output (how much goes in v. how much comes out), and because Cohen is already having difficulties in that area he did not want to aggravate his problems. However, after looking at his A&B chart, he agreed it was time to give Cohen a daily “cup of joe.”
The nurse said the caffeine made an impact almost immediately. Not only is he having fewer A&B’s, when he does have an episode he is able to pull himself out of it. Side Note: Cohen has been rather interesting with his A&B’s, usually there is a decrease in Respiration and then the heartbeat slows, but with Cohen he drops both respiration and heartbeat very quickly and at the same time. Now, with the caffeine, as his heartbeat drops into the 40’s and 50’s, he is able to bring himself out of it and back into the 150’s/170’s, without having to be physically stimulated. It is still counted as an A&B, but he is given credit for bringing up his stats on his own.
His feeds are still minimal, as he has not had another poop since the enema. Cohen will start to make real progress once he gets this digestion and elimination thing under control. My mom says we might as well sign him up for a double hernia surgery before we leave…Ha, ha, and I would have to agree!
A highlight of today was I got to do Kangaroo care twice, and the first time was for a whole 40 minutes! Talk about the quickest 40 minutes ever! He behaved himself this time and was really calm; he only had 1 A&B during the second time I held him. He eyes were open and he was really alert…that is until I rocked him to sleep! It was the most amazing feeling in the world. A little strange because in reality he should still be inside my belly, but just holding his little body and feeling him move was simply a feeling I can’t even describe with words.
Another highlight of today was we got into the Ronald McDonald house! We were told in the beginning that the waiting list was so long that it was doubtful we would still be here when a spot opened. We got a call this morning, right before we moved hotels, saying there was a temporary room available and that we are first on the list for a long term room. With the temporary room we have to move out on Friday night and move back in on Sunday afternoon. However, if a long term room opens up before Friday we will just move rooms within the house. Cohen’s NICU roommate will probably be discharged this week and his parents have a long term room, so I don’t think it will be too long before we get into a long term room. The house is pretty nice; John describes it as a depressed sorority. Our room has two double beds, a bathroom, dresser, desk and TV with cable. There are family rooms with play areas and computers (they have wireless, too) , 4 kitchens everyone shares, one large dining room , free laundry, and even 25 cent diet coke machine! The only bad part is we get one shelf in the refrigerator and one freezer shelf…and for someone who doesn’t cook I really need space for my Lean Cuisines! Staying here has taken a huge load off our shoulders with regards to where I would stay during the week… since it is the cheapest “hotel” on the planet.
John went back to Moscow today to study for an upcoming test. Good news is there is no possibility of John missing this test because of the birth of our baby . Carter is spending some time with Grandma Cindy and Papa Rick in Ellensburg (THANK YOU!!) to allow John ample study time.
It is going to be an interesting few weeks, but once we have a routine for visits and what not I think this difficult time will only make John and I stronger as parents and as husband and wife. I will say, aside from seeing Cohen every day, the highlight of my weeks will be when my other boys visit!
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