Archie’s update (edited: Coolest update to an update, ever)

UPDATE to the update: I expressed frustration and sadness at my pathetic pumping attempts. I just visited Archie to see how it went with my offering. My husband and the nurse told me the amount I sent was EXACTLY on-the-nose what the doctor ordered him to have! To the mililiter! Totally buoyed by that little bit of news and had to share.

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THANK YOU, everyone, for your prayers. I am completely overwhelmed by all of you. I am completely overwhelmed.

Archie held steady through the night with fast respiration rate (think 100+ per minute), 100% oxygen under his little Spaceman Spiff helmet, 2 different antibiotics via IV, blood draws, chest x-rays, and general caring unfriendliness. God bless those nurses! I could never do their job.

This morning’s x-rays look a little better, but show air in his chest, streaking and “consolodation” on his right lung. The scariest thing about last night’s news was that his heart was muffled and not in the “right” place! It was in the center of his chest. Today, his heart appears to be where it is supposed to be—on the left. How, why, HOW? Why? Thank God, is all I can say.

The plan of action is to monitor him very closely (he has the bed closest to the nurse’s desks), keep up the antibiotics since the blood cultures aren’t back, and allow him to eat via tube (but only a little). He will also have labs and x-rays, of course.

My update is courtesy of pumping—which isn’t going that well. Archie has only been around for a day and half, and only nursed for about 20 hours, so my milk supply isn’t fantastic and pumping just isn’t doing it. It is milk, not colostrum any more, so there is a positive. You should have seen the bottle I sent with my husband back to the NICU—wouldn’t feed a flea. Please pray my mammary glands pull it together. I really want him to have mama milk, but understand if he can’t.

Thanks again for your prayers and even for posting about him on your own blogs. I’ll update more later, when I can.