Yikes

Well last week was pretty much awful. There is no way to sugarcoat it. When I am feeling fully recovered (if such a thing is even possible), I will write in more detail about what happened. We've been home since Friday night and I still feel pretty damn rattled over the whole thing.

The good news is we had a follow up appointment with the pediatrician this morning, and Tessa basically got a clean bill of health. So apparently I do not need to stay up all night watching her breath. Just in case, you know.

I will close this brief entry with the final picture I took of her in the hospital, looking almost like her usual self. She is so beautiful.

Model Patient

Powered by Caffeine, Medela, and Fear

So this week didn't go exactly as planned. I was awfully flip about Tessa's cold in my last entry, and I'm feeling fairly guilty about that now. It turns out it wasn't just a cold.

All weekend Miss Tess became increasingly listless, and by Sunday night she was refusing to eat. The few times we did coax her into drinking an ounce or two, she would wait a few minutes and then throw it all up again in spectacular fashion. Plus her cough was worsening, and her breathing was labored. So even though I'd taken her to the doctor on Friday, I hauled her back to the pediatrician's office Monday.

After watching her eat-then-throw-up routine happen twice in twenty minutes, the pediatrician sent us straight to the emergency room for some IV fluids. "They'll give her the fluid and she'll perk right up, you'll see. But be prepared to be there a few hours," she cautioned.

HAHAHAHA.

That was Monday afternoon, and we're still here. In the PICU, to be specific. Her cold is actually RSV with bronchiolitis, and part of her lung is collapsed.

Tessa is making slow but steady progress. The good news is she's eating really well on her own, so yesterday they took her off the IV fluids she'd been receiving since Monday afternoon. They have also changed her breathing treatments (which she gets every six hours) from albuterol to just saline solution. Now the big goal is to get her weaned off of her oxygen cannula so we can get her out of the ICU and into the regular pediatrics ward (and then home!). She's currently on 30% oxygen at 8 liters per hour.

This morning the doctors tried to turn down the oxygen to 21%, which is what we regularly breath at room air, but her blood oxygenation immediately dropped down into the low 90's (they like it to be 95-100%) so they had to bump her back up. I am hoping the doctors will try again tomorrow and it will go better.

ARGH.

As I was typing that last paragraph her oxygen levels dipped again and they had to increase her to 35%. This is clearly the wrong direction. I fear we will be here for many more days, and believe me it is neither restful nor calming for any of us.

They are going to increase her chest physical therapy (which she is getting every couple of hours) and hope that breaks up the mucus in her lungs a bit more. I will try to update tomorrow.

Powered by Caffeine and Medela

Tessa has a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad cold. Newborn with a bad cold = parents with no sleep. Like, almost none at all. I think in the past two days I have gotten five broken hours of sleep total. Yikes.

Here is what happens: It is 3:00 a.m. Baby begins to cry. Baby is picked up out of the crib by one of her exhausted parents, and then fed/changed/walked in circles as required to calm her down and get her back to sleep. (Bonus points to the parent if a blowout poopy diaper is discovered, such as the one that happened last night around 1:15 a.m. requiring a full outfit change and swaddle blanket replacement.) The parent continues to soothe baby until she is clearly deeply asleep, perhaps even snoring. Then the parent continues the soothing process for an additional ten minutes, just to be absolutely positive that baby is now sleeping soundly and can be returned to cradle with minimal risk. Parent lays baby very gently and slowly down into her cradle and makes sure she is comfy and warm. Parent lays back down in own bed; pillow feels blissful. Ahhhh, bed. Glorious bed.

Parent has bought himself or herself perhaps ten minutes before the crying begins again. Only now the baby is angry, because seriously, who gave you permission to put her down in the cradle, you evil parent? Quite obviously the baby will only tolerate sleeping in your arms, and not any stupid cradle. Or swing. Or bouncy seat. Or strategically-angled car seat propped on bedroom floor.

The fun scenario described above is made more interesting by occasional pathetic coughing, sneezing, and snorting from the newborn. Tessa is so congested that is she refusing to breastfeed. She does not want her little nose or cheeks touched or squished in any manner, and thus will only take bottles. This means I am spending even more quality time with my already close friend the Medela Symphony to make sure my sadly mediocre milk supply doesn't drop any further.

To sum up: newborn with a cold = bad bad bad.

The good news is that the baby is, snot nose and all, so adorable. I mean it. She's much more alert and looking around (somewhat suspiciously) at her surroundings, and I am waiting with baited breath for her first real smile. Please send us some good thoughts that this cold passes quickly and we can return to our regular, non-snotty, occasionally decent-sleeping baby ASAP.