[After a good weekend with very few “desats”, the doctors finally decided that Bjarki was stable enough to graduate from the “Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)” and move down to the “Intermediate Intensive Care Nursery (IICN)” to join the “feeders and growers”. Yay! \ud83d\ude42 But… just as I was starting to get comfortable with the idea, I got the news that the IICN is undergoing some renovations (something to do with the wiring for a new computer system) so they’re not accepting new babies as of today!<\/p>\n
Nobody seems to know how long the IICN will be closed for new admissions; I’ve heard everything from a couple of days to two weeks. So meanwhile, we’re stuck in the NICU, which isn’t terrible, it’s just more of the same: Alarms going off all the time, periods where parents are forbidden due to rounds and shift changes and general loudness due to endless commotion.<\/p>\n
Anyway, at lunchtime a lady from Occupational Therapy (OT) came to see Bjarki (and me) to observe how he’s doing with the bottle. He did pretty well, but he’s still recovering from his anemia spell and not quite up to where he was about a week ago. She did warn me that the next few weeks are going to be tough because one keeps hoping for a discharge, but such hopes can be dashed by a single apnea spell which pushes everything back by maybe five days. She also predicted that he would be discharged between 40-42 weeks old, which translates to Oct. 5th-19th.<\/p>\n
Around 4pm today Bjarki almost had an MRI scan of his head (looking for bleeding) which is routine after 36 weeks of age. Apparently somebody canceled an appointment so a slot opened for him, but then the MRI people had trouble with a patient ahead of him, so he lost his spot. I was told that getting the MRI results takes about a week, and that he’s next in line so it might happen tomorrow. (Tomorrow is also eye-exam day).<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, (recreational) breastfeeding is going all-but abysmally. I think that in the past three days I’ve only managed to try three times (due to transfusions, sleepiness, random disruptions etc…), which resulted in one “drowning” and two “not-interested”. Now, there are five feeds during the daytime: 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm and 9pm. The 9am feed falls on “rounds”, so I can’t be there, and the 3pm feed coincides with a mini shift-change. We almost never make the 3pm (or 2:45pm) because we get bogged down by Bjarki’s tendency to poop while having his diaper changed which delays everything. That leaves 12pm, 6pm and 9pm. <\/p>\n
Now, Bjarki tends to be sleepy (or trying to poop) at lunchtime and 6pm so usually not much luck there. That leaves 9pm which is tough to accomplish since by that time I’ve already gone home, and going back gets me super-tired. Complicating things even further is the fact that I’m supposed to pump before feeding to maximize the amount of fat in what little milk he gets (5mL max so far), and to reduce the flow of milk so that he doesn’t “drown” quite as easily. Sometimes I get too cosy holding him and forget to pump in time, and then that feed is pretty much over as soon as it starts.<\/p>\n
Also, the window of opportunity that I have is pretty short, since if I dilly-dally too long with a “not really interested”-Bjarki, the nurses get worried about the schedule. So it’s this really weird race against time, the pump, diaper changes, Bjarki’s poop status, his alertness and hunger. All I know is that I can see how terribly easy it is to get totally demoralized and just give up on the whole enterprise. The bottle is so much easier! All I can hope is that my innate stubbornness withstands all this, and that we somehow manage to figure it all out before too long.<\/i>]<\/p>\n
Helgin var \u00fea\u00f0 g\u00f3\u00f0 a\u00f0 l\u00e6knarnir \u00e1kv\u00e1\u00f0u \u00ed morgun a\u00f0 Bjarki v\u00e6ri n\u00f3gu st\u00f6\u00f0ugur til a\u00f0 hann m\u00e6tti fara ni\u00f0ur \u00e1 milli-v\u00f6kudeildina (IICN), sem er \u00ed raun fitunar-deild. Jibb\u00ed\u00ed! \ud83d\ude42 Nema hva\u00f0 a\u00f0 sk\u00f6mmu seinna f\u00e9kk \u00e9g a\u00f0 vita a\u00f0 IICN-deildin h\u00e6tti a\u00f0 taka vi\u00f0 b\u00f6rnum \u00ed dag vegna framkv\u00e6mda. M\u00e9r skyldist a\u00f0 veri\u00f0 v\u00e6ri a\u00f0 setja upp kapla fyrir n\u00fdtt t\u00f6lvukerfi, og a\u00f0 \u00fea\u00f0 g\u00e6ti teki\u00f0 nokkra daga e\u00f0a jafnvel tv\u00e6r vikur!<\/p>\n
Svo vi\u00f0 erum bara enn\u00fe\u00e1 \u00e1 sama sta\u00f0 \u00e1 v\u00f6kudeildinni, sem er svo sem allt \u00ed lagi. Ma\u00f0ur er or\u00f0inn nokku\u00f0 vanur vi\u00f0v\u00f6runarbj\u00f6llunum, \u00fev\u00ed a\u00f0 vera hent \u00fat \u00e1 “roundum” og vi\u00f0 vaktaskipti og svo bara h\u00e1va\u00f0anum \u00fearna inni \u00fev\u00ed \u00fea\u00f0 er svo mannmargt. En \u00e9g s\u00e9 samt r\u00f3legheitin \u00e1 hinni deildinni \u00ed hyllingum.<\/p>\n
\u00cd h\u00e1deginu kom kona til a\u00f0 sj\u00e1 hvernig Bjarka gengur a\u00f0 drekka \u00far pela. Hann st\u00f3\u00f0 sig \u00e1g\u00e6tlega, en ekki eins vel og fyrir viku s\u00ed\u00f0an (fyrir bl\u00f3\u00f0leysi\u00f0). H\u00fan vara\u00f0i mig vi\u00f0 a\u00f0 n\u00e6stu vikur ver\u00f0i erfi\u00f0ar \u00fev\u00ed a\u00f0 ma\u00f0ur s\u00e9 alltaf a\u00f0 vonast til a\u00f0 fara heim, en eitt l\u00edti\u00f0 k\u00e6fisvefns-kast geti \u00fe\u00fdtt fimm daga \u00e1 sp\u00edtalanum \u00ed vi\u00f0b\u00f3t. H\u00fan sp\u00e1\u00f0i \u00fev\u00ed a\u00f0 Bjarki f\u00e6ri heim \u00e1 40-42 viku, sem \u00fe\u00fd\u00f0ir 5.-19. okt\u00f3ber.<\/p>\n
Um fj\u00f6gurleyti\u00f0 var n\u00e6stum b\u00fai\u00f0 a\u00f0 taka hann \u00ed h\u00f6fu\u00f0-segul\u00f3msko\u00f0un, sem er ger\u00f0 \u00feegar b\u00f6rn n\u00e1 36 vikna aldri til a\u00f0 athuga hvort \u00fea\u00f0 hefur bl\u00e6tt inn \u00e1 heilann. \u00dea\u00f0 opna\u00f0ist v\u00edst t\u00edmi, en \u00feegar til kom \u00fe\u00e1 var v\u00edst eitthva\u00f0 vesen me\u00f0 sj\u00faklinginn \u00e1 undan svo ekkert var\u00f0 \u00far sko\u00f0uninni. \u00dea\u00f0 g\u00e6ti veri\u00f0 a\u00f0 hann komist a\u00f0 \u00e1 morgun, en \u00e1 morgun er l\u00edka sj\u00f3nsko\u00f0unardagur.<\/p>\n
\u00deess fyrir utan \u00fe\u00e1 ver\u00f0ur a\u00f0 vi\u00f0urkennast a\u00f0 brj\u00f3stagj\u00f6f gengur heldur br\u00f6suglega. \u00c1 s\u00ed\u00f0astli\u00f0num \u00feremur d\u00f6gum hefur m\u00e9r bara tekist a\u00f0 pr\u00f3fa a\u00f0 gefa honum brj\u00f3st \u00ferisvar (vegna bl\u00f3\u00f0gjafa, \u00fereytu og annarra atvika): \u00cd eitt skipti “drukkna\u00f0i” hann, og \u00ed hin tv\u00f6 skiptin \u00fe\u00e1 haf\u00f0i hann engan \u00e1huga. \u00dea\u00f0 eru fimm matart\u00edmar yfir daginn: 9, 12, 15, 18 og 21. Klukkan 9 byrja “rounds” og \u00fe\u00e1 m\u00e1 \u00e9g ekki vera inni \u00ed stofunni. Klukkan 15 eru m\u00edn\u00ed-vaktaskipti og \u00fear sem t\u00f3mstundagaman Bjarka Freys er k\u00faka \u00feegar \u00fea\u00f0 er veri\u00f0 a\u00f0 skipta \u00e1 honum, \u00fe\u00e1 fara \u00f6ll pl\u00f6n \u00far skor\u00f0um og klukkan ver\u00f0ur \u00ferj\u00fa fyrr en varir.<\/p>\n
Eftir standa \u00fe\u00e1 12, 18 og 21. Einhverra hluta vegna er Bjarki Freyr yfirleitt sofandi e\u00f0a a\u00f0 engjast um a\u00f0 reyna a\u00f0 k\u00faka klukkan 12 og 18. \u00de\u00e1 stendur eftir 21 sem er til vandr\u00e6\u00f0a \u00fev\u00ed \u00fe\u00e1 er \u00e9g farin heim, og \u00fea\u00f0 a\u00f0 fara aftur \u00e1 sp\u00edtalann er ekki mj\u00f6g heillandi. Til a\u00f0 fl\u00e6kja m\u00e1li\u00f0 enn\u00fe\u00e1 meira \u00fe\u00e1 \u00e1 \u00e9g a\u00f0 pumpa r\u00e9tt \u00e1\u00f0ur en \u00e9g “gef” honum til a\u00f0 mj\u00f3lkin sem hann f\u00e6r s\u00e9 sem feitust, og til a\u00f0 draga \u00far mj\u00f3lkurfl\u00f3\u00f0inu.<\/p>\n
Svo m\u00e1 ekki gleyma a\u00f0 \u00e9g er a\u00f0 keppast vi\u00f0 matart\u00edmann sj\u00e1lfan, \u00fev\u00ed ef \u00e9g tek m\u00e9r of mikinn t\u00edma, \u00fe\u00e1 fara hj\u00fakkurnar a\u00f0 hafa \u00e1hyggjur af \u00fev\u00ed a\u00f0 maturinn s\u00e9 \u00e1 eftir \u00e1\u00e6tlun. \u00deannig a\u00f0 \u00e9g stend \u00ed undarlegu kapphlaupi vi\u00f0 t\u00edmann, pumpuna, bleiuskipti, k\u00faka-\u00e1stand Bjarka og hvort hann s\u00e9 vakandi og svangur. \u00dea\u00f0 er nokku\u00f0 lj\u00f3st a\u00f0 \u00fea\u00f0 er ferlega au\u00f0velt a\u00f0 gefast bara upp \u00e1 \u00feessu \u00f6llu saman og sn\u00faa s\u00e9r alfari\u00f0 a\u00f0 pelanum, en \u00e9g vona a\u00f0 me\u00f0f\u00e6dd \u00ferj\u00f3skan dugi til a\u00f0 koma \u00feessu \u00ed gang fyrir rest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[After a good weekend with very few “desats”, the doctors finally decided that Bjarki was stable enough to graduate from the “Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)” and move down to the “Intermediate Intensive Care Nursery (IICN)” to join the “feeders and growers”. Yay! \ud83d\ude42 But… just as I was starting to get comfortable with theRead more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-container col-md-12"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}