Baby Eagan - NICU Day 116-118 - Reflux Sucks

Thank you Erica for my handsome outfit!

Eagan is getting big! Our biggest battle right now is reflux. He drops his heart rate pretty low when his refluxes. A new medication has been added so hopefully it will start working soon. We also expect to be have intestines all in one pretty piece by the end of August!

Weight
5 lb 13.4 oz

Breathing
Eagan is breathing all by himself!!

Vein and Artery Access 
Eagan has a broviac sub-clavian line on the left side as of Day 103.

Medications

Zantac was added for his reflux.

 

He was started on Ampicillin every 6 hours and Gentamicin every 12 hours for sepsis.

Fortaz, another antibiotic, has been added.

Caffeine has been started to help him remember to breath.

He is also on Diflucan as a preventative measure.

Lasix, a diuretic, will be given every 12 hours.

Synthroid for low thyroid was stopped today.

Nutrition

Feeds are at 7 cc an hour continuously.  He is getting TPN and lipids. He also gets two bottles of 5 cc twice a day.

Transfusions
July 22 - Transfusion #34 

 

Upcoming Tests

Eagan will have another eye exam next Monday.

Baby Eagan - NICU Day 113-115 - Big Moves

Eagan has done lots of moving in the past few days. First we moved to an open "Ohio" bed from his old isolette.

Next, we moved to a new room on the B side of the NICU.

The next morning, we were moved to another room on the B side AND Eagan was moved into a regular crib.

Overall, Eagan is doing pretty well. His bottles are going alright. He has the sucking and swallowing aspects down. We just have to work on the breathing. "Suck, swallow, breathe" is apparently a lot more work than you would think. As for our new accommodations, I really miss the A side. Being on the B side means you are doing good, but Eagan and I bonded with our A side nurses and miss them a bunch. I'm sure we will begin to like it better one of these days.

Weight
5 lb 4.6 oz

Breathing
Eagan is breathing all by himself!!

Vein and Artery Access 
Eagan has a broviac sub-clavian line on the left side as of Day 103.

Medications

 

He was started on Ampicillin every 6 hours and Gentamicin every 12 hours for sepsis.

Fortaz, another antibiotic, has been added.

Caffeine has been started as a diuretic to try to speed up his kidney function.

He is also on Diflucan as a preventative measure.

Lasix, a diuretic, will be given every 12 hours.

He is back on Synthroid for low thyroid.

Nutrition

Feeds are at 7 cc an hour continuously.  He is getting TPN and lipids. He also gets two bottles of 5 cc twice a day.

Transfusions
July 22 - Transfusion #34 

 

Upcoming Tests

Eagan will have another eye exam next Monday.

Baby Eagan - NICU Day 112 - Immunizations

Thank you Kristin Earle for my new blanket! It is so soft!

   

Eagan had three immunizations today. I think it hurt the two nurses that gave them to him more than it hurt him. He cried a bit but calmed down almost immediately. He had his two bottles today also. He did great with his first one, not so much with the second, but it is still a work in progress.

Weight
5 lb 0.07 oz

Breathing
Eagan is breathing all by himself!!

Vein and Artery Access 
Eagan has a broviac sub-clavian line on the left side as of Day 103.

Medications

 

He was started on Ampicillin every 6 hours and Gentamicin every 12 hours for sepsis.

Fortaz, another antibiotic, has been added.

Caffeine has been started as a diuretic to try to speed up his kidney function.

He is also on Diflucan as a preventative measure.

Lasix, a diuretic, will be given every 12 hours.

He is back on Synthroid for low thyroid.

Nutrition

Feeds are at 6 cc an hour continuously.  He is getting TPN and lipids. He also gets two bottles of 5 cc twice a day.

Transfusions
July 22 - Transfusion #34 

 

Upcoming Tests

Eagan will have another eye exam next Monday.

Baby Eagan - NICU Day 107-111 - Bottles and Breathing

  Eagan might just be a show off. He decided he was going to be a big boy and as we all know, Eagan totally calls the shots. He is now breathing 100% on his own AND getting bottles! I gave him his very first bottle today and he did beautiful. His second bottle didn't go so hot, but he had an eye exam a few hours before. I would throw up if someone did that to my eyes too, so I don't blame him one bit. He will continue to get two bottles of 5 ml's a day. That is a sixth of an ounce, but a whole lot of work for this little guy. As you can see in the bottom picture, his Beads of Courage came in the mail. Each star represents a surgery and the big beads at the top represent 100 pokes or procedures for each bead. Each bead means something special and I can't wait until he stops adding beads and is old enough for us to tell him each meaning. In eyeball news, his eyes look a little worse. We expected this approximately 6 weeks following the Avastin procedure. Next week we find out more about whether or not he needs laser surgery.

Weight
4 lb 13.6 oz

Breathing
Eagan is breathing all by himself!!

Vein and Artery Access 
Eagan has a broviac sub-clavian line on the left side as of Day 103.

Medications

 

He was started on Ampicillin every 6 hours and Gentamicin every 12 hours for sepsis.

Fortaz, another antibiotic, has been added.

Caffeine has been started as a diuretic to try to speed up his kidney function.

He is also on Diflucan as a preventative measure.

Lasix, a diuretic, will be given every 12 hours.

He is back on Synthroid for low thyroid.

Nutrition

Feeds are at 3 cc an hour continuously.  He is getting TPN and lipids. He also gets two bottles of 5 cc twice a day.

Transfusions
July 22 - Transfusion #34 

 

Upcoming Tests

Eagan will have another eye exam next Monday.

Baby Eagan - NICU Day 105-106 - Due Date

Reading Harry Potter with Mama

  We have finally made it to Eagan's due date, July 24! How crazy is it that he is over a hundred days old and just now reaching his due date. It hurts a little to know how much he has been through because we couldn't make it to this day, but it makes me so happy that this day has been marked with such good things. I finally feel like I can exhale because my boy is actually getting better. He still needs his reconnection surgery, but that is just a big step towards coming home. I really haven't been given a time frame for that happening though. Tomorrow, he is going on a field trip down to Radiology to do a mucous fistula-gram. Dye will be inserted through the other side of his intestines to make sure there is no scar tissue or narrowing keeping his food from making it all the way through.

Weight
4 lb 14.3 oz

Breathing
Eagan is on a high-flow nasal cannula at 2 liters on 21% oxygen.

Vein and Artery Access 
Eagan has a broviac sub-clavian line on the left side as of Day 103.

Medications

 

He was started on Ampicillin every 6 hours and Gentamicin every 12 hours for sepsis.

Fortaz, another antibiotic, has been added.

Caffeine has been started as a diuretic to try to speed up his kidney function.

He is also on Diflucan as a preventative measure.

He is also on Zantac to help calm his tummy's acid levels.

Lasix, a diuretic, will be given every 12 hours.

He is back on Synthroid for low thyroid.

Eagan is on a low, stress dose of Hydrocortisone.

Nutrition

Feeds are at 3 cc an hour continuously.  He is getting TPN and lipids.

Transfusions
July 22 - Transfusion #34 

 

Upcoming Tests

Eagan will have another eye exam next Monday.

Baby Eagan - NICU Day 104 - Extubation Day!

  Eagan was extubated today! No more ventilator! He is just on oxygen now and doing great. He is technically breathing room air, and just needs the extra pressure support from high-flow. His feedings were increased and he had an eye exam. His eyes are exactly the same, no better but no worse. They will be re-checked next Monday. And now..for an overload of very cute pictures.

Weight
4 lb 15.3 oz

Breathing
Eagan is on a high-flow nasal cannula at 3 liters on 21% oxygen.

Vein and Artery Access 
Eagan has a broviac sub-clavian line on the left side as of Day 103.

Medications

He is back on Morphine every 6 hours as needed.

He was started on Ampicillin every 6 hours and Gentamicin every 12 hours for sepsis.

Fortaz, another antibiotic, has been added.

Caffeine has been started as a diuretic to try to speed up his kidney function.

He is also on Diflucan as a preventative measure.

He is also on Zantac to help calm his tummy's acid levels.

Lasix, a diuretic, will be given every 12 hours.

He is back on Synthroid for low thyroid.

 

Eagan is on a low, stress dose of Hydrocortisone of 0.45 mg every 6 hours.

Nutrition

Feeds are at 2 cc an hour continuously.  He is getting TPN and lipids.

Transfusions
July 22 - Transfusion #34 

 

Upcoming Tests

Eagan will have another eye exam next Monday.

Baby Eagan - NICU Day 103 - Surgery #10

Sleepy boy, right after surgery.

  Surgery went great today. It was actually on time! He now has a snazzy new double lumen, broviac, sub-clavian line. In English, this means he has a permanent line stitched below his collar bone. It has two separate ends that medicines and nutrition go in. The nurses will run all his TPN and medication through these lines until he is eating enough breast milk that he no longer needs it. We really hope this line will stick around until we are done with it rather than Eagan deciding he doesn't need it anymore.

 

The white line on the left side is the new line.

Weight
4 lb 13.6 oz

Breathing
Eagan is at 35 breaths per minute on the ventilator at a tidal volume of 10.0

Vein and Artery Access 
Eagan has a broviac sub-clavian line on the left side as of Day 103.

 

He also has an IV in his right hand.

Medications

He is back on Morphine every 6 hours as needed.

He was started on Ampicillin every 6 hours and Gentamicin every 8 hours for sepsis.

Fortaz, another antibiotic, has been added.

Caffeine has been started as a diuretic to try to speed up his kidney function.

He is also on Diflucan as a preventative measure.

He is also on Zantac to help calm his tummy's acid levels.

Lasix, a diuretic, will be given every 12 hours.

He is back on Synthroid for low thyroid.

 

Eagan is on a low, stress dose of Hydrocortisone of 0.45 mg every 6 hours.

Nutrition

Feeds are at 1 cc an hour continuously.  He is getting TPN and lipids.

Transfusions
July 22 - Transfusion #34 

 

Upcoming Tests

Eagan will have another eye exam this week.