Happy St. Patrick's Day

Just a quick note to let you know that Samuel seems to be responding to the antibiotics and feeling a little better. He is still testing positive for staphylococcus in his lung and blood cultures, which is not great news but also not uncommon in babies who have been intubated and ventilated for as long as he has. We just keep hoping that the medications will help his body fight off the infection and we can resume moving towards extubation.

The tests confirmed that he does not have a gastro-intestinal infection (yay!) and so they began very slow feeds today through his NG tube. It can be tough getting things working after the digestive system has grown squished up in his chest and then been deprived of food for several weeks.

Many of our strides from the previous week have been paused or rewound while Samuel has been sick. He is back on more of the sedation that he was weaning off of. His ventilator settings are up a bit. He's gone back on one of the cardiac medications because his blood pressure was dropping. So there will be some work to do when he is feeling better. We are assured this should go more quickly than the first round of weaning since his body already managed those steps.

As well, we have not been able to hold him, bathe him, dress him, or really touch him much since any stimulation just made him more agitated. I sit in a chair away from his bed or busy myself tidying so that I don't bug him. It's hard not to rub lotion on his skin and re-cozy his blankets for the umpteenth time. Chris comes in after work each day and reads Samuel the same book - The Whale and the Snail by Julia Donaldson - and Samuel stirs peacefully to the sound of his voice.

Yesterday, my mom and I went shopping and found Samuel a green hat for St. Patrick's Day - small things amuse us - and took a few more photos. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

What will Samuel think if he opens his eyes and sees his parents in these masks?!

Brothers Jacob and Zachary playing dress-up. (That's Boppa's old police shirt and hat, and possibly Boppa's old tough guy facial expression too.)

Brother Daniel's half birthday (yea, we celebrate half-birthdays, I know it's weird) cake.