I went to visit Reid last night by myself as Kristen and Carol had gone earlier in the day. They really only want 2 people in the room at any given time, so I decided to stay back and get some much needed work done around the house. It was one of the first times that I had gone by myself to visit him, so it was a quiet visit.
The nurse had just weighed him when I got there and he was up to 2 lbs 10 oz. He is retaining some fluids, so that may be part of the weight gain he has experienced over the past week. The fluids may also be the reason he is having a harder time breathing. Generally, when they retain water, their lungs are the first thing to get impacted. The doctor ordered a test for this morning to check his albumin levels. This will measure the levels at which his protein are retaining water.
Reid's feedings are now at 16cc every 3 hours. He had reached his goal of 15cc/3hrs yesterday and the doctor changed the order to now increase it up 1cc every 12 hours until he reaches 20cc (5 oz per day). The nurses always comment on how well he eats and poops --- so at least he has one positive thing going for him. :)
As I type this message, Kristen just got off the phone with the nurse and the test for his water retention came back with a albumin level of 2.1. They generally like the babies to be under 2.0, so it is questionable if they are going to treat him or not. The doctors have not made their rounds yet this morning, so we will have to wait and see if they are going to order anything for this.
To top it off, his hematocrit levels show 28 this morning which may necessitate another blood transfusion. Looking back over the past three weeks, there is a pattern of his breathing struggles when his blood count is low. So, if they do give him another transfusion today, let's cross our fingers that it helps his breathing. This would be transfusion #3.
This guy doesn't get a break, does he? We should know more around 1PM today, so I will post another entry later today.
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