It has been a rough week for Mason in the NICU. Overall, he is doing well and has no serious problems, however, his reflux has gotten worse. Almost all preemies get reflux because their esophagus is not fully developed, but Mason has a pretty severe case. It's difficult for me to be there during his feedings because he is obviously in a lot of pain. He squirms, grunts and whimpers almost constantly during his 2 hour feedings. And it is worse when he is being held, so Chris and I are limited to holding him for a few minutes at the beginning of his feedings. The doctors are hesitant to use medication on a premature infant, but his doctor finally agreed that it's time since nothing else has helped. It will be a few days before we can tell if the medication works. On a positive note, his lungs seem to be getting stronger. He was having constant 'desats' (oxygen levels decreased) whenever he had reflux and required supplemental oxygen during his feedings. This makes the reflux a little more serious since it was affecting his breathing, but now he is keeping his oxygen levels up on his own with fewer desats. He still has the nasal cannula, but we hope it can be removed soon. We are still attempting the bottle/breast feeding, but the reflux is so bad that we haven't made much progress. We hope the medication gives him some relief very soon!
Chris celebrated his first Father's Day on Sunday! Mason made him an adorable card with his footprint that was waiting for him in the NICU (OK, the nurses probably helped, but it was very cute!). Chris has been such a wonderful daddy to Mason, even though it's been a pretty rough start to parenthood. Here is a cute picture of Mason with his Daddy on Father's Day.
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