Eleanor has had a productive week, to say the least. She began a course of antibiotics on Monday post pneumonia diagnosis. Initially, she was given Cefepime and Vancomycin (both bacteria-killing antibiotics), until her blood cultures and urine cultures came back negative and she was switched from the Vancomycin (too much of this antibiotic can cause toxicity and must be monitored) to Ampicillin.
She has responded very well to the antibiotics and has weaned back to her original pressure settings and sits comfortably at 30% oxygen all day. She is not allowed to wean below 30%, even if her pulse ox level suggests she should be bumped down. The doctors want to keep her comfortable and not force her to work hard.
She did, however, need to have a midline IV inserted, as her teeny uncooperative veins kept blowing through regular IVs (I think she was on her third one come Wednesday morning...a mere three days into her antibiotics). This is a soft catheter that is placed in the vein. It is much longer than a regular IV and is intended to last longer than a regular IV (similar to her previous PICC lines).
The midline was inserted on Wednesday evening around 5pm and took four attempts (she has seriously uncooperative veins, much like Mommy). Fast forward to Friday evening, and upon changing the little miss's diaper, Mom noticed that her dressing over the midline was disgusting and needed changed. We (the nurse and I) figured it was because Eleanor gets so sweaty, or that she peed down her leg (not the case). Turns out, the catheter was leaking and completely closed off from the vein. Return, the IV in the head.
Eleanor finished her last dose of antibiotics this morning, so she should be able to be IV-free here shortly. Recall that IVs placed in the head are the least prone to infection and cause the least amount of distress, as there are fewer nerve endings in the skull. Weird.
She is seriously beefing up and today weighed in just shy of 7 lbs., 9 oz. Her due date is tomorrow (!!!!) and she will be 100 days old on Thursday! I can remember seeing other babies with 100-day old signs on their doors when Eleanor first arrived and thinking, “My God, that is such a long time!” but here we are, and we still have a long way to go.
This week, the doctors hope to wean her PEEP and eventually discuss a round of steroids to get her little butt off the ventilator! She has been smiling more and is very attentive to her surroundings and responsive to voices. She has an eye exam this afternoon and we are hopeful it will continue to show her little baby eyes improving and growing properly.
She has responded very well to the antibiotics and has weaned back to her original pressure settings and sits comfortably at 30% oxygen all day. She is not allowed to wean below 30%, even if her pulse ox level suggests she should be bumped down. The doctors want to keep her comfortable and not force her to work hard.
She did, however, need to have a midline IV inserted, as her teeny uncooperative veins kept blowing through regular IVs (I think she was on her third one come Wednesday morning...a mere three days into her antibiotics). This is a soft catheter that is placed in the vein. It is much longer than a regular IV and is intended to last longer than a regular IV (similar to her previous PICC lines).
The midline was inserted on Wednesday evening around 5pm and took four attempts (she has seriously uncooperative veins, much like Mommy). Fast forward to Friday evening, and upon changing the little miss's diaper, Mom noticed that her dressing over the midline was disgusting and needed changed. We (the nurse and I) figured it was because Eleanor gets so sweaty, or that she peed down her leg (not the case). Turns out, the catheter was leaking and completely closed off from the vein. Return, the IV in the head.
Eleanor finished her last dose of antibiotics this morning, so she should be able to be IV-free here shortly. Recall that IVs placed in the head are the least prone to infection and cause the least amount of distress, as there are fewer nerve endings in the skull. Weird.
She is seriously beefing up and today weighed in just shy of 7 lbs., 9 oz. Her due date is tomorrow (!!!!) and she will be 100 days old on Thursday! I can remember seeing other babies with 100-day old signs on their doors when Eleanor first arrived and thinking, “My God, that is such a long time!” but here we are, and we still have a long way to go.
This week, the doctors hope to wean her PEEP and eventually discuss a round of steroids to get her little butt off the ventilator! She has been smiling more and is very attentive to her surroundings and responsive to voices. She has an eye exam this afternoon and we are hopeful it will continue to show her little baby eyes improving and growing properly.
She is such the little fierce fighter she is. Sounds like she is doing much better but still got a fight. Much love and prayers for you all.
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