Caffeine Addict

Another heel stick for the poor kid today- to get an idea what his caffeine levels are right before his next dose. This will give the doctor an idea of how he's doing on what levels... that being said, they may be able to discontinue or at least cut back his dosage tomorrow depending on what the lab results say. The doctor again mentioned that they prefer they wean him off completely and have the approximate week following to monitor how he does once he's off- but said worse case he could go home with monitors- fine by me!!! He was impressed with his breastfeeding attempts, and said that it'll just take off one day once he truly "gets it" and then he'll be able to "give him the boot" out of here- best news I heard all day! 

We talked about the RSV vaccine- which apparently we don't "qualify" for- meaning that he's not as much at risk, and the lovely pharmaceutical companies charge $1,000 each injection- which is done monthly through the season- which in Florida is approximately August-April. Ouch. Ridiculous. But he said he wasn't too concerned, and it doesn't prevent a baby from getting the virus, only reduces the length of hospitalization stay typically. So, doesn't look like we'll need that. Discussed the possibility of needing any specialists or pediatricians - and his recommendation was to find one we liked, but that the only problem Chase has is that he's premature- no other issues that we need to concern ourselves with- so that's fantastic! 

He is off his pulse ox sensor (again), but looks like for good this time. Kind of nice to only have one cord to be tied to (his ECG/resp monitors)... he's been kangarooing with me all day- he does so good when he's on me- hard to refuse! His weight last night was 4lbs 4.7oz... a slow weight gain, but again, any gain is good at this point. It's a slow, but steady process, but I'm willing to practice patience. I have my med-surg books here to try to get a head start for when I return to school, and of course ask the poor nurses here a million questions and try to keep as hands on as possible. All in all, I can't complain- out of a bad situation, it's pretty darn nice :) 

Will try to update with photos later!