3 Week Update: A backslide this week

Unfortunately, yesterday was another bad day for Jaden. The poor little guy was struggling to breathe and dropping his stats. After receiving another x-ray and checking his blood gas, they had to place another chest tube in his right side. His lung had collapsed again. When we arrived to the NICU, the procedure was already completed and he was resting comfortably. There are so many things wrong with this picture. However, when I left the hospital last night, Jaden was looking better and still resting comfortably. Of course, when I asked the Dr's why this happened I get the same generic response, "it just happens in babies this size" or "this is what they do at this age"--you get the point though I'm sure. I understand that these babies are unable to talk or really communicate, so it is harder to determine why things happen. I know that there are normal occurrences that follow a premie (or micro-premie) throughout life, and these can't always be explained, but I feel they should at least try. Just tell me that the ventilator puts too much pressure on his lung which can collapse it. (Keep in mind that this is just my theory and not what really happened.) Ok, moving on! So, they had stopped his feeds for most of yesterday. When they finally started them back up at 7 pm, they actually increased them. He's now getting one ml (cc) every 2 hours instead of one ml every 4. This is a great sign in a baby this small. He continues his bowel movements (woohoo!) and on X-ray, his bowels have improved dramatically. There may still be a small obstruction, but surgery is looking less eminent at this point. His weight is continually fluctuating. At his highest, Jaden weighed in at 840 grams (about one pound 13.6 oz). After his surgery, he had dropped down to 710 (one pound 8.9 oz). As of two nights ago, he was 800 grams (one pound 12.6 oz). He is barely over 13 inches long. And as with all of his measurements, please take in mind, that each time it's a different nurse. They all have to keep him off the scale while letting his equipment, tubes, lines, and bedding rest as they zero it out. Each one has their own way of doing this and depending on how it's done there can be huge fluctuations. I say this to you because last week he weighed 840 one day and 690 (his birth weight) the next. The doctors completely dismissed this weight and used the 840 to calculate his meds for the day. Jaden looked like an 840 gram baby and has "bulked up" so much since his birth. He's had to receive more transfusions this week. I imagine we will see lots of these in our future. I generally run anemic and my baby seems to be following in my foot steps. However, they're constantly taking his blood for labs and his breathing tube is still showing blood upon suction, so he'll keep being anemic and keep needing transfusions for a while. In breast feeding news, I am a rock star! The hospital actually asked me to stop bringing it in and to freeze it at home b/c they're running out of room in the freezer. I've already filled 7 bins! His daddy bought him a new blanket to dress up his isolet. It's incredibly soft, pale blue with an elephant on it and says "daddy loves me". It's simply adorable! Joe's initial extension was approved. We're now waiting to see if he can remain in the states for the rest of this deployment.