Thursday, October 3, 2013

Four weeks 3 days old

Written October 3, 2013 at 7:53 am
Sorry for the lack of update last night... after milking I zonked right out!

I rushed to the hospital to beat the doctor to rounds and I made it! Evan's new doctor rounds early and fast.

The head ultrasound from the day before continues to look normal. They'll check again in another month.

Evan will start receiving eye exams next week. Preemies have routine eye exams as their eyes (along with everything else) are underdeveloped.

The hydrocortisone steroid ends on Thursday. Once the steroid is fully out of his body, we may see him take a step back.

I believe I had mentioned yesterday about acidosis. I think I had referred to acidosis as essentially heartburn - I was incorrect. Acidosis relates to the kidneys. As Evan's kidneys are still developing, they don't work fast enough to get rid of some of the toxins in his body. This can lead to an imbalance in the acids and bases in the body. The doctors monitor acidosis through blood draws (part of the twice daily blood gas draw). Medications are mixed with various ingredients. It is believed that the first antibiotic Evan was on (to treat the infection in his trach) may have been mixed with something too acidic. Since switching to a different antibiotic, the acidic levels seem to be leveling out.

Feeds are increasing to 21 mL. Evan will also start receiving an extra bump of vitamin D in his milk. He would normally receive this in the third trimester.

We had a nice snuggle, but it was cut short after he had a brady episode. Evan hasn't been prone to them too much since coming off the invasive respiratory vents (jet and oscillator). I felt really bad but the nurse said that he probably would have had one anyway. He looked completely fine and recovered fully on his own.

We just need to concentrate on fattening up Evan so he can get stronger. I am going to do my part and make sure I'm eating lots of ham and bacon. :)

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