Back On the Ventilator

Lauren had to go back on the ventilator again early this morning because she was having a more episodes of apnea and oxygen desats for the last day or so. The doctor ordered a blood gas and blood culture to make sure he wasn't missing anything. Her carbon dioxide level was elevated with the first blood gas, so they increased her CPAP to help her out a bit. They also took an x-ray and it showed that her lungs were not expanding as much as they would like. They let her go a while on the increased CPAP and took another blood gas to see if it was helping and her carbon dioxide was even more elevated so it was decided she needed to be intubated again even though she was looking okay. Hopefully this will be a short period on the ventilator and she will be back on CPAP again. The doctor doesn't really have an answer as to why her level of carbon dioxide was going up, other than the prematurity and that the part of the brain that controls breathing isn't fully developed yet. He said that usually happens around 34-36 weeks gestation. Lauren's gestation would now be 31 weeks. Having to go back on the ventilator is something that the NICU staff is used to and they aren't shocked by any means. It's hard to keep that in mind, but if Lauren needs a break in order to grow stronger than we will deal with it. It is just very hard for me to try and stay composed when I see her on the ventilator...I just wish I could take her place and she could be better. Today was not such a good day for her feedings either. She was having large amounts of milk left in her stomach, so they have stopped the milk and she went back on the IV nutrition. Her blood sugar shot up in the high 300's again because of the IV, so she is back on Insulin. They will try and start her feedings again soon and increase them very slowly. When we first got there today Lauren was still pretty sleepy so we were able to just watch her rest for a while. She ended up waking up and opening her eyes and looking around for about 20-30 minutes. It was so nice to see her wake up a bit while we were there. She is such a little miracle!
The picture I posted is of Lauren's new isolette. It has a lid that goes up and down and it keeps her nice and warm. It is also nice because it is quiet in there for her. She's been in it for a week, but I kept forgetting to post the picture.