Reflux

It was another step back for David today.  The doctor called this morning to say she thought he was suffering from reflux - which I had suspected.  She said they were pretty sure because he did so well during the 6 hours of no feedings after his blood transfusion.  They decided to give him a transfusion because his hemoglobin levels are low.  This happens a lot with preemies because their red blood cells aren't reproducing at a very fast rate yet, and it is not helped when the doctors need to take blood from them for tests, etc.  Anyway, this kind of confirmed the reflux idea.  So the plan was to spread his feedings out over 2 hours (vs. 1 hour) and to move him into a crib - which can be more elevated under his head.  I have to admit, I was excited about the crib thing - that is a big milestone.

I got another phone call from the nurse a couple of hours later that squashed any excitement.  David had a bad desat episode that required stimulation and the "bag & mask".  Because of that, he was put back on CPAP (he was on nasal cannula yesterday).  They decided to keep him in the incubator, too, so he wouldn't have to work at regulating his temperature.  When Bubba and I got there, they told us they wanted to take a blood and urine sample to check for any infections.  They also changed his feedings to being continuous - with a little bit going into his stomach all the time.  He looked so uncomfortable with the CPAP.  It really scrunches his nose and causes his eyes to swell.  And he had some desats while we were there.  My heart aches for him!  He had some clothes on when we got there - from when they had been preparing him to move to a crib - and he looked so cute in them!

Margot is doing a little bit better than David.  She spit up a couple of times yesterday, sot hey think she is having reflux issues, too.  They increased her feedings to take 2 hours (vs. the one hour they were taking).  I held her before the infant CPR class Bubba and I took.  She is so strong and likes to lift her head a lot.