Day 62; not feeling hunky dory

Loki did not feel well today. When I spoke with Margaret this morning, she explained he had been desatting and bradying and did not really recover from it as he usually does. When I came in around noon, he was being put back onto the CPAP machine. In addition, when suctioned he had quite a lot of secretion, which made Blanca and the Doctor suspect he may have a cold. It was very sad to see him all covered up with the mask again. It was even worse seeing him towards the end of the day when he started to behave very, very tired. He did not show his typical feistiness when being changed or when having his temperature taken.

Several tests were done and a chest x-ray was taken. The tests came back negative, which means Loki does not have RSV or influenza, which is a major relief. In addition, the chest x-ray showed no signs of pneumonia. However, it was very clear on the x-rays that he is not expanding his lungs far enough on the cannula. This can be explained by something as simple as exhaustion from breathing on the cannula, or indeed having a general cold. Although he behaved very tired and somewhat lethargic for a little bit at the end of Margaret's shift, he did not have more secretion as long as I was there. And when I called in at 10:00 pm, he was still doing well on 21% oxygen on the CPAP. Also, his somewhat high temp form earlier, may have been explained by wearing a warm t-shirt from the hospital. He did cool down and stay at an appropriate temperature after we kangarood.

What we are hoping for now is that all his signs just showed us he was tired from being on the nasal cannula and do not indicate any underlying issue. Although I signed up for a room at the NICU for an overnight, Blanca (his nurse practitioner), the doctor and his nurse Jenny ensured me he was doing alright. He was not retracting his chest and he did not show a "bopping" head which are signs of respiratory distress. So, I left with an okay feeling about the urgency, or lack thereof. That said, it was very difficult to see him feel so miserable and not being able to really help him.

Nevertheless, always scary to see Loki take a step back. But hopefully he is able to recover when sprinting on the nasal cannula as he is doing now with most of his time spend on the CPAP. With a little bit of luck we can plan the sprinting such that we can restart the recreational breastfeeding, as soon as he is up for it!

Unfortunately Dad does indeed have a viral cold. There is not much he can do except for waiting, sleeping, plenty of fluids and healthy food. According to our own doctor, he shouldn't be contagious anymore after 48 to 72 hours. Also for those who wonder, if Loki does have a cold, he did not get this from Dad. He has not really seen Loki except for those first 10 minutes after his trip, with the isolet closed, and I don't have it.

Please keep your fingers crossed and please keep Loki in your prayers. He needs a little extra support at the moment!