Little Luke and the NICU...

So, if you read Luke's birth story, you know he was whisked away to the NICU in another town a day after he was born. *hardest thing ever*.

So, what happened?

Well, he was having a lot of trouble breathing (he was taking over a hundred breaths per minute) and his oxygen saturation was constantly dropping. He was on oxygen at the hospital he was born at, but his sat's would drop whenever he was moved. He had an x-ray the night he was born, and another the next morning. The one in the morning showed that air was leaking from his left lung. This is when it was decided he needed to go to the NICU. 

Off he went in his limo...

By the time he got to the hospital, his left lung had collapsed. :(  This meant he needed to be on a ventilator. So, they had to intubate him and help him breathe. The doctors also needed to put a chest tube in to drain fluid from his lung and an IV in his umbilical cord. They sedated him so he didn't move or feel much, and they gave him some surfactant for his lungs. I am very glad I wasn't there for that part, because it would have been so hard to see.

Luckily, Luke only needed the ventilator for a couple days. He was able to get it removed at 4:30pm on Thursday.... just before I got there. He still needed a special type of oxygen tube that helped him get the oxygen he needed because his respirations were still weak.

He also still needed his chest tube in for drainage to help his lung heal, and an IV (in his head in this photo) so he could get his antibiotics for his collapsed lung and the antivirals to combat the meningitis I had. 

On Friday he went to regular oxygen, which was a huge step so quick! He also got his chest tube out, and then later that day his umbilical IV was removed. This was a big day because it meant I got to FINALLY hold my baby! I cried many tears when the nurse finally put Luke in my arms. I had needed that since he was born, and I really felt wronged that I had yet to hold him. 

Later that night we did some kangaroo care-

On Saturday we trialed no oxygen. He had a few scary dips, but overall he did well. He hasn't ended up needing extra oxygen since then! His IV in his head went bad, though... so it had to be removed and replaced. But, it was a good time to get his first bath in! I couldn't get pictures of his first bath since both the nurse and I had to be right there...but here's a picture of him all snug and cozy in his isolette afterward.

Later on Saturday he was taken out of the isolette and put in an open crib to see if he could maintain his temperature. He did great!

On Sunday Daddy brought some of the boys over to meet Luke. It was nice that my husband was able to come on Father's day.

The boys were very excited to meet him, but didn't understand why we couldn't take him home and why I couldn't come with them. It was hard to see them go again. :(  

On Monday night Luke was able to get his last IV out!  I was also able to capture a smile.

Today Luke has been trying to eat better. He pulled out his NG tube, so it needed to be replaced (and boy did that make him MAD). His respirations are getting less (they have to be under 60 per minute, and they are most of the time now)...so really the only thing we are waiting on is full feeding by mouth for a minimum of 48 hours. Hopefully our stay in the NICU won't be much longer, and I am so happy that he has made the progress he has so far. 

*All photos above are my own. Do not copy, use, or distribute them.*

Look for another update soon!