Wow! Jackson had an amazing day today! The physical therapist gave him his bottle at noon (Ryan and I are still watching) and he finished off his full feeding (plus two extra the greedy little boy) in 25 minutes! (He has thirty minutes to finish his feed. The therapist said that they don't let him go for longer than thirty minutes because then he is burning more calories than they want him to). All in all, he took 26 cc! He did have a few desats during the feeding, but they did not turn up his oxygen or his flow. The main reason he desated was because he didn't want to stop and breathe. Instead, he wanted to guzzle the whole bottle down as fast as he could! The therapist showed us how to pace him and remind him that he has to breathe. Hopefully in the next day or two I'll get to give him a bottle myself and we'll get to increase his feedings to two a day: one bottle and one breastfeed! I've said from the very beginning that Jackson is a great eater just not a great breather! It's so nice that he's proved his Mama right!
He did have some minor reflux after the feed where the nurse (a wonderful woman from the Philippines named Merla) had to turn up his oxygen a little. About twenty minutes after the feed the reflux subsided and she turned him back down to room air where he's been since!
The doctor also weaned Jackson to 1/2 liter on his nasal cannula today! That is pretty much the step before they wean him totally off the respiratory support. He is doing such a great job! When I spoke to the night nurse tonight he did have some desating, but she said he had an extremely wet diaper (he peed through his clothes and his bedding) and I'm attributing the desating to that. None of us would want to sit in that wet of a mess without dropping our sats. Jackson is no exception to that! He always lets us know when he wants his diaper changed by squirming and dropping his sats! She said that since she changed him he has been in the upper nineties (high sating) for his O2 saturation. :)
I also taught Ryan how to give Jackson a massage today. The physical therapist (Bernadette) taught me earlier this week how to massage his back and legs. I think Ryan was really surprised how much Jackson really likes it!
Overall, it has been a wonderful day!! I'm so proud of Jackson! It really does seem like we've turned a corner!
Current Stats:
Weight: 4 pounds 10 ounces! We'll be five pounds in no time!
Respiratory: Low-flow nasal cannula, 1/2 liter, room air (21 percent oxygen)
Feeds: Full feeds, 12 cc per hour, continuous. Took full bottle (26 cc) at noon in 25 minutes.
Goals:
1. Keep on gaining weight!
2. Successfully maintain O2 saturation at 1/2 liter.
3. Continue working on suck-swallow-breathe while taking full bottles.
4. Begin breatfeeding and transfer successful amount (determined by weighing him before and after breastfeeding).
With love,
Anna
It is really exciting to see how well Jackson is doing. We have him on our prayer list at church and several are following your blog. The way he is going he will be coming home before you know it. Our prayers continue to lift him and you and Ryan. Keep us posted.
ReplyDeleteDoylene
Melanie's Mom
Thank you all so much! My due date was August 28, so we're hoping to have him home by then! It seems unreal to me that he will be two months old on Wednesday! The time has just flown by!
ReplyDelete