06-18-10

As you may or may not know, Miss Brooklyn came home on Tuesday. We picked her up at 4:00pm and had a wonderful night with her. She and Quinn did awesome. Richard and I both woke up to feed them and everything went so smoothly.

The next day I had scheduled their eye exams. Both passed with flying colors. Dr. didn't see any sign of ROP. Both girls did great. Well, Quinn screamed the entire time and Brooklyn did really well. My mom was kind enough to drive us around. I want someone to drive so I can sit in the back and watch the girls. We sat in the truck and fed them but neither girl took the bottle too well. So we needed to turn in my boobie pump at the hospital so we fed them there. Brooklyn didn't eat at all. She sounded congested so I just thought she wasn't able to breathe well. So we got home and my Mom laid her down to change her and she turned blue. Mom snatched her up and waited until I came in the house to see her. Unfortunately, I was coming from outside and was seeing dots. My Mom was really spooked. By this time, her breathing was very labored. So I called her pediatrician and left a message. In the mean time, I called to talk with a nurse at the NICU. Nurse Beth told me to contact her pediatrician and asked me to check her chest to see if she is using her muscles when she breaths. Her little chest muscles were retracting. Under her boobies, her chest was indenting so much. I waited for the pediatrician to call back and they told me to take her to the ER because they were not equipped for urgent care. As soon as I said her chest was retracting, she stopped me and told me to go to the ER. So I called Nurse Beth at NICU and said we were on the way.

Oh my gosh, my stress level was through the roof. Richard rushed home and we already had the girls loaded up and ready to go. The ER took her back as soon as we walked through the door. Nurse Beth had called them to told them we were coming.

They did all sorts of things including an IV in her scalp, catheter for a urine sample, xrays, and much more. She was so out of it that she didn't even fight it. Her Dsats were fluctuating so they put her on a low oxygen level. It was so disheartening to see her on the full size bed for adults and big kids. She just laid there and let them work on her. It was so sad. She was so small and precious.

All tests were normal except one test. Her white blood cell was really high. This usually means a urinary tract infection (UTI). It takes a few days for those results to come back. The ER doctor asked if NICU would take her back. They usually don't because she has already been discharged and they don't want her bringing back anything. But they tested her for a couple of illnesses she could have gotten in the "outside world" knowing that she probably wasn't out long enough to get anything. She was out for 24 hours total. But they put her in an isolation room in the NICU.

They are going to run other tests if the UTI test come back negative. She has been on antibiotics and finished today. We don't have any test results as of yet. But they are going to run other tests to cover all basis.

I was curious why a UTI would be enough for her to have apnea. But according to the doctors, a UTI for a baby is a massive hit to their system. It will cause them to stop breathing. Scary stuff. Depending on the bug, she could be in NICU for up to 10 days. I don't want her home until she is fully ready. Poor baby. She was so wore out by the time she got to NICU she wasn't moving. I just wanted to pick her up and love on her.

I will try to keep you posted but taking care of Miss Quinn is a full time job so I will try to keep it up. Keep Brooklyn in your prayers.

Also, Quinn is wonderful. She is a farting machine, sleeping beauty, and a little hungry pig. Love her though.