Thursday Morning Update

Yesterday was a long, but good day for Stuart and I. With him nursing so frequently, I am called to his side every 2-3 hours by the nurses. He tends to fall asleep nursing and last night before I went to bed the nurse noted his weight was significantly down. It is primarily because it takes more effort to nurse than bottle feed. Last night his nurse gave him bottles every 2 hours or so and he ate a LOT. Thank heavens. He was probably thrilled to not have to work so hard for his food! He seemed so tired yesterday. Poor little guy.

Every night by 8 or 9 I have such a hard time leaving him. I am eager to be able to sleep by his side. There is a possibility that tonight I can "room in" with him, where they give me a hospital room and he can be next to me in his bassinett. We'll just play it by ear and see how his oxygen needs do today. Its amazing how he can make significant progress in a matter of hours. His day nurse yesterday noted that in the last 5 hours of her shift, his oxygen needs decreased significantly. He is barely on any oxygen now. Its such a good thing.

Where I'm staying has been so convenient-Providence House. Its like a hotel-except without the maid service (which I prefer) and rooms which are meagerly furnished. For instance, on my bed there is a top sheet as a bottom sheet. I am forever rearrangeing it to get it to stay on my bed. The best part about the house is how close to the hospital-a 2 minute walk. I'm at Stuey's side within 5 minutes if they call (I have to wash my hands for 2 minutes before seeing him-standard protocol).

The bad part about the house I discovered is when people cook strong smelling foods and it sits in the house all day. Yesterday evening I smelled like a deep fried fish stick. The smell was sooooooo strong-there was a group deep frying som bad smelling fish. When I got up to my room the smell had permeated even through the register and I could faintly smell it up there. I know in the grand scheme of things its no big deal, but I found the whole thing kinda funny. Definitely did not get my appetite for deep fried fish going!! Also, I'm not terribly inclined to use the well equipped, large communal kitchen because I don't want to make small talk with the other people here. I know it sounds rude, but I don't have the energy. Also, I don't feel like having to clean up a big cooking mess. The less energy expended, the better at this point! The cafeteria food at the hospital is pretty good, fortunately.

I spoke with Dr. Johnson yesterday-he was on call when Stuey was admitted and has been followig Stuey's care in the NICU. Easy going guy-easy to talk to. We discussed Stuey's progress and at the end of the conversation I thanked him for his expertise and care for Stuart. He smiled and said, "Oh, we give your baby extra special attention." He was kidding, of course. I have found all of the doctors to be very approachable on the unit as well as ALL Of the staff. Dr. Johnson thinks that in 2 or 3 more days we'll be on our way. Today is Stuey's last day of a 7 day antibiotic course and we'll see how the oxygen weaning goes.

Now to call Patrick, see how and he and Nora are this morning. I can't wait to be back in the thick of our family breakfast routine in Kodiak. :) Little Nora running around ready for breakfast, NPR on the radio, Patrick analyzing all of his weather sites for the day figuring out what kind of skiing to do....I appreciate the simplicity of that morning time so much more now.