Our Little Addicts

Baby Z continues to do well.  He is so alert and aware now days.  He will respond to you and loves to sit up and stare at all the machines around him.  He is so sick of lying down.  I got to cuddle and hold him all afternoon and he loved nuzzling into my shoulder and neck - it was wonderful - I feel more and more like I have my little boy back.  And I am becoming more confident holding him, even with all the lines.

His progress is amazing! He is so strong.  He is down to 2 liters/minute on the nasal cannula which uses moist, heated air.  Next step, getting him on normal room temperature, un-moisturizer air through the nose. He is up to full feeds via a bottle.  Next step, nursing!!!  He still has a little difficulty latching but the OT (Occupational Therapist) said all he needs is a little support under his chin while he is eating, so I tuck my fingers under there and he can take the full bottle. Things are looking really good on these fronts.  

The main struggle is the weening from the neurotics.  We have ourselves an addict.  They had taken him completely off the Versed and the Morphine on Saturday but the next morning he was showing major signs of withdrawals - sneezing, hiccups, very fussy,  not interested in food and then throwing up when fed, not sleeping - basically the same symptoms a heroine addict has when they go through withdrawals.  So they hooked him back up to a low dose of morphine - after a little reminder from Mom that he was on .02 ml NOT .1 ml when he was weened - just another blessing of being able to spend so much time at the hospital and keep an extra eye on our little guy.  Today they turned down the morphine to .013 ml which is the lowest the machine will go and he is doing fine.  However, while changing out the lines the morphine line got kinked (I was holding him so not making it easy on the nurse) and in the hour it took for the alarm to go off and alert the nurse, Baby Z was already showing signs of withdrawal again - he just wouldn't stop sneezing, his eyes go really big and he got very angry and irritated.  So we learned from this experience that even though he is on the lowest dose possible he still really needs morphine to remain comfortable.  Tomorrow we are meeting with the doctors to discuss a weening process for him.  We need to dry him out soon so we can get him home.

Our other little addict is Big Sister, she is addicted to Kipper.  She wakes up demanding it.  Whenever anything goes wrong in the day she demands it.  She tries to get to watch it before bed.  Kipper, Kipper, Kipper!  (Have you seen this show?!)

Granted, Mom and Dad are giving in a little too much but I keep reminding her that as soon as her little brother is no longer withdrawing, it will be her turn.  I feel that we will soon be getting back to a more normal lifestyle.