Wake up!

I try to bury my whining ways, but after a few days of what I think was food poisoning, let me just say that there are certain areas of the human body that just weren't meant to be "sore".

But, I feel almost human again, and that is great.

Greydon had his eye follow up. We were first told by the doctor that his eyes "didn't get worse". That means that as the vessels grew more they didn't get more pronounced ridges or mountains of malformed vessel. But later the nurse looking at the notes in his charts saw that what the doctor wrote down was actually, better than the first exam, which is even better of course than just not "getting worse." He was stage two, now he is stage one, which is great. We need to get back into the chart to see the notes on how far out his vessels are now, it didn't come up during the original conversation, if they are fixing themselves, they can only do that as they grow more. The eye doctor did say that he had beautiful eyes, which is something he can't always say with preemies, Greydon's are "very clear". They were very blue that day.

Every time he has gone onto a new kind of assisted breathing apparatus, he has taken a little while to adjust and "swings" on his oxygen needs. Often you set the machine on how much assistance one needs getting proper oxygenation levels, and then later it gets adjusted. Swinging implies that the level of assistance needed goes all over the place from good to bad, back to good and doesn't stay in one place very long. Since he has come onto the most recent apparatus, the low-flow cannula, he has not stopped swinging, and I think he might be swinging more. In the past this has meant a regression was on it's way, so we are praying that he is just having to work harder on this last change. The next step, which is a ways off, is no help breathing.

Yesterday morning he wouldn't wake up. Kristen was there without me and was very disturbed, as was I as she recounted the experience not too long after. His levels were fine, his heart was beating, he was breathing a good rate and his oxygen levels were where they should be, but he wouldn't wake up, even when she tried, not even for his diaper change, which he hates and usually yells at us for. (Well "yell" is relative)

We did some asking around, and apparently it happens as they get tired out again. Last night he was awake again. He was pretty discontent at first, for longer than usual which was distressing. After eating he was still unhappy, but calmed down and got relaxed. We took a little family nap together. We are hoping that as he learns to eat he will be blessed with the extra energy that takes, and progress through the different stages that he needs to obtain, without regressing back to an old breathing apparatus.

When we first got there last night I wasn't in his line of sight, but he tilted his head back and looked up over his head to see me when I was talking, can I just say that was pretty dang cool.

We've said before, "Oh look, he is looking at you, but usually we are somewhere his eyes are kind of pointing already. But last night Kristen was in an apposite position, and he would shift his gaze to look at her when she talked.. it was great.