(Written by her Daddy from observations during his visits to the NICU)
Lauren is still out of it. Her kidneys aren't making as much urine as they should and she is starting to swell as her body's tissues retain fluids. If it continues or if it gets worse she runs
the risk of getting toxic from the accumulating wastes that she can't get rid of. Her blood pressure is significantly lower that it was before the surgery but is still within acceptable range. She is getting IV fluids for her blood pressure and is getting dopamine to increase her kidneys' functioning. She is also getting sodium bicarb again for metabolic acidosis. Her lung function is still as good as ever... Lauren is scaring us again.
10/03/01 9:30AM:
Baby Lauren is awake again. Her blood pressure has come up and her urine output has increased a little. Her ventilator support has been lowered again and she is doing much of the breathing on her own. She is going to get a blood transfusion this morning because her blood marrow just can't keep up blood cell production to replace the blood that they are taking for lab tests. This was expected and is an expected part of the stay in the NICU. Aunt Gloria donated blood for her yesterday but it is not ready yet. Thanks, Godmother. When Dr. Bufo operated on her he did not reattach the two cut ends of her bowel together because if it is done too soon there is an increased chance that they won't heal right. Instead he is waiting until she is bigger, her bowels have "rested," and her nutritional status is improved. Until now she has only been receiving dextrose through her IV. Within the next few days they should start intravenous feedings since her bowels aren't healed enough yet for "normal" feedings using her stomach and intestines. Mommy is now pumping breast milk and it is accumulating in the freezer for when they start enteral feedings through a small tube going through her mouth down to her stomach. She is still receiving dopamine for her renal function and the neonatologist thinks she is getting better in that respect. Mommy is being discharged today from the hospital.
10/03/01 8:30PM:
LAUREN"S KIDNEYS ARE WORKING WELL AGAIN!!! The nurses said she put out a lot of urine during the day and they stopped the dopamine infusion. She is less swollen. Her blood transfusion went well without any adverse reactions. Her ventilator support is down to the lowest it has been and she is doing most of the breathing on her own. Uncle Mario got his blood tested and he is a compatible donor. He is going to go donate tomorrow. Thanks, Uncle Mario! Lauren is resting without sedation and her blood pressure is great again. The rest of her vitals are also good.
10/04/01 10:00AM:
Lauren had an uneventful night. She rested and behaved well for her nurse. She looks a lot less swollen today and her skin looks pinker that it did yesterday. She is still under the bili light phototherapy and is wearing eye shields so the light doesn't damage her eyes - it looks like she is in a little suntanning booth... The ventilator settings are for minimal support and she is tolerating it well. Her blood pressure is staying up and her urine output continues to be stable. Dr. Bufo came in earlier to examine her and said that her surgery site looks good and that he is sure that it won't be too long before they can start "normal" feedings as long as her gut starts working again. The neonatologist is starting TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition) via her IV later today, so she should begin gaining weight soon. Today she actually weighed more than at birth and is up to 1 lb 6.5 oz., but it is probably not a true weight gain due to the swelling and she will probably drop in weight the next couple of days as her retained fluids get urinated out. Her blood sugar was a little low earlier this morning and they gave her some dextrose solution to bring it up - the TPN should fix that as well. The discharge planner for the unit spoke with us today regarding what it is she does and what we can expect in the next few weeks.