I'm sure the lack of sleep doesn't help matters.
I was up all night, I think I managed to get maybe an hour or hour and a half of sleep. They made me finish two bags of pitocin in my IV after Jonah was born, I'm not 100% sure why. I'm assuming it's because of my clotting problems. In any event, it's meant that I was having very painful contractions all night long ('cause I haven't had more than my share of awful contractions yet?!??). They're giving me 2 Percocet every 4hrs for pain, which I'm taking around the clock. It takes the edge off but I'm still hurting pretty badly.
I'm also having horrific pain in my ....... umm ........ "perinatal area". Dr. Grogan did an episiotomy but I'm starting to wonder if maybe the knife slipped and she's cut me in half of something?? Holy cow I never hurt this badly with Gracie or Jamin. They're telling me that the pain is worse because Jonah came out "sunny side up" (or posterior), the nurse said posterior birth is way wayyyy more painful than a normal birth ... both during and after.
In the interests of preserving your mental comfort, I won't say anything more about that.
I was able to go up and visit Jonah in the NICU twice today. He is so tiny and lifeless looking. When I look at him, all the breath leaves my body. I'm not sure how else to describe it. It's kind of like suffocating and feeling like you have to vomit all at the same time.
I spoke with Dr. Henkis, one of the neonatologists. He told me Jonah was given surfactant through the ventilation tube last night. This is a substance naturally found in the lungs which allows the alveoli sacs to remain open. Preemies lack surfactant, which means that the air sacs will collapse between breaths. This is why premature babies are said to have "immature lungs". The clinical term for it is Respiratory Distress Sydrome (RDS). Xrays were done this morning on Jonah's lungs and confirmed moderate-severe RDS. I am told this is a normal "preemie thing", and is expected at 29weeks gestational age.
He was taken off the ventilator this morning, and is now breathing with the help of a CPAP machine (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). This forces air into his lungs and helps keep those alveoli sacs open. He is getting 7 Liters of pressure on his CPAP, and 25-30% oxygen (normal room air is 21%).
His bruising is slightly improved today, but it's still pretty scary looking.
They inserted a feeding tube today and will start feeding him 3 cc's (approx. 1/2 teaspoon) of donated breast milk every 3 hours. I think the milk donation is an amazing service and I'm so grateful it's available to us. Northside reserves the donated milk only for their micro preemies, who need it most. Because my own milk won't come in until 3-5 days post-delivery, the use of donated milk allows Jonah to get a jump start on the calories. A lactation consultant came to see me this morning, and I've started pumping every 3 hrs around the clock. Once my milk comes in, we will be able to stop using donated milk and switch over to mine.
Jonah's main source of nutrition right now is TPN, which is an IV solution that supplies 100% of his nutritional needs. They inserted a PICC line into his left arm this morning, and the TPN goes in there. They are also administering antibiotics through that PICC line. He has two arterial catheters in his belly button. These go directly into arteries that used to be his umbilical cord. They use these for constant blood pressure readings, as well as drawing blood samples without having to stick him repeatedly with needles. They told us that we will not be allowed to hold him as long as these umbilical catheters are in. There are about a dozen other lines, tubes, and sensors attached all over his little body. I haven't learned what all those are yet.
He had bloodwork done this morning, and so far there are no signs of infection. So that is huge. They are also doing blood cultures looking for infection. Those will take a few days to get results back. He will get a chest Xray every morning I'm told, as well as a daily Xray of his PICC line to make sure that it's in the proper location and not slipping.
They began phototherapy on him this afternoon, because he has jaundice. I'm pretty sure this is something that just about every preemie has, since their livers are not fully developed. Dr. Henkis said Jonah's bilirubin levels will be a little worse because he has such severe bruising on his face. Apparently when your body breaks down the bruises (red blood cells), bilirubin is left over, which causes jaundice. So they are tied together. The nurses put these teeny tiny little "sunglasses" over Jonah's eyes to protect him from the phototherapy lights. They look hysterical.
On a side note, James went home early this morning to shower and get some clean clothes. He told Gracie the news that her baby brother was born. She was super excited, but upset that Mommy would miss her last soccer game. I am also sad to have missed it ... I have missed every game this season (except for about 12 minutes of her first game), and I was really hoping to go to the last game.
I still can't believe we're actually doing this. Blows my mind.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment