Two Tubes Less
Hello to you all.
Rebecca came home from the hospital today. It's great to have her back! Before leaving, we said our goodbyes to the nurses who have been a part of our lives these last few weeks. Many of the nurses asked if they can check on Xavier in the NICU (none of them have seen him yet).
Rebecca and I spent nearly an hour with Xavier this afternoon. He did little but sleep (picture below).
Xavier had two more tubes removed today! His IV is out of his right hand and what we have been calling his "club arm" (the one wrapped with cotton to protect his IV; the first picture below shows his wrapped arm) is now free of encumbrance. His CPAP has been replaced with a slower feed oxygen tube. We can see his face now! Also, because he keeps pulling it out, his stomach tube was threaded through his nose. This should help him keep his food down.
Rebecca was up most of the night, so she spent much of her time in the NICU. She got to hold Xavier again for his :30 skin-to-skin session. Even with a warmed blanket, he still dropped a degree in temperature like he did yesterday. Xavier sleeps with a little towel that the nurses gave Rebecca to keep on her body a couple of days. The towel picks up her scent and Xavier learns mom's scent as he sleeps.
One of the things Rebecca witnessed today was Xavier experience a "Brady", which is when the heart rate drops drops very low very quickly. His skin turns deep purple nearly instantly. When this occurs while in his pod, alarms go off all over the place and nurses appear out of nowhere to check on him. It's usual for this to happen very occasionally for babies Xavier's size and developmental level. If it grows more concerning, the solution is to add a little caffeine to his drip. This helps the brain to create a more stable wiring to regulate his breathing. What is really scary, Rebecca says, is when he had a Brady while laying against her chest!
Xavier freed of his head gear, holds mom's hand
A great scale shot, Rebecca rests her hand on her son's head.
A very focused Rebecca changes Xavier's diaper. The diapers are weighed before they are thrown out. They doctors measure how much fluid goes in and how much comes out. this helps the doctors understand how Xavier is doing with his liquid intake.
Xavier's pod opened up, a rarely seen sight.
Xavier sleeping on his tummy. This, the nurses told us, is his best position for growth and development and metabolizing his meals. The light is keeping him from jaundice and the giant foam sunglasses protect his eyes from too much bright light.