Jackson's First Tummy Ache and Amie Sue Hides from Mommy

Poor Jackson and Amie Sue. It was kind of a traumatic day for both of my little ones.

While I was vaccuuming this morning, poor Amie Sue just couldn't take it so she found a safe place to hide.


Jackson had his first tummy ache yesterday while Ryan and I were there. I had just finished holding him, we had put him back in the bed and dressed him (he was starting to desat more frequently and squirm in my arms which usually means he wants to go back to bed), and were just waiting for him to settle back down.

He usually takes just a minute to settle and his O2 saturation will go back to normal. Yesterday, his saturation stayed in the 70s for at least 15 minutes despite the nurse raising his oxygen from 28-32. Then, she came over and raised it to 35. Still no change. He stayed in the 70s and occasionally would dip into the sixties. The nurse came back over to look at him, took him out of the bed, and burped him. (The first time I've ever seen Jackson burped. He's on feeding tube feedings, so he doesn't usually need to be burped). Then, she showed us that Jackson was bearing down and making little grunting noises. She explained that that meant he had a tummy ache was either having gas or trying hard to pass a bowel movement. She explained to me that he wasn't struggling with his breathing, he just needed some time to have his tummy ache. So, she handed me Jackson and taught me how to massage him to help him pass whatever he was struggling to pass.

Finally, his tummy ache seemed to subside and he started having the hiccups. That usually means that Jackson is stressed out and needs some time to recover himself. So, we put him back into bed and he seemed much better within 15 minutes!

Ryan leaves tonight to go out of town for business for a week. He'll return on Friday. I know I'm going to miss him, but I'm excited to see how far Jackson comes this week before he gets back! I've got some more work to do in the nursery, so I'm hoping to get that finished before Ryan gets back and then have him say "Wow! Look how awesome that looks!" when he gets back! :)

The nurse tried again last night to get a urine sample to send away for a culture, but she was unable to get one. The doctor today decided that two days of negative blood tests and no change in his white blood count indicated that there isn't an infection so he discontinued the order to keep cathing Jackson. (Thank goodness!)

Current Stats:
Weight: 3 pounds 13.9 ounces!
Respiratory: High Flow Nasal Cannula 3, 28-32 percent oxygen (he went up to 40 during his tummy ache but came right back down)
Feeds: Full Feeds (27 cc every three hours)

Goals:
1. Make it to 4 pounds!
2. Wean down to High Flow 2 and stay around 30 percent oxygen.
3. Continue maintaining body temperature in the isolator and wean back to a big boy crib!
4. Less frequent desats.
5. Move to the penthouse? (7th floor, less intensive nursery)
6. Do well enough on high flow 2 that we can begin non-nutritive sucking (the step before taking bottles!)

I know there are a lot of goals right now, but that's because many things begin happening once Jackson weans down to high flow 2. It's when we begin the next phase of his development! :)

With love,
Anna

PS. I forgot to mention that the nurse yesterday commented on how well Jackson responds to voices and tracks people with his eyes. She says that is a great sign for his neurological development!! :)