Ethan's Update - Evening, Day 3

When we came home in the afternoon, the nurses in the NICU had given us a package for our daughter. Inside there was a little doll with a diaper and a coloring book with crayons. Loryn has loved to practice putting the diaper on her new doll and has been coloring up a storm. While Lisa and I went out to visit with Ethan, Eric and Loryn set up the swing in the living room and practiced how we would swing Ethan when he gets home. Loryn thinks he should swing "higher" and Eric has been trying to convince her that Ethan needs to be pushed softly and slowly. Curious to see how this all plays out. Loryn also may have a cold, so we are watching her very closely to see if we need to take her to the doctor. She is a bit clingy right now, and we think it has to do with the fact that she knows something is wrong. She continues to ask us where her brother is, and we keep reminding her that he is in the hospital because he is "sick". We continue to show her pictures and video and she loves to see him.

At 8pm, we were able to go back to visit Ethan in the NICU. Eric stayed home with Loryn and Lisa and I went to go and see Ethan. I had called around 5pm to check on him and was told that he was still doing very well but they did have to move his iv from his hand (again). Poor kid is having his iv moved every 2 hours and was running out of places to put it. They warned me that it may be placed in his scalp. So I did prepare myself going in for that. Yup, that is where they stuck it. And it appeared, they had to try a few times. Poor baby now has pieces of his hair missing (looking like he is going bald) and he has bruises all over. As Eric put it, "he looks like he got into a fight". I was very worried about him, considering that he isn't on pain medication anymore, but the nurse said he was fine and his levels have stayed stable. They lowered the amount of oxygen support they were giving him just a little bit and even let me help take care of him. I was able to again take his temperature and change his diaper and also help to clean off and moisten his lips. (I am having trouble uploading the video-if you want to see it, please send me an email)

He definitely is a feisty little kid. He kept trying to take off his heart rate monitor, so for an hour, I kept moving his hands and putting the stickers back on his chest. Ugh, I really wish he could understand that hearing beeps going off, is not a comforting sound.

I called to check up on how he was doing at about 2:30am and again at 6:15am (Monday April 4th). They took out the breathing tube, and he was put back on the c-pap machine. Ethan is breathing entirely on his own, but with a little help from the c-pap machine. His oxygen levels are at 29 and they are administering the pressure at +6. He is resting comfortably. After his chest x-ray and echo cardiogram this morning, they will decide what to do next. He had to have his iv moved again, I think it was moved to his arm this time.

We brought a few blankets for him, so that he could have a brightened up little area that was less hospital and a bit more like home. We also left a disposable camera so if there are any more firsts, we won't have to continue to miss them.