Baby Eagan - NICU Day 5 - Transfusion #1

Today has been a nice, slow, uneventful day. I really like days like today. I went to visit Eagan this evening. I sat with him for about an hour and a half.

Here is a run-down of his current status:

Weight
1 lb 12 oz - Eagan is down 3 ounces from birth but this is very normal.

Length
12.5" - We aren't measuring his length yet, so this is birth length.


Breathing
Eagan is on an oscillator and doing much better. His oxygenation has been 98% to 100% all day. He is still breathing room air (21% oxygen).

Vitals
Eagan's vitals have remained steady and stable all day from hour to hour!

Vein Access
An umbilical arterial line was placed just like it was an umbilical cord. This gives doctors easy access to check blood pressures, take blood, and administer medications without sticking Eagan with needles.

Eagan also has a PICC line in his right arm.



Today, an IV was placed in Eagan's left foot for a transfusion.

Medications
Eagan is off the morphine drip and only getting morphine boluses when he becomes agitated.

Pentobarbital has been added on an as needed basis. This is a mild sedative. Medications like this are needed so that Eagan cannot pull out his tubes, or move around too much. He is still able to move and hold our fingers, but we are trying to keep him as still and stabilized as possible.

Caffeine has been added to his medications. Caffeine has multiple benefits for Eagan such as reducing his risk for cerebral palsy. The main purpose of the caffeine is to help Eagan to remember to breathe, preventing spells of apnea.

He will be getting a glycerin suppository every 12 hours depending on how often he is having bowel movements. He had his very first BM this morning!

Eags is getting Nystatin swabbed around the inside of his mouth because some of the irritation from the breathing tubes are showing some signs of a yeast infection.

Nutrition
I am pumping breastmilk for Eagan. His feedings are still at 1cc of breastmilk every 6 hours.

Eagan is still getting vitamins through his umbilical catheter and now lipids (a healthy fat) have been added.

Transfusions
April 15 - Eagan got his first blood transfusion tonight. This will be the first of many transfusions Eagan will need. His hematocrit (the amount of red blood cells in the blood) has been low, which is just one of the many reasons he needs a transfusion. His blood is also drawn for tests quite often. Even a tiny amount of blood is a lot of blood coming from such a tiny baby. The transfusion will also help Eagan maintain proper oxygenation.

Jaundice
Eagan was not under the bili lights today. I am not sure what his jaundice levels are, but I have it on my list of questions for his nurse.

Upcoming Tests
A head ultrasound is tentatively scheduled for April 17 to check for brain bleeds. We are praying for no brain bleeding, but it is a very frequent issue with micro-preemies, so we are prepared if one does appear.

Thank you for all your love, support and prayers.