Day 25 of James and the NICU

Once again, James got to experience the terrifying reality of being a football fan this weekend, this time it was the Lions fault. Monday was my first shift back to work. I showed up extra early to hangout with James before my shift, was able to spend my lunch break with him, and then stayed for a bit after my shift. It was strange, but simultaneously felt just fine that he was right across the circle drive of Butterworth from me. It was kind of a chaotic shift, busy, but good busy, you know? I got over there for my lunch break and as soon as I got to his bedside, nothing else mattered and I was relaxed again. The same thing happened this past weekend where it was one of those days where you get miffed on a small handful of annoying experiences in such a short time frame, it’s gotta be the universe fucking with you. On the way to the hospital, I was pretty annoyed, but by the time I got to James’ bedside, I had completely forgotten about it all. He’s a cool kid. I love him for that. Enough about my BS.

James is still doing great. The fat boy has gained a whopping 30% from his birthweight, which again doesn’t tell the whole story as he lost 10% in the first week. Birthweight was 1310g, got down to 1180g, and is 1710g as of last night. Absolutely insane. He’s developed a fat chin and cheeks, which is a little funny because he gets squished by his CPAP straps. He’s still just brady/apnea-ing (slow heart rate due to briefly not breathing) a handful of times a day, so we still need the pressure support of the CPAP to make him happy. We tried the nasal prongs yesterday and they’re still just slightly too big for his little nares. He’s tolerating his increased milk feeds and TPN turn down for the most part. He’s still a fan of vomiting but not nearly as much as before the NEC bowel rest. He’s also just a gassy boy. XRs have shown increased air, but again there’s no evidence of pneumatosis and he’s having normal stools, so we’re good. As of today, the plan is to potentially get his central line out and transition back to full feeds! He also had his first retinal exam to rule out any retinopathy of prematurity. Basically he’s born so young his blood vessels don’t have time to grow like they normally should (Stevie Wonder’s cause of blindness). Results of that are pending.

James is a cool guy, albeit stinky.