April 4, 2013:

I had high ambitions to take a bubble bath tonight and then blog sitting in the lazy boy chair in RJ's room. Unfortunately I feel asleep on the couch after supper and just couldn't move. The week of round the clock pumping and spending time w/ RJ in a darkly lit room is catching up w/ me. It's so easy to fall asleep while holding him in the lawn chair I get to use. :) Both yesterday and today they weaned the rate for RJ's NIPPV. Today they went up on his feeds to 40mls per 3 hrs. The new exciting and scary news for today is that they are going to try switching him to bubble cpap tomorrow!!! Yikers!!! He's still requiring low oxygen supplementation and is over 2 wks post extubation again. I'm really hoping that this transition will stick. He's so much bigger and has had the second round of steriods and the diuretics. Dr. Desai, who is his attending, is a super sweet Indian lady. She actually started the NICU here at UK. I think she's in her 70's, so she knows tons. She tends to push the baby's and they fly. Robert just read that she came to UK in 1972. RJ is in good hands for sure.
Yesterday RJ and I had a wonderful snuggle time. I love kissing his lil head and face. He's so sqeezable. I ended up coming back last night to give him his bath, which he tolerated well. He appreciates the warmer water and didn't cry hardly at all. His weight was 4 lb 9 oz. Afterwards I held him while he was getting his feed and his nurse changed his bed. It didn't take long sucky on the binki before he feel fast asleep in the crook of my arm. I was able to put him back into his bed without him waking up and said good night.
At some point yesterday afternoon the manager, Kathy, pulled me aside and let me know that Dr. Desai said I could most assuradly get RJ out multiple times a day and could be in the same shift. So, we had a new plan today. I was there about 9am to do his cares and then held him till about 11:30am. He was sleeping like a rock, while keeping his sats up. Then I let his nurse to his noon cares while I went to pump. When I came back he was wide awake and his nurse was sitting there talking to him and holding the binki in his mouth. :) I then got him out a second time and it was super duper wonderful!! It took him a lil bit to find a comfy position, but once again he slept well. After doing his next cares around 2:30pm, I was getting ready to tell him good bye. I opened the side door to his bed and stuck my head in right next to his face. He was wide eyed as I kissed him multiple times on his face. He just stared at me. It was so much fun. :) I could have stayed with him all afternoon if the NICU didn't kick all the parents out at 3pm for "shift change". :(
Anyways, I did get some errands done this afternoon. Then a wonderful friend came by to bring us supper, which by the way was delicious chili and cornbread. :) Now it's time to turn in for the night. Tomorrow will be a big day. RJ has to stop being lazy and just letting his machine take the breaths for him. He's going to have to use those growing lungs. Please say big prayers for us tomorrow!!!