Eight Weeks...WOW!!

We realized that Elias is eight weeks old now! We actually got to thinking about it the other day, his first day in isolation. Each room has assigned nurses to that particular practice, and they rotate into other rooms for coverage, but they do this to have a core group of caregivers that get to know the babies to help care for them better. There were three babies in the isolation unit while we were there and the nurse was caring for one of the others while the respiratory team came in to give him his breathing treatment. During the treatment Elias got mad because he was sleeping soundly. He kicked off one of his vital sign leads. Without a thought, Mom unbuttoned Elias' outfit to replace it, and she noticed his ostomy bag had come off and was leaking everywhere. Having changed it several times before she went straight to his drawer, got out all of the supplies, and Dad worked on getting clean blankets and a outfit. We finished cleaning him up and replacing the bag, we changed his diaper and clothes, then waited for the nurse to be free. We had done everything but change the blanket, since we need to lift him, and with his tube being so loose we were not comfortable. She came in and we told her what had happened and what we had done already, we just needed help with changing his blanket. She had such a surprised look on her face and said, "Well OK, wow you know how to do all that?" We laughed and told her, "guess you tend to pick up a few things when you've been around for almost 2 months." She was obviously not use to this hands-on experience, which in a way is very sad. Most of that comes from parents being so overwhelmed with the NICU experience it is easy to forget that you still have to and need to be a mom & dad regardless. We have been fortunate enough to embrace the situation for what it is and treat every moment like we were at home, as best we can. Several of Elias' nurses came over to see him from his old room during the course of yesterday. His room also has a window that goes to his old room so we would see a few of his nurses peeking through the blinds to see him. We think it is sweet that they enjoy him so much and miss him. One of the nurses told us that several of them on both the day& night shifts are going to try and get rotated into that room when they can. There are about seven to eight nurses that expressed interest. He is such a little charmer :) That really makes us feel good about his move, knowing that we will not have to get to know a whole new group of nurses. We truly appreciate the compassion and devotion they all have. It is for that reason we can actually go home at night and not worry about his care.





We have a little more information to share with you on the staph. After talking with the doctors more, here is the understanding we have come to. Elias has tested positive to the strain MRSA. MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a bacterium that can cause serious infections, but does not mean it will. It is resistant to numerous antibiotics of the beta-lactam family, including methicillin and penicillin, the most common courses of treatment for staph infections. MRSA belongs to the large group of bacteria known as Staphylococci, often referred to as Staph. About 25%-30% of all people have Staph within the nose, but it normally does not cause an infection. Hopefully, that will clear up a lot of the confusion on this issue.





As we noted yesterday, the advantage of this is the private room, and Elias took full liberty to rest the most peaceful sleep we have seen. Here are a few pictures:

Well, we are hoping for a smooth weekend and a potential extubation on Monday or Tuesday. That is the plan for now. Have a wonderful weekend!!