Good news: Mitchell had a good night on the CPAP, and they were able to turn his pressure down from 7 to 6 and his oxygen is now at 26%. He looks much happier and is doing better.
Hard news: Mitchell has contractures, which are shortening of the muscle fibers. He cannot straighten his arms or legs. It's like having a tight hamstring. This is something that can be corrected, he just needs physical therapy. His right arm is 50 degrees short of straightening, and his left arm is 40 degrees. They think it might be from low amniotic fluid (he couldn't move around as much inside me) or from staying in the same position after birth, OR from the cord being around his neck during birth. So today they did an ultrasound of his brain to see if they could find any bleeding or damage. The doctor still has to get back with me about the results, but the tech said it looked fine. This is something they will monitor until he's one or two. They also are doing another echo today to check the healing in his heart(???). They are planning to work on head control and tummy time.
They also told me he is a grumpy baby because he is in constant training for a marathon! He's always asked to do more work anytime he's comfortable and has had tubes down his throat irritating him. Anytime he's touched it's to adjust a tube, wake him up, or poke and prick him. NO WONDER!
So I got to do a infant massage on Mitchell's arms today. IT WAS AWESOME!!! He loved it. It was so cute, because he was crying and so fussy after his PT and the massage just seemed to calm him down. In fact when I finished he fell right asleep. I can try (if he's having a good day) to massage his arms everyday!!! I'll work with the physical threapist T,W,F at 11:30.
Annie is here helping us out. She is such a good sport to try and do everything we need! She has been cleaning and cooking non-stop! I feel so spoiled to have such great friends, family, and ward memebers that give us never ending support!!! Thank you.
Mitchell is such a sweet baby. I love getting to see him, Hannah described it as "falling in love all over again," and I couldn't agree more!
I'm so glad Mitchell is a fighter! I bet he'll be a firecracker for life because of this! I'm so sorry for all you're going through. I hope things keep improving. Say hi to Annie for us!
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