Sharp Shooter

Yesterday (Saturday), Joyce, Kathy, and Holly were on duty. Joyce thought that Henry looked good. We didn't really see a lot of our trio as their other patients were at the end of the pod, including one of the screamers, who requires a lot of attention because of gastrointestinal issues (born with her intestines outside her body, I think, which were put back with surgery).

I tried nursing Henry in the afternoon but he wasn't that interested. Joyce thinks that Henry's just about ready to go in a crib. But she's not convinced that I'm ready to have him go in a crib (which is an accurate observation). Henry is doing well with his temperature. Although he is tolerating noise better, I like the security that the isolette has to offer.

In the evening, Henry made another fountain while Jeff was changing him, so we had to get him new blankets. It's a bit challenging shielding the area from Henry's path, with him being in the isolette. We're hoping that the changing process gets easier when we have more room to maneuver when he's out of the isolette. Jeff held Henry in the evening. Holly weighed him when we put him back. He was 1560 grams. His skin looks quite pale; it is clear that he's still anemic.

Karen was Henry's Sunday day nurse. My mother held him for two hours in the morning. I held him in the afternoon. Before holding him, Henry made another fountain, which ended up soaking the blankets and hitting his pulsocs chords. Karen got a new pulsocs for him and changed out his blankets while I held him. I tried doing skin-to-skin with Henry, but I think he smelled the milk on me and cried until we tried nursing. He flailed around trying to latch for a while. He was clearly interested but not quite coordinated to do it. I ended up getting the pacifier and cradling him, which he liked.

Karen asked me what we had decided to do about his immunizations. I told her that Jeff was still looking into it. He has concerns about the shot protecting against diphtheria. Most nurses and doctors want the immunizations done. A few others, including Karen and his resident Hans, are quite understanding about our concerns and recommend researching our options. Karen has four children and had one child have a reaction to that shot (caused her discomfort for a few days after it). That child only got the first of the diphtheria sequence because of her reaction. The problem, of course, of not completing the sequence was that Karen was incredibly anxious because there were a few outbreaks of it in the community. Hans told me the other day that he and his wife decided to wait on their 32-weeker's immunizations until the baby was 2 months (age corrected) rather than 2 months (birth). Neither Karen nor Hans were saying that's what they'd recommend for Henry. They were just understanding about possibly waiting on the shots.

Holly was scheduled for a 12-hour shift tonight. Jeff went down by himself for some male bonding alone time. Holly weighed Henry at 1580 grams. His head circumference increased by 1.75 cm, so he's now at least on the growth curve when it comes to that. He increased his length by 1 cm. Holly tested his hematocrit levels, which were 25. So, we'll have to see if they decide to transfuse him tomorrow.

Jeff reported that the pod has gained a few new acquisitions. I'm hoping that they are quiet ones.

Joyce, Kathy, and Holly are on duty tomorrow.