Three steps forward, one step back

Jack isn't doing so well today. They noticed that he wasn't being his feisty self, and did some bloodwork and took some x-rays. Sonnet was there during the procedures and got to help as "pain control" for them, which meant that she got to give Jack the sugar water laced pacifier that made him rather loopy and not minding of the pain. (sugar water acts on preemies in the same way morphine acts on adults) The nurses think that he may have an infection of some sort. As of yet, the x-rays have shown that his lungs are a bit cloudy, which might be oncoming pneumonia. However, the other blood test results that have come in have shown that his white blood cells are normal, and the others are down. He's also having trouble utilizing his oxygen, so they're giving him another transfusion. We're hoping that the transfusion will solve his problems and make him feel better, and that it's not anything worse. There's also a chance that they're going to start him on antibiotics, just to make sure.

On the positive side, even with the worries about infection, Sonnet got to do kangaroo care with him today, and he seemed to really enjoy that-- his oxygen level, heart rate, and respiration numbers were all perfect while she was holding him. It's a really nice feeling that he's recognizing his parents, and knows when they're holding him. He's also still taking his food very well, not leaving residuals, and his digestion is working well. He's gaining weight, last night he weighed in at 2 pounds, 9.5 oz. Also, although they think he's getting an infection, they're not very worried about his health just yet. They're mostly in precautionary phase, in that they've noticed he's not feeling well and are determined to nip it in the bud as soon as possible. Please be sure to send your prayers along so little Jack feels better soon!