So I learned on Sunday that Paige's incision for the PDA ligation surgery is quite a bit bigger than I had thought it was. Here's a picture of her back.
I watched a PDA surgery video on Youtube (you can see anything on Youtube) and that incision seemed smaller, but it must have been on a much bigger child or something. Poor girl. I guess I'll never have to worry about her becoming a swimsuit model. We spoke with the surgeon on Sunday, and he also said that she is at a very slightly increased risk of developing scoliosis due to this surgery.
Paige was doing great as far as ventilation goes until early this morning (she's still doing relatively well). Her blood became a little more acidic than it is supposed to be, partly due to ventilation and partly due to other reasons that are unknown. Her oxygen had to be increased from about 35% to about 45%. On the plus side, her pressure settings (which help keep her lungs inflated) were reduced a little bit, which is a good thing. For any nurses reading her MAP is 12, Amp is 31, rate 12 Hz.
Due to her acidity and recent surgery, her doctor is concerned that she may have developed an infection, so she was put on two antibiotics (vancomycin and cefotaxime) until infection can either be confirmed or ruled out. Blood and sputum samples were drawn to check for infection, so we should know the results of those in 2 days.
Tonight Paige got really squirmy while she was in her incubator, and we weren't really sure what the problem was. She was opening up her eyes all big and was much more alert than normal. I was worried that she was in pain or something, but her nurse instinctively went for the diaper. Apparently Paige was in the middle of taking a huge poop! She calmed down a lot after she finished her business. Good stuff. While I'm on this topic, her feedings have temporarily been stopped until infection is ruled out.
Aubrey's turn.
I thought I could post a little bit better of a picture of mommy holding her on Saturday. Her's a phone picture.
Aubrey has continued to do well. Her percent oxygen is in the mid to upper 20 range (the air we breathe is 21%), and her ventilation pressures have been steadily decreasing. Our hope is that she can be extubated (take out breathing tube) in the next few weeks and given a mask for breathing. Her breathing tube had to be adjusted a little today, so another x-ray was taken. Her lungs are looking better than I've ever seen them. For any nurses reading her PIP is 25, PEEP 6, rate 28.
She's had some yellowish colored sputum recently, so a sample of that was taken on Sunday. We should know tomorrow if she has an infection. In her defense, she's had weird lung gunk ever since her lung bleed 25 days ago.
Her feedings have been increased to 8 mL every 3 hours (up from 6 mL).
Time for a weight report.
Aubrey:
Day 1 - 2 lbs 2 oz
Day 8 - 2 lbs 7 oz
Day 17 - 2 lbs 11 oz
Day 27 - 3 lbs 1 oz
Paige:
Day 1 - 1 lbs 13 oz
Day 8 - 1 lbs 12 oz
Day 17 - 2 lbs 2 oz
Day 27 - 2 lbs 10 oz
As always, thanks for the blog updates! The girls are getting so big, look at those numbers. :) I'm so happy you guys have been able to hold Aubrey. That is just the sweetest. Those tiny (or not so tiny) battle wounds mark you as Paige the warrior. You're a strong girl Paige! Prayers and warm thoughts to you all. I'm stuck at home with strep throat - would much rather be at work tonight, that's for sure. But I'll wait until I have no germs to share and see you again soon.
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