In honor of flu season, I promptly caught a cold, and now I am trying as hard as I can to recover quickly. Being sick means that I get a yellow dot on my name badge and I get to wear a mask and foam often. That part doesn't bother me, neither does the nasal drainage that occurs inside the mask, but I don't think I could forgive myself if Naomi got sick because of me. To keep that from happening, I've restricted my visits or skipped visiting for a day. So, needless to say, it has been a tough week.
I also seemed to have passed a milder version of my cold on to Ana. Fortunately, she has recovered, but has continued to wear a mask for a couple of days.
We've returned to our roller coaster rides. Naomi had been doing well and digesting well. Her stools were fairly regular and had shifted a couple of crayon colors in the crayon box towards yellow. Her fussiness even earned her a burrito wrap.
By Tuesday though, things seemed to be falling back. They told us in the beginning that the NICU is a series of two-steps forward, one-step back. As a new dad though, I think I'd describe it as a series of balloons. They get bigger slowly and you get excited and then they seem to pop right in front of you. It really can be deflating when you get to that step back, even when you remember how fortunate you are and how well things seem to be trending.
So Tuesday, Naomi's belly was distended again, and another belly x-ray showed a lot of air throughout. We've been here before. Her feedings were held for a couple of hours to see what would happen, and they discontinued the fortifier that was added to the breast milk. Her belly measurements are one of her least favorite things, but we were anxious to have her belly measured often. So far things were headed in the right direction. Naomi's belly was getting smaller and her feedings were resumed.
Wednesday started off fairly normal as well. I made my usual call to the nurse in the morning and learned that Naomi had a good night. Her belly was feeling softer and she was still stooling regularly. The size of her belly was the same though. Ana went in and talked with the doctor. For now, they would also discontinue the iron supplements that she was receiving. The fortifier and iron have been suspects in the past, so we were hoping that by stopping them, Naomi would be able to pass the gas in her belly without holding feedings and restarting an IV.
By Wednesday evening, Naomi's belly was distended again. Her feedings were held for a couple of hours while Mom held her tight. After kangaroo time, Naomi's belly was 1 cm smaller and her belly still felt fairly soft. Her feedings were continued. At some point in the afternoon, those feedings were switched to a completely digested formula instead of breast milk. The doctor wanted to see if Naomi could handle the new formula and if it could be used as a fortifier. If all goes well, they will keep Naomi on the formula and reintroduce breast milk over the week. So I guess we are in wait and see mode again.
All in all, we have been very fortunate. While there have been problems along the way, Naomi has been a super star through all of this. Someday, I'm sure I'll be lying awake at night waiting for her to come home after her curfew. I'll probably have to give some sort of obligatory parental lecture or at least watch mom give an obligatory lecture. And someday, I'm sure I'll be lying awake at night when I am older and I'll be wondering if my daughter is okay. But between all of those late nights, both now and in the future, are and will be, days that are filled with joy. We just have a few more hills to climb along the way.
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