Another infection

Today Loki took a dramatic turn. By the evening, it became clear that something was wrong: His temperature was low all day long, he had been he was absolutely not breastfeeding one bit, he was sweaty and puffy, he was not peeing, and his weight gain was a bit too much. Fortunately, Mom and Nurse Amber were quite observant, and Nurse Margaret stopped by on her break from a shift in labor and delivery. Everyone agreed that something simply wasn’t right.

The blood tests were difficult, as it clotted (turned solid) very vast, but did indicate that his blood sugar and sodium were very low, and that his potassium was high. This suggests that his kidney (he has only one) has shut down, probably in response to a urinary tract infection. An ultrasound revealed that he was accumulating fluid in his abdomen. Thus, he has symptoms both of dehydration, and too much hydration. The fluid is just in the wrong location. He is on a urinary catheter, which is quite difficult and unpleasant to imagine for such a little guy. The staff would like to run a culture on his urine, but he has essentially not peed for eight hours or so.

Getting the IV in his vein was quite a task and then keeping it in was even harder. His sweaty skin made it difficult. On one hand, he cried very loudly while being poked. This makes it a very different experience from when he had an infection in the early weeks, when he was unable to make sounds of protest. On the other hand, he is quite a strong trooper. When the poking ended, he was quick to stop crying. And throughout all this mess, surprisingly, his nasal cannula breathing support remained at 21% oxygen (regular atmospheric level) at the new low flow rate of two liters per minute. The cannula even slipped off, unnoticed, for at least ten minutes without a problem. Yet normally, oxygen needs go up quickly during an infection.

So now, he is receiving dextrose (D10) and a mild sodium solution (lactate ringer) via his IV to raise his blood sugar and sodium. A new round of tests is occurring this hour, and hopefully that will provide some information as to which antibiotic to begin using. He is not being fed for now because his is keep his fluid. And what's worse, he is being kept at a slightly lower temperature so that he does not become sweaty and his IV slip off.

Mom is quite exhausted, having woken at 5:30 AM the last two mornings in order to pump and then try to get Loki to breastfeed at 8 AM. We will be sleeping here at the hospital.

Our baby shower is tomorrow afternoon. We intend to go ahead with it, although the timing is strange. We will celebrate Loki, and honor his strength during this tough time.