Yesterday, Janice was Henry's nurse for the first part of the day. We haven't had Janice since Henry's Pod Two days. She's very nice. She was training a new nurse (whose name escapes me at the moment), so there were actually two nurses helping with Henry.
Henry had a quiet morning. Grandpa Kenski fed Henry 40 mls of milk. When I arrived, Henry looked comfortable in his Danny Sling. I've been skeptical about the Danny Sling really helping. Henry's new bed is tipped at an angle, and the Danny Sling holds him up. The GI study is a requirement for bed tipping. But our nurses "illegally" had been tipping up his bassinet once they figured he had reflux. It didn't take them a probe to know that he had it. We (Grandpa Kenski, Grandma Kenski, Jeff, and me) hold him upright a good deal of the time, so I didn't think the Danny Sling would add much. Nonetheless, Henry gets swaddled well before being put in the Danny Sling, which he very much likes, so he seems content enough.
Henry started his reflux meds yesterday (regelin (sp?) and something else). When I held him during the day, he slept well. So either he was just having a good day, or perhaps the meds have begun to do their job.
I asked Janice about the retina specialist. She asked the doctor and nurse practitioner who simply said that they didn't schedule it, so they had no idea (and didn't seem to want to check on it). This was the same response as yesterday. So I asked Janice to call Dr. Miller, Tuesday's eye examiner, to see what the status was. Dr. Patel had an opening in the evening or next day.
Janice reported that Joyce had called in for a Henry update. I thought that was sweet.
Grandma Kenski came in the afternoon to hold him. Around 3PM, Janice switched with Carol. The staff had reorganized the locations of some of the babies, which resulted in a staff change for Henry.
After I left at 3:30PM to get my haircut for the first time since February, Carol talked with my mom. She told my mom that she thinks the hernias are making life uncomfortable for Henry. I've asked a few nurses about whether or not hernias hurt. Most of them say that they shouldn't hurt, but I think that Carol is probably right. How comfortable can it be to have to squeeze stuff through your intestines through a poorly designed route? Can't imagine that it would be a lot of fun. So, hopefully, Henry will be even more restful after his hernia surgery next week.
Jeff and I had dinner plans with one of Jeff's bosses who was swinging by the west coast and wanted to meet Jeff. Right before I left to meet them for dinner, nurse practitioner Moe Kane called. Dr. Patel stopped by for Henry's second opinion eye exam and said that he had Stage 3 and needed laser surgery. She put Dr. Patel on the phone. He said that Henry's eyes didn't quite meet the classical definition for surgery based on some study, but his eyes are headed in that direction. He said that he preferred to be aggressive with the ROP and treat it right away. I had to give my verbal consent to both Dr. Patel and Moe, which I did. Hopefully, this will resolve the ROP. The lasers will be working on the periphery of his eye and thus shouldn't affect Henry's central vision. Dr. Patel said that most of the time, this procedure is successful. Out of the last ten babies he's had, it didn't work for one, who then required more invasive surgery.
After I hung up with Dr. Patel and Moe, Moe called back a few minutes later. The surgery is scheduled for Friday (today) at 4PM. It will be done in the OR in the NICU.
Had a nice dinner with Jeff and Michael Loop. Michael has a nephew born at 1.3 lbs.
My parents went back to see Henry after shift change, because they knew we'd be at dinner.
I got to the NICU around 9:30PM. Jeff was about 10 minutes behind me. Nadine was Henry's evening nurse, which was great. We haven't mentioned Nadine in a while, but she is one of Henry's primaries. Unfortunately, she always seems to be scheduled for the same days as our Dream Team, so we rarely see her. She hasn't had Henry since early July, I think (Pod Four days).
Henry looked peaceful in his Danny Sling. He hadn't eaten in a while, so I got him ready for feeding. He managed to pee on me twice. First time, I caught it early. But in the process of trying to figure out whether he'd wet his blankets, he sharp shooted me again (and did in fact get his clothes and blankets) and soaked my wedding ring (which I rarely wear these days because of the constant handwashing I do). Nadine had a good laugh over it. She said, "That's boys for you."
Henry was weighed at 2100 grams.
Nadine said that Holly called in. Holly is supposed to be on vacation, but she wants to come into work to be the nurse to prep Henry for his surgery. I know that Dr. Erenberg says it is a treatment, not a surgery. However, Henry will have to be sedated during this "treatment" with intravenous anesthetics. Holly is the IV Queen of the NICU, so I'm sure that she'll do a great job getting Henry prepped. And, I am touched that she cares so much about Henry that she is coming into work during her vacation to do it!
I nursed Henry for about 35-40 minutes over an hour. And he still wasn't satisfied, so I had Jeff hold him. He was very unhappy about not finding food on Jeff, so Nadine prepared a bottle, of which he consumed another 32 mls.
We were happy to see him eating a lot, because beginning tomorrow (most likely some time between 10AM and noon), they will place him on NPO (which stands for something in latin meaning no food).
We had a good night with Henry and left around 1AM.
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