Let's talk constipation!

When J and I got to the hospital last night we ran into Dr. B.  We hadn't seen him in a few days, and have gotten most of our updates lately from the nurses.  This is a good thing in the NICU.  The later in the day the baby sees the doctor, the lower on their radar they are that day.  We like stable days where there is no need for the doctor to rush over to Andrew's bedside.

Lots of naps in mom and dad's
arms this week!

Happy boy

J and I asked Dr. B about Andrew's apparent constipation issues...he's been straining a ton, but not producing much on the other end!  He used to be a champion pooper, and hadn't needed any help (glycerin suppository) until about a week or two ago.  We hate when he turns bright red and is obviously trying to push (and he tends to desat when he does it).  Anyway, the doc isn't concerned, and as we sat and discussed the wonders of the bowels (I'll spare you all) Dr. B said, "I can talk constipation all day!  I love talking about constipation!"  We laughed...eh....ok..... But then he said, "Isn't it nice to be talking about constipation as one of our biggest worries...remember back to when he was first born and we had to talk life and death for those first weeks?"  Great perspective.  And a great reminder on how far Andrew has come.

Dad's hair is tickling me!

In good news, Andrew hasn't had any major spells since the big one last Wednesday, and most of his desats have been minor and self-resolved. His lungs are clearly getting stronger. We learned that they decided to lower the flow on his nasal cannula to 3.5 from 4 earlier on Sunday afternoon, and he was handling it just fine! The doc wants to just keep chipping away on the support he is getting, with the hope that Andrew can keep his oxygen requirement low with less flow (he's been hanging out between 21% - normal room air o2 level - and 25% for most of the past week or so). So far, the change hasn't bothered him in the least!

I'm trying to suck my thumb, but
this pacifier is in my way!

Another exciting change happened today and that is they moved his feeding tube from his intestines to his stomach!  So far he's doing well with the change, and if he tolerates it well for a few days they will begin to compress his feeds, so he won't be getting a slow, continuous stream of food, but the same amount over a shorter time.  Eventually, he'll be getting his entire feed in a 30 - 45 minute span (every 3 hours) to simulate the feeding schedule of a newborn.  This is a big milestone for him, and we hope he does well with the changes.  We've been warned that feeding (like everything else in the NICU) can be a two steps forward, one step back process.  So far, day one has been a step forward!

Wide awake and practicing my sucking!
I'll be ready for a bottle in no time!

Andrew gets his next eye exam tomorrow, and we are hoping that the ROP hasn't progressed any further.  Last week, the opthomologist thought it could be getting worse.  We are hoping the good news continues, but realistically are bracing that laser eye surgery could be in his future.  The roller coaster continues...

Is it time for this ride to be over yet?!?