A Big Setback

This past weekend was one of the toughest weekends we have had since Warren was born. We got a call from the NICU early Saturday morning. A call from them is never a good sign. We were told that Warren had a bad night and was moved back to one of the regular NICU rooms. It started Friday night when Warren’s temperature really dropped. He was pale and lethargic. An x-ray revealed that his stomach and intestines were filled with air. We were told that NEC was a very real possibility based on the early symptoms (NEC is a serious intestinal infection that can cause significant long-term damage to the intestines). Needless to say, Keith and I were very upset. We got cleaned up, secured the dogs and headed to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital, it was great to see Warren. He didn’t look bad at all, just lethargic. We were told by the nurses that he was doing much better than before. We met with the doctor for an update and got better news than before. After running a series of tests, the doctors now thought he had a regular infection and not NEC (the doctors also said there was also an outside chance this was all due to just some major feeding intolerance but that wasn’t the most likely thing). While still serious, it was better than what we thought. They started antibiotics and were giving IV nutrition. Poor Warren was used to getting breastmilk so would often cry like a hungry baby since his stomach was empty. Thankfully, he could be soothed with his pacifier.

Since Saturday morning and all day Sunday, Warren’s labs came back normal and the air is his belly is clearing out. They decided yesterday to start him back on 5mL of breastmilk from a bottle every three hours to soothe his empty belly. He is still getting antibiotics and IV nutrition. Hopefully we will get some additional test results back today and the doctors can decide how much longer to continue the antibiotics and when/how to reintroduce the feedings.