July 3rd, 2006. Today was a funny day in the NICU. Beau is driving his nurses crazy with his I-feel-like-settling-off-every-alarm-I-have phase. He likes to drop his blood oxygen level then pick it back up as soon as someone comes over to check on him. It's kinda funny. You can tell the nurses who've had him before, they're pretty calm about letting him pick himself back up. Then there's the nurses who really don't know him and run over to adjust his settings just to "chase" his blood oxygen levels all night. For lack of better words, they learn all his tricks very quickly.

He's also fighting with his breathing tube. He wants it out so bad. He's constantly grabbing it and pulling it away from him while pulling his head back. He's notorious for working off his tape. He's also really good at using his tongue to push out the tube. (I have no idea how he does that one!) I think he'll be a lot happier with the CPAP until he learns how to pull that one off too. Let's hope he's happy enough with it to leave it alone. I know I'm sick of watching him gag himself fighting with the breathing tube, he's got to be sick of it too. On top of that, he's not only gagging on the breathing tube, but vomiting up milk. They thought his lung infection might be back when they suctioned out yellow stuff, but now they think it was milk that he'd choked on and got caught in his lungs. I can only imagine how uncomfortable that must have been for him. Now they watch him and suction him everytime he vomits or spits up.

Another thing about spit up, since I know we're all fascinated by it, is Beau doesn't seem to like the extra calories the nutritionist has been adding to my milk. He spits up after every feeding, but he keeps down my plain milk. His nurse assured me that it's nothing new and very common. Instead I've started separating my fore and hind milk to make sure he gets a few extra calories. For those that don't know, foremilk is the first milk to be expressed. It's thinner and doesn't have as much "good things." Hindmilk is expressed a few minutes after the foremilk and contains more calories and antibodies and proteins and stuff. It's the best thing I can give him until they can get him to keep down the calorie fortified milk. I think it's kinda cute that he only likes my milk plain. ANYWAYS!!!

Back to the funny parts of the NICU tonight. Neill finally got to hold Beau, and of course, he acted up. He was trying to squirm away from his breathing tube while on his daddy. I'm sure he's figured out that Daddy doesn't know all his tricks to extibate himself. So of course, Beau had started feeding while on Neill and he can't be disturbed until he's done or he'll puke. So here's poor Neill trying to keep Beau still and comfortable while he's setting off all his alarms AND trying to extibate himself for an hour and a half. I thought it was funny, I think Neill was a little freaked with it being his first time holding Beau and all.

The next funny thing happened with the machines. At first the remote to his machines stopped working and Neill had to replace it for Beau's nurse since he's the tallest. Then after Beau goes back into his isolette, the monitor stops working and we had to judge Beau on his color alone. His heart rate, breathing rate, and blood oxygen level kept blinking in and out so we'd get a few seconds to see how we was handling it all. Thank God he handled it really well. His nurse rushes out to get a portable monitor while another nurse goes on a hunt for another monitor (which are huge and heavy!) Then as all of this is being set up, Neill has the bright idea to totally reset the monitor. You're not going to believe it, but it worked! After all that. And of course I'm giggling because its the most rediculous situation and I think I really needed the release from all the stress lately. Then Neill's giggling and his nurses all join in too. Poor Beau. He must think we're all insane. So, thus ends our night at the NICU.

I know I say this all the time, but I want to thank everyone out there who's praying for him and put him on prayer lists. Please keep it up! Everyone have a great 4th of July!