We have some baby fighters!
On Wednesday night, the doctors ran a complete blood count (CBC) on Finn. His hematocrit (the concentration of complete red blood cells) was very low. So they gave him a blood transfusion. One of the risks of a blood transfusion for older premature babies (somehow, our babies are “older”) is the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). If that sounds familiar, it’s probably because that is what the doctors had feared Aubrey had developed.
On Thursday night, I was holding Finn. At his weight, 1315g, he can start working on regulating his own temperature which also means he can wear clothes. So far, he has worn 2 outfits - a preemie t-shirt and the smallest preemie onesie we could find. Finn had gotten pretty hot, so I was holding in in my arms while his isolette cooled off. I noticed that his belly seemed pretty firm to the touch. I have never touched my babies’ bellies before, but I have seen the nurses do it. They always kind of squeeze and massage the bellies to make sure they are soft. What I was feeling didn’t fit my conception of soft. I asked the nurse if his belly felt right and she felt it and then quickly went to get the doctor. The doctor ordered an x-ray, blood culture, urine culture, blood gas, complete blood count, and started preparing to have Finn intubated (put on a more supportive respiratory machine). Within 30-40 minutes, he was tachycardic (his heart rate was extremely high - about 200-240 beats per minute vs. his normal 40-160) and he was tachypneic (his breath rate was really high, about 170-200 breaths per minute vs. his normal 40-60).
After all the tests were run, the doctor explained to me that NEC comes in 3 stages - 1) The intestines are just a bit sick and need a break where they don’t have to work and they will heal themselves. 2) The intestines are more sick and need some help in the form of antibiotics and then they will heal themselves. 3) The intestines are pretty sick and have sections that have died. They need surgery to remove the sick portions.
She told me that her medical intuition was that Finn had NEC that was somewhere between stages 1 and 2. She held his feeds (so he is getting fancy Gatorade instead of milk), put him on antibiotics and sedated him. Sedation helped his heart rate and breathing rate. Through yesterday, Finn started doing much better. His belly is now soft, he has pooped twice (we get so excited over poop!) and his x-rays show much less air in his intestines (which is a really good thing). Even with this progress, he will remain on antibiotics for at least a week and will stay on the fancy Gatorade for nutrients.
During this time. Brise called to inform
And then there is Lydia. She is our little trooper and has been the healthiest so far. I walked into the NICU yesterday morning fully expecting that Aubrey would have his intestines in a bag, Finn would be recovering, and Lydia would be wrapped up like the smallest human burrito. I have been nearing an emotional breaking point but I was holding it together. I didn’t realize how precariously I was holding on, though.
When I walked in, one of my very favorite doctors greeted me. Humorously, she told me that she didn’t quite trust Lydia because she was right between her brothers were were both sick AND that Lydia’s tummy looked a bit swollen. My brain went super loud and quiet at the same time and I just repeated “what?!” three times before turning around and getting out of the NICU. I was crying and knew it was about to be a breakdown and I didn’t want to be in the NICU. I went as far from the NICU as I could, which was to my car in the parking deck. There, I realized that I had left my jacket, warm blanket, purse, and keys in the NICU so I really wasn’t getting much further. I called Brise and my mom and Natasha and really just feel apart for about 45 minutes. My mom called the NICU for me to ask for some more information about Lydia. She let me know that it wasn’t as bad as I was imagining. I hadn’t really been imagining that it was terrible news, but I just couldn’t handle anymore bad news, no matter how small.
After a lot of breakdown time, Brise and I went back to the NICU. Everyone was so accommodating and I still feel embarrassed because I think I caused people to be upset for things they didn’t do. The doctors had been very proactive, ordering all of the tests, holding Lydia’s feeds, and taking every step to make sure that Lydia didn’t develop any problems. If she had NEC, she was at early stage 1. After a day of no feeds (she was ANGRY at an empty belly), her belly is not swollen and she looks in tip top shape.
Our babies are fighters. They are extremely tough and very resilient. They are the superstars of an amazing team of people helping them overcome all of these obstacles. We appreciate everyone’s prayers (last night, we added India to the international community praying for our babies), and I will try to do a better job of keeping everyone updated.