What a weekend...

Well, Friday's doctor visit had mixed results. My incision has healed very well - but my blood pressure is still very high. So I'm now on medication to get that back under control. I'll follow up again with Dr. Donald on the 20th.

Sam came off the high flow air on Friday - and went back to regular flow. For a few hours all 4 boys were on regular flow...but after a few apnea/heart rate drop episodes that day, Henry went back on high flow. They did a CBC to check for infection and it came back negative, so that's good.

Also on Friday, Tim double-kangaroo'd Sam and Joe and I held Henry & Tom. Sam & Tom loved their exercises - but Joey didn't do too well. He's always been more comfortable on his tummy than on his back, so his oxygen kept dropping when we had him on his back to do the exercises. We'll try them next time on his side and see how he does. I loved watching Tim do the exercises with the boys. He adds sound effects and talks to him just like a personal trainer encouraging his trainee through a tough workout.

Overnight they put all 4 boys on air temp control in their isolettes vs. skin temp control. This means they're all getting closer to managing their own body temperature. Another step in the right direction!

On Saturday, I kangaroo'd Sam & Joe together and also Tom & Henry. Our McKay cousins Mike, Mandy, John & Julie came by Saturday afternoon to meet the boys. It was a very nice visit and the boys were on their best behavior. :)

Throughout the day, there was a lot of talk about Sam's new double chin. Since he's one of the biggest of the 4 boys, we all assumed (the nurse too) that he was simply gaining weight and showing it in his chin. Then, after a great day with the boys, we got a phone call at home from the doctor in the NICU around 8-9PM. Sam's double chin was actually the beginning of an infection. The nurses on the night shift picked up on some redness and puffiness on his cheek, chin and neck and they acted very quickly to get antibiotics running. Because this type of infection is usually some sort of staph infection and can be contagious, they moved all 4 boys into 2 small rooms at the back of the unit to isolate them from the other babies and reduce the risk of spreading the infection. As an additional precaution, the nurses put on clean gloves and gowns every time they come into our rooms to care for the boys - and a new gown and gloves when they move from one baby to another.

Later that night, they put Sam on a ventilator. This was partly a precautionary measure - if the swelling spread and increased, they feared his airway would be blocked. Sam was also becoming very lethargic and lazy with his breathing. The vent would make breathing easier for him, so his energy could go toward fighting the infection instead. They've also started holding his feedings and giving him nutrition via IV so he doesn't have to use his energy to digest food.

The infection probably feels like a bad toothache for Sam. So the nurses have given him pain medication - in addition to his antibiotics - to make sure he's as comfortable as possible. They gave him some blood today (unfortunately we don't have an approved O negative donor yet on our directed donor list, so we used blood from the general blood bank). The doctors feel that he's through the worst of the infection and we just need to give the antibiotics time to fight it. They did a spinal tap to confirm the infection has not spread to his brain - and it came back negative (whew!). His blood cultures also came back negative, so the infection is localized and has not spread so far. This is very good news. Even knowing that, it's still so hard to see him like this. He's just not himself. Hopefully in the next couple days, we'll be able to tell everyone that he's feeling better and definitely on the upward swing. In the meantime, please continue to send your positive vibes, thoughts and prayers Sam's way.

One other new development for Joey: It seems that he's developed an allergy or sensitivity to the tape they use to hold his feeding tube in his mouth. The nurse last night took off the tape he had so she could re-position the tube and discovered some tiny blisters on his skin under the tape. They seem to be healing pretty well and they're using as little tape as possible on his skin.

Tom's lungs are showing improvement, but his hemoglobin (and Henry's) is borderline - meaning they'll both probably need blood in the next few days. Luckily, Tim's blood has been approved on our direct donor list, so they can both receive his blood. (The other A positive friends and family that have donated were not approved.)

Here are the current weights and measurements. I've included the length and head size for those that might be interested (particularly the McKay fat heads). :)

Tom: 3 lbs 3 oz; 15 1/4" long; head 11"
Henry: 3 lbs 5 1/3 oz; 16" long; head 11 1/2"
Sam: 3 lbs 7 oz; 16" long; head 11 1/2"
Joe: 2 lbs 15 oz; 15 1/2" long; head 11"

Well, that's it for now. Tim and I stayed at the hospital last night and I'm here again tonight. I'm just more comfortable being right here with Sam and the other boys. We'll post another update soon.

Love,
Kristin & Tim