Boy oh boy what a day it has been! I almost don't even know where to start.
Apparently Bryce had a hard night but they repositioned and redressed his PICC line last night so I'm not too surprised. He has made himself quite clear about how he feels about being messed with.
Today was my first day to do rounds all by my lonesome and it was hard not having Caleb to ask the questions he inevitably thinks of that don't even occur to me. I did my best and was surprised to learn a lot. First I learned that the doctors and Cathleen (one of the many awesome NNP - neonatal nurse practitioners) had decided today was the day they'd try to switch Bryce to the more traditional ventilator.
ME: ..Wha..Huh..Um..Okay...
THEM: Oh and by the way, we're going to feed him some of your milk today too...
ME: ..wha...OHHH...hmmm...Okay...
THEM: and his PICC line is in his aorta and so we have to undress it again to pull it back about 1.5 cm
ME: ..well, he's not going to like it but it's got to be done
Fast forward only about 45 minutes and our nurse wants to know if I can pump NOW because they want to give him fresh milk for his first feed, and by they way can I also hurry up because they want to get right on his PICC line and it's a sterile procedure so they want to boot me out a.s.a.p.
So, I pump and deliver the goods. Then it's out to the NICU waiting room again to worry for what they say will be a half an hour. I know better but it's still excruciating. Luckily G2 (Sharon) and Uncle Richie stopped by for a visit and took my mind off the waiting.
When we finally got to come back in they had Bryce's incubator all open and the new venitlator on (umm, wow - wasn't expecting to walk into that!). Oh, and by the way - they fed him a half hour before!
Needless to say, I was in a state of shock. We had just gotten used to how things worked around here and now he has a new ventilator with a new screen and a whole new set of numbers and graphs. Plus they turned him so his head is where his feet used to be. It's quieter now though and Bryce is taking it all like a rockstar.
His first blood gas test, which tests 6 different numbers to guage how well his body is oxygenating his blood, was one of his best so far. His NNP said he's amazing and his nurses and RTs (respitory threrapists) suspect he's showing off.
They even weaned his oxygen a little and he's doing even better. His only issue is he likes to take his own breaths in between the ones the machine is helping him take so he doesn't get a chance to quite expel all of the air before taking a new breath in. The machine does not like his style of breathing but I think he's just trying to get used to it.
We won't know how well he's taking his first feeding until at least 6 p.m. but hopefully it's as well as he's taking his new ventillator.
I also got to give him his first bath today - a first for both of us. He didn't like that too well, especially when I wiped his eyes and nose. He crinkled his little face and tried to move it away but it was pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen. The nurse helped me put some bacitracin on his little spots, change his diaper and his bedding. He's so fresh and so clean now!
It's a good day and we're enjoying it to its fullest! Thank you all for your support - Bryce feels it and is showing you all how much he appreciates it!