Still Good

James had a good day; everything continued to be stable, and assuming he has a good night tonight, they're planning to take him off the ventilator tomorrow morning.

This evening when we were visiting, a team of surgeons came in to see James. This was mildly alarming at first, but they quickly clarified that they were just doing their usual rounds. They routinely have the surgery team check on all patients with NEC, so that if the babies do have to go into surgery, the surgeons are familiar with them and their situation. (At this point, it does not look like James will need that kind of bowel repair surgery.)

Of course, the surgeons arrived just after Matthew and I had been practicing breastfeeding skills, so I was not exactly fully clothed for their visit (and couldn't move around much because I was still holding the baby) -- fortunately Mike was able to talk to them!

Matt had his first bath last night. We weren't there for it; they usually do baths on the night shift because it's a little quieter then. (It would have been fun to have helped out, but we figure we'll have other chances!) They've been putting barrier cream on his bottom to prevent skin breakdown, and it's a cream that's intended to stay on the skin -- it doesn't get completely wiped off at each diaper change. So, after a while it's a little gross, and a bath helps! The nurse said that he didn't like the process of getting in the bath, but after he was there it relaxed him. (She took a picture, and it must have been at the start, because he was one red-faced angry baby!)