Week 6: Feb. 24th - March 2nd

Day 38: Monday, Feb. 24th
Landon was taken off of the nitric oxide today, and his nurses say that so far he is doing great and has even been able to come down a little on the ventilator.  I got to take his temperature and change another poopy diaper at care time today.  He weighed 2lb again, was 14 inches long, and his head grew 1/2 cm in circumference.  He's getting his sedatives and antifungal medicines orally now through his feeding tube, and he is getting full feeds of breast milk with fortified calories.  Once his antibiotics are done they will be able to pull his PICC line.  His endotrachial tube cultures came back positive for Klebsiella Pneumonia, so they changed one antibiotic to hopefully fight the infection better.

He is just so sweet and looks at me with these big eyes as if to say, "What are they doing to me now?" I can't wait for him to get off the ventilator so that I can hold him again.  It's hard for me to feel like he is mine yet; he feels more like public property right now.  In a little over two months, he gets to come home and be all mine!


Day 40: Wednesday, Feb. 26th

 Landon got a new isolette today.  It's a little smaller and different than the "giraffe".  They have been able to come down a little more on his vent needs, and Dr. Christensen says his pink color looks a lot better than he did last week.  His cultures are still showing K. Pneumonia bacteria, so they are continuing his antibiotics even longer. 






Last night he weighed 2.b 2oz, and he is still tolerating his feedings so they are going to increase fortified calories from 22 to 24.  Dr. Christensen says they are working towards getting him back off the ventilator now. 


Day 43: Saturday, March 1st
Thursday night I got to hold Landon for the first time in two weeks.  They wrapped him up for me and then had to collect all of his wires and PICC line and unhook him from the vent for a second to move him over to me in the chair.  He was awake at first and looking around, and then he calmed right down and fell asleep.  I just sat there and stared at him and talked to him softly.  It felt so good to hold him in my arms again after so long.

 

Friday morning when I called in to see how he was, they told me he was switched over to the conventional ventilator because his oxygen levels were doing so well.  His chest x-ray still looked inflamed, however, and the top of the right lung still isn't opening up all of the way.  I came and changed his diaper and took his temperature at 4 pm and he was doing well.

This morning, I called the NICU when I got over to the new house to unpack some boxes and expected him to be doing well.  Instead, the nurse told me that he was back on the oscillator because his carbon dioxide levels had been gradually creeping up all night.  They had turned the ventilator way up and then his oxygen levels rose too high, so they decided it would be best for his lungs to move him back to the oscillator.  This was very disappointing, but if it's what he needs then it is for the best.  The nurses said they will now focus on getting him completely over the infection and letting his lungs heal more before they try to wean him off the ventilator again.  After he finishes this set of antibiotics, they will try giving him steroids to boost his lungs right before weaning him off the vent again. 

Landon also had to have another blood transfusion today.  This was to help his carbon dioxide levels, his pale color, and to help him fight off the infection.

What a sad face!

I have become friends with a very sweet girl who also delivered a baby extremely early due to severe preeclampsia.  I got a package from her today with some of her 26-weeker's preemie outfits, hand-made burp cloths, onesies, receiving blankets, lotion, a journal, and a gift card.  What an amazing girl! Her package made me cry! I have never even talked to her face-to-face but she is such a sweetheart to send all of this stuff for us.  I have loved being able to talk to her and ask her questions about her baby's journey in the NICU.  She completely understands what we are going through and helps me see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Day 44: Sunday, March 2nd
Today was a relatively stable day.  Landon's oxygen needs have stayed pretty much the same, but he has been much more content and less fussy today.  When I changed his diaper, he just looked up at me with his big eyes.  He didn't even cry just kept looking up at me.  He weighed 992 grams--2lb 3oz-- down just a little from yesterday.

His ET tube culture still hasn't grown bacteria, so we're praying the antibiotics have done their job and killed the infection.  Then Landon could just focus on growing bigger and stronger and getting of the ventilator.

All bundled in his snuggly...although he always kicks his legs out of it.