Monthly Archives: August 2013

Just one of those days

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Calling the NICU for a 2AM update and hearing your kid screaming in the background… kinda rips your heart out a little bit. She’s hungry. She’s uncomfortable. We’re supposed to be able to pop out of bed and go to comfort her when she’s screaming like that. Instead I’m getting a report from a stranger.

The doc said earlier today that Leah’s chest x-rays from yesterday and today looked worse than the x-rays from last weekend. She is pretty sure Bug is aspirating but isn’t sure how to prevent it aside from vigilant monitoring of the tube as well as keeping the kid calm (so much for that). They advanced her repogle another 2 cm (which I asked about like 3 weeks ago and was told it was unnecessary). She doesn’t seem to be tolerating it well, though. It keeps sticking to the lining of her throat and therefore not suctioning. Maybe they should have started with one extra centimeter.

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This took the tireless efforts of two exhausted but determined mamas utilizing such tricks as Mama’s Knervous Knee (built-in bouncy chair!) and Magical Mommysongs. It worked, but apparently it didn’t last long.

At long last, another photo-blast!

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Not a ton to update today. BabyBug was more comfortable today (well, yesterday, technically, but I haven’t gone to sleep yet so it’s still “today”) than she was yesterday (well, Saturday, technically, etc.), but she was still pretty squirmy and pissed off to have to be hooked up to so many extra tubes. She has two IVs – one in her hand and one in her foot – as well as the nasal cannula and all the usual stuff. Plus she has to get her mouth and Mic-Key button swabbed with medicine for the thrush. With all of that going on, I’m surprised she did as well as she did today. Let’s keep hoping for no more fevers!!! And it’d be nice if she could go back to breathing independently, without extra oxygen.

I realize that it has been many days since I have bombarded you with photos. Therefore, I shall make it up to you now. Behold: the photos I have been hoarding since the last update:

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“Like, omigawd, totally, gag me with a spoooon.” OMG. Is my child going to pick up my Valley-girl accent?

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The “thing.” The nurses have us wear this under our shirts for a bit while we’re in the NICU so Baby has something that smells like us when we’re not there. Nobody is really sure what to call it so it’s just kind of “the thing.”

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I see little toesies! Do you see little toesies?

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Snuggling with Uncle Ralph!

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Chillin’ with Grandpa Bill

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Did you miss these little toesies?

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Not gonna lie – we giggled like 12-year-olds over this. And then we fixed it so that she was giving a peace-sign instead. This one, she came up with all by herself.

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“UHHHRRR?” (a la “Home Improvement”)

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Aunti Staci needed a pick-me-up. Babyhawk!

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Pretty girl basking in… um, as close to sunlight as she’s seen so far.

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Who’s our pretty tubeless girl?

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“Who, moi?”

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BabyBug sporting Beiber bangs, but in an ironic hipster sort of way. Look at that face.

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Mommy and BabyBug enjoying some snuggly time.

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BabyBug practicing what her Aunti Staci taught her – the art of the selfie. These are MySpace-worthy.

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Sweet Buggy Bug puts up with so much. But she LOVES her behind-the-ear rubs. “Dear Mommy. Do not ever stop. Thank you.”

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LOVE. THIS. FACE. Sweet Bug. Notice the ears sticking out due to Mommy being the bestest ever and giving another ear rub.

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“I love you, Mommy.”

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BabyBug showing off her pretty froggies.

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BabyBug’s really bad acid trip.

Three steps forward, two steps back

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Buggy has a fever AGAIN. She got oral thrush as a side effect of her antibiotics, and they put her on the nasal cannula because she was desaturating and breathing very hard. It was not a pretty scene to walk into this morning – we could hear her yelling when we entered the reception area and when we got into her room we found her writhing in discomfort. They’ve given her Tylenol for the fever and topical medication for the thrush. This kid is such a trooper. She is exhausted, though. I don’t blame her.

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Update from my phone!

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What a hectic week! Sorry if this entry is disjointed – I am writing it on my phone!

Thankfully, the Bug hasn’t had a fever since Tuesday morning, so YAY – no spinal tap. That was a near miss! Leah has been relatively chill these past few days, with the exception, as always, of feeding times. BabyBug DOES NOT like to be hungry and she DOES NOT like to be kept waiting when she is. We can recognize her voice as soon as we walk into the NICU reception area now, so we know when Empress Baby is ready for her meal before we even see her. Leah also flips out when her tube is clogged. She has had many chest-rattly episodes – at this point they are getting to be a regular occurrence. She tends to paw and pull at it the most when it is giving her trouble, so hopefully the nurses are catching on to that. 

Yesterday’s weight was 7 lbs, 4.9 oz. Leah’s doctors are postponing her Mic-Key procedure and 2nd contrast study until she is past this little bout of fevers and done with all of her antibiotics. They will probably bring her on the week of the 19th. 

Someday this poor bug is going to have nightmares about people holding her down and sticking needles into her. She had to have her hep lock replaced last night AND tonight. Last night I kept her calm(ish) while they put it it; tonight it was Mandy’s turn. 

There is a baby in our “pod” who has a mobile that plays “Brahm’s Lullaby” – not music-box style but like, violin-sounding. We heard it so many times today that I am literally hearing it right now as I type from our room at RMH. No, it’s not just in my head – I am actually hearing it in my ears. So bizarre.