Wimpy White boys

Daniel on Day 6
He is out of the isolette and has no feeding tube. He also is wearing his own clothes. Still he is wired with monitors for heart beat, oxygen and breathing rate.


White boy babies are twice as likely to experience respiratory distress as white baby girls. Apparently the little bit of estrogen they have helps mature the nervous system faster. The little champions of the nursery are Black baby girls. They are the most likely to survive extreme prematurity.
To get out of Level 2 nursery hell, Daniel has to go 5 days without an apnea episode. He also had to pass the car seat test. Babies less than 37 weeks gestation have trouble being in a somewhat vertical position so last night they placed him in his with monitors on for 90 minutes. No problems. Also he was taken out of the isolette last night as he is able to maintain his temperature. He also has figured out how to breathe and eat at the same time. His weight has dipped slightly below 7 lbs but it is stable.

Shanna and I have spent the last 2 days at the hospital for his feeds. He was quite alert today and is behaving more and more like a full term baby. He has less head control and still has open hands. Shanna and Ramy go back to the hospital at night while Steve and I have Oliver. Oliver was not a good baby last night. Apparently his new molar hurts and he does not suffer in silence. Shanna is sleeping as I write this but she hasn't gotten much since coming home. She also gets up every 3 hours to pump. She's been asked to stop bringing it in as the refrigerator there is full.

When will the cold front ever get here? It was supposed to come last Sunday but no, now it will be Thursday. Today was the first time with a dew point less than 70. (50 back in MI). I run as early as possible so I can be clean when taking Shanna to the hospital. With the heat and humidity, I keep sweating for an hour afterwards even with a cold shower.