Penelope had me convinced yesterday that she would be intubated by this morning. Well, at 3am her co2 was lower, by 5 it was even lower, and by 8 it was 72. She had some yellow secretions from her nose that they tested (trying to rule out pneumonia or some other infection) and came back so far with normal nasal bacteria. She got a chest x-ray that was clear of anything abnormal other than her regular BPD (bronchopulmonary displasia) so that's a great thing. As the day went on she seemed a bit feistier which is always a good sign. When I got there this evening she was resting quietly (as long as she had her paci in her mouth) and after a feeding she opened her eyes and was looking around for her mobile which just thrilled my heart! What thrilled my heart even more is that when she had a blood gas at 6 it was 59.....59!!!!! Her Ph was 7.42 which is the high end of normal and a really good sign! I was just beside myself with pride and relief! I'm afraid to get my hopes to high but I sure am enjoying this hopeful feeling! She has another gas at 4 am so we'll see what that says. All I know right now is that she did not have to be intubated and I like it.
Lydia had her swallow study today and didn't fare as well. She's fine, she just needs some pretty significant adjustments to her feedings. She's now the proud owner of fancy new bottles and thickening gel. So far she's had a bit of indigestion but I think it's because of the barium she had to drink for the study. It was really cool to watch the screen as she was swallowing and see how her little body works. Sadly it's not quite working seamlessly and she has a delayed swallow. She's tending to let her food pool over her airway before it triggers her brain to swallow. This causes a problem when she breaths (which is kinda necessary) because it pulls the food into her airway. No good. So with this thickened feed it should put a little more mass in there so that it triggers her brain to swallow sooner. So far it's hard to tell if it's working because she's still fussy with the indigestion, but hopefully it'll make a difference sooner than later.
Speaking of fussy babies, I gotta go take care of mine. Keep praying and thank you so much for it! The Lord is listening.
Specific Prayer
- Penelope's pulmonary health to continue to improve (lower co2s)
- Lydia's tummy to calm down
- Jonathan to stay well for his quick trip home this weekend
- Lynnlee's continued improvement
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