He's been doing this chewing motion followed by a semi-gag and a bit of saliva bubbles for the past couple of days. We just thought that was his new thing. Nope. He was feeling bad and trying to spit up. Turns out, he spit up blood. Not red liquid blood like you're thinking, but brown old blood from his belly. The nurses call it coffee grounds. Once Sandy and I heard this was happening, we both bolted to the hospital from work - yes, it was her first day back to work after almost 2 and a half months off. We got there and the nurse and doctor explained to us that the blood comes from his belly being devoid of food but still containing all of the digestive juices that a stomach contains. These juices and acids irritate the lining of the stomach, causing it to bleed.
The remedy? Zantac. And breast milk. The Zantac because it helps act as a buffer between the stomach and the acid. The breast milk because they determined he didn't have a protein allergy and it was time to resume feeds. This combination has led to a happy Carter today. He has taken 20cc of milk three times (he was originally on 46cc before the stomach bug) and the last two have been downed quite ravenously. He followed his last feed with a thunderous man-burp that let us know he was feeling better.
He's sleeping a lot now probably due to the work he's done today around feeding and exams. His gut X-ray came back great, his head ultrasound was great (his original minor brain bleeds are resolving), and his blood work came back great. He was also put back in a crib from the isolette. He dropped 30 grams and is 5lbs 9oz. This is ok by us because Carter is now back on milk so he can grow naturally with minimal intervention.
One more thing...although Carter's head issue remains clearly visible, Sandy and I believe it's shrunk significantly overnight. We hope this trend continues and have been given no evidence to make us think it will behave otherwise. Although its not his major issue, it remains one of our top concerns due to its former mysterious nature. That and the fact that it was staring us in the face every time we would look at his head. We are excited about the prospect of it resolving itself.
We will update the blog with any news when we know any. Thank you for all of your support and he still needs our prayers! What an amazing little boy.
Nick & Sandy
