Bennett continues to do well and is making small (and big) improvements every day. He still has the cannula in his nose, but the pressure has been reduced to 1 (from 4) and the oxygen in only at 23% (normal room air is 21%). The pressure is to keep the sacs in his lungs open. Apparently he cannot go home until the pressure is gone, but can come with oxygen. Of course, we hope it will all be gone by that point. At this rate, we may see him come off of all of it within the next week.
They did a scan of his brain yesterday and there was no sign of bleeding or other damage. This is very comforting news, since that was one of our biggest fears. The doctor told us that the risk for that has passed and not to worry about it anymore.
The IV has been removed from his bellybutton, so there are significantly fewer cords coming out of him. I got to hold him skin to skin for the first time yesterday which was wonderful. He seemed a bit uncomfortable, but I think we need more practice! After about 15 minutes, he peed on me despite wearing a diaper. I'm sure that won't be the last time.
His feedings continue to be increased. Today he will be at what is considered full feedings for his weight (30ml every 3 hours). I'm not sure where they will go from there, but I assume they increase them more as he gains weight. He was 3 lbs 7 oz when he was born, dropped to 3lbs 3 oz., and has now gotten up to 3 lbs 9oz as of yesterday. He has been gaining quite a bit in the past 3 days, so here's to hoping that rate continues. When he gets to 4 lbs, they will begin to slowly lower the temperature in his isolette. The we can start dressing him. When he maintains his body temperature, they will put him in a crib.
The four things he needs to do to come home: breathe on his own, gain weight, tolerate full feedings by mouth, and maintain his body temperature. We are on our way to all but the eating at this point, which is a developmental issue.
A nurse told me we can begin next week to introduce him to the breast. They call it breast play. I pump before we visit and he is allowed to roam around down there to get used to it. If he actually latches on, all the better. Apparently we can actually begin trying to feed him at 34 weeks which is earlier than I had thought. That is only a little over a week away.
Overall, Bennett seems to be a very mellow baby. He only cries when something is making him physically uncomfortable, like heel pricks and removing the IV line. Even then, it's only for a moment. He must get that from Bernie.
Other things in life are going well. I'm a bit stressed with all of this school work I'm trying to finish up by next week. My students turned in 8 page papers this week (60 of them) which are a mountain to finish. I have a take home final due Tuesday, which I need to get started on. There isn't a moment in the day to relax, but it should settle down after graduation.
My mom is coming back Wednesday, my grandma at some point, Bernie's parents Thursday, and Melanie is coming on Friday! I'm very happy that Mel is coming down, it was a great surprise.
2 comments:
Woohoo! it is good to hear he has made so much progress already. Have fun with Melanie!
I am so glad to hear that he is haning in there so well...And I adore his name, by the way...So precious. Hang in there. You'll have him home before you know it.
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