Week 9 Update - Thursday, July 31, 2008

Justin finally came off of the ventilator on Saturday and is doing really well breathing on his own. Because he's still so small the nasal cannula is big on him but it's nice to see more of his cute face. Of course I'm biased, lol.

Justin had his 3rd eye exam which showed Stage 1 of ROP. In short this means that they're noticing a change in his retina. Treatment (surgery) will be required once it reaches Stage 3 +, so they will check his eyes again in two weeks.

Justin started physical therapy this week to make sure that he's hitting all of his developmental milestones. The physical therapists said that he didn't tolerate it well. He's still pretty fiesty and doesn't like to be bothered much.

Justin now weighs 835 grams (1 lb 13 oz) and his feedings have been increased to 17.8 ml every 3 hours. Earlier in the week the decision was made to start alternating my breast milk with formula and it seems to be making a difference as he gained 115 grams after the change.

Highlights of the Week

Now that Justin's on a nasal cannula we were told that we could bring in some onesies for him to wear. The preemie clothes are huge on him and swallow him alive but it's definitely nice to see clothes on him.

Justin's personality is starting to show and he's smiling and laughing. It's the cutest thing to look down at your baby's face and see them smiling at you.

Week 8 Update - Thursday, July 24, 2008

Justin is doing really well on the nasal c-pap. Last week he was receiving 20 breaths per minute and a mean pressure of 5 but is now weaned down to 10 breaths per minute and a mean pressure of 4. The hope is to wean him down even more in the next few days and try him on nasal cannula. A nasal cannula is used when just a bit of oxygen is needed versus the c-pap which provides oxygen and pressure to help keep his lungs open and expanded.

Justin now weighs 705 grams (1 lb 8.5 oz). For his gestational age (32 weeks) he should be at least twice this size. So they have increased his feedings to 14 ml every 3 hours and upped the breast milk plus Neosure, the food supplement which is added to my breast milk, from 24 to 27 calories. If this doesn't fatten him up they will probably start alternating my breast milk with formula since it's possible that my milk could be diluted and not providing the amount of calories needed for consistent growth.

Highlight of the Week
After 8 weeks I finally heard my baby cry for the first time and it was music to my hears. The first day after pulling out his tube he made an attempt to cry but it was more like a squeak, lol. But just a few days later I heard him really cry and it was the cutest thing. So someone please remind me once he comes home and is crying at 3 in the morning and waking me up just how cute I think his cry is.

Week 7 Update - July 17, 2008

Justin finally had enough of the breathing tube so he pulled it out Monday evening. When they evaluated him to see if they could try him out on the nasal c-pap it was determined that he was working too hard to breathe so he was reintubated. But our little guy figured he knew better because he pulled it out again Wednesday morning and this time they decided to try him out on the nasal c-pap. The doctor mentioned that the first 48 hours are pretty telling as to whether or not he'll need to be reintubated or if he'll continue on the c-pap. But 36 hours in Justin seems to be doing pretty well and his blood gas results have been good.

Justin's feedings have been increased to 12.6 ml every 3 hours. He had his second eye exam which showed no change so they'll continue to examine him every 2 weeks to make sure he's not developing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Justin now weighs 650 grams (1 lb 6.5 oz). Although he is slowly gaining weight the doctors would like to see him gain 18 grams each day. So they're thinking about alternating between breast milk and formula to ensure that he's receiving enough calories.

Week 6 Update - Thursday, July 10, 2008

Justin had a minor set back in being weaned off of the ventilator. His last few blood gases (blood test used to tell how well his lungs are functioning) have not been that good so the amount of breaths he's receiving was increased from 25 to 50. The nasal c-pap won't be tried again until he's weaned down to 15 or 10 breaths per minute or he self extubates (pulls out the tube on his own).

Justin developed an inguinal (meaning in the groin area) hernia. Hernias are very common in preemies, but unfortunately won't go away unless it is repaired surgically. So add this on to the list of surgeries he will need. This one will more than likely be after he's discharged, unless complications arise.

Justin's now receiving 11 ml of breast milk every 3 hours. The human milk fortifier (HMF) which was being added to my milk was replaced with another supplement since he was not tolerating the HMF well. They've also added iron and fat supplements to my milk.

Justin now weighs 610 grams (1 lb 5.5 oz)

Week 5 Update - July 3, 2008

On Friday Justin's tube was inadvertently removed so they tried him on the nasal CPAP (another method of delivering oxygen and pressure) but unfortunately he wasn't able to keep his stats up so he was reintubated. They will retry him on the nasal CPAP once he gains more weight. They'd like to see him reach 600 grams before they try again. As busy as he is I'm betting he'll probably pull the tube out on his own before he even reaches 600 grams.

Justin had his first eye exam this week, since the blood vessels which supply the retina with oxygen sometimes don't grow as planned after a premature birth. Abnormal growth of vessels can block out light and damage the retina by pulling on it and possibly causing the retina to detach from the wall of the eye. The doctor said his eyes are immature but there are currently no abnormalities. They will continue to monitor his eyes every two weeks since the question is not "if" he'll need surgery but rather "when".

They removed the PICC line (IV) so Justin is now strictly on breast milk feedings. He's now receiving the maximum feeds for his weight of 10.6 ml every 3 hours. Human milk fortifier is being added to my milk to increase his caloric intake and help promote weight gain.

Justin's weight is 570 grams (1 lb 4 oz)

Highlights of the week
Watching Carl hold Justin for the first time was priceless. Carl had a permanent smile on his face from the moment they placed him in his arms.