+ 0 - 0 | § ¶Weight Update
8 lbs, 13.2 oz and trucking his way to 9 lbs!
+ 0 - 0 | § ¶Weight Update
Current weight sans chest tube: 8 lbs, 10.8 oz.
+ 0 - 0 | § ¶The chest tube's out
Little Mister Kickey-Pants decided yesterday afternoon that he would kick out his chest tube ... again. Our nurse was very upset, because she was afraid that he would have to have the chest tube put back in. They tell us that she was on the brink of tears. Because the leak is almost healed, she didn't think that it warranted putting the tube back in. She said that she and the other nurses were talking about standing in front of Alex and blocking him if the surgeons decided to put it back in. But, luckily enough, that wasn't neccesary, the surgeons decided that it didn't need to go back in, so that's one less tube in little Alex! This means a bunch of things. First, it means that we can now dress him up in cute clothes that we couldn't fit on him before with the chest tube. (We'll have pictures later) Second, he's now in a more portable form, which means that we might be able to take him to a visiting room when people visit, which means that everyone might be able to see him at the same time. This is sort of dependant on the general mood of the doctors and the availability of the visiting room. We don't however know how this affects the possible release date of Alex, when we can take him home.
+ 0 - 0 | § ¶It's not so bad...
I talked with Alex's Resident today after we found out about the leak test, and got some more details. The leak had continued to heal over the last week. It's actually so small that the stuff they made him swallow didn't get into his chest tube when it went out the leak. That, and one of his neonatologists said that they wouldn't have seen it if they weren't looking for it. So, they are going to talk to the surgeons tomorrow to see if the chest tube can come out. He still may not be able to start feeds, but having the tube out would be a huge step. Unfortunately, the final decision is up to the surgeons, and we won't find out what they decide until tomorrow. Other than that, things are okay. Alex gave me a run for my money today. He's been pretty upset off and on, but I think it's mainly because he gets bored and really likes to have attention. He loves to be held up so that he can look around the room. I can't wait to be able to show him more of the world than his little room!
+ 0 - 0 | § ¶Sigh, he's still leaking
We just got word that Alex went for his leak test early today, and he's still leaking. We don't have any other information than that, but it looks like he won't be home in time for christmas.
+ 0 - 0 | § ¶It's our turn...
For once, it's not Alex that is sick (yet). Dan and I both have colds now, so it's probably only a matter of time until Alex has it. Oh, well...not much can be done now.
As for Alex, not much is happening right now. His next leak test is scheduled for tomorrow. Obviously, we're hoping for good results this time around, but we'll see. He's still gaining weight and is now at 8 lbs, 8.3 oz. He managed to convince one of the nurses yesterday to put him in a bouncy chair in his crib. She also put him in a red mock turtleneck onesie, which made him look really grown up. I'll bet he can't wait until he gets to move around for real!
+ 1 - 1 | § ¶The row of grumpy old men...
Alex's bed is back by the windows in the NICU now, where he is joined in a row by two other little boys. One is about 3 weeks old and the other is less than a week old. All three of them decided yesterday that they were going to give one poor nurse a run for her money...so they were all really fussy. I think that this latest chest tube might have opened up a new wound when they put it in because he's really been cranky lately. He'll start crying a painful-sounding cry when you pick him up or move him, and he has a hard time settling down after that. Since he seems to be happy during diaper changes, I can only guess that it's pain that is making him so grumpy. (He NEVER used to be calm during diaper changes. If he's happy during one of those, then something really bad must happen to make him cry when I move him. He's usually very happy to be picked up.) In any case, we're really hoping that this week's leak test (which has yet to be scheduled) will show that the leak is healed and that the tube can come out at last.
In other news, he's now up to 8 lbs. 4.3 oz. He's catching up to his 9+ lb. neighbor!!