Day 38 - No More Excitement Please

He's graduated to clothes!

Key Points:

• Milo is off CPAP
• Milo is in the special care nursery
• I think I got food poisoning
• Milo weighs 4lbs. 10 oz

They took Milo off of CPAP! On his 34 week date which was last Wednesday they decided he was ready to come off of CPAP. They thought he might be able to try sooner but they waited because if he failed, he would go back on CPAP for another five days but after 34 weeks, if he failed he would go onto a low flow cannula which is much more comfortable.  He did end up needing the cannula as he continued to have periodic episodes of not breathing very well. The nurses said they were going to watch him for a couple of days on the cannula to make sure he didn't need to go back on the CPAP and then he would be cleared for the special care nursery (that magical place where he will have his own room where Shelly and I can sleep over with him and never have to leave his side again!). They also warned us that there weren't any rooms available in the special care nursery at the moment and there was one baby ahead of us on the waiting list so that could affect our timing as well.

We headed home that night prepared to go to bed early to get a really good night's sleep. By 9:00pm we were just snuggling into bed for the night when our nurse called us. Surprise! Milo is being transferred to the special care nursery. We jumped out of bed and packed an overnight bag and headed to the nursery. It is wonderful here. The couch turns into a one person bed and they brought in a cot for me. We can have as many visitors as we want at one time instead of just two (meaning if Shelly was with Milo and a visitor came in the in the NICU, I had to step out for the duration!). Still no kids under 12 who are not siblings though, so Oliver and Noah will still have to wait to meet him.

The first night in the special care nursery, I slept very little. I woke up every couple of hours to pump and do Milo's cares (change his diaper and take his temperature, the nurse still has to feed him since he is still eating through a tube). In addition to that, my cot is pretty much the worst thing ever as it sags on either side of a hard metal bar in center. I put as many pillows and blankets under me as I could find which made it bearable but still caused me to have trouble falling back asleep. Shelly slept pretty well on her sofa pull out (though when I tried it for a nap the next day I did not find it much better). I also was on pretty high alert all night and woke constantly when his monitor beeped or he whimpered.

As you may imagine, the next morning I was exhausted but happy to have spent the night with my son for the first time ever. I had a bit of a stomach ache which I chalked up to not getting a good night's rest. I also had no appetite which persisted all day. I did some kangaroo care with Milo and then Shelly had him practice nurse again. He is doing great, giving us the signals that he wants to nurse and opening his mouth and latching. He can even suck a little bit (not enough to get milk but a good sign). In the middle of my nap later that day I got really cold even though I was under the covers. When I woke up, instead of feeling better for having slept, I felt groggy and still didn't have an appetite. When we went to the cafeteria and instead of getting hungry I felt nauseous we decided it might be prudent to go home until we knew what was wrong with me. When we got home, I got a low grade fever and began having symptoms of the stomach flu.

I was terrified that I had unwittingly exposed Milo to the flu as I had been in very close contact with him all day. Shelly and I did some research and in the end couldn't decide if my symptoms better fit stomach flu or food poisoning (I had eaten shrimp at the salad bar in the cafeteria the day before and we both desperately hoped it was food poisoning which is not contagious). After a rough night in and out of the bathroom, I felt much better the next day and my fever was gone. I also had my appetite back and was able to carefully eat again. We spent the day resting. Milo's nurses when we called reassured us that he was doing great and not showing any signs of being sick.

The next morning I felt back to normal and Shelly still didn't feel any signs of getting sick. At this point, all signs point to food poisoning (which I have actually never had before so this is a first). I suppose it could have been a 24 hour stomach bug too but I would expect Shelly to get anything contagious that I have since we share food and drink. We returned to the special care nursery. Milo is doing great. Still needing the low flow cannula but with some talk of when we are going to remove it. He is up to 4lbs 10 oz and he was dressed when we arrived! They are also talking about getting him out of the isolette and into a crib since he has been managing his body temperature well.

Our new room!

Our new room (from the other direction)

Our beautiful baby boy!