snowdeal.org > ex machina: the eric update - day 50: eric's first tub bath! and even more nasal cannula.

ex machina

the eric update - day 50: eric's first tub bath! and even more nasal cannula.

the big news today was that eric got to have his first tub bath after weeks of "spit baths" with a washcloth. micropreemies are often none to impressed with bathing, as it just makes them cold, so it's interesting to see his reponse. at first he seems like he might get quite unhappy with with the whole bathing thing, but he eventually settled in an waited patiently for it to be over. all the bathing was quite tiring, so after playing with a new toy that kris bought, he looked around for a bit and quickly fell fast asleep.

he's up to 8 hours of nasal cannula, followed by 2 hours of cpap and handling it wonderfully, with very few alarms. i'd expect them to test out 24 hours of the nasal cannula very soon.

he's still having trouble digesting the breastmilk as quickly as they'd like and he'll typically have an alarm or two after feeding. the alarms after feeding are from the weight of the food in his stomach pressing on his vagus nerve, which helps to maintain his heartrate. the fact that his food isn't moving along as fast as they'd like is aggravating the situation. at this point, there's not much they can do, except watch him closely and obey the signs that he's sending to take it slow with the feedings.

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8/23/2004 11:42:00 PM 4 comments

4 Comments:

Oh My god, he is sooooo beautiful. My best as I watch him grow into a little man. hugs to you and kris.... annie

By Anonymous, at 11:44 PM

Strange question, but:

Is the house ready?

You are cruising, and you will need the time.

BTW, we can't get Andy OUT of the bath. Cleanest kid we know.

By Robb, at 11:52 AM

Besides the cold, babies are working far more with touch and sound than sight, and the water probably feels weird and changes sounds enough to be slightly frightening. Glad he endured it with some dignity.

By Derek, at 4:08 AM

Strange question, but:

Is the house ready?ha! robb, you must have a sixth sense or are just attuned to the situation, because we were just fretting a bit the other day, because - no - the house isn't even close to being ready. it's hard to imagine that, if everything goes smoothly, he's close to being half way through his nicu stay and there's lots to do in the next 8 weeks.

Glad he endured it with some dignity.that's a great way to put it - i think he did endure it with a great amount of micropreemie dignity.

By e3, at 11:15 AM

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“"it is hard to be brave," said piglet, sniffing slightly, "when you're only a Very Small Animal." rabbit, who had begun to write very busily, looked up and said: "it is because you are a very small animal that you will be Useful in the adventure before us."”

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this site chronicles the continuing adventures of my son, odin, who was unexpectedly born on the fourth of july at 25 weeks gestation, weighing 1 pound 7 ounces.

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