little baby update

The doctor phoned not long ago. They extubated Mary Louise and she did well for about 40 minutes but got exhausted so they intubated her again. They will try again next week and the doctor was pleased with her overall. She is maintaining the low settings. Her cultures are still positive for bacteria and negative for yeast. Her umbilical line will have to be pulled tomorrow if there is no more progress and they have yet to get a radial line. This means repeated heel sticks to get the blood they need for testing. On one hand, I hate that our little girl would get stuck so many times. On the other, it's time for this infection to go away! They plan to try a feeding on Friday.

David is remaining stable and they were able to wean his vent settings very slightly. His meds are still the same and they are planning to start weaning his dopamine and dobutamine extremely slowly in an effort to be able to get it low enough to start feedings at the 2 weeks from surgery mark. He will remain on the nitric oxide for now. It is now thought that he likes his blood pressure a little higher as well (Mary Louise seems to like hers a little higher). I've asked if this has to do with my issues during pregnancy and have been told that there is no evidence to prove that but the honest answer is that it is unknown. He will have another echo on Friday to ensure his PDA has remained closed. He has been taken off all antibiotics as his cultures have been negative. This of course leaves him open to infection but if he stays on the meds, there is a risk for a more resistant strain of infection as well as damage done from medication side effects.

The balancing act is ongoing but so far, today is a good day.