Day 2, Feeds, Diapers and Drama queen Livi
Well today was the longest day of our lives!.
Olivia had been on oxygen the previous night but still ok to hold for a little while, because she was returned to her isolette.
Livi has deteriorited during the night and her CO2 levels had increased and her PH levels decreased. This means the amount of Carbon she is exhaling is not enough for the amount of O2 she is taking in. Her breathing saturation had decreased. She was not allowed to be touched (not even light strokes), and preferably no voices near her. She was needing all her energy to focus on breathing. Her little foot was black and blue from all the blood gas samples they needed to take and she was not a happy camper. Her face was frozen in a perpetual frown, and very red. We were a little taken aback and worried, especially when the medical staff dont give you that much coveted assurance (of course they can't legally, but it would be nice to hear), when asked if we should be worried, the answer is "well we can't say yes or no, but of course you will be".
She was being fed purely by IV, which is just sugar water. This is good because it doesn't require her to take any energy to digest but the negative is of course, no nutrition for her body. Dr Peterson the doctor assigned to them (more about him later, all doctors are not created equal, this guy was a bumbling fool with almost completely contrary advice to what we received later). He requested the nurses feed Olivia 5 cc's, to which the head Nurse Julia (amazing) winced, she definitely didn't think she was ready for it, and she was right. Needless to say if he has an 'accident', dont be surprized, Daddy Dustin is not a fan, and is plotting his bodily harm.
So.. onto some good stuff for a minute, this is the sweet part of the bittersweet day. I got to fully take care of Violet, feeds, changes and all that good stuff. She is amazing, her little eyes are starting to open and she just wants to be held, and was demanding her food right on the 3 hour mark. She also had some pretty diaper surprises for Daddy, and of course he coincidentally needed to visit the restroom during those moments, i guess their bodies are in sync? She did just great and is most happy when shes in my arms, with my hand cupped firmly on her head.
Olivia was out of her isolette waiting for Dr Peterson to examine her, but he was 2 hours later than he anticipated, so the time out of her isolette was not good for her. Her saturation was at a low level of 80, and eventually when moving her back to her Isolette away from distraction, it increased again. He commented they should have put her back, but of course they thought he was coming 'any minute' and didn't want to distress her with moving her back and forth.
Now, Dr P confirmed that Livi is on a course of antibiotics, which is standard protocol for under-developed lungs, in case the issue is not Hyland Membrane Desease or more commonly known RSD, (Respitory Stress Disorder), is indeed pneumonia, so this precautionary measure is a must. This antibiotic needs to be monitored closely, if too much is administered, there are risks of hearing loss/hearing impairments.
All of the staff agreed that if Olivia wasn't showing signs of improvement by midnight, she needed to be transferred immediately. They did not want to see her Co2 levels increase anymore than 55.
By midnight her levels had gone from 55 to 60 and then to 65. This of course was what we feared. Another Dr came in to discuss and it was decided we should get her there asap. She was also very distressed and tiring out, her little rib-cage was moving up and down with real 'pulls' in her chest (not great).
Olivia had been on oxygen the previous night but still ok to hold for a little while, because she was returned to her isolette.
Livi has deteriorited during the night and her CO2 levels had increased and her PH levels decreased. This means the amount of Carbon she is exhaling is not enough for the amount of O2 she is taking in. Her breathing saturation had decreased. She was not allowed to be touched (not even light strokes), and preferably no voices near her. She was needing all her energy to focus on breathing. Her little foot was black and blue from all the blood gas samples they needed to take and she was not a happy camper. Her face was frozen in a perpetual frown, and very red. We were a little taken aback and worried, especially when the medical staff dont give you that much coveted assurance (of course they can't legally, but it would be nice to hear), when asked if we should be worried, the answer is "well we can't say yes or no, but of course you will be".
She was being fed purely by IV, which is just sugar water. This is good because it doesn't require her to take any energy to digest but the negative is of course, no nutrition for her body. Dr Peterson the doctor assigned to them (more about him later, all doctors are not created equal, this guy was a bumbling fool with almost completely contrary advice to what we received later). He requested the nurses feed Olivia 5 cc's, to which the head Nurse Julia (amazing) winced, she definitely didn't think she was ready for it, and she was right. Needless to say if he has an 'accident', dont be surprized, Daddy Dustin is not a fan, and is plotting his bodily harm.
So.. onto some good stuff for a minute, this is the sweet part of the bittersweet day. I got to fully take care of Violet, feeds, changes and all that good stuff. She is amazing, her little eyes are starting to open and she just wants to be held, and was demanding her food right on the 3 hour mark. She also had some pretty diaper surprises for Daddy, and of course he coincidentally needed to visit the restroom during those moments, i guess their bodies are in sync? She did just great and is most happy when shes in my arms, with my hand cupped firmly on her head.
Olivia was out of her isolette waiting for Dr Peterson to examine her, but he was 2 hours later than he anticipated, so the time out of her isolette was not good for her. Her saturation was at a low level of 80, and eventually when moving her back to her Isolette away from distraction, it increased again. He commented they should have put her back, but of course they thought he was coming 'any minute' and didn't want to distress her with moving her back and forth.
Now, Dr P confirmed that Livi is on a course of antibiotics, which is standard protocol for under-developed lungs, in case the issue is not Hyland Membrane Desease or more commonly known RSD, (Respitory Stress Disorder), is indeed pneumonia, so this precautionary measure is a must. This antibiotic needs to be monitored closely, if too much is administered, there are risks of hearing loss/hearing impairments.
All of the staff agreed that if Olivia wasn't showing signs of improvement by midnight, she needed to be transferred immediately. They did not want to see her Co2 levels increase anymore than 55.
By midnight her levels had gone from 55 to 60 and then to 65. This of course was what we feared. Another Dr came in to discuss and it was decided we should get her there asap. She was also very distressed and tiring out, her little rib-cage was moving up and down with real 'pulls' in her chest (not great).
posted by VioletandOlivia at 10:51 AM
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