Spencer Day Four

Day Four in the NICU. We spent a really long time with baby Spencer this morning. He was laying on his back and breathing okay which really made us happy. He has not been able to tolerate being on his back at all, and last night, we had the new night nurse turn him back to his stomach because he was pulling so bad and squirming with each breath. It was encouraging to see him breathing smoother in his "worst" position today. Remember we are waiting for 24 hours of 60 or less breaths per minute. We are closer and closer. This morning, he was in the low to mid 60's, but this afternoon, he seemed to remain under 60. Even after he pooped all over the nurse!

We are still on a feeding tube. He is getting the maximum number of cc's that he is going to get while he is here, which is good. However, we have had some issues with spitting up. They put in his chart that his brother had bad reflux, and of course, babies do spit up after they eat. It could mean that his stomach is putting too much pressure on his lungs when it is full. However, it might have been because the tube they were using was too big and causing the milk to flow to quickly. By tonight, he didn't seem to be doing it as bad and the nurse was not concerned.

There are a lot of up and down emotions in the NICU. We have been so blessed to see him continually improving. Our doctor is very good at doctoring, but not so good at communicating. Some nurses are personable and reach out and some....well, some just don't. We are fragile parents and this morning had a doctor and nurse experience that led to some shedding of tears. It is incredibly hard to have people making all the decisions for your child and not involving you; including when you can touch him, pick him up, or change his little diaper. By the end of the day, however, God usually sends us an angel that picks up the pieces by spending time explaining everything that is going on with him. Information is a good thing.

We spend most of our time just sitting by his side and talking to him and rubbing his head and patting his little bottom. He is famous for little mouse squeaks, and he loves to hold his hands up to his face which is what we always saw him doing on ultrasounds. He plays with his feeding tube a lot and has already completely pulled it out once.

His little feet are so pitiful today. He is getting quite a lot of heel pricks (which thankfully we don't have to witness...we have so far only heard our little boy cry once, so we are under the illusion that he is perfect and happy all the time!) Between his feet and the splint for his IV on his hand, he looks like he has been in a fight!

It has really bothered me that he is just laying there all the time by himself. I feel like he needs to be held and cuddled when he is only four days old. The good thing is that he is one of the less serious cases, and usually, is not being fussed over. The nurse said that she would schedule a time that we could come and hold him. Daddy wins husband of the year for letting Mommy get all the holding time. They only gave us about 15 minutes, but he opened his eyes and looked at me the whole time. Daddy said that just like the first time he was being held all of his levels went to calm and normal. I think that they underestimate Mommy love as medicine in the NICU. This video is for his grandparents who have yet to meet him.