marking improvement

I didn't get much sleep last night despite being quite tired and unslept. I don't like having to leave Nicky on her own in hospitals but though man-parents are allowed to visit throughout the day instead of just during the rather small visiting-hours window I'd have eventually have been kicked out, though left in plenty of time seeing as I'd have to drive back and dislike driving even a small car even when it's quiet even when I'm properly rested and even when not highly distracted and nervous. There are a couple of coffee-vending kiosk things at the main entrance but they must keep fairly short hours as the shutters on both were closed whilst it was still lightish outside.

Nicky got some sleep, though was woken up a couple of times to pop to the ICU with some small syringes of expressed milk to see if the wingpiglet might be fed thereupon, though he hadn't really changed in status much and two in the morning after a fairly intense thirty hours with no sleep isn't a good time to go and look at a baby in an incubator, alone. When I'd left she'd been in a room on her own but had been moved again at some point and had other people's noises to contend with as well as all the various noises available to the patients of a busy hospital when they're not in a state to sleep deeply and soundly.

The wingpiglet slept for most of the evening and most of the night. By the time ward rounds had finished and Nicky was able to go and see him at about eleven this morning he looked like he was sleeping properly, breathing more sedately and looking a bit less stressed. An hour or two later he was still improving, on normal atmospheric levels of oxygen and in air a degree or two lower than previously. He was out of the incubator for an hour and a bit around two, feeding for half of it and wriggling a bit for the rest of the time. Four hours later he wasn't hungry again yet but had his glucose drip drip-rate dropped to see if hunger could be induced. Just after midnight Nicky texted to say that he'd fed for another three quarters of an hour. Hopefully there'll be more improvement tomorrow.

Although the measures are concerning, the medical staff gave the impression yesterday that all measures were precautionary and that nothing was too serious yet, and although he was in an incubator he wasn't on a ventilator and didn't really need to be in neonatal intensive care, merely special care, but there probably hadn't been sufficient bedlets in the right place at the appropriate time. They were more reassuring today (despite upgrading their description of his lungs' appearance on yesterday's X-ray photograph to 'pretty grotty') and mentioned the possibility of getting him de-monitored and shifted to transitional care soonish, similarly discharging Nicky from whatever ward she's currently in is called so that he can be in a cot next to her bed. She's still doing well but might have picked up an infection too, though should hopefully be able to continue her course of antibiotics at home as soon as wingpiglet has finished his and is permitted to leave.

Coupled with travelling to and from the hospital by bicycle (still far more pleasant than travelling by car despite the extreme heat), today has generally ended up in a more relaxing state than we were in at COB yesterday.