Health visitor vs Felix

Today my health visitor came to see me. She comes once a week and always wants my parents to take my clothes off so I'm all naked. For this reason, I always make sure my nappy is full and requires changing.Once they've done this, they pick me up, place me on the hardest bed ever, take a step back and then start talking about numbers. Today the number they talked about was "4.12". Mum sounded very happy and I saw Dad twiddle with his phone, he pushed a few buttons and then said a new number "9.08". Everyone looked pleased, which was a relief, as I was picked up again, dressed, and placed on my dad's lap. On days like this, not only do I get naked, I also have my head measured for hats that never appear. Today my head number was 37.5. This didn't produce the same excited response my naked number did, but I wasn't naked anymore so I didn't care. This 37.5 number was talked about for a while and the health visitor started to draw pictures in my red book. I was told I shouldn't make my head grow that fast. I didn't think it was.

Normally I really, really like my health visitor but, today I overheard something that has made me a little cross. Since I've returned home I'm helping myself to as much milk as I please. Some days, I feed for hours on end even when I'm not really hungry. I also use my mummy to relax, not really drinking but just sucking or playing. This is all about to change. Mummy was advised to not let me just 'play' with her pillows, as it takes a lot of her time and stops me from feeding properly. Apparently, I will also find it difficult to settle down by myself. Grrrrr!! I don't settle because I want to play!

Dad said if he catches me misbehaving like this, he'll pick me up and place me on the naughty step. Fine. Bring it on.

I had a thought, "If I can't play with my mum's pillows I'll find something else to suck" and today I did. It was attached to one of my hands.

Sucking on my hands is good fun and I think it's making my mum jealous. If I keep it up, she'll eventually crack and will beg me to come back to play with her.

In the afternoon, I had another visit from my friend on the 'Nurse at Home' team. She brought me lots more medicine as mine keeps on expiring. I now have 10 different types of medication and it all tastes horrible. The problem is, it's usually mixed with my milk and I like milk.  So I drink it without complaining.  This lady also brought a machine to test my Oxygen Levels. This happens once a week and every time we have a quick test I always show off. 100%.

 

Last week I had the all important 'download'. This is when good results really matter. All of us were hopeful I'd continue to show-off and as a result I could have my Oxygen reduced. To please the judges I had to show them my Oxygen levels won't drop below 90% and average above 95%.

I was strapped up to the machine from 7:00pm until 8:00am the following day. After returning the machine (ibaby!) we waited by the phone for the results. The phone didn't ring. We waited, waited and then just picked up the phone and rang them instead.

Not good news. Sadly, the computer said "no" and the judges concurred. I had too many 'blips' below 90% and needed to stay on the same level for another 2 weeks. This upset my parents a little bit and I think my mum cried. She doesn't want my face to have these things on anymore.

  
She wants them off so I can look like this.


 

CHUBBY CHEEKS!

Daddy's Comments:

Felix has been putting on weight FAST. He is now 4.12kg, or 9.08lbs. He is averaging around a pound a week which is amazing. We can now really see his arms and face getting chubbier each day. His head measurements are important to see whether the fluid in his brain is flushing correctly. A sudden increase in circumference could indicate fluid build up, which in turn, could be a sign of hydrocephalus. No one is overly concerned yet, as he shows no sign of discomfort and his 'soft spot' is still soft.
We are having another download next Thursday and hope to be able to drop his Oxygen levels.
Apart from that and his choking episodes Felix is a normal health chubby baby!

Knowledge

Now I'm in my cot I feel that I can observe things much better. I am become much more knowledgeable and understand how and why things work. When I'm not meditating, I can see people's faces much better and hear each and every noise.

I'll try to explain a little more about what happens in my ward.

Everyday around 11:00am all the parents are asked to leave the room whilst more doctors and nurses enter. When these people form a circle around my bed, my parents, but only my parents, are allowed to re-enter the room. I've experienced this for 4 weeks now and I think I've figured out what's happening. They are called the 'Ward Rounds'. At first I never really paid much attention to what was being said, it was always big words which were responded to by nods, pens on chins or the sound of my Dad's voice intervening. 10 minutes pass, my parents leave and then my friend's go through the same bizarre ritual.
Recently however, now I'm more alert and am not trapped in my incubator, I've started to understand what is being said. I've tried to remember as much as possible, but can only really remember the words which I understand. The beginning bit is always the same. See how you do or if you want a hand visit my medical information page.

"Felix was born 29+6 with RDS, he's conjugated biliruben with screen in place, PDA was closed on day 5. Had infection with two positive cultures now negative after 10 days Teicoplanin. Has bi-lateral IVH with Grade 2-3 & 4, two weekly ultra scans and head circumference show normal development. Now back on 2 hourly feeds. Stools are of a pale colour"

After this the doctors and nurses look at the computer screens and ask each other questions. Sometimes my Dad suggests different answers or says something funny which makes people laugh and then realises perhaps he should be a bit more serious. Tut tut Daddy.

The last things they say are often to do with things I need to work on and improve. "Stools are of a pale colour" for example. I remember a few weeks ago when all the talk was about me opening my bowels. I did that. It took me two weeks of trying but I eventually gave the people what they wanted, but was that enough? No. Now my poo is of the 'wrong' colour. Imagine that!

Recently I've started communicating with my friend on the other side of the ward. As we haven't worked out how to talk, we communicate by setting off our alarms. If you have ever visited a neonatal ward there are mainly two alarms that you will hear regularly. The first, and the most common is the 'Saturation' alarm. When our oxygen saturation drops below 90% an alarm will sound, it's not a very loud alarm but it's enough to send communication to other babies. The next alarm is the more serious sounding one. I can get this to make a sound if I hold my breath or wriggle around when I have trapped wind, this is the 'Brady' alarm and it will make a loud fast alarm if my heart beat drops dramatically. Today, I managed to set my 'brady' alarm off and my friend responded immediately. I stopped, he stopped. In our language this means "Let's see whose nurse is the fastest". It was a draw.

I think the nurses are cottoning on to our games as last night I had three of my four sensors removed. Now I just have the "sats probe" attached to my foot. My Mum said my feet smells just like my Dads when this is removed. Thanks a lot.

Felix X x

Back in Intensive Care

On Monday night I had lots of trouble breathing. For some reason I just couldn't sustain the wonderful breathing I had been doing over the last week and had to keep on stopping for a rest. I've started to learn that when I have a rest, alarms start going off. This shocks me into breathing again which is what I did most of Monday night. By the time my parents came to see me in the morning I was completely shattered. I really wanted for them to see me as I was the previous day, but I couldn't. After my parents changed my nappy (no poo), I felt comfortable that they were next to me and started to rest again. Alarms were going off when I felt most relaxed. My parents shook me awake. This was repeated for nearly thirty minutes with nurses also joining in and putting an oxygen mask to my face. Sooner or later I was the most popular baby in the room. Everyone had come to see me!

My parents didn't seem to enjoy this though, they looked very sad and when doctors arrived with the big white screens I heard the doctors ask for them to wait outside. I started getting prodded and stabbed again.. Sooner or later I felt my whole world start to move. I was being pushed around in my incubator to another side of the room where there were ventilator masks. Next I remember a nurse coming in and saying that my 'Gases' were really low and before I could say anything I was pushed through doors and back into my old room (Intensive Care). I felt the ventilator tube go down my throat and into my lungs and all of a sudden I no longer struggled to breathe. The nurses gave me a new hat (was this that hat I was being measure for??), but I can't see what it looks like. 

When I was settled again my parents were allowed back to see me. I heard the doctors say that it is likely I have an infection so I am now back on antibiotics. 

Whilst all this was going on, I felt something strange down below. I wasn't quiet too sure what it was, but I felt a huge relief when it was finished. My tummy felt like it had more space! I fell asleep, the next time I heard my parents voice they were talking to my new lovely nurse. I heard the nurse explain to my folks that I would have to have a lumbar puncture (removal of fluid from spine) and that I had had a poo. My dad said "OK", mum cheered. Then Dad realised what was said and I believe he did a little dance. The nurse found it funny and I smiled. I had finally done it!

I'm now resting after a very hard day yesterday and am building up my strength to get over this infection.

A very tired and in need of rest, 

Felix.

ps. my hat is pink isn't it?