Nap Time!

Cute!

Two of my Boys.....

All this hospital stuff wears them out.

I'm never sleeping again...

or at least not until we are home! I really did not like how last night went. Honestly I feel like I have to be awake all the time and "police" what the nurses are doing. This is the first really concerning episode since our admission last week to the PMU unit. The nurse we had was fine she just did what she felt like when she felt like doing it and it really ticked me off....One of these times I will say something to get myself kicked off the unit but Ben cannot speak for himself so I am going to!

First off this nurse was kind enough to offer to do Ben's NG feeds for me...which would have been fine except she mixed up much larger volumes of his food than needed and pumped in what she felt like he should get and not bother with what had been decided with the dietitians and paediatricians. Minor so I just told her "You know what I will just sleep between feeds, it will be fine. I will do it." Well Ben wouldn't settle after she had flushed his NG tube so she "thought" perhaps he felt warm, so maybe he had a fever and she would give Tylenol to settle him.

I made it clear that he was ONLY to get the Tylenol if he had a fever. He did not but she gave it anyway even though I asked her not to. He was not in pain, he had no fever and he settled with in a few seconds of my picking him up. I let it go. Murdering a nurse at 2 am would not have won me many friends.

This morning it was discovered that Ben had dislodged his feeding tube. ENT had to be called and over the course of an hour a room full of doctors and nurses finally got it reinserted.

Unfortunately placement was questioned. The resident wanted to pull the tube out and try again. I wouldn't allow it. Instead we went and had an X-Ray to check the NG tube placement. While exposing him to radiation isn't a good idea either I just couldn't subject him to having one NG pulled out to have it put back in and have an X-Ray after that anyway. The NG is in the right spot so all was okay.

It seems like everyday in here is a test.

A Busy Night

Last night seemed to continue with the busy and the crazy. Ben's nurse was amazing. His name was Andrew and he honestly couldn't do enough for us. After asking all day for a correct pump kit he found the parts to make one between 3 store rooms. He found me a Medela micro steam bag to sterilize Ben's bottle. Again I had asked all day for one and no one seemed to be able to do it.

He also, like my husband and myself, questioned the reasoning for the NG tube if he wasn't going to be using it. We made our own game plan really. Perhaps that's why we like him. He said to try the feed and because he knew Ben had been through so much, he would check back on him early into the feed and if it didn't work we would gavage the rest. This would give Ben his much needed calories but still allow him to sleep. Andrew was busy ( I don't think the man stopped all night!) so he sent in another nurse to check on us. When he knew Ben was working way to hard for what little bit he got he started the gavage and let Ashley and I finish it.

Once Ben settled...he slept. Andrew made the suggestion that overnight and into the morning we would gavage feed to allow Ben a nice uninterrupted sleep. Ben could rest as long as he liked, conserve calories and still have a full feed. It was, for the first time in days, I felt relaxed. Ben had a full feed. He wasn't over tired...and he was resting and I knew even if I overslept that this nurse would be in to make sure he got his food. I really liked this nurse.

When things didn't go as planned at the 2am feed, Andrew improvised. The gavage wasn't working properly, the NG tube was too short for gravity to do it's thing. Andrew tried an extension and it didn't work so he got a pump. He made what we had work for the time being so that Ben could rest. He even stayed and helped me settle him once the pump feed was started.



The remainder of the night Andrew let me sleep and fed Ben whenever via the NG tube. I got some sleep (not much but WAY more than I have been!) and actually hope to try and wrap my head around what is going to be happening over the next few weeks.

Ben's nurse today is Sara and she seems every bit as motivated as Andrew was to allow Ben to sleep and gavage feed when he doesn't wake on his own in the given 3~4 hour window for feeds.

Lets hope that means today will be a good day.

Harrison Has A Bath...

and falls asleep!! Too Cute!!

Sleeping Beauty

When Victoria was sick back in May, Ash went to Walmart and bought her a sleep mask to help with her headache. Last night I heard her digging around in the freezer and when I went in to check on her this is what I found! What a little Diva!!

How To Sleep Like A Baby

Watch Harrison and learn from a pro!

• Wear comfy pajamas


• Have a snuggle


• Curl up in your favourite chair


• Watch some TV


• Drift off to sleep.....

Or you can just watch this video.

Really this video was me trying to figure out how to use the video feature on my new camera my hubby got me for my birthday. Harrison looked so cute I just had to share.