And since this is therapy, I need some. Because the boys came home tonight. No, they weren't hanging from the chandelier or anything. They're good kids...angels, in fact, and Lukas continues to question why Sam's arrival didn't go as planned (we all are, buddy). But the arrival of the boys means that I have to send Elisa out to the hospital for 5 of the 8 feedings alone. I can't imagine that it's easy for her. She has to get out of bed. She has to drive. She has to put up with me asking her to park in the driveway of the Women's Pavilion so that Security can keep her safe at all times. She's a warrior. But I feel selfishly sad to be away from my little man during the evenings. Unless I grow breasts (I'm not planning to...I've seen the Discovery Channel special about Lactating Men...no thanks), I'm not in an ideal position to help Sam out in the feeding department. We are quite militant about establishing breastfeeding without the introduction of a bottle for a little while, so my job fell to the less important things like watching out for the 75 cords hooked up to him, or burping him (he's gifted at this...ah, the pride of his father...can't wait to hear him fart). Instead, I sit in bed and worry when Elisa hasn't provided me with a blog post worth of medical updates from the NICU. I want to help with Sam, and to see that beautiful boy as much as I can. As I sort through it, I guess I'm simply struck by the feeling of being a bad parent while trying to be a good one. Analyze that one.
Sam's update tonight is more progress. As I filled you in early, Sam's weaning off Nitrous Oxide began at about 11:30AM. He moved from 20 ppm to 15 ppm. When we visited at 2:00PM, we were happy to see that not only was his oxygenation holding, the nurse had also dropped it down a percent. So he was tolerating and was at 26%. The nurse reinforced that so long as his oxygen needs remain below 40%, he's seemed to be handling the weaning. At the 5:00PM feeding, we were relieved to know that Sam was still holding steady and the nurse was planning to move him down to 10 ppm.
Fresh off of our 8:00PM feeding (don't worry, I'm not a speed typer...the little man was so hungry, Elisa got called to head in 25 minutes early). I am happy to report that Sam has tolerated 10 ppm for the last 2 hours, and is still at 26% oxygen. The NICU nurse anticipates that they will drop him to 5 ppm sometime during the night. This nurse also noticed that Sam is eating longer. He attributed this to two things: the pressure coming off of Sam's heart and the decrease in jaundice. Both (the heart makes sense, the jaundice I was more surprised by) can make Sam more tired. And the more awake he is, the more he eats. The more he eats, the better his energy. I love the strength in this week old angel. On a related note, an incredibly important member of my support staff said the other day that "if Sam is anything like his father, he's a fighter". While I appreciate the words and strength, I've been married to Elisa for over 10 years, and no one fights like her.
I kid, I kid.
Keep it up, Sam. Keep it up, Elisa.
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