Quinn loves mama's milk. Every 12 hours he gets one milliliter more per feeding. He's 1210 g, or about 2 lbs 11 oz. At that rate he'll be 3 lbs by Sunday or so. And with each increase in feed, his TPN is decreased slightly. So that's good news. There is still concern about his lung capacity. When I got there, he was being poked for an IV. That was a horrifyingly fascinating process to watch. I asked if they gave him anything to keep him so still and they said no, he really was just lying there while a comparatively giant needle went into his tiny hand. It made me shudder. I've had three IV's in my life, and all three hurt like you-know-what. Anyway, the IV was for a blood transfusion, his 4th. His hemoglobin and hematocrit had been low, and that could account from some of his oxygen issues. After the blood transfusion, he would get a dose of Lasix, a diuretic. The nurse asked if I was familiar with the drug, and I said yes, because it's very often given to racehorses, hence the saying "piss like a racehorse." I asked if that was for the fluid in his lungs, and she said no, it's common with a transfusion to get rid of the extra fluid in the donor blood. But it might also help his lungs, as will the extra blood. I'll call later tonight and see if they can see any of the good effects yet. I didn't get to hold him today. The nurse said he can't be held while the blood transfusion is going on, and she couldn't put off starting it. I was there for over an hour, and by the time I left, the blood still hadn't even arrived yet. She apologized for that, that I could have been holding him all that time, but it was time for me to pick up the other kids, and once again, we were victims to hospital schedules, which vary by the minute it seems.

I also met the nurse manager while I was there and had an absolutely maddening conversation with her. She came and introduced herself and asked if I was the mom. She didn't know because she couldn't see my purple ID bracelet which was under my sleeve. She said that system works well. I told her it works well for them, but I find the bracelet a total annoyance, since I only need it one hour out of every 24, and the rest of the time it gets in the way. To that she said "Yeah, it works well for us." totally oblivious. I said it work well for you, but she didn't seem to hear me. She went on to say that the nurse managers like to get to know the NICU families. I didn't point out to her that we've been there nearly four weeks now. She gave me her card and said she was there to answer any questions I had. I asked what sort of questions and she basically told me not to interrupt her spiel. Alrighty then. She said if we have concerns about the quality of care, or interactions with nurses, that's something the nurse manager would deal with. But the daily questions about how Quinn is doing would be better addressed to his nurse. Of course, having been there several weeks now, I already knew that, but I nodded and then asked her a question about Quinn's primary nurses. At the very beginning, two nurses introduced themselves as his primary nurses. They were Sheila and Samantha. I told her I hadn't seen either nurse since, and in the last week or so, it's been a different person almost every time, and had his primary nurses changed. After glance at his chart, she said his primary nurses were Lorrie and Linda. I asked if that had changed, because Linda had introduced herself to Kurt the previous day and told him that was her first day caring for Quinn. I said this three times over the course of this conversation before this nurse manager finally seemed to understand that there must have been a change, and she didn't know when it had happened, and would talk to Linda about this. So much for continuity of care.

Overall, an okay day. I hope Quinn starts breathing better soon.