Day 42 - Peaceful Resting Warriors
Day 42 – Monday, August 28, 2017
AGE: 5 weeks, 6 days old (30 weeks, 5 day gestation)
Lochlan: Weight is 2 lb . oz. (Birth weight: 1 lb 10.8 oz.)
Length in. (Birth Length 13 in.)
Lex: Weight is 2 lb . oz. (Birth weight: 1 lb 10.8 oz.)
Length is in. (Birth length: 13 in.)
Lochlan: oxygen was between 21-24% all night. Loch has a cranial ultrasound today which will be great to see where things are at. He is doing really great so it will be interesting to see how things have changed.
Lex: His FIO2s are between 42-46%.
Both boys are off the conventional ventilator and our updates from the nurses have been consistently short and boring (yes). Their goal is to require less oxygen and to lower ventilator settings so they can move to the next respiratory step, the CPAP. Being extubated and put on the NIV (less invasive ventilator) is quite exhausting and neither child has really gained weight for several days, but we hope to see them in the 3 lb zone soon since they are getting stronger. Each time we visit, both boys are swaddled up and look so peaceful. Since they have the breathing tube out, we can even hear sweet, soft little cries. This is the second time I have heard them cry, first being the moment they were born. We hope for another uneventful week as they approach their 6th week of life.
Lochlan was extubated on Saturday (08/26/17) and put on the NIV. For a few weeks, he has been dealing with a breathing tube that was too small because he outgrew it. We knew he wasn’t necessarily getting all the oxygen he was being given because of the air leak. Now that the tube is out, we are seeing what he has been capable of. His gases were so good he could have been moved to CPAP shortly after being extubated, but the medical team wanted to take it slower because that would be a lot. He is pretty much on the lowest oxygen settings and respiratory settings on his NIV. The nurse said we was impressive. He is also taking full feeds, which means they were able to take his PICC line out yesterday. He will have a cranial ultrasound today to check is shunt and brain bleed and we will meet with the neurosurgeon. We hope that the shunt is continuing to work and that the blood hasn’t caused it to clog. His head circumference continues to be tracked daily, but nothing alarming has been revealed. Lochlan is amazing and it’s so inspiring to see all the progress he has made in the last week.
Lex is also still on his NIV (less invasive ventilator) and has been for four days now (since 08/24/17). He is no longer on steroids and his oxygen requirements have inched up a little to the high 40s. They could possibly do another round of steroids if the doctor feels it necessary, but overall, he is doing great and is stable. We hope to see Lex get stronger and require less oxygen.
