Day 292 - All that noise, all that sound
WITH a little bit of luck, Millie will be home tomorrow.
But past experience tells us babies can go backwards very fast, so she may stay in hospital.
Even so, Millie had a better night last night, sleeping for four hours.
Her oxygen supply was reduced to one litre per minute this morning.
By late this afternoon, Millie was off the oxygen altogether. But she was showing signs of needing it again by 9pm this evening.
The nurses on the children's ward refer to the late night and early morning as the "witching hour".
It's not strictly an hour, but it is when poorly babies tend to be at their worst.
As far as daddy is concerned, however, there is little point in Millie staying in hospital much longer.
She can't have oxygen at home, but she can have peace and quiet.
Millie certainly isn't getting much of this in the children's ward. It can be hectic, noisy and the unfamiliar routine is tiring.
Plus there is the risk that she could catch something worse than she already has from the other poorly children.
Doctor Daddy prescribes lots of rest but Millie is still managing to play with her toys.
This evening she fell asleep cuddling her pink rabbit while sucking its long floppy ears.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Day 291 - Custard the giraffe
DADDY has just returned from visiting the hospital.
Mummy and Millie are bored from being stuck in the children's ward.
But Millie seems to be on the mend even though she is quiet and subdued.
She is still on oxygen, breathing it at a rate of about 1.5 litres per minute through a tube into her nostrils.
Ideally, the oxygen saturation level in her blood should be 99-100%. Yesterday it was about 90%.
The oxygen makes breathing easier and has increased Millie's saturation level to 94%.
As the level rises, the nurses gradually turn down the oxygen feed until Millie is again breathing normal air and her saturation level is 99-100% naturally.
This is a similar to the process used by the Special Care Baby Unit when Millie was a poorly month-old baby (see
Day 35).
At the same time, Millie has an inhaler to help her wheeziness.
We're advised she will be in hospital for a few more days and already can't wait for her to come home.
Meanwhile, Millie is cuddling Custard the giraffe for comfort. He's one of her favourite toys and she likes to keep him company.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Day 290 - Back in hospital
MILLIE is back in hospital after her bronchiolitis returned.
This is an infection that causes inflammation of the bronchioles - the smallest airways in the lungs.
Millie has already had a mild case of bronchiolitis (
see 18 Oct).
But this time it is worse and she is finding it harder to breathe.
After a rather wheezy night, this morning mummy took Millie to our local doctor. You can read more about bronchiolitis by clicking
here and
here.
The doctor referred Millie to the hospital where tests and a chest X-ray confirmed she has
respiratory syncytial virus.
Some medical people seem to delight in using abbreviations wherever possible and rarely refer to respiratory syncytial virus by its full name.
Instead, they call it RSV and look at you in a strange way if you don't nod knowingly when they do so.
As far as daddy is concerned, however, an
RSV is a 1000cc Aprilia motorbike - one of the finest machines of its kind.
Millie will stay in hospital overnight and is likely to stay in for at least a further night too.
She is being given oxygen until her breathing improves.
This means she is unable to sleep in her new bedroom which daddy painted yesterday.
Mummy is staying in hospital with Millie.
Daddy is at home because the hospital allows only one parent to stay.
Mummy and daddy have also cancelled the few days they were planning to spend away this week in Norfolk and Lincolnshire.
Millie doesn't realise it, but today is her first Christmas Eve.
Everyone agrees Millie has been a very well-behaved girl over the last 10 months - and we hope Father Christmas thinks so too.
She returned home very tired.
