Baby Oliver

So, here is the short story:

I went into labor on Saturday morning around 6am, went into active labor around 8am, and was at the hospital by 9am. When the doctor broke my water that morning, he could tell that there was meconium, and they scheduled to have some workers from the nursery there during delivery, ready to suck out any that had lodged itself into his nose and throat so that he wouldn't inhale it when he took his first breath. He was born at 5:01pm at 8 lbs 1 oz and 19" long. They got most of it out, and he was fine the first night. Sunday morning, Jan noticed that Oliver was breathing funny. They took him to the nursery to check his O2 levels, and it turns out he was only getting 82% oxygen when he should be getting between 90-100%. Because of this, Oliver was transferred to the NICU and put on oxygen.

Turns out there were a few things affecting his breathing, including an air pocket in his lungs that had formed when Oliver inhaled a little meconium at birth and something obstructing his left nostril.

The doctors think the air pocket should just go away on its own. We just need to wait that one out.

The obstruction in his nostril was a little more complicated. It could be cause by an anatomical malformation (like a membrane or bone) or swelling from an infection. They started him on nasal decongestant to determine which it was. If it was an infection, the nasal decongestant would alleviate the swelling in the nostril, and if it was anatomical, the decongestant would not work. We wanted it to be an infection, because if it was anatomical, they would have to send Oliver to the Primary Children's Hospital in SLC. Thankfully, the nasal decongestant worked, so the blockage should be fixed by anti-biotics (for bacterial infection) or by time (for viral).

Oliver's blood had an elevated white blood count, indicating that there was a bacterial infection (This probably was from the fact that I had been sick the last few weeks of the pregnancy and Oliver hadn't recovered by the time of birth). They started him on anti-biotics, which he would have to be on for about a week. This is why Oliver has to be in the NICU for at least a week.They also tested him for some viral infections in case it wasn't a bacterial infection that was causing the blockage in his nostril.

He has made some improvements, though! He originally had his IV in his head. We authorized them to do a PICC line, which is a more complicated IV that they won't have to re-poke him during the rest of his stay in the NICU. They were able to take out the head IV this morning (11/13). The nasal decongestant has helped so much with the nostril that Oliver has also been taken off the O2. Yay - fewer wires! Now we are just waiting for him to be able to breast feed and get the full week of anti-biotics, so they can take out the PICC line.

I've obviously been discharged from the hospital by now, so unfortunately, we had to go home without Oliver. We go to visit him every day, and I try to breastfeed him multiple times a day. There has just been so much going on, and we are constantly on the go. The NICU only allows for a limited number of visitors, so mostly everyone will have to wait until Oliver is out to be able to meet him, but we will post pictures soon!