For every step forward...

This morning, I woke to the sound of a cell ringtone.  I didn't get out of bed in time to catch the call, so I looked at my missed calls log.  My heart sank when I saw the NICU had tried calling twice in a row.  Before I could call them, my husband called me and said they had tried calling him too.  I knew this wasn't good.  I immediately called them back and got one of Sonny's doctors.

He said the nurse had found blood in his stool this morning and they needed to take some precautions while they figured out what could be the cause.  They are sending in a stool sample to be cultured and tested to rule out a viral culprit; this takes about 3 days to complete.  His stool wasn't watery, though, so I'm thinking it's not but until they know, everyone who comes to his corner of the room has to wear a gown and gloves.  I'm wondering if I can even hold him.

If it isn't viral, it could be a protein intolerance.  This would warrant a formula change, but they don't normally do so after the "first offense", as Dr. Debbie put it---in other words, just because he had a little blood in his stool this once, doesn't mean they automatically switch his formula.  They did an xray of his abdomen to check for another perforation, but so far it looks clear---no free air.  To give his bowel a little rest, though, they are discontinuing his feeds for the day and put him back on IV fluids.  And because his IV was taken out awhile back, they had to put it in all over again.  Poor baby.  :(  He is going to be so hungry and won't be a happy camper today.  I can't even imagine the feeling.  If the xray still looks good tomorrow morning, they will continue his feeds and see what happens.  His blood work from this morning showed him slightly anemic (again), which the doctor said was to be expected, so he may end up getting yet another transfusion.

I have a feeling he might have some sort of intolerance because of his reflux issues, but I can't be certain.  This might be nothing at all; might have just strained a bit during a bowel movement and got a little tear.  The nurse said it was bright red and not dark, which means it was fresh blood and occurred further down the GI tract (the colon or rectum, usually) and may resolve itself.  He is growing and is healthy, so I'm hoping it is just a small issue.  My little porker hit 3.5 pounds yesterday!!  :)  His head has grown, which means his brain is growing, and he's an inch longer (or so...hard to measure a squirmy baby accurately) than 3 weeks ago---15.5".