Week 2 in the PICU

November 6, 2013 Wednesday

At 4am they did several assessments on Beau.  They checked his electrolytes and did a KUB to check his tummy and his bowel gas pattern has improved!

At 8am a chest x-ray was done to check the placement of the PICC line again after it was pulled back last night.  It was perfectly located at the superior vena cava pointing down!

He had 2 de-sats and 1 brady even today that were all self-resolved.

They put Beau back on an air cannula at 1L of air (with no additional oxygen).

This is day 2 of bowel rest meaning he's receiving no milk or formula, only TPN/lipids to provide nutrition without upsetting his bowels.  This is the same bag of nutrients he got when he was born and in the NICU.

I noticed a large amount of  "fat" on Beau's cheeks today and couldn't understand how my little man got so chunky overnight!!  Well, come to find out that he had swelling on his right neck which they believe was caused by the placement of the PICC line facing upward.  This caused all the fluids to essentially collect or cause inflamation/swelling in this area.  With the movement of the PICC line, it should naturally correct itself as the body absorbs the liquids.  The doctors did a doppler scan to check the blood flow of the area and it looked good.

November 7, 2013 Thursday

Overnight he did well.  The IV in his scalp went bad (was not able to flush) so they had to place another one, unfortunately, also in the scalp. He is on day 3 of bowel rest (nothing in his tummy).

 Doctors did another x-ray and ultrasound to check the swelling in the neck again today.  A vascular surgeon also looked at it and said it looked normal.They checked for extra fluid in the soft tissue or lymph nodes and there were no clots or problems in the vessel walls.

This morning Beau got a heal stick to check for who knows what! and his hematocrit level was 22.  So the doctor wanted to make sure this was accurate so they tried SEVERAL more times to draw blood and take it to the lab to check his levels and EVERY TIME it would clog.  So after a total of 6 blood related pokes, the doctor said it was enough for today.  His stats were good so he decided it could wait until tomorrow.

Miss Jackie came to visit Beau today!  And he had no brady or de-sats today!

November 8, 2013 Friday

This was day 4 of bowel rest.  His stats have been awesome so he was moved to no-heat cannula air, one step closer to moving back up to Pediatrics. His hemaglobin today was 12 and hematocrit was 36.

Today was an exciting day because Beau got to "meet" his new cousin Harlow Kathryn who was born yesterday! Congratulations Becky and Drew, she is BEAUTIFUL!!

November 9, 2013 Saturday

Buddy boy did so good overnight - no desats/brady events!  He did have two during the day but nothing concerning.  He spent some shakey time in the bouncy swing for the first time. Overnight into Sunday he only had one event that was self-resolved.  No more scalp IV, but one had to get put in his arm instead.

 

 

November 10, 2013 Sunday

Beau is now on day 6 of bowel rest and he's getting a little fussy.  I guess we all would if we weren't being fed for 6 days.  On a good note, he had no events all day and night!!  He is getting stronger and whatever tummy problems were there before are hopefully long gone! One more day to food buddy, hang in there!

Love the little football shoes at the bottom!

November 11, 2013 Monday

Beau had no events overnight!  Today's weight: 3080g = 6 pounds, 12.64 ounces.  He lost a little bit during his week without food but hopefully he'll jump right back into gaining weight tomorrow. Today is day 7, the final day of bowel rest and his cycle of antibiotics!  The IV was taken out of his arm today since he no longer needs antibiotics.

Found a comfy spot in the boppy!

November 12, 2013 Tuesday

Sweet boy began getting Pedialite today so an NG tube was inserted into his nose and down into his stomach.  It began at 3ml/hour continuously throughout the day. It didn't fill up his tummy but it was better than nothing. At 7pm they increased the pedilaite to 5mL per hour and then again at 11pm to 8mL. This made him even more fussy because the small amounts of pedialite into his tummy were just an appetizer to the meal that never followed. :( On a good note, he had no events today and he gave me some cute faces for the camera today!

November 13, 2013 Wednesday

Overnight they increased Beau's feeds again to 10ml/hour continuous.  At noon they increased to 15mL per hour and again at 5pm they increased them to 20mL.  Beau is finally back up to a full feed amount and today they are mixing breast milk with the pedialite (50/50) so that tomorrow they can give him milk without the Pedialite. Though the PICC line is still in his arm, it is not being used for anything - just being kept there incase it were to be needed in the coming days. No events today!

                                  My boys :)                                           Can't get enough of this cutie!

November 14, 2013  Thursday

Today Beau is back to full feeds of 20mL each hour continuously throughout the day.  This means that a pump is continuously running to give him milk (from a syringe). Every 3 hours the timer goes off telling the nurse to put another full 60mL in the syringe and begin the next cycle.

Today's weight was 3095g = 6 pounds, 13.17 ounces

Both of the PICU doctors came in to talk to me about 4:30 this afternoon.  They said they want to move Beau back up to Peds because he has been so stable on his feeds today and hasn't had any events for several days.  They originally planned to move him tomorrow morning but due to decreased bed space in the PICU, they are planning to move us this evening. And just like that (within the hour) we're back up to Peds!! He is hooked up to his pulse-ox monitor, the nasal cannula, and we have a room to ourselves (for now at least)! It was hard to leave him tonight because he's in that big crib and he doesn't get the tender-love-and-snuggles he got in the NICU or PICU.  Thanks Jackie for coming to visit and unexpectedly helping to move us upstairs!

He was wide awake for me today for probably 2 hours!

I will lie down and sleep in peace, 

for You alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety. 

Psalm 4.8