Thursday, March 19, 2009

The past couple of days here have been somewhat emotional for me. I am not sure what to expect from Elden (whether or not his progress or regress is normal) and of course I get worried about him in general. On Tuesday Elden received a head ultrasound to check for brain bleeds. When he was first born he had an ultrasound and it came back clear, but they did a follow-up to just make sure things were still looking good. They found that he now has a level 2 brain bleed. There is blood along one side of one of his ventricles. He received another ultrasound today, but I don't know the results yet. If it doesn't get "bigger" then it's of no concern and should go away. That is what I am hoping for!

He was put back under the bili-lite again today. He is digesting my milk okay, but not all the way. He is not good about stooling on his own, and I hope he can get that hang of that. I think once he gets good at stooling on his own, he will digest the milk better and get off the bili-lite. Also the doctor told me something about his acid levels and how they aren't right, so they are checking that out too.

I did get to hold Elden once today and that was nice. During the day I am at the hospital. All I can do right now for him is change his diaper, moisten his lips with some saline/water?, and hold him. The nurses there seem to do a great job, so that is comforting. There are two nurses there that are twin sisters. They are so cute and nice. Elden has a primary care nurse--one that "signs up" to be his nurse all the time. She works at night though, so I haven't met her. I am going to have to go and met her with Lee sometime.

It seems I am quite famous here at the hospital...well, with the people that my doctor works with. I went to my doctor's office today (it's in a building connected to the hospital) because I thought I had a urinary tract infection. I was talking to a nurse telling her my situation and she knew who I was and I had never met her before. It was kind of funny. She did a test for me and looks as if I don't have one so that is good!

Another little story, when I was being prepped for my c-section, the doctors couldn't find my previous c-section scar. I wasn't surprised at all. After I was completely healed from having the twins and my belly mostly went down, I couldn't even see all of it! If you happen to be in Memphis and in need of a c-section, let me know and I can give you the info about my OB doctor.
Pumping is going well and I am now needing to store my milk here at the house. I have a lot at the hospital! They are very accommodating at the hospital and at the house for people like me who want to pump. I may have mentioned this before, but the hospital gives me three free meals a day because I am pumping and they have a "lactation" room in the NICU that I can use. Here at the house they have the same pumping machine, just like the one at the hospital, that I can use whenever I need it.

It is somewhat ironic that everything I have never wanted to experience (and never knew I could experience!) with pregnancy and beyond has pretty much happened. Financially, the timing couldn't have been better though. And Lee and I are SO thankful about that! And with having four healthy kids, that seems to help too. I think I would have been very devastated if all this happened with my first child!

Last night I did my laundry and watched American Idol. It was quite nice doing laundry. I haven't done any for about 6 weeks! I did help Lee fold my clothes after he washed and dried them when I was at the hospital. But I am kind of weird and don't mind doing laundry. The one thing I do detest about laundry: red, orange and grease stains. So maybe that's three things, but that is the only problem with laundry for me (most of the time).

Tomorrow is Friday and I am very glad about that!

7 comments:

Kelly said...

You're amazing Ruth - seriously!

Mike said...

Hang in there Ruth! We're praying for you and Elden. The Lord will continue to bless you and your family. We love you!!!!

Michele said...

He is beautiful and so tiny. We will keep your family and especially Elden in our prayers. Let me know if i can help you out with anything.

Sandra said...

Ruth I am so there with you on the ups and downs. Madeline experienced all those including bleeding in the brain. They two do a few ultrasounds, before they were able to determine that it was nothing and it did eventually go away. It was the hardest thing to wake up each day and go to the hospital, I so wanted to bring her home. All I could do was pray and ask Heavenly Father to help me put my feet forward and move. There were days that it was Him moving me forward until I could do it myself. Here is what gets me through even to this day, and as I get ready to put my daughter into the hands of her surgeon I especially tell myself this. All you have to do is love him. The doctors will do their job and your job is just to love him, a mother's love will help him to heal and grow faster than anything. So I would focus on just loving Madeline and not worry about anything else. I would work on quilts for her, sing to her, tell her about what is going on at home, tell her about her Heavenly Father, would pray with her, and anything else I could think of to show her that I love her. I could hold her to much, because it was too much stimulation and it would cause her sats to go down, so I would hold her hand and just love her.

I totally know what you are going through, and just focusing on loving her was what helped me pull and continues to help me through. SO remember all you have to do is just love him!

Take care, if you need my phone number I can e-mail it to you.

Three Little Men and a Little Lady said...

Hey Ruth! I have been thinking and praying for you all - even having dreams - kind of weird. I guess it is bringing back the memories of my three in the NICU and the emotional rollercoaster that it was for us. Encouraging reports - and then the setbacks. They called my boys - the wimpy white boys - IF they could see them now!!! :0) Nothing wimpy about these bulldozers - and I know the same for your Elden - he is BEAUTIFUL!!

Patty and Kevin said...

Hi Ruth! Little Elden is adorable. Having a little preemie is a roller coaster ride at the hospital (and I guess it still is...) and I'm sorry that you have to go through all the emotions associated with that. Things are just so unpredictable... one of my friends I met at the hospital lived by this moto: Celebrate each day! It was a good theme to live by -even when in the hospital. She actually lost her daughter due to several severe defects and complications, but she was such an inspiration to me. You have a great attitude and little Elden will always honor and love you for being there for him! We're praying for you!

Liz said...

Oh Ruth, I hope everything works out. I'm sure it will, but news like this must be hard. You are a wonderful example of strength. Thank you for sharing your families experiences.