lindsays blog

Day 5

Miles did great last night.  His bilirubin levels came down enough to turn two of the four UV lights off, which is a good sign that the jaundice is going in the right direction.  He also hit a major milestone through the night… he came off of all oxygen!  He still has the nasal canula but it is only pumping through room air to help him keep his lungs open.  I think he is starting to turn the tides on this battle.

Since he is still under the lights, I can only hold him for a half hour at a time every three hours.  So, I was able to hold him when I got there yesterday for his first feeding of breastmilk through the feeding tube which goes straight to his stomach!  They are going to allow him to try milk today for the first time and watch him closely to see how his intestines react to it.  I held him skin to skin to my chest while they filled his belly.  He fell so sound asleep on me that his breathing came down quite a bit into the normal range for a while.  He seemed to content and I could have stayed there all day, but they had to put him back under the lights until the next feeding.  I wasnt able to hold him for the next feeding becuase his IV came out and they took too long trying to get a new one in him and the whole time he was not under the lights.  So for his feeding he had to stay in his incubator but I held his hand and he seemed happy.  Then the gas started!!!  He was lying on his belly and kept squirming and seeming very uncomfortable.  I had my hand firmly on his tushy to try and reassure him, and sooner or later he started tooting!  This was a good sign that the intestines were trying to work.  The nurse flipped him over and had me change his diaper and then had me hold is knees up to his chest to help him push if he had to poop.  His little face turned beat red and he got a very concerned look on his face just like his older brother does when he is trying to poop!  The intestines are working!  So tonight they are going to up his dosage of milk and continue to monitor him.

I came home exhausted after such a long day around 7:30 to an amazing meal courtesy of Kate, Jay and Ryan.  They had dropped off dinner earlier that day for us and it was such a nice treat to have a home cooked meal (not made by the hospital).  A special thanks to all my friends a family for all they have done so far and all they want to do for us.  It really makes this very difficult time a bit easier with everyone’s support.  Mom Rae also dropped everything she was doing in Fishkill NY to come and be Nolan’s constant babysitter this week.  It has been so nice to be able to come and go as we need to this week because of her help, although I think she is starting to feel the exhaustion of a 1 year old today!!