Kathy Lucas took care of Henry during the day today and Ben is his nurse tonight. Ben took care of Henry the very first night he was in the NICU. That conjures up many memories of the things he has been through and the progress he has made. Unfortunately I think I'm too tired to articulate them right now. Suffice it to say, it is amazing where he has been and what he has accomplished. He has fought on through, never giving any signs of giving up. There is still a long way to go but he has the heart to keep moving on.
Sunday night is the measuring night. Tonight he weighs 2205 grams or 4lbs 14 oz. That is what Kate weighed when she went home from the NICU some, umm, 29 years ago. His length was measured at 42 cm. That is down 1 cm from last week. Obviously length is not an exact science as this is the second time they claim he has shrunk. His head circumference is now 33 cm which is up 1 cm from last week. That is what we like to hear.
Grandpa Henry spent the morning with him from 8am to noon. I took the noon to 4pm shift. Grandma relieved me at 3:30pm and stayed until shift change at 6:45 pm. Kate is visiting him this evening.
For the most part it was an uneventful day. He was a bit fussy for everyone it seems. He had not had a bowel movement since his eye procedure on Friday and I think that was getting to him. While I was feeding him just after Grandpa left he finally made a sizable deposit. He had another one some time this evening.
I feel bad that he is just getting back to normal and tomorrow he is going to be sedated again for his hernia surgery and will have to go through this again. A couple of the nurses mentioned how it would be nice if they would double up on things like the hernia surgery and the eye procedure. It would make much more sense to only sedate him once. I would think it might even save the hospital money. But they don't do that.
The surgery, yes it is a surgery this time, is scheduled for noon tomorrow. It is kind of a welcome surgery. It just can't be comfortable to have your intestines leaking through to places they shouldn't be. It is very swollen and may well contribute to his general restless he displays so often.
Kate took the afternoon off from the hospital to stay home and get some work done. She feels terribly guilty every time she stays home (which has been maybe twice) instead of visiting him. However, I think it is very important for her to take some breaks for her sanity. I keep telling her, that is why there are two of us. Listen to Hillary, it takes a village. Best to take some time now while we have a team of highly trained professionals to be babysitter. Soon it will just be us and the grandparents.
I took this evening off. I haven't had more than a few hours sleep in a night all week. I was going to sleep Saturday and then my work had an emergency and woke me up first thing in the morning. I had to work today as well but that was planned. So I stayed home with the idea of getting to bed early but I'm still up and will be up for a while longer because there is just so much to do. I spent the bulk of the evening putting together baby things. The stroller was pretty easy as was the swing. The pack 'n play was some work. It is one of those things that you are supposed to be able to pack up and take with you. I believe you would need to be able to solve a Rubik's cube to be able to put it back in its carrier. I got two sides once before pulling the Rubik's cube apart with a screw driver and putting it back together. That's not against the rules, is it?
Tomorrow is hopefully the last surgery for the rest of his life. On Wednesday we are going to be receiving instruction on his oxygen and monitoring equipment as well as CPR. Grandma, Grandpa and uncle Brian will all be participating since they will be taking care of him. Then Kate and I will need to stay overnight in the hospital to prove we can handle the equipment. Fun.
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