They have Jimmie on a continuous feed at night. He is getting about 25 to 30 mls an hour. Consequently he went to sleep last night around 10pm and didn't wake up until 5am! They are doing this to help his stomach stretch out a bit. And also because they feel he is 2 1/2 pounds underweight. He works really hard when he eats and burns a lot of calories during his feeds. And doesn't take in enough.
They are a bit concerned that he is not moving the food out of his stomach at a normal speed. Meaning that he still has too much milk in his stomach when it's time for the next feed. Rachael will ask more questions about that tomorrow.
He is taking his feeds by mouth during the day. They very quickly have adjusted his amounts down from 116mls to 86mls. During the day Rach feeds him and whatever he does not take by mouth they put in his tube. He's been puking a bit more than he was at home. It makes sense though as he is taking in much more volume. AND they don't have him on oxygen right now because he's satting very well. We had found the oxygen was helping quite a bit with the puking. Rachael will speak with them about this too.
We think that the Doctor will probably order and Upper GI to be done on Jimmie. That is where he drinks the contrast substance "barium" and they take a series of x-ray pictures of his upper GI tract. This will help to rule out any structural abnormalities and could help (hopefully) diagnose his issue. Right now everyones best guess has been severe reflux. But they will be ruling other things out.
So basically- we don't really know anything new yet.
Justin and Rachael are doing fairly well staying positive and trying to act and keep things as normal as possible for Jimmie. I think they are experiencing a lot of initial relief that Jimmie's care is being taken over by the medical staff and that hopefully we will get some answers and hopefully more direction in Jimmie's treatment.
Jimmie was cooing and talking to Kathy today when she came by on her lunch break. Rachael said he was being so serious while he was talking to her- like he was telling her all about everything. (-:
I went to visit again this evening with my kiddos. They were anxious to see that Jimmie was ok.
The medical staff has also been very encouraging to Rachael and Justin about Jimmie. One nurse went on and ON about how she had looked through his medical history and how she could NOT BELIEVE he was a 24 weeker. She said he was unlike any 24 weeker she had EVER seen. She told Rachael, "Honey- you are SO VERY blessed!" "Your child is amazing!" Everyone has been marveling at how beautiful and engaging he is. How ahead of the game he is neurologically. This is all very good for Rachael and Justin to hear and it does lift their spirits quite a bit.
Keep praying for wisdom and answers for our sweet Jimmie. And for grace for Rachael and Justin!
Love,
Amber
he has a great smile! i hope the continuous feeds help! Will pray that the tests reveal SOMETHING! and hopefully they listen to Rach about the oxygen. I know they can be stubborn when it comes to things like that, but honestly, it's oxygen, it can't do any harm!
ReplyDeleteHe absolutely is a miracle and is an amazing little guy! We love Jimmie so much! Can't wait to actually get to meet him! Only 1 month!
The photos of him in his seat show him as the trooper he is! His smile warms the heart!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet little guy. I love the pictures. That's great that everybody's reminding you all of how WELL he's doing, even in spite of it all!!! He's still such a miracle.
ReplyDeleteWe're continuing to hold you all up in prayer. Give him kisses for us!
We love you all lots and lots!
Adrian and Janelle
What a great smile Jimmie has! Glad that he will be able to get whatever help he needs. More prayers coming your way!
ReplyDeletePraying that he is back at home soon and healthy! This blog is wonderful.
ReplyDelete