Monday, February 6, 2012

At the NICU

It has been a ROUGH few days for this new little family of 3.  On Saturday we got released from the hospital and went home.  We thought everything was fine and we were all doing really well.  Then on Sunday things went down hill.  We realized that it had been about 12 hours since Jude had a poopy diaper and that he had only peed once in his whole short life, on Friday evening and hadn’t since then.  We called the after hours pediatrician line and our doctor told us that he might just not be getting enough to eat because S’s milk still hadn’t come in.  So she had us after every feeding try to give him about half an ounce of formula to see if that got things started and to call back at 5 if he still hadn’t peed.

The formula helped get him to poo and at 5:00, he did the deed, though it had been at that point almost 24 hours and only the 1 diaper.  So we called the Dr. back and she told us to feed him an ounce of formula once he was hungry again and wait an hour and half to see if he would pee and if he didn’t she wanted us to take him to Dell’s Children’s hospitals ER to see if he had any sort of blockage.  So by 8:00 he had eaten the formula and still not peed so the ER we went.

At the ER they practically tortured the poor guy.  He had blood drawn, his vitals taken, an EKG done on his heart, an ultrasound on his bladder, two antibiotic shots, spinal fluid drawn and an IV put in.  The IV was the worst because they figured out he was dehydrated from not getting enough to eat and so it took 3 nurses, the anesthesiologist, and 3 NICU nurses to finally get it put in and of course each person tried twice before the next person stepped in.  They finally got the IV in place on his head.

They thought that his heart rate was lower than normal and that between that and dehydration they thought it was possible he had an infection so thus all of the testing being done and being finally after 5 hours in the ER, being admitted to the NICU at Dell.    So it was a bad night.  I don’t think I need to describe how we felt through all of this because you can imagine how hard it was to see all of this being done to him.

At this point S’s milk has come in and so they are having her nurse him, then pump and then feed him what she pumped with a bottle.  So far this is working great and between the breast milk and IV he is back to his normal self.  They are keeping him here till noon tomorrow just to make sure his vitals stay normal and all of the cultures come back clean.  So they are thinking his heart rate is just naturally low and that everything else was being caused by hunger and dehydration.

We will let you know how things go but they are looking up at this point.  Here is the little guy all hooked up to a million machines.
Still cute as a bug and twice as sweet.  Little guy luckily has slept through most of this and only gets upset when they take a band aid or sticker off of him
-Liz

12 comments:

  1. Oh dear! How difficult for you all, particularly in these first (anxious) few days! Sounds like Jude is on the mend and the three of you will be settling in at home soon though. You're in our thoughts. All the best.

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  2. Oh, poor little guy and poor moms! I'm glad it's nothing serious. Our oldest son took a long time to pee after he was born and we were getting to the point that they were getting worried. I think it was at least a day after he was born, but everything was fine. Hope all goes well between now and tomorrow and you can go home.

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  3. As awful as all of the pokes, prods, and tests have been aren't we so lucky to live in 2012?! Who knows what would have happened 100 years ago. I am glad he's doing. How are my mama's holding up? Please let us know if you need ANYTHING. We live close to Dell if you need a shower or whatever. I can't wait til' Jude gets home and I can hold him again. He is the sweetest and I swear in the two days since I have seen him he has changed! Love you 3 peas! xoxo

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  4. Oh no! Poor sweet baby. And poor mamas. I so hope this was the last issue and things are smooth going forward. Sending my support. ((()))

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  5. Sending all better wishes to Jude! Hang in there Mommies he will be home again soon!

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  6. Sending lots of prayers and good juju to little Jude. He is adorable! I hope things clear up for the little man and that mommas can get some rest.

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  7. I'm glad he's mostly ok! What a traumatic way to spend a night, though.

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  8. Oh, Liz and S. My heart breaks just imagining you two mamas watching your son go through those tests. What a rough, rough couple of days. I hope today finds you three at home and healing. I just know that a few days from now things are going to look so, so different. Jude is so lucky to have you two, and I know your family is just going to thrive. Love to you all as you recover and bond. R.

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  9. Poor little baby Jude (and poor mamas)! What an ordeal you three have been through this week. I really hope that everything has worked itself out with Jude's system and that you guys are recuperating at home at this point. The most normal early postpartum period is stressful, so I can only imagine how much harder it's been to have to go back into the hospital. Know that we're sending you good healing juju from Michigan! (JLG)

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  10. Poor guy! Poor mamas! What an ordeal for you

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  11. He's perfect and it sounds like all will be well soon...so sorry for the scare.

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  12. I've been offline for a week and haven't had a chance to send my CONGRATULATIONS! He's gorgeous. Sounds like it's been a rough couple of days and I'm happy to hear that Jude is getting back to normal. Must be so hard, but I imagine that you are enjoying him to high heaven in spite of everything. Take care and I look forward to reading about his speedy recovery! (and yours!)

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