We have been on a countdown this week. I haven’t wanted to say much about it for fear of putting the jinx on it, but we have been counting down T’s possible release from the NICU and today was supposed to be the day we roomed in. Except it didn’t happen.

Babies in the NICU have to pass a number of milestones before they will let them come home. They have to learn to breathe on their own, maintain their body temp, eat and gain weight on their own, and also to keep their heart rate at an acceptable level. Thomas has finally mastered almost all of these, but the one keeping him there is the heart rate issue. When the heart rate drops, the staff looks at a few issues. Is there apnea with the drop (or does he stop breathing)? How far does it drop? And the biggie, was he able to self-resolve or bring the heart rate back up by himself with no stimulation (usually a rub of the foot). Babies heart rates drop for any number of reasons – even healthy, full term babies – so what they require before release is seven days where drops do not go too low and no stimulation is needed to help raise the heart rate. Anytime during the seven days if the heart rate drops and requirements are not met, then the count restarts. If seven days go by with no issues, then mom and dad can come room in with baby and if that goes well, go home the next day.

We were on day eight.

We knew he had an episode that required stimulation on the 14th. That was the one they were counting from. Everyday we visited and called, and each time we held our breath and asked if his heart rate had dropped and if so, were the drops self-resolved. They all were and then the past couple of days, there were no drops at all. So this morning we got up and reconfigured the van to fit three car seats, installed his seat, arranged for the kids to stay with Donna, pack my bags and Thomas’s, and got ready to go.

I called the NICU at 10. All was well, but the nurse practitioner had yet to make rounds. No word yet on our rooming in. Please call back about 1:00. We knew we had to make the drive anyway because he was almost out of milk, so we continued to get ready to make the trip. Called again at 1:00 – no answer. Finally got through as we were getting ready to walk out the door at 2:00.

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That was when we got the news. He had dropped his heart rate about noon. It was self-resolved, which is very good. It was dropped to 50 BPM, which is not good at all. The practitioner wanted to talk to the doctor. Thomas’s rooming in was open for debate. He still needed milk, so we got in the van and drove.

And now we are back home – empty handed. No rooming in tonight. The doctor wants to watch him some more to make sure that the drop will not repeat. He thinks he knows what the issue was – compression on a nerve that can cause the heart rate to slow. The compression happens when Thomas bears down – like when passing gas or going poopy. They have reconfigured his monitor to give them more info about the drops . They just want to be safe.

And I can’t argue with that at all. In fact, I insist upon it despite my disappointment and frustration. And the good news is this is not for another seven days, but only for a couple more. In fact, if things go well and this doesn’t repeat (and we know that is a big “if”), we should room in on Monday night.

So I ask for a few more prayers from you. I would love to have this boy home, safely, healthy, and as a bonus, in time to spend Thanksgiving with his family. We just have to keep on keepin’ on.

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