billysmom
03-23-2009, 10:36 PM
Just wanted to post an update before I head to bed. I promise to post the birth story and pictures as soon as I can. Forgive me if this is a bit scatter-brained of incomplete. I didn't get much sleep last night and I've been on such an emotional roller coaster that I feel very worn out and even more tired. Both girls are still in the NICU. It seems that everytime I think we're making progress, I return only to find another setback.
Megan is currently doing better of the two. She had been really mucousy and coughing and vomiting a lot. She's doing better today and has been tolerating her feeds better. She's being fed through a naso-gastric tube, although she's working towards bottle and breast now that she's not coughing and struggling to breath as much. They've worked on weaning off of the temperature support and she should be in an open-air crib tomorrow if everthing goes well through the night tonight.
Rebecca - who was originally doing very well and I expected to leave the NICU soon - has gone backwards. The neonatologist came to my room around dinnertime and told me that she still hadn't passsed any meconium or stool yet and had very little urine output. They did an x-ray and found that she had a blockage in her bowels. I forget the actual terms that she used. She said that everything was backing up and her stomach was filling with the air she swallowed while she ate. They stopped breast and bottle feeding and started her on IV fluids and IV antibiotics. She now has a tube in her mouth that goes to her stomach to help suction out what's in there, including the air. They suspect it's an infection and are treating with antibiotics until they get the cultures back. When I went to visit the girls a little while ago, she also needed to be put on a nasal canula because she was starting to have problems keeping her blood oxygenated. They hope that will work and she won't need to go on a C-Pap
I had been holding up pretty well until I went in tonight after DH took DS home. It was just me and the babies. When I walked up to see Rebecca, I started getting upset because she went from being in an open-air isolette last night with only a few monitors to being in an incubator with all of these tubes and wires coming out of her. So much backwards progress in 24 hours. Fortunately, as I was getting ready to leave the nursery, she did pass some meconium and peed a little. She's not out of the woods yet, but it's a good sign and much needed after an emotional visit.
I know that we're fortunate that they're doing as well as they are. They were born at 36 weeks and 4 days, and both had good birth weights. I'm hoping both of those things will work in their favor. I know that most of the other babies in their NICU room are doing worse and have more problems that are more severe. It doesn't stop me from being so emotional everytime I see them. I'm having a much better recovery from this c/s than I did the first time. I would gladly trade it in order to take away their issues.
If you're still reading this far - thanks. I guess I needed to get some of this out if I have any hope of trying to sleep last night. I need to get more than the 3 or 4 hours I got last night, especially since I'll be waking up to pump throughout the night.
I'll try to keep posting updates as I get them.
Megan is currently doing better of the two. She had been really mucousy and coughing and vomiting a lot. She's doing better today and has been tolerating her feeds better. She's being fed through a naso-gastric tube, although she's working towards bottle and breast now that she's not coughing and struggling to breath as much. They've worked on weaning off of the temperature support and she should be in an open-air crib tomorrow if everthing goes well through the night tonight.
Rebecca - who was originally doing very well and I expected to leave the NICU soon - has gone backwards. The neonatologist came to my room around dinnertime and told me that she still hadn't passsed any meconium or stool yet and had very little urine output. They did an x-ray and found that she had a blockage in her bowels. I forget the actual terms that she used. She said that everything was backing up and her stomach was filling with the air she swallowed while she ate. They stopped breast and bottle feeding and started her on IV fluids and IV antibiotics. She now has a tube in her mouth that goes to her stomach to help suction out what's in there, including the air. They suspect it's an infection and are treating with antibiotics until they get the cultures back. When I went to visit the girls a little while ago, she also needed to be put on a nasal canula because she was starting to have problems keeping her blood oxygenated. They hope that will work and she won't need to go on a C-Pap
I had been holding up pretty well until I went in tonight after DH took DS home. It was just me and the babies. When I walked up to see Rebecca, I started getting upset because she went from being in an open-air isolette last night with only a few monitors to being in an incubator with all of these tubes and wires coming out of her. So much backwards progress in 24 hours. Fortunately, as I was getting ready to leave the nursery, she did pass some meconium and peed a little. She's not out of the woods yet, but it's a good sign and much needed after an emotional visit.
I know that we're fortunate that they're doing as well as they are. They were born at 36 weeks and 4 days, and both had good birth weights. I'm hoping both of those things will work in their favor. I know that most of the other babies in their NICU room are doing worse and have more problems that are more severe. It doesn't stop me from being so emotional everytime I see them. I'm having a much better recovery from this c/s than I did the first time. I would gladly trade it in order to take away their issues.
If you're still reading this far - thanks. I guess I needed to get some of this out if I have any hope of trying to sleep last night. I need to get more than the 3 or 4 hours I got last night, especially since I'll be waking up to pump throughout the night.
I'll try to keep posting updates as I get them.