5/29, Hospital Stay Day 3

I woke up shortly before our 8:00 visit and ate some breakfast my parents brought by and then we headed over to the NICU.  Jessie walked all the way there and back.  When we got there a nurse told us that they had x-rayed the babies' chests and Evie had an air pocket on the side of her lung which had been causing trouble breathing.  They were able to treat it by venting it with a needle and since then her respiratory rate was way down, which is very good.  Apparently the lung issue is not uncommon in preterm babies and although there is a chance it could come back in the next couple days, once her lungs heal up a little bit it will be gone for good.  They both still had their belly tubes in when we got there, but Evie pulled hers out on her own and they won't put it back unless her belly gets puffed up, and Ben got his out to try nursing again. 

Ben was awake and moving around when we got there at 8 AM but he had to have his temperature taken and diaper changed and by the time we were done with that and ready to try nursing he was back to sleep again.  He managed to try sucking a little more than he did last night.  I asked the nurse practicioner what we are looking for before we can get the babies home.  We want them to be off of their nose tubes and breathing comfortably and eating every meal.  I asked how long we could expect that to take and she said that they expect babies to be out by their original due date, which for us was June 23, three and a half weeks away.  I was expecting a 3-5 day stay based on my research so that seemed like a lot.  I thought about it though and we seem to be making quick progress toward the goals she set.  Ben has been breathing 24% oxygen air (room air is 21%) and his flow has decreased from four liters per time unit (hour?) to two.  Evie's breathing was more of a concern but after her procedure her oxygen level is down to 27% or so from the low to mid 30's, and her flow through the tube is also down from four liters to two.  Ben is already getting to try nursing and Evie is going to be able to start as soon as this evening, but probably more like tomorrow morning.  They both enjoy pacifiers (Evie more than Ben right now) and they both have been making sucky faces when they are awake.  I don't have an estimate for when they will get out but we are seeing clear and quick progress in my opinion.

Our 11:00 visit Ben got his first bath.  He tried to get mad about it but was too sleepy to complain much.  Evie was wide awake and very interested in the things we were saying to her.  Her breathing was still looking good.  Jessie went back to the room after this visit (where she was finally allowed to take a shower since all of her tubes had been taken out by then) and I ran into Kevin and Shirley in the hallway and we got some lunch.  We got back around the same time Kelli got back into town so we all went up to the NICU together.  When Jessie and I got in a nurse practitioner said they had done another x-ray and the lung separation had reinflated.  Since Evie was still breathing fine there didn't seem to be a need to pull out the air with a needle again so they decided to lay her on her side and give her a 100% oxygen hood to help it heal up, then do another x-ray at 5 to reevaluate.  Jessie was able to work on nursing Ben and Kelli got to hold her nephew.  Mimi was able to sneak in too.

At the 5:00 visit Jessie and Ben tried nursing again but he was too sleepy.  We found out the neonatologist said he was ready to start eating 3 times a day.  The nurse got together all the milk we had been sending to the NICU and it was enough for one feeding so they squirted some in his mouth and gave him the rest through his mouth tube.  Evie was hard to get to because she has the hood over her head and IVs and monitors all over but we touched her and talked to her.  She was able to look at us through the hood and play with us a little bit.  They finally got the x-ray done around 5:45 and the treatment seemed to be working as planned.  Her lung was expanding as we had hoped and they scheduled another ultrasound for Sunday morning.  Jessie went back to the room to work on pumping and my parents and I went to pick up some food and bring it back for Jessie.  This was her second meal back on solid food since the surgery.

We were a little late to the 8:00 PM visit but the nurse knew we were coming in so she waited on us to change Ben's diaper and take his temperature and clean his umbilical stump.  We can't really do that stuff for Evie right now because of her hood but we talked to her and played with her.  I finally got the name for Evie's condition: pneumothorax.  Ben was just waking up when we got there and was ready to give nursing his full attention.  He went for 15 minutes before he got tired. He did really well and would have done even better without having to suck around his mouth tube.  Jessie told both babies their bedtime story and we went back to the room. 

I went in for the 11 PM visit but Jessie was too tired.  Ben's blood sugar was high which could be a sign of a lung or stomach problem so they ordered an x-ray but they said it would take a while to develop.  I changed Ben's diaper and said goodnight and went back to the room and went to bed.