Camping Out in the NICU

• Camping Out in the NICU

  Written Aug 21, 2012 3:06pm
  Going on Day 11, I'm starting to find my "NICU normal" (not to be confused with the "new normal" that I so badly crave!) I recognize all the receptionists, have mommy friends that I swap stories with, and have my favorite lunch spot in the garden (and get a little agitated when someone else is sitting on my swing!) I discovered the Ronald McDonald family room and a little corner where I can do some work and make some phone calls while Logan sleeps. Don't take it personally if I don't return personal calls...I'm tackling the biggest worms first by calling the insurance companies and doctors! The Ronald McDonald family room even had a batch of FroYo donated, so coming from a LONG line of ice cream lovers, this made my day!
  We have discovered that Logan doesn't like to work. Hmm...whenever he gets therapy (by his mommy or the "real" therapists), his oxygen levels drop and he begins a very shallow belly breathing. After speaking with the doctor this afternoon, he wondered if maybe we pushed the breathing too fast. So, he turned the oxygen flow from 1L to 2L and Logan started grimacing and arching, and breathing worse! So, the good news is that he is appropriate on 1L, he just needs to get stronger through ALL his breathing muscles (neck and chest too) to tolerate the activity. Because he had to work a little harder to breath, he did not do as well with feeding today. He can't stay awake long enough. The speech therapist couldn't do a suck/swallow eval because his breathing was too labored, so we will try that tomorrow. These "baby steps" are hard for me, as I feel that if I JUST KEEPING TRYING, he will get better more quickly. I've been joking that we are having feeding bootcamp this week, so I guess I should except some "muscle soreness" the first few days with limited progression forward.
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  This is the first time we saw both eyes open at the same time

  
  

  

  It has been a status quo day. No big gains, but fortunately, no bad news. We continue to ask for prayers for eating, that he has no aspiration (fluid going to his lungs) when the speed therapist does her evaluation), that his breathing becomes less labored with activity, and that he overall gains endurance