He'll cry if he wants to!

Here’s a question for you. Which one of these is actually kept at Jordan’s bedside? KY Jelly for when they take his temperature? Real adult brandy to soothe irritation from his vent and feeding tubes? An adult vibrator to help clear the phlegm out of his lungs? Answer at the bottom. According to the nurses, he cried for the first time yesterday! As always, there is an interesting story behind it though. He usually stools frequently in small amounts. Yesterday, he let a big one go. It was so big that his diaper couldn’t handle it. He was lying in his own filth which of course is a stimulus. As a result he starts flailing his hands and before long there was mess on part of his face. The nurse finds him in this condition and has to give him the most thorough sponge bath he’s ever had. He’s never been that wet before and that made him cry! You can understand how I considered this unacceptable. We discussed the matter with the nurses and came up with an appropriate solution in the future. There will be a disposable camera kept at his bedside so that the nurses can take a picture next time before he gets cleaned off. What can I say – I’m a problem solver.
He is becoming more mature as time goes on. He is ready to start wearing a hat – his first clothing! Also the nurses said if we chose, once I get over my cold, we can sleep with one of his blankets (no dad, not that way), and bring it in so that he can have our scent. We can also read to him anytime, and bring in some soft music which they would be willing to play for him in the isolette for short intervals. Once I’m better, we can even touch him more. Of course I still haven’t gotten the chance to even hold him yet. We will be able to do kangaroo care by the end of next week though! Your homework assignment is to look for the term ‘kangaroo care’ and ‘preemies’ if you don’t know what I am talking about. Lying next to my son’s bed is a full size (but rather mundane looking) vibrator wrapped in a latex glove. When you and I have chest congestion we can clear our throat or cough to loosen up the phlegm. I don’t know if he doesn’t know how, or doesn’t have the muscles yet, but he can’t clear this phlegm on his own. Once a day the nurses rub the vibrator along his lungs to clear up congestion. Once he gets a little bigger, they will use a small rubber hammer, but right now it might crack a rib. By October he should be coughing anyway.