October 23, 2009

We got the call at 2 a.m. this morning that Charlotte was moving up to the 7th floor step-down unit.

There are good and bad aspects to it. On the bright side she is healthy and stable enough to move. But the moves are probably harder on us than on her; the readjustment to the new environment, new nurses, new protocols. For her it's probably just same youknowwhat, different day.

We had hoped that by being in our own room that contact isolation precautions would be dropped. No such luck. Now there is one nurse to three or four babies as opposed to one or two babies in the NICU. Whatever, we're ready to be done with all this.

The doctor made a few changes today based on the results of some labs. Her electrolytes are a little out of whack, most likely related to the diuretic she has been on the past week plus. The doctor also indicated that she would like to see Charlotte gaining more weight than she is. The diuretic was to help clear fluid from her lungs and now that they are taking her off it we're crossing our fingers that it does not adversely affect her breathing.

We're (Katie and I) concerned that she isn't pooping. It is very apparent that she is trying (red face, funny looks and sounds) but thus far she has been unsuccessful. It had been 48 hours since she last pooped with the aid of glycerin. She got another dose tonight and that got things working for the time being. The doctor emphasized this morning that she isn't as worried about the poop as she is about gaining weight and the electrolytes.