I had a mirror and flashlight, which I used to check Henry's color without disturbing him. His lips looked pink, which was good. So I let him continue to sleep. He slept in the crib for about an hour and a half, which is a record. I fed him a bottle between 2-3AM. He wasn't the slightest bit tired, but I put him in his crib anyway. We are trying to not play with him at night, so he eventually gets adjusted to the idea that night time is for resting. I turned on one of his musical toys, which he liked. He spent about an hour cooing and listening to music. Around 3:30AM, I got Jeff up for our shift change. Henry was hungry again, so I fixed him a bottle before handing him over to Jeff. I pumped and then went to bed a little after 4AM. Jeff got me up at 7AM for our walk. Henry only slept 20 minutes during Jeff's shift.
Nurse Michael came over around 8:30AM. He measured his pulse-ox with oxygen supplementation and without. Without oxygen, Henry's saturation levels were between 87% and 92%. With oxygen, they were between 93% and 99%. I asked Michael if he had called Dr. Bianchi's office when Henry's saturation levels had dipped to 84% two weeks ago. He had. So it looks like Bianchi's nurses dropped the ball and failed to get back to us. Luckily, Henry's color looked fine that weekend, but I really wish they were more proactive and followed through on things.
Henry weighed 9 lbs 3.5 ozs on Michael's scale. The previous week, he had weighed 8 lbs 5 ozs. So that is a huge, huge weight gain for the week.
After Michael left, we tried putting Henry on an exercise ball (recommended by Judith and several people on various websites). It is supposed to be more gentle than being flat on the floor on one's tummy. Although we hold him, he has to use his muscles somewhat to balance. The only thing it seems to have done is help Henry throw up. At least he didn't yell too much. We'll keep trying.
Grandpa is holding Henry at the moment. I'm off to write an article review.
3 comments:
Just catching up with the blog, Kate. Henry looks so great. So happy! and so pink and pudgy.
I loved your note on my blog - the notion of curve balls... uninvited ones at that... and how you don't like the ones we've been thrown. But, I look at how we're managing and how we put one foot in front of the other each day, I am inspired. Sounds weird to be inspired by our own actions, I know. But if you step outside for a moment and see the situation and how you have dealt with it with such grace and given henry such a wonderful loving introduction to this world... i think you will be full of pride and awe at yourself at the same time.
Love and hugs to you and Jeff. And that darling little muffin of a baby.
danna
Danna,
Your words of encouragement have really helped me through tough times.
While we were in intensive care, I would sometimes go to your blog, when I got home, to read not just the current entries, but the old ones. I have read and re-read the April 19, 2006 entry many times.
When Henry was born, I started to think about how unfair the whole situation was. After all...
* I had received prenatal care (unfortunately, I didn't know my doctor was a negligent one)
* I took prenatal vitamins, even when they contributed to morning sickness
* I've never done drugs (decided to skip that part of the college experience)
* I continued to walk every night
* I didn't push myself as hard with my work (so as not be too stressed)
* I was really enjoying where Jeff and I were at in life
And then, I thought about Mike's words to you about things not being fair. So, I tracked down the "It's not fair" entry.
The bottom line is that it isn't fair. But as Mike said, "And who would it be fair to?" One has to consider that the parents' pain is secondary to that of the child's. No child deserves the pain of prematurity.
BTW, Jeff and I have had the pictures of you, Mike, and Baxter on our refrigerator since you sent it out a couple of Christmases ago. So we get to see you three every day.
Love,
Kate
For those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting Dannagal Goldthwaite Young, I just wanted to give some background, because she is amazing.
Danna and I were graduate students together at the University of Pennsylvania. We worked closely as colleagues, and I have the good fortune of having her as a friend.
Danna's husband Mike passed away July 18, 2006 from a brain tumor. He'd been in the hospital for five months and had 13 brain surgeries. During that time, Danna was absolutely amazing. One effect of the tumor was that Mike's short-term memory was wiped out, meaning that Danna was his advocate on all aspects of his medical care. Plus, she was taking care of their young son Baxter, while doing all of this.
Mike was a fixture in the theater arts community in Philadelphia. He was owner and director of Comedy Sportz. Comedy Sportz shows were at their best when Mike was on stage. He was a brilliant comedian. He was also smart and kind too.
There are many entries on Danna's blog that I have used as a resource to get me through various rough patches in recent months. I highly recommend reading her blog as Danna is also a talented comedian and gifted writer. Her blog can be found at: http://185craniopharyngiomas.blogspot.com
Here's a passage from her April 19, 2006 entry:
When Mike was first diagnosed with the tumor on Oct 20th last year, I was beside myself with anger and pain. One night I lost it, "It's not fair! It's just not fair!" I wailed like an angst-ridden child. "We just got married. We have a baby. We're just starting our lives! It's not fair!"
To which Mike calmly replied, "And who would it be fair to, smoosher? Would it be fair if it happened to someone who didn't have kids? Would it be fair to some old person? It's just luck. Dumb luck. That's all."
Freaking Mike. Always so reasonable. But he was right. So let's all be constructive in how we approach this unthinkable situation. And let's try to channel Mr. Young, shall we? It's just luck. Dumb luck.
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