Our New Journal

Today we went to visit Tucker a few times. He saw his mommy and daddy, his Townsend grandparents, Alexis, Justin, Jessica Christian and Mrs. Lynae-so he was pretty busy. He is now up to 6.5 ml of food an hour, and his calories have been increased, so he should be putting on weight. He is currently at 2lbs 2 oz. The doctor says he could not be more pleased with his digestion, so that's great. Not for the nurses, though-b/c digestion means lots of poop. Last night, he pooped so much that it went through all four blankets and stank up the nursery. His nurse told us it was awful, but of course that is good for him. He has had two brain scans, and they both look normal. Also, his eyes will be checked next week for the first time, since he just started opening them. He is not breathing that well-he has been weaned a little from the respirator, but sometimes he goes back up. Each day is a different story-sometimes he breathes a little better, and sometimes a little worse. Keep praying for him-so far, prayers seem to be working. We want him off of the ventilator for the obvious reason-he needs to breathe on his own, but also b/c once he's off of the vent, mommy and daddy get to hold him, which will be great. All of the nurses say he is B-A-D. Like we need that. He pulls out his breathing tube on a regular basis. I told him if he wants that tube out so badly, he is going to have to breathe on his own. Last night he pulled out his tube at shift change, so the room was full of nurses. He likes to be the center of attention already. He also kicks when they change his diaper or try to put him in a certain position. He likes to do the opposite of what the nurses want. They call him "Mr. Townsend" b/c he demands respect. Today his nurse said "he's so bad, but it doesn't matter, b/c he's cute as a button." Vicki made him a blanket that says "Our Little Fighting Tiger," and apparently, Tucker took that literally.I have to say that he likes it when his mommy and daddy touch him, though. His sats (oxygen saturation) go up or down depending on his mood. They like them to be b/t 85% and 95%. His sats go down a lot when he's mad, like when he gets a shot or something. Well, his sats always go up when we touch him. Today, Chris covered his bottom (his hand pretty much covers Tucker's whole body), and I put my hand on his head, and he calmed right down. He closed his eyes and laid still, but then I moved to get a chair (I was getting tired of standing there), and his sats dropped. Chris said "It's okay, mommy's coming right back," and once I came back and touched him, his sats went back up. When Chris talks, Tucker opens his eyes so wide. He also gets active, like kicking and moving his hands. I really think he already knows that daddy is fun and mommy calms him down.Well, I'll post some more info when I get it, or when I remember something else.