Well after a hard day yesterday, Ethan was doing much better today. They decided to place a feeding tube in this morning and start feeds today only giving him .7cc of mama's milk. It's a very small amount but wanted to start slow to make sure that he could tolerate the feeds. We spent our morning visit with Ethan know that we would come back in the evening to see Madaline. Since we now are trying not to bounce back and forth between the 2 little ones to make sure they both stay as health as possible.
When we went in this evening, unfortunately, the nurse said that Ethan's stomach was looking discolored again which freaked us out since they just started the feeds. They came in to take an x-ray to make sure that there wasn't a hole in his intestines, which would be REALLY BAD. His heart rate dropped a few times when we were there as well, which is not normal for him. The x-ray came back normal and the doctor on call came by to take a look at him. He said that everything sounded normal and he didn't think that the feeds would be making a difference in the discoloration. They are going to continue with them and just keep watching his stomach. It is somewhat reassuring that everything sounded ok. However, why is his stomach discolored? It makes me a very uneasy.
Madaline is doing good, she is going up on her feeds and is progressing well. We went in after a while to check on her and found her crying because the CPAP breathing machine that she was on was giving her some discomfort. She wanted to rip that thing right off her face, my poor little girl. She likes to be swaddled up but the temperature in the incubator is too warm to do that with her so I just held her hands for a while to help her calm down. It seemed to help. We also gave her a pacifier which she is doing a little sucking on. Other than that, she is progressing well. If all else looks good over the next few days, they may even consider taking out her PICC line (which is like an IV that is long term. They put it in her arm in a vein and feed it through until it sits right around her heart.)
Pictures:
Top 2 are Madaline and the bottom 2 are Ethan
Always been tough for situations like this. I believe my grandma would want to see a bright, lively and smiling face whenever I am with her. I don't believe in sad and unpleasant looks while being with her. Being tough is what everyone needs right now, and it also helps me stay alert and not panic during emergencies.
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