Yup....another day.

Day 68

Weight: 3 lbs 4 oz

Samuel is gaining weight each day. I love it. However, the doctor feels that some of it may be fluid retention - Samuel has tonight to prove he can make enough urine on his own. If it's not better by tomorrow morning, the nurse will give him a dose of Lasix (which we have been trying to avoid.)

Unfortunately the monitors are still beeping....even more so than they were yesterday. I'm trying my best not to be frustrated. I thought we were finally past this point! He was doing so great. The nurses have tried weening his oxygen off and on. They've come to the realization that Samuel doesn't do well at all if he is weened below 40%. But since there is a doctors order to ween, they will continue to try to push him below 40.

We don't have the official results of the EKG yet. Dr. Arrington had a look at the results and he thought that the right side of Samuel's heart looked slightly larger. I'd like to think that the cardiologist who reads the report will have a different interpretation. It wouldn't be the end of the world if Samuel went home on oxygen....but of course we would like for him not to need it.

When Samuel was on the ventilator we had only two things to watch on the monitors - his heart rate and his oxygen rate. Now that he is breathing on his own, we also watch his respiratory rate. Currently, he is breathing anywhere from 60-90 breaths a minute. When Samuel begins to take bottles, his respiratory rate needs to be below 60. If it is higher than 60, he has a greater chance of aspirating (sucking milk into his lungs.)

Tomorrow is Samuel's eye exam. Here is what I'm thinking.... The doctors are waiting for the nerves to grow out to where they should be in Samuel's eyes. If they begin to grow in the wrong direction, they will have to do eye surgery. I'm thinking that if the nerves have grown out far enough (in the correct direction), that the nurses can turn up Samuel's oxygen again without having to worry about damaging his eyes. Therefore, I dont' have to watch the monitors beep continuously!!!!

Speaking of milk.....there was a puddle of milk on Samuel's bed this morning. We aren't sure how it got there - Surely Samuel couldn't have spit up if the milk is going into his intestines, not his stomach. No one really knows what happened exactly....perhaps the nurse spilled a little in his bed? Perhaps a tube was leaking? Hoping that doesn't happen again....

The best part about today..... holding Samuel and thinking "Wow, he is kinda heavy!"

Good things going on today.....Samuel is still making poopy diapers without help!

The worst part about today..... watching his heart rate drop off and on and knowing that he doesn't HAVE to be doing it.

What I'm praying about for tomorrow.... a good eye exam and a good EKG result