June 27, 2012- The NICU Rollercoaster
The NICU rollercoaster is a never ending ride. There are times that I feel like Will is making great strides and then he takes a step backward. It really is one step forward and two steps backward. When I arrived to the NICU, I was told that Will had graduated to Team 2 which is his new medical team. Babies who are on Team 2 are not as sick as those babies on Team 1 and they are considered the "feeders and growers". This made me really happy! When Will's new medical team met for rounds, they decided to keep him on the 1.5 Liters of oxygen and to wean his oxygen every other day. This way, Will didn't wean off his oxygen too fast. I was okay with that and I sat to nurse him while he was on 1.5 Liters of high flow. Will did a great job nursing and didn't need to have any milk put through his feeding tube. After nursing, Will slept on me until it was time to feed again at 11:30. When it was time for Will's 11:30 feeding, I put him back in his crib. That's right, I said crib and not incubator! Will is in a big boy crib! At first, he didn't know what to do out in the open. He looked around at his new surroundings and soon fell asleep. I took this opportunity to leave him for a while and to run home quickly.
When I made it back to the NICU, I found that Will's oxygen need had increased back to 2 Liters high flow! I was completely shocked. He was doing so well when I left. The nurse told me that this is to be expected when a baby makes the big leap from an incubator to an open crib. The open crib is a huge milestone, and there are times that babies need more oxygen to cope with being in a big boy crib. It was still hard to see Will going a little bit backwards. Then it was time to nurse. Will did a little better tonight as compared to last night. He was able to suck for a few minutes, but then he fell asleep. The nurse said that it's okay for him to be sleepy. He had only practiced nursing 5 times, and that he was doing better than expected with the nursing.
Finally, after losing weight last night, Will gained 55 grams! He now weighs 1935 grams which equals 4 pounds 4 ounces! He's getting so big!
The NICU rollercoaster is a never ending ride. There are times that I feel like Will is making great strides and then he takes a step backward. It really is one step forward and two steps backward. When I arrived to the NICU, I was told that Will had graduated to Team 2 which is his new medical team. Babies who are on Team 2 are not as sick as those babies on Team 1 and they are considered the "feeders and growers". This made me really happy! When Will's new medical team met for rounds, they decided to keep him on the 1.5 Liters of oxygen and to wean his oxygen every other day. This way, Will didn't wean off his oxygen too fast. I was okay with that and I sat to nurse him while he was on 1.5 Liters of high flow. Will did a great job nursing and didn't need to have any milk put through his feeding tube. After nursing, Will slept on me until it was time to feed again at 11:30. When it was time for Will's 11:30 feeding, I put him back in his crib. That's right, I said crib and not incubator! Will is in a big boy crib! At first, he didn't know what to do out in the open. He looked around at his new surroundings and soon fell asleep. I took this opportunity to leave him for a while and to run home quickly. 
When I made it back to the NICU, I found that Will's oxygen need had increased back to 2 Liters high flow! I was completely shocked. He was doing so well when I left. The nurse told me that this is to be expected when a baby makes the big leap from an incubator to an open crib. The open crib is a huge milestone, and there are times that babies need more oxygen to cope with being in a big boy crib. It was still hard to see Will going a little bit backwards. Then it was time to nurse. Will did a little better tonight as compared to last night. He was able to suck for a few minutes, but then he fell asleep. The nurse said that it's okay for him to be sleepy. He had only practiced nursing 5 times, and that he was doing better than expected with the nursing. 
Finally, after losing weight last night, Will gained 55 grams! He now weighs 1935 grams which equals 4 pounds 4 ounces! He's getting so big!
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