It has been an interesting few days for the new addition to the Key's family. Brendan came home from the hospital with Mommy and Daddy on Tuesday late afternoon. Rachel's family came from Bakersfield for a few hours to hold and stare at the beautiful new baby. Brendan slept as Grandma (Brenda), Grandpa (JT), Mimi, Aunt Benita, Uncle Mike, and Melissa held him and took hundreds of pictures of his cute little lips and tiny toes.
The first night was hard (as expected) because he slept very little and Mommy and Daddy wanted to sleep so much. Wednesday Brendan started having a few problems with eating. By Thursday morning it was evident that something was wrong with the precious baby and the pediatrician told Mommy and Daddy to bring the baby to Loma Linda Medical Center (the best NICU in the area). Brendan had a fever, blood in his urine, and was hard to wake. After thirteen hours in the ER, many tests later, and even more people praying for an answer, the doctors found out that he had an urinary tract infection. The infection was probably caused by dehydration, which was happening because he wasn't getting enough breast milk. When he got the infection he stopped trying to eat, which made it worse.
Brendan needs to be on antibiotics for twenty-four hours and is in an isolation ward in the NICU (he started this at 6 pm yesterday, so he is almost done). Only one person can go into the room at one time and they must scrub down before and be covered in robes and protective clothing. Mommy spent the night last night and Grandma Brenda took over this morning so that Rachel could sleep for a few hours. The doctors want him to stay in the hospital to get him nice and "plump" before they release him to go home.
He is eating half formula and half breast milk now and hopefully will be on breast milk only soon. They wanted him to eat two ounces every two hours and Brendan wasn't having it; the lactation consultant came and spend a lot of time with Rachel giving tips and advice. The consultant suggested that Brendan should only eat 1-1.5 ounces every three hours because his tummy is so small.
The doctors believe that there is nothing else wrong and Brendan will become a fat little baby soon! Prayers for the Key's family would be greatly appreciated!
(Please don't call the family--they cannot use phones while in the hospital--if you want to contact them, send text messages or emails. Updates (as they happen and are available) will be posted here as soon as possible. You can also call Jenni)
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