Daddy back, Mommy leaving

Yesterday, I made my way back to Cincinnati after my few days back home. Jessica and I spent the afternoon with Rebecca then after dinner went to see Joanna. This morning we went to doctors rounds with Joanna and they decided to pull her replogle tube that was being used to vent her belly since they weren't getting anything out of it. She will continue to receive her antibiotics today and tomorrow and may get to resume her milk feedings tomorrow. There are no signs of infection in the culture they are growing. When we weighed her last night she had gained almost 50 grams in 24 hours. The nurse couldn't believe it so we did it 4 times to be sure. We weigh her by picking her up, zeroing the bed scale then laying her back down.

When we went to see Rebecca this afternoon we found out that they had removed and replaced her ET tube with a larger one. They had found that part of her lung on one side had partially collapsed. Since she is growing, she needed a larger tube for more volume to keep her lungs inflated. They have taken a couple of blood gas tests and they are trying to get her CO2 levels down. Her vent settings are abnormally high for her because of all of this change. They expect her CO2 levels to be down later this afternoon then they can start bringing down her vent settings. The doctor said this whole process is a very normal tweaking process. It seemed especially stressful to Jessica because she was literally on her way out the door when this was happening. The doctor assured us this was all just part of changing her tube and as her lung starts expanding back out it should bring down her CO2 levels back to normal then they can bring back down her vent settings. I wasn't too worried, but I wasn't leaving to go home either. I remember last Thursday when I was leaving to go home there was a small problem that seemed enormous at the time. It's just because you know you won't be at their side to see them through it. I will keep mommy updated with texts just as she did for me last week.

Yesterday morning before I got here, Jessica called me and said there was a chance they could bring Joanna to Children's Hospital to be with Rebecca. We have been talking about this opportunity since they were born but weren't ready to make that decision yesterday. We have tabled it for now. There are varying opinions about this move. Our current opinion is this - Why risk the potential error in treatment by confusing the two girls when the only benefit is our convenience. Actually, being able to go to two different locations kind of breaks up the day. Eventually, we will probably look into this when mom starts breastfeeding because that would mean back and forth every couple of hours all day long. Also, by then Joanna should be more stable and Rebecca may be close to having her procedure.

If you aren't blown away by the human body and pregnancy specifically, maybe this will help. Here is a small list of things that I have realized have to be monitored or compensated to keep our girls alive outside when it all just happens naturally in the womb.
Temperature, humidity, nutrition, oxygen levels, carbon dioxide levels, respiratory rate, heart valves, skin care, bodily waste, infection control, blood volume, stressors like noise, light and movement, extra fluid or not enough fluid, blood pressure, 
Not only are women's minds impossible to understand their bellies are pretty crazy too!