Medical Terms We Never Wanted To Know

We have quickly learned a bunch of medical terms we never wanted to know! And we have decided that when you ask a nurse about how Carter is doing, they each mix facts with an infusion of their opinion. Then we google everything they said ( I know, I know, never read to much on the internet!) But between everything we are able to draw our own conclusion as to whether to worry or not. So they say he has stridor. When he eats, he makes a high-pitched moaning/squeaking noise. One nurse said it was nothing. Another said it was his throat muscles working to strengthen his swallowing and breathing mechanisms. Another said they were a little concerned.  Should we worry? Not sure on that one. And he is supposed to suck 4 or 5 times and then pause to breathe, but he sucks more than that, a little too long, and that causes his heart rate to drop. So when they give him a bottle, they have to count his sucks and pull it out to wait for him to breathe. They do blood tests once a week on him and his red blood count is a little low. They may or may not give him some blood - again, should we worry? And on the same update, they tell us they have increased the amount he is eating and that he is doing well with it. He is still gaining weight and growing in length. When we hold him, if he gets too scrunched up, it blocks his airway and his vitals drop, so we have to make sure his neck is extended correctly. And we watch the monitors in his room like hawks. Sometimes, for no reason, his heart rate and oxygen levels drop. They say it's not too worry if he corrects it on his own and it doesn't last to long or happen too often. It's like there are no "for sure" answers. I realize they can't give definitive answers to all our questions, but it would be nice if they could.  So many unknowns.
Keep praying for us. Spending days there is totally exhausting. His feeding schedule is every three hours, but by the time everything is done, there is usually only an hour left until tis time to be back for the next one, not leaving much time to get a bite or stretch your legs. And it is a long walk from the parking lot to the nicu (or at least it is when you're old and out of shape). And we have to work, but feel guilty for not being with Carter when we are at work. As one of the nurses said, having ababy in the nicu is a tramatic thing period.