A few changes have been made today. I guess the first big change is that both boys are now going up to 26 calorie fortifier. Addison is gaining but they'd like to see him gaining a little bit more. Riley seems to have lost a little bit of weight. They said it could be 2 reasons. First, if he was last weighed when he had his IV in, they put a board on his arm and since that is no longer there, he could have only gained enough weight to make up for the loss of the board. The more likely explanation is that now that he's on the cpap, he's using more calories to breathe on his own. He weighed 1lb. 10oz., so it's not a huge loss, but he shouldn't be losing anything so they upped his calories.
Addison is still on the vent and his breaths per minute have been reduced to 43. So far, so good. He's getting bloodwork done once per day unless there's a reason do to it more. His blood gas looked good this morning and he hasn't had any major problems so we'll see how he handled the reduced bpm when they do lab work tomorrow. He's still getting the xopenex 4 times per day and he's still wheezy. We asked the doctor today if he were to pull out his tube, if they would try the cpap and the doctor said they absolutely would put him on cpap. He also added that he thinks the cpap isn't too far away for him anyways! The nurses give the boys these tiny little pacifiers when they get their feeds and Addison's nurse said that today, for the first time, he actually took it and sucked on it. As much as I hate pacifiers, I'm happy that they're trying to get the boys to learn to suck and swallow. They should be ready to try to nurse around what would have been 34 weeks gestation (3 weeks from now) so hopefully, this will help them.
I went back after dinner to visit and I was able to hold Riley for just under an hour. His oxygen saturation was 97-99 (the range they should be in is 84-96) and he had to have his oxygen turned down to 24% while being held. That made me feel good to know that he was so comfy. Near the end of his holding time, he got so comfy that he had a small apnea episode and that's when we decided that he had probably had enough of being held.
1 comment:
I look at the pictures now and compare then to the first pictures you posted and it's crazy how much they have changed.
They just are looking so much bigger and more plump. Sure they are still teeny tiny but they are making amazing progress.
I'm so glad you are now able to hold them regularly. It's wonderful they are so relax and soothed by being in your arms that they need less oxygen and relax so much. They know they are loved!
The offer of helping with anything you need still stands and will always be there. Please don't hesitate...whether it being dropping off a meal, running to the store for you guys, taking the kids to the park I would be honored to help out your family.
Post a Comment