Up and Down, Up and Down

We've been told from the beginning that there would be good days and bad days; two steps forward and one step back. It is true and it is frustrating. Like Stacy says she almost fears the good days because you know that there has to be a bad day. Yesterday was good and today was bad.

That being said, I don't want to be an alarmist because all things considered he's still truckin' along OK. Unfortunately though when the doctor called us this morning she said that she is concerned that Finn may have an infection. His actions and reactions are lethargic; when the doctor raised his arm it just fell back by his side which isn't normal and when they drew blood he didn't react at all to the needle. Additionally they escalated his breathing assistance from a CPAP to a SIPAP. They are virtually the same however the SIPAP forces him to breath more so than the CPAP does - it is more active and the CPAP is more passive.

They sent out blood and urine samples to be cultured which can take some time - probably around 48 hours. They did start him on antibiotics this morning as a preemptive measure just incase he indeed does have an infection.

We visited him this afternoon and I read two more chapters of Huckleberry Finn to him while Stacy endured another round of pumping. He was very stable while I was doing this. I guess that I'm not the only one who likes the sound of my voice!

I asked the nurse if it isn't an infection what else might be affecting him. She took the opportunity to remind us that his gestational age is still only 28 1/2 weeks - putting that into perspective always helps. Think about what he would be doing in the womb versus what he's expected to do now. Like I said all things considered...

As soon as we know more we'll of course let you all know. Until then here's hoping he's just having a lazy day and or will quickly fight off whatever is ailing him - he's shown that he has quite the apptitude for doing so and I remain faithful that this will be no exception!