FANTASTIC Day

Wow, today was awesome for and with Crew. My sister Heather flew into town from Washington last night, so we went to the hospital together to see Crew. We had a sporting neighbor come with us to the hospital to take care of Heather's nursing baby while she was with me and also to meet Crew, of course.

Crew has had an AMAZING few days and I am flying sky high. They had weaned him down to the lowest possible ventilator settings and couldn't go any lower, so this afternoon they moved him off the ventilator again and onto a nasal cannula. It has a similar function to the c-pap, but it's a little different, and a little more gentle on the nose. We're keeping our fingers crossed and our prayers very specific that he will succeed this time and not need the trauma of reintubation on the ventilator.

They started feeding him a few days ago, starting him at .6 cc of milk per hour. That is teeeeeny tiny. But he's a teeny tiny guy with a teeny tiny underdeveloped gut system. They have been increasing it until he is now getting about 2.3 ccs of milk per hour, which is about 2 ounces per day. For now he is tolerating it very very well. Digestion is one of those things that goes up and down, start and stop, but for now we're in a fantastic place with it.

He's completely off his Fentanyl, so there isn't even the option to give him a dose and he hasn't needed any Ver-sed for several days. He is more alert and yet is still remaining calm most of the time. He still sleeps most of the time (which is good, so that he can heal), but when he wakes up, boy, he really wakes up now!

I had such a good visit with him today. He was very very awake for part of my visit and held his eyes wide wide wide open for almost 15 minutes. He wasn't annoyed by me, except when I was giving him his bath. That's right, folks! They bumped up his bathtime from tonight to this afternoon so that I could participate. It was a little nervewracking, I'm not going to lie. I was so nervous about bumping that ventilator tube. But it felt so nice to scrub him down and rub his little head and wash out all his little creases. And furthermore, during the several minutes while the nurse changed his linens in his bed, I was able to hold him for the first time since he was transferred to this hospital. What a delicious treat! I got eye balls! I got to bathe him! I got to hold him! He is about 2 pounds now.

I gave him some fresh milk to use today, special delivery from the Mommy Dairy. I wasn't able to do a full pumping because they had a power outage in the middle of getting the job done. Yes, nothing more reassuring than a power outage at the hospital, don't you think? Of course, all of the important equipment is hooked up to backup generators and Crew's care continued without a hiccup. And PS, I hate pumping so it was a good excuse to cut it short. Wah.

So, today was a great day. Much much improved from Monday, and I'm relieved to report it. I really liked his nurse today, though I'll probably never see her again.

Some of you may wonder why there aren't more pictures of Crew on the blog. That's because they keep the lighting in the NICU very dim and cozy and using a flash is very overstimulating and is also not a great choice for his developing little eyes. So I have to work really hard when conditions (like sunlight and body positioning) are just right and then do my best to hold super still because my camera doesn't take great pictures without a flash. Today I worked really hard to get some shots of him. I was so happy to even capture his open eyes. Again, and as always, click to enlarge for maximum cuteness.

"Go away. I'm sleepin' here!"
"Mom? Is that you? Speak up, I say! I know you're there because I can smell you!"

You can see his stoma, where his intestines are now to the surface of his belly. I know you were all curious. The bag over it catches his poop. And he's been poopin' some good, seedy stuff. Go, Crew!
"I'm thinking about waking up to say hello, but I'm really tired."
Here I am holding my little peanut for a few minutes. He's 13 inches long now. Do you see him looking around with eyes wide open?
This is the only close up picture that came out of him with his eyes wide open. I have never seen them quite so alert as I did today. I could not get enough of those curious little peepers. Then again, he was a lot less medicated today than he has been since birth.
Bath time!