I held Henrik again yesterday. Each time we have held him it has been a bit
easier than the last time. He had one
moderate desaturation and one big one yesterday, but for the most part he
self-corrected. He is wiggly and handsy
enough to make his presence known, but not so much as to burn extra
pounds. Henrik is off of his
supplemental nutrition and on only 12cc of Anna’s breast milk. His weight is up to 1lb 15 oz. He has been gaining an oz or two per day, so
me might be 2lbs on the 2nd. His
2nd brain scan is scheduled for Thursday. I guess brain bleeds are common for babies
born this early, and our friend Deepa’s daughter Anya (born at 24 weeks) had
one and she is fine today, if overly concerned about lice. Anya and Anders are both careful preemies,
for Anders his excessive concern is about “Stranger-Danger.” It’s good to be concerned and vigilant, but
his level of nuance and pointed questioning on this issue is akin to New
Orleans DA Jim Garrison delving into the Warren Commission Report. Now, Anya has Anders concerned about lice as
well.
Deepa, a medical doctor, says that so much of the brain has
yet to develop that brain bleeds, while serious, are not proportional to having
one in a fully developed brain.
Moreover, even level 1 or 2 bleeds are just monitored, and the spot on
his X-Ray is inconclusively a brain bleed at this point. The point of being repetitive is that my
feeling is that Henrik is fine. He
tracks, responds, and seems to want to initiate conversation. When I mentioned during my first visit
yesterday that Anders was coming later he opened his eyes and did a little
Henrik Shimmy (not to be confused with the Anders Shake, and hey, Anna, I
didn’t say that he Rik Rolled, so that’s progress!). Henrik can be sort of like the Headmaster in
Rushmore until Anders is mentioned, all calm and sedate, then you mention Mr. A
and H is all “Fischer!” Henrik just
conserves his energy for eating and growing.
He seems more mellow and self-contained than Anders. While Anders would like for everyone to hold
him, Henrik often seems ready to go back in the isolette. It’s as though he’s saying, “Go! Leave!
You’ve stayed your hour!” He wants to get back to ruling his home.
Per CDC guidelines, yesterday was Anders last day to visit
Henrik until the end of flu season or Henrik goes home, whichever comes
first. I imagine Henrik will be home
first since flu seasons probably runs through March, even though Houston is in full bloom
by mid February it’s a national declaration.
Anders will be okay with this notion owing to his love of rules. I think Henrik will miss seeing Anders,
however. He was saturating at 100%,
beeping off in the good direction, and generally showing every sign of his
excitement at seeing Anders. Anna took a
picture of the brothers shaking hands, which she put on her Facebook.
Grandma Update: After
Grandma Ingrid’s knitting adventure in the nation’s most poorly designed
airport for the post 9-11 world, her plane from Houston to St. Louis on
Southwest failed mechanically, so everyone had to get off and she spend last
night in the Airport Marriot (on SWA’s dime, I hope). She’ll try again from Hobby today…. Grandma Dorene turns 60 today! Happy Birthday! Anders loves celebrating birthdays and round
numbers so he’s excited, especially since he had hoped to but did not get to
celebrate with Grandpa on his 60th in February.
Well, I’m passing the Summit,
now Joel Osteen’s mega church, which means I’m almost at work. Til Tuesday…
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