February 22, 2009: Oh, Cohen.

Can you say "We look like Daddy"! Look how much the two boys look alike!


We moved rooms today in an effort to combine babies and make double rooms. We went from sharing a room to sharing a room…so we were already in a double occupied room. AND, the room we moved from continues to have Cohen’s roommate, all by herself. I’m still not sure why it was necessary to move rooms, especially because no consolidation occurred. I really liked our room in the back; it was quiet and we had the space farthest from the door. The new room is at the front of the pod and our space is the one right next to the door.

Regardless of the fact that I despise change, the move wasn’t very helpful for Cohen. His O2 sats were still having problems during the night, but changed for the worse with the move. He was on 23% before he was moved. During the moving process, the transport nurse hooked him up to the 100% oxygen tank for the short stroll across the pod. When they tried to put him back on the 23%, he was not having it. His nurse thought maybe the sensor was tired and John thought the calibration of the new room’s machine was different than the other room, but after checking both and having no positive result, Cohen’s oxygen was turned up. He was between 35-40% this afternoon. His Doctor was called because such a drastic change in oxygen is a sign that Cohen is headed back to the CPAP. The Doctor wanted to put him back on CPAP, but Cohen’s nurse convinced the doctor to try something else first. So, the route the Doctor is taking is to treat him for reflux. Cohen is now on two medications and it is the Doctor’s hope that the change in O2 sats is the result of reflux which could have started due to Cohen having an immature GI tract, the increase in feeds, and the fact he is no longer on the TPN fluids (which had zantac in it). He will be given 2-3 days of the medication to see if his O2 sats improve. If not, he will more than likely go back on the CPAP. Did I mention this whole NICU thing is a roller coaster??

We did have some progress today…Cohen pooped on his own! Twice! Yeah! He is also digesting his food well. He started the morning at 18cc, and by this evening he was up to 20cc, and by morning he should be up to 22cc! As I said before, the more breastmilk he digests the more the IV fluids are decreased. I can’t wait for that IV to come out of his head!

Today John and I found out that once Cohen’s O2 sats are regulated he will be able to have a window visit with Carter once a week! His nurse will bring Cohen, sans incubator, to the front door of the NICU windows so that Carter can see his little brother! Cohen’s nurse today said it was important for Carter to see Cohen so that he has a better idea of what is going on. At which point I thought to myself, didn’t I just tell you that Carter is only 16 months old??? He won’t have a clue what is going on until Cohen is home …and even then, I’m not sure what he’ll be thinking.

Speaking of Carter, he came home today! I went out into the hall to meet him and Cindy (John’s mom) and he looked at me and said “Hi”, paused, calculated in his head who I was, then came running to me…all the while calling me dadda and signing daddy. I went into the hospital just as he mastered the “momma” thing, so I will give him a few more weeks to figure it out again :) As I was visiting with Carter, John came out of the NICU…Carter looked at him, then looked at me, and sort of had a moment of not knowing who to go to. It was so cute, but so sad because it just showed me how much he has missed us. John and I are going to set up Skype so that I can see and talk to Carter more than just on the weekends. It is amazing how much he has grown up in the last week. He has more words and is pretty much running now. And the cutest thing ever…when I said “Carter, time to go bye bye” he bent over grabbed my Coach purse, put it on his shoulder and started walking and saying “bye, bye” , “bye, bye.” I tried to get a picture of it, but as soon as I got the camera out he dropped the purse and became more interested in trying to convince me to give him the camera.

I spent some quality time with Carter while John finished some homework. It was only 2 hours, but seeing as how it was the most one on one time I have had with him since Feb 1, it was perfect. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter John and Carter had to start making their way back to Moscow. This weekend went by way too quickly for my liking.