Bars and Bubbles

August 20 10:30 pm

The human mind has the absolute need to mark time. We divide up every day into small segments.....hours, minutes and even seconds that pass by are carefully accounted for and are used to assess the productivity of our day as well as to dictate what will come next. Some cultures rely on them more than others......and.....surprise, surprise our culture seems to be the most obsessed with squeezing out the utmost productivity out of each and every moment. The passage of time is also measured in larger quantities. While in high school I had to read a book called the black pearl. The storyline wasn't anything that note worthy, but a certain passage made a huge impact on me that is still relevant to this day. The main focus of the story was based around a fisherman who discovered a very rare and valuable pearl. In the end of the story the writer utilized the main character to make a statement in the first person narrative. It was this statement that was so profound for me that it has stuck with me ever since. The narrative was at the end of the main character's life.......after many many years had passed since the discovery of the pearl. He spoke of the fact that the people in his village would often refer to events in their life by referencing whether they occurred before or after the discovery of the pearl. You see the discovery of the pearl was such a cultural changing event that it became a basis of measurement of time. It was the first time I really realized how events can define a generation. Our current example would be 9/11. People often speak of life before or after 9/11. It's impact on the world was so vast that it changed us to the point that we now use it as a landmark in time references. Well most of us have our own personal time references......before or after your license.....before or after a wedding etc. Well Tyler experienced one of those landmarks. We will now find ourselves referring to his stay in the NICU as before or after.......he was transferred to the crib.....that's right.....we came in today to find Tyler not only a tremendous amount more happy without the CPAP, but also out of the isolette and in an actual crib!!!!! Now this may sound benign, but for us it is a milestone. To see him in the crib brings about the first sense of something normal in a completely abnormal world. Getting off of CPAP was a huge breakthrough in his medical progress, but there is something about seeing him in a crib that almost makes it all seem real all of the sudden. This is a "pearl" moment. Why the change?? It simply means that he no longer needs external heating devices for him to maintain his body temperature......no heated mattress......no overhead heat lamp......his little internal heater( and a few blankets) are all he needs to keep himself warm.......oh and a little more food.....he's now up to 32 on his feeds:):) So how did we celebrate....by giving him a bath of course!!!! There are some very cute pics below of this little adventure. Parker got a bath tonight as well.......and let me tell you he needed it!!!!! That little boy was ripe and aromatic to say the least. Parker's primary nurse Allison was sweet enough to wait for us to get there for his bath. She knew he was in need earlier today, but knew that we would want to be part of this little gem of a moment. He still can't be in water, so it was more of a sponge bath, but a bath none the less. He celebrated his bath with some skin to skin cuddling time with mommy:):) His progress is still stagnant for now. We spoke again with the doc who have reassured us that the "patient, grow and develop" strategy is still the best practice for now. He is still requiring almost 50% oxygen and has pretty significant desatting episodes......until these resolve themselves he still needs the support of the vent. Lil' Parker battles on like the trooper that he is:):) Great pics of his bath below as well. That's all for tonight.....sleep is beckoning:):)