A New Normal

I'm not really sure, but I think that living in the hospital is becoming a normal way of life for mommy and daddy. Mommy stays with me during the day while daddy works and then when daddy comes home from work, mommy will sometimes run out to do errands. I know mommy and daddy trust the doctors and nurses because the running joke is about how mommy and daddy have hired the most expensive, most highly trained babysitters in the world for me. Daddy likes to tell the nurses that they are the best NICU nurses in the whole world.....but only until their shift is done and then the next nurse who works with me is the best. The same goes for the respiratory therapists, doctors, and nurse practitioners. I think all the staff have heard daddy's line already, but they still laugh everytime he says it.

Joking with the staff seems to make things easier for mommy and daddy. Here I am stuck in my little escape pod, with all these tubes and wires hooked up to me. I know I'm scared, but since I don't know any better I just grab onto the wires and tubes to see what happens. It must be just as scarey for mommy and daddy to see me like this.

Now that I'm gaining weight mommy and daddy are starting to feel more comfortable. I'm eating 60 CCs, or 2 ozs every twelve hours now. What that really means is I can eat up to 15 CCs every three hours. Tomorrow the doctors will up my feedings even more. I should start packing on the pounds before too long. But mommy and daddy still worry because as much is going well with me, I still have to have the tube in my mouth and lungs, and I still scare them by letting my O2 drop really low. I try to explain that I just forgot to breathe for 1 second, but I always get a lecture about how I need to learn to multi-task. Mommy says just because I'm digesting my food, or trying to sleep....I still have to breathe. Gosh, you people have such high expectations of me!!!! Give a little guy a break once in awhile!

The doctors gave me a diuretic called Lasix which is supposed to help my lungs somehow. The first dose didn't seem to help my O2 saturation, but my chest x-ray looked better than usual. That was two days ago, so the doctors decided to try it again. Hopefully it will help with my breathing and I can learn to multi-task so I breathe all the time.....then no more tube!!!!!

I know mommy desperately wants to hear me cry, but I can't because the tube is in the way. I do cry, you just can't hear me. I don't know any other mommys who WANT to hear their baby cry...my mommy is just weird. She says it's the little things that most people take for granted....like my ferocious cry that make her feel comfortable. I bet that once she does hear my cry, she'll wish I wouldn't cry anymore:)

I have Tiffany as a nurse again tonight. She's the awesome nurse who wraps me up tight like a burrito. She has this special way of putting a rolled up blanket underneath me too. I know that my other favorite nurses, Lisa and Holly, roll up a blanket and put it under my hips, but Tiffany puts the blanket length wise so I'm snuggled up on top of it. Really though, all my nurses take great care of me! But, I have to tell you....I think some of my nurses have a crush on me....someone better tell them I'm too young to date!!

I'm eating right now. I just got a mommy juice lollipop and now my tummy is being filled. After I'm done eating, I think I'll drift off into dream land. Mommy put some money down on a house today and she told me that there's a big open vacant lot across the street from the house. My daddy bought me a kite before I was born, so maybe when I get big we can fly my kite in the vacant lot. I'm going to dream about flying a kite tonight! Mommy also told me that if everything goes well, everything will be moved into our new house before I get out of the hospital....that's awesome because that means I don't have to help carry anything!!! YAY FOR ME:)

Maybe it's not so bad being in the hospital.....I mean think about it...I've got girl nurses at my beck and call, I can eat whenever my tummy says it's hungry, I don't have to work and I get to lay around all day...and people think I'm cute! I could get used to this, but I think mommy and daddy might get upset with me. I know they want me to get better so we can leave the hospital, so I'm going to work really hard to grow big and strong...and I promise I won't forget to breathe!!!!