A breath of fresh air... the nasal canula adventure.

Josh is continuing his string of good days.  Mom and Dad are very proud that Josh has done so well with the many changes that have been made related to his care in the last few days.  We are particularly proud that he has done so well with the latest change.  Josh is now on high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and off of CPAP!!!!  As you can see in the pictures below, Josh is only on a tiny nasal cannula, that is much less bulky than his CPAP.  He has actually been sleeping much better and deeper with the nasal cannula meaning his awake times are a little longer and he is much more aware of what is going on around him.  The nasal cannula gives him air at 1 liter per minute (which is a high rate for a baby) to provide some positive pressure to help keep his lungs open and then they "bleed in" oxygen to keep his oxygen saturation between 80-95%.  Josh is currently on 24% oxygen and his oxygen saturations are staying between 90-97%.   So far Josh has done well with his HFNC and has only desaturated (had decreased oxygen levels) once and that was because he had boogies in his nose.  The nurse told Mom and Dad that they have left his CPAP machine hooked up and near his bed to ward of bad juju (this is a very technical nursing term - if it is close by you won't need it).

Josh is continuing to tolerate his feeding without any residuals.  They have increased his feedings to 8ml every 3 hours for four feedings.  If he tolerates this well, they will go to 10ml every 3 hours.  Josh has also started to poop again now that his feedings have restarted.  We are excited Josh is doing so well with his feedings.  Josh's weight also increased today to 2lbs 11oz!!  He is well on his way to being a chunky boy. 

Josh's infection seems to have resolved itself.  The doctors are talking about discontinuing his antibiotics possibly as early as tomorrow.  They feel that because his ET tube has been removed and he doesn't have any signs of pneumonia that he will do ok off of the antibiotic.  Josh's murmur is also gone today, which they think might be thanks to the blood he received yesterday.  It is possible that it will reoccur, but for now, we will rejoice that it is gone.  Mom and Dad were told again today how great it was that Josh has a directed unit of blood from Uncle Matt (they even know it came from Uncle Matt).

Josh's quest for the tubes continues.  Even though he seems to like the nasal cannula much better than the CPAP or ET tube, he still trying to remove it from time to time.  His efforts so far seem to be mostly half-hearted since he is able to move his head around with more freedom now.  The feeding tube however remains a point of constant interest.  Josh is developing quite a strong grip from holding on so tightly to his feeding tube.  We are hoping this is a sign that he will be able to maintain a tight grip on the football as well (Go Gators).  Josh continues to be very active and spend a majority of his time today with his little butt in the air.  We have been told repeatedly that this is a sign of a happy, healthy preemie.  Mom and Dad just enjoy watching him try to scoot around in his bed. 

Dad continues to not feel good, his cold seems to be getting a bit worse.  Mom is thankful that one of her friends, who will remain nameless to protect the innocent, was able to call in an antibiotic for Dad today.  We are hoping that Dad will be good as new in a few days and will be able to spend more time with Josh.  Josh definitely doesn't know what to think about his parents in yellow masks.  Mom is continuing to mask and limit touching until she is sure she isn't sick - although she feels pretty good.

Prayer Request:

• Josh would tolerate his high flow nasal cannula well and would not need to go back on CPAP.
• Josh would have little to no apnea and bradicardia.
• Josh's brain would continue to grow and mature so that he has no more apnea and would begin to get ready for breastfeeding (sometime in the next 2-4 weeks).
• Josh's infection would be taken care of with his antibiotics and he would not develop any more infections.
• Dad would begin to recover quickly from his cold now that he has started on antibiotics and that Mom would stay healthy.

Praises:

• Josh is on high flow nasal cannula and off of CPAP!!!
• Josh's heart murmur is gone again today, thanks to the blood he received yesterday
• Josh is able to rest more comfortably and be more awake with the CPAP off.
• Mom has not gotten sick yet.

(Josh sporting his new nasal canula... he can sleep better without all that bulky CPAP equipment)

 

 (Josh just starting to wake up to play with Mommy - see how long his hair is getting and it is still blonde)

 

 (Josh waving hi to Mommy... he was very awake today!)

 

 (Cute little preemie socks that were given to Josh... note that they are probably still twice the size of his feet)

 

 (Who is that Josher checking out?  That's Mommy!)

 

 (Cute little Josh figuring out how to suck his fingers)

 

(Josh finding his way around a pacifier during one of his feedings)