Night #6

Its 3am & we are in full swing of night #6 on the 4th floor.  As fantastic as everyone has been, I hope I never see this place again.  Logan is fast asleep, after a coughing fit that woke us both up.  I just took a shower, because he is alseep, I was awake & I needed one!  Now I'm wide awake & can't sleep. 

Sounds like Hayden & Olivia had a good day at home.  Snot.  Coughs.  Crabby.  Long, long nap for Livi.  But eating, drinking, breathing & peeing.  And at this point, thats all I ask.  Even if they do have pizza for breakfast ;)

Logan is doing better.  His color is better.  He is peeing.  He is resting well, very well!  He slept around 12 hours overnight.  He woke up for an hour, just enough time to eat some breakfast, then went back to sleep around 12:30.  He was awake for a little over 2 hours around 3.  And then back to sleep again.  So in a 24 hour period, this poor boy was awake only 3 hours.  I think getting some fluids on board he finally felt well enough to rest.  I feel so bad we let him get that miserable.  I'm sure his little head hurt, along with everything else.  He's just not one to ever complain, so I should of known if he was miserable, this was for real.  It just took me a while to admit it.

He was awake for 4 or so hours in the evening.  And had a little spunk.  He watched CARS twice.  And learned that his big ole' IV board to protect his IV makes a good club to hit his mama.  Only in times like these is ornery a good thing.  Lets me know he's feeling better.

He takes his meds nicely for the nurses.  And even lays still for them to put drops in his eyes.  Lays still!!  He is different than Livi in the hospital in so many ways.  Her communication & language skills are so much more advanced.  I can explain almost anything to her & she has a word for everything.  Logan, not so much.  I can bribe Liv into doing almost anything.  Logan, not so much.  Livi is a fantastic patient, so cooperative, with no tears, but she NEEDS me.  She needs to hold "mommy hand" for every blood pressure they take.  And needs frequent "nose kiss"es while on O2.  Logan could care less if I'm standing off in a corner while they assess him.  He doesn't make a peep.  Cooperates & sits still, quietly taking it all in.  Today he slept through everything they did to him.  But he is so much more independent than her & it makes me feel bad.  I know what she wants for comfort in these situations.  And I want to give him the same thing, only I don't know what he wants & although he seems to want/need nothing, I want to give him everything that I can.  Its amazing how quickly though they seem to realize that the things the doctors & nurses are doing to them DO make them feel better.  How quickly they learn not to fight things like  breathing treatments & eye drops. 

While Logan is improving & looks a lot better than he did 24 hours ago, but since he slept, literally, the whole day away, not a lot of drinking went on.  Meaning, we are here for night #6 {night #2 for Logan.}  He is having TONS of wet diapers on his IV fluids though, so I know we've got him good & hydrated.  I was able to get him to drink around 8 oz this evening.  More than he drank all day on Sunday.  And more than I got him to drink all day.  {I have been bribing him to drink with new trains.  So I guess we'll be investing in some new toys when we get home.}  They turned his IV fluids down some, just to see if he would get more thirsty.  And the plan is to let him rest tonight & turn them off in the morning & go from there.  We should be able to go home tomorrow, or since its 3am, technically today.  Dr. Harrison just wanted him to get 1 more night of fluid & rest, because he worried if he didn't, we would be back here in a day or 2. 

I frequently as the nurses for motrin & tylenol for him, because I know his throat hurts.  He winces when he swallows & drools constantly.  Though he won't tell me if he has any "owies."  He still periodically spikes a fever.  He was fine all day, but again this evening was 101.5.  {Hayden gets croupy, Livi gets wheezy, Logan gets high fevers.  Funny how they each respond to illness in their own way.}  He is breathing well, well for a 2 year old preemie with RSV.  Lets me suck the boogers out of his nose {seriously wish I had wall suction at home!}  And has been off of the oxygen since he got that initial bolus of IV fluids. 

He is not getting steroids like Livi is.  I thought he would & I asked about them.  The reason being, steroids help with airway inflammation.  RSV does not cause inflammation.  But rather plagues its victims lungs with a very, sticky mucous.  Hence their horrible cough til they gag it up coughs.  {And the reason we WANT them to cough, to keep those secretions moving rather than settling into their chest.}  So they do not routinely give steroids to kiddos with RSV.  Livi is getting them though due to her history, AKA her asthmatic tendencies.  Because asthma does cause airway inflammation & if you add that inflammation to this sticky mucous, it can get bad.  So the steroids are helping to keeping her asthmatic tendencies at bay.  She is only getting them, because at the ripe old age of 2, she already has a "history."

A friend of mine who has twins just the same age as my kids just had posted on her Facebook about the 2 year "anniversary" of her kiddos battling RSV.  They had it that first winter just shortly after coming home from the NICU.  One was terribly ill & spent a long time on a ventillator fighting for his life.  He is very lucky to be alive.  And so I sit here, hating every moment of this hospital stay, & keep counting my lucky stars that this is all the worse it is.  We are lucky they are as healthy as they are.  We are lucky we have avoided it this long.  We are lucky to live in a place where this medical treatment is available to us.  We are lucky to have amazing friends & family helping us out with prayers, hugs & food. 

Its amazing how a crummy situation can make you feel blessed beyond words. 

Since I don't have a fancy schmancy phone to take & upload pictures.  Here are just a few pictures I took with my phone & texted to Aunt Molly, that she can upload to the internet for me. 

Lovie, puppy & Livi watching the cars drive down Dodge during her 4th & last night at Children's.

 Logan's first awake moment since being admitted.  A big bowl of cereal, then back to sleep.

 His 20 minutes of energy this afternoon were spent driving cars in the window, & watching cars outside. 

So onward with the last few hours of night #6.  Hopefully you are our last!!