Tuesday, January 22, 2008

the ride back up - slow and steady

So, we stayed lukewarm for much of Saturday and into Sunday morning - thinking about Eliot's infection, but not letting it send us into a state of total despair. We bought paint for the nursery; we looked at car seats; we even went out to dinner. And overall, lukewarm was fine. Not great, not horrible. Just fine.

One sign of infection is a raised CRP level (C-Reactive Protein). Anything above 1 is a sign of infection. On Thursday night, Eliot's was 1.2. Not a bad CRP level, and it could have just been a reaction to the Hep B vaccine she had received for her one-month birthday (what a present). On Friday morning, it was 6 - a definite reason for concern. On Saturday morning, it continued to go up, but we were assured that she looked better and that the CRP sometimes lagged behind. On Sunday, the infection buckled under the pressure and started its descent. Thankfully, it continued to drop this morning - a sure fire sign that Eliot is making one of her famous comebacks.

As of Friday, Owen was still have a feeding issue, and was struggling to digest 1cc of milk, so he was put on a medication that would encourage his stomach to move the food downward instead of upward in the form of lime green spit-up. By Friday afternoon, he was finally tolerating his tiny feedings better. They moved his feedings up to 3cc's, and we remained hopeful (lukewarm, but hopeful). On Sunday, they advanced his feedings to 6cc's and tonight - a whole 9cc's! 9 cc's! Why, that's almost 2 whole teaspoons of breastmilk! Rock on, little man. Rock on during the fun ride back up.

Eliot has been an eating champion since the beginning. She never had a problem with digestion, and was allowed to continue her feeding schedule during her recovery from the infection (this is pretty rare, as most babies' digestive tracts suffer when they are sick). They were able to increase her feedings tonight to 15 cc's.

The ride back up is always great. Our spirits raise and our attitudes change. But we never ignore the setbacks - instead we think of them as little reminders to stay buckled in. This ride is definitely not over.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Kerrieann,
We are sending BIG hugs and kisses your way for your babies!!
Love Carissa, Gael and Jake xo

Rachael M. said...

yea! I'm very glad to hear they're both doing better with everything.

They're so obviously gifted.

Caramel said...

Hi Kerrieann,
It is Caramel from Germany (ha-ha).
Tara told me about your blog and I was rivited from begining to end. AMAZING! I am so proud of you and happy for you. You are an amazing and strong woman. I know you will continue to stay strong and I just love your sense of humor. Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you all. Stay strong.
Cara