Day 34 - New Word of the Day (Pericardial effusion)
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Morning: James had another good night and start to today. After weighing in at 1050g last night, he was able to have two bowel movements, which is great. Since he’s tolerating his feeds, they will up him 20 ML later on today. He’s growing steadily and is staying consistent with his settings on the oscillator. He will have his blood monitored today and tomorrow to see if a blood transfusion makes sense this week. Overall, pretty steady for Baby James. We are still waiting for the ECHO results at the moment.
FIO2: 42%
Amplitude: 22-23
Pressure: 17.2-17.4
Afternoon: Blood gas showed hematocrit at 29. If this gets lower than 25, Baby James will get his blood transfusion. If that is needed, his feeds will seize again for 1-2 days, which could cause some weight loss. The doctor will make decisions based upon what James needs and the information they get. They moved his blood gas from every 12 hours to every 24 hours (less pokes ... which is good. 💉)
The Echo results came back good. They want to monitor James's heart due to being connected to the lungs. Nothing to be concerned with, but they noticed some trivial, non significant showings. He has a small hole in two upper chambers called ASD/PFO, which is very common and will usually self heal.
The other trivial showing was Pericardial effusion (word of the day) is the buildup of extra fluid in the space around the heart. If too much fluid builds up, it can put pressure on the heart. This can prevent it from pumping normally. For now, not a concern. They will run another Echo in 10-14 days. ♥️
Overall, James is doing well. Resting and growing. 💤
Dad is doing the best he can with being present, reading Dr Seuss (and personal growth), singing Blue Skies, baby talk convos about the future, and journaling to capture these precious moments. He walked just under 5 miles to the NICU today. 🏃♂️
Mom is pumping like champ 🍼 (had a personal best of over 900 ML), changing baby diapers, providing some hands on care, taking temperatures, and cleaning/mouth care during our "hands-on" time.
🤗🤗
ReplyDeleteThanks Uncle David!
ReplyDelete