Edema

Yesterday afternoon was a tad bit crazy. We headed down to the Y for an alumni barbecue with the CS department. There are 3 or 4 families that we like to catch up with each year and we always know they will be there. Its nice that the CS department will plan such an event for us to do that. :) Afterwards I headed up to see Aaron. Lots to report on....

First, he is really swollen. When I arrived I lifted his blanket and called the nurse right over. This was her first time with him so she may not have noticed but I pointed out his hands, feet, and legs and told her they were extremely swollen (edema). She called the nurse practitioner in and she agreed and said she would pass it on this morning. I was a little frustrated, I wanted them to take it more seriously and talk about what was causing it and how they would help him. After she left I took him out of his bed and held him. After about an hour or so they seemed to go down a little but still were enlarged when I left.

Aaron has a hernia. It doesn't seem to bother him but it will need to be fixed before he can leave the hospital. Apparently this is really common in preemie boys. Aaron was upped to 13 ml on his feeds yesterday. (I wonder if that is what is causing the swelling???) He weighed in at 720 grams but I know that is because of all his swelling and once he pees that off I'm sure his weight will come down. This time that high gain isn't so great. He was also removed from all the humidity in his bed and is keeping his temperature up just fine. He had another eye exam, still not vascularized but no sign of retina detachment (RPO). He blew another IV but hopefully after they finish the last of his antibiotics today they will be done with IV's for a while. I asked when he would be moved to an open crib. They usually don't do that until the baby is 4 pounds. I laughed, as did she. Because Aaron will most likely be coming home before he is 4 pounds they are going to have to rewrite protocol and decide when the move from the isolette to the crib is best. She didn't think it would be too far away.

After doing his cares I was able to hold him. He put his head down and nuzzled right in. He didn't move for over an hour. When we started his oxygen was at 41, when I put him back in his bed it had been turned down to 30 and he was continuing to high stat. He also kept his temperature so well that I had to take a blanket off because we were both a little too warm. He did not put up a fuss when I laid him back in his bed but he did open his eyes and give me this look of, "why did you put me back, I was doing so good". If I could have slept there holding him I would not have put him back.