Progress

It took me forever to start my blog and now it's taking me forever to update it.  Oh well.

There has been so much improvement!  Clayton is up to 3 lb. today.  His birth weight was 3lb 1 oz, but he bottomed out at 2 lb. 10 oz.  His feeding increases almost daily (he's got a nasal gastric tube, NG tube--meaning there is a tube through his nose into his stomach).  He started at 3 mL per feeding and is now at 26 mL every 3 hours.  Clayton's breathing is much improved.  We removed his nasal cannula on Friday and his oxygen saturation has stayed where it should. 

I can't remember if I had posted about his infection earlier, but a few days after he was born his white count was elevated.  It is unclear/unknown the specific infection, but he's being treated as if he had meningitis and pneumonia.  With any infection, it is routine that the baby receives 21 days of antibiotics.  Thursday will be the last day.  For about the first week, an IV was used for his antibiotics and fluids.  The nurse practitioner wanted to get a PICC line in to reduce the number of times he'd have to be pricked for an IV.  The first attempt at the PICC line was unsuccessful, but another nurse was able to get it in the next day.  The PICC line was great for a little over a week until it got clogged Friday night.  They are not going to attempt another PICC line but will use an IV until Thursday.

While Clayton may not have much muscle control, he certainly has muscle!  The boy does not stop moving.  The nurses are amazed that he's been able to gain any weight with all the calories he burns moving.  When he is lying on his stomach with his head to one side, he lifts his head in the air and flops it down on the other side.  Last night, he kicked his IV out of his foot so his nurse moved it to his arm.  He has pulled out his NG tube a few times over the past two days--I can't imagine that feels very good.  The nurses are trying everything short of a straight jacket to keep him still :)

Craig got to hold him for 30-40 minutes last night and really enjoyed it.  I was happy he got to hold him--it was the first time since he held him briefly the weekend he was born.