Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. -Proverbs 3: 5-6

Last night was another evening on kangaroo care for Travis and Tennyson. When we were in at 5pm they had him on his backside (which he only usually tolerates for around 15 minutes) and he was happy as a clam (I wonder how we know how happy clams are??) just kicking and kicking, he thought it was wonderful. When we got back at 8 for his kangaroo session with Travis he was ready however also exhausted from all the freedom he had all afternoon. He did really well for about 30 minutes and then got a bit excited, he calmed down quickly but Travis decided to put him back in his issolette and let him sleep which always calms him down. They both did so great though.

Around 3am I called to check on him as is my normal routine and his nurse asked if we noticed a soft spot or bruise on the left side of his head, measuring 2cm x 3cm when we were in there earlier. I stated I didn't, and Travis didn't say anything so I didn't think so. She said she had just found and charted it therefore it will be assessed every three hours and she was going to discuss it with the nurse practitioner during shift change in the morning. So of course I fretted over that a bit last night however she said it was probably not a huge deal and a couple other nurses had checked it out and didn't think it was emergent.

So this morning when I got in there it was the first thing I asked about. They stated it was in fact a hematoma and they believed it to be a CEPHALOHEMATOMA (A collection of blood ( hematoma ) under the scalp that is often related to the minor trauma of child birth). There is no treatment at this time as these generally are soft, then harden and calcify and then disappear on their own. The strange part as you can see from Wikapedia's definition is that these are from the trauma of childbirth and they haven't seen one in a baby that isn't a newborn (meaning since we're 12 days old it's odd) so they are watching it very closely and I will be in with him and try to catch Dr. Porte to get more information.

Last nights nurse also updated us on his weight, we went from 3lbs. 4.3 oz on Wednesday (sorry I knew I hadn't posted the numbers) to 3lbs. 5.1 oz this morning so we're gaining and growing.

This morning however I was doing my kangaroo care as his nurse had already completed her assessment and his food pump alarmed that it was empty. He is currently receiving 12ML/2HRs so that wasn't possible as I saw her set the pump up but wasn't paying attention to the numbers and I hadn't been holding him that long. Needless to say instead of giving him his feeding over 2 hours she gave it over 30 minutes therefore the entire syringe had emptied. I asked what this meant to him and it was explained to me that they give feedings over 2 hours to reduce the likelihood of acid reflux in the babies especially at our size however since I had been holding him upright during his feeding that should help greatly rather than him being flat on his back in the issolette or on his tummy.

Kangaroo care went great this morning he was very content and slept the entire time (he usually sleeps during mine and is awake during at least part of Travis') after about an hour and ten minutes I returned him to his issolette however he was sounding really gurgally (however you spell that, and yes it's a technical term) which is unusual. I asked about it and they stated that many times is a side effect of the acid reflux because it's still in his throat/esophogas region.

Needless to say during the entire kangaroo care I just cried out to the Lord to heal his little head region and then fretted about the feeding however I know God has Tennyson in His hands and He will take care of him. I guess this is a set back as minor or major as they could be since we don't really know at this time however I trust that the Lord has bigger plans for this little boy than I could have ever imagined and trust His will.

Pray for me (and Travis) as I'm struggling with wanting to be here to monitor everything at this time after the feeding mishap because had I watched her I would have known she punched it in wrong I was just so excited to hold him. I am afraid they may get comfortable now that we've been here a while. Pray I would trust Him more than I obviously do as I know the Lord is taking care of Him in my head but sometimes it's hard for my heart to trust when I don't know what's happening.

Anyways to end on a great note, we've been working with this little guy and his desaturations all week, knowing that his lungs are doing great. They have him on 3liters of O2 which you knew however he's been hovering between 28 and 30% (granted I can't complain as 21% is the lowest number before reducing his O2 liters). We've been down to 25% a few times however seem to have a desat episode or two and get turned back up. This morning however we were at 21% and during Kangaroo care and his bedside care he maintained his sat levles and we were able to leave him there at this time.

Please continue praying for this white blood cell counts (I will update as soon as todays results are in), infection will stay away, his reflux, his head hematoma and his little lungs.

He really is doing great, it was just hard to hear these few set backs after all the great news we've had.

Thanks for all the prayers and know that we love you guys.

He's carrying us-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson