Day 7

Time for a diaper change! This is Derc and I tag teaming the diaper change. Derc holds his arms and legs and I come in on the other side with the diaper switch out. It takes two of us because we're so nervous of moving/ripping out any cords/wires/IVs, and he's just so fragile, I think we both hold our breath the whole time.

Just look at all those wires! Crazy to think what technology can do, and what's even more amazing is that each of those cords does multiple things. We're grateful for all the medicine/technology that is available.

We think he's pondering life here......we know buddy, it's tough right now, hang in there! We don't know why you have to go through this either, but we know that you're as tough as they come so you can do it!!

Derc and I are debating how we approach the diaper change....it's not easy trying to change a diaper in an incubator on a baby that you're terrified of hurting. Doesn't help that the diapers are so big on him, but they don't come any smaller!

That would be Derc's wedding ring on Kale's wrist...kind of puts his size in perspective. Kale has shown that he is a fighter and will give it everything he's got. Thanks to all of your support, prayers and God watching over him he is still stable!

Today we spent a good chunk of the day in the NICU with Kale. He weighed 1 lb. 9 oz. today, getting back up there, almost back up to his birth weight! They inserted a PIC line today (no idea if that is how you spell that...I went to school for marketing, not medicine :) ) into his leg. This line will go up near his heart. This line will take the place of one of the lines that was going in through his bellybutton. They wanted to get those bellybutton lines out as soon as they can since they weren't permanent and have a high risk of infection.

We got to do TWO diaper changes today, Kale's bladder definitely works! They have increased his feedings to 2 mls per 6 hours, it seems as though his gut is handling the feedings well, which is exactly what we want.

His lung x-rays haven't changed since yesterday (they take them everyday), although his ventilator settings were a bit rough today. The doctors are trying to figure out the best combination of settings, as the vent controls oscillation, oxygen purity, volume, strength and probably a few other things I don't realize. Kale seems to be doing better on his back when it comes to his blood gases. They check these a few times per day and then change his vent settings based on how the reports come back. Today he was kind of all over the place, he just can't decide what he wants to do!

His heart rate was fairly steady today, with a few dips into the 60's in the morning. For the most part his heart has done pretty well, all things considered. He holds pretty steady in the 80's-90's. Normal heart rate would be roughly 140-160. The first few days he was in the 80s, now he's more consistently in the 90's, and even spent some time in the 100s today.

Tomorrow Derc goes back to work. He is thankful he got to spend a few solid days with him, but tomorrow could be a bit tough for him, but I'll be there to spend time with our little guy and you can be sure I'll be calling with updates!

Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, we're so grateful!