The Weekend That Wasn't

Friday night started off good enough: Ania and I arrived to the hospital, got settled in to our room, and Colin was brought in to us. After going over some details including how to call the nurses if we needed them, the nurse left and it was our time alone with Colin. We were so excited, planning on taking shifts through the night so we both simulataneously wouldn't be sleep-deprived. Yeah, right!
Earlier in the day though, Colin started to slow down on his bottle feedings once again. Worth monitoring for sure. Then, his first feeding with us didn't go well. As soon as the milk hit the back of his throat, he would arch back away from the bottle and start to cry. It would take a minute or so to settle him, then we'd try again. Same result. You could tell he was hungry and wanted to eat, but it seemed to be hurting him. Not understanding what was going on, we trudged through that bottle, just barely making the minimum requirement. We called the nurse in, of course, and she wanted to wait to see what he did with his next feeding. Same result, except this time Colin wouldn't eat. Something was wrong. Still needing to eat, Colin got his feeding tube reinserted once again.
Needless to say, Friday night was less than pleasant as we were worried about this new turn of events. On Saturday, around noon, the nurses informed us that they needed to take Colin back to monitor him more closely, and recommended that we try rooming in with him another time. Seeing how this experience is supposed to be semi-pleasant and help parents adjust to time at home with baby, it was anything but. We reluctantly agreed, and went on our not-so-merry way.
I don't know if it was the stress of it all, lack of sleep or whatever, but it ended up being a good thing for me. I was hit with a once-in-a-decade headache Saturday night that put me down for the count. I think I went to bed around 8 pm and got up at 7 am the next morning. There is no way I could have roomed in both nights. Maybe Colin sensed that was coming and spared me? LOL.
So what was going on with our little man? The thought is that maybe Colin has developed esophagitis, likely secondary to acid reflux. As soon as the milk would hit the back of his throat, it was clearly painful. His throat must be raw. So, they started him yesterday on Zantac. It usually takes a day or so to calm things down, and we hope that's all is is. It seems logical, anyway.
Even though the weekend didn't go as planned, we started this week off with some excellent news: Colin's hematocrit went up almost 2 points! Even though his overall levels are still low, and we don't have the results of his reticulocyte count yet, we can assume that it must be up too since he now appears to be correcting his anemia! A big step for Mr. C. Chunkers is also 4 pounds, 4.2 ounces now. Slowly he's getting there, and we couldn't be more proud of him!