The following is an e-mail I just sent out to family and friends regarding Landon's progress- there's more I'd like to say in this blog post (for example, my milk came in last night- quite an interesting experience), but it's late and I'm exhausted, so I'll chat about that tomorrow.
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Greetings,
Landon has had a fantastic last 2 days!! In the last email he was still on "Level 7" of breathing assistance and I wrote that the doctors were hoping to take him down to a 6 this morning. Well, he ended up going to a 6 last night and this morning jumped down to a 4- this means he was taken off the giant CPAP machine (that he Hated) and just has nasal cannula instead (little tubes in his nose- much less invasive). He was on the "high flow cannula" this morning and when we visited this afternoon he was already down to the "low flow cannula" and his oxygen volume had been decreased - he's now on Level 2! He also made the big step to taking formula from a bottle, so his stomach tube has been removed! He's turned out to be a voracious eater (much like his dad) so they've doubled his formula volume and, because he was getting so cranky having to wait 4 hours, he's now feeding "on demand". He still has his IV in place to supplement his bottle feedings, but the nurse felt it would be removed in the morning. He remained on the phototherapy all day for the jaundice (that's why some of the pictures have a bizarre blue tint to them), but that will be turned off tomorrow at 6am. He should also be moved out of his isolette and into a normal crib sometime tomorrow.
We visited him several times today. [JP] did the kangaroo time with him at noon and Landon was very busy looking around while laying on his daddy's chest. Now that he's doing so much better we can fully understand how bad he was doing those first two days when all he could do was heave his chest trying to breathe. Now he squirms around, stretches his arms and legs, and (finally!) opens his eyes to look around. We also heard him cry for the first time- I don't think we'll ever be that happy again to hear him wail. We went back to see him this evening and I got to give him the last few ounces of a bottle (I also had the honor of changing his diaper for the first time that morning). We stuck around for his next bottle and spent the 2.5 hours until then looking at him sleep, wake up, explore, and sleep again. It was wonderful to see him so active! We were there for his "hands-on check" at 9pm so we saw him get weighed (he's down to 6lb 14 oz, but that'll go up again now that he's on formula), measured, and have his diaper changed. I got to give him another bottle, which he devoured. He was then so exhausted that the burping process was kind of a lost cause- he just fell into a baby food coma and we eventually gave up and let him lay down. (The picture clearly shows his "Why won't you leave me alone and let me sleep?" opinion of the whole burping process).
So everything is going really well- his hopeful discharge date remains Monday because he had a few episodes of apnea and bradycardia (sharply decreased heart rate) last night. The doctors think that was just because of the CPAP machine (something with the tubes getting in the way of measurements), but they want to watch him for at least 4 nights to make sure it doesn't happen again before he's sent home to us. [JP] and I are doing fine- we're so thrilled about his progress each time we have to say goodbye that it makes the parting quite bearable. We'll be back in the NICU all day tomorrow- I get to kangaroo and [JP] will give him a bottle. I've added a bunch more pictures online as well as a few video clips. You can really see how active he's getting!
Thanks again for everyone's emails- the upside of leaving the NICU after each visit with Landon is that we get to check our email and read your messages :)
Landon has had a fantastic last 2 days!! In the last email he was still on "Level 7" of breathing assistance and I wrote that the doctors were hoping to take him down to a 6 this morning. Well, he ended up going to a 6 last night and this morning jumped down to a 4- this means he was taken off the giant CPAP machine (that he Hated) and just has nasal cannula instead (little tubes in his nose- much less invasive). He was on the "high flow cannula" this morning and when we visited this afternoon he was already down to the "low flow cannula" and his oxygen volume had been decreased - he's now on Level 2! He also made the big step to taking formula from a bottle, so his stomach tube has been removed! He's turned out to be a voracious eater (much like his dad) so they've doubled his formula volume and, because he was getting so cranky having to wait 4 hours, he's now feeding "on demand". He still has his IV in place to supplement his bottle feedings, but the nurse felt it would be removed in the morning. He remained on the phototherapy all day for the jaundice (that's why some of the pictures have a bizarre blue tint to them), but that will be turned off tomorrow at 6am. He should also be moved out of his isolette and into a normal crib sometime tomorrow.
We visited him several times today. [JP] did the kangaroo time with him at noon and Landon was very busy looking around while laying on his daddy's chest. Now that he's doing so much better we can fully understand how bad he was doing those first two days when all he could do was heave his chest trying to breathe. Now he squirms around, stretches his arms and legs, and (finally!) opens his eyes to look around. We also heard him cry for the first time- I don't think we'll ever be that happy again to hear him wail. We went back to see him this evening and I got to give him the last few ounces of a bottle (I also had the honor of changing his diaper for the first time that morning). We stuck around for his next bottle and spent the 2.5 hours until then looking at him sleep, wake up, explore, and sleep again. It was wonderful to see him so active! We were there for his "hands-on check" at 9pm so we saw him get weighed (he's down to 6lb 14 oz, but that'll go up again now that he's on formula), measured, and have his diaper changed. I got to give him another bottle, which he devoured. He was then so exhausted that the burping process was kind of a lost cause- he just fell into a baby food coma and we eventually gave up and let him lay down. (The picture clearly shows his "Why won't you leave me alone and let me sleep?" opinion of the whole burping process).
So everything is going really well- his hopeful discharge date remains Monday because he had a few episodes of apnea and bradycardia (sharply decreased heart rate) last night. The doctors think that was just because of the CPAP machine (something with the tubes getting in the way of measurements), but they want to watch him for at least 4 nights to make sure it doesn't happen again before he's sent home to us. [JP] and I are doing fine- we're so thrilled about his progress each time we have to say goodbye that it makes the parting quite bearable. We'll be back in the NICU all day tomorrow- I get to kangaroo and [JP] will give him a bottle. I've added a bunch more pictures online as well as a few video clips. You can really see how active he's getting!
Thanks again for everyone's emails- the upside of leaving the NICU after each visit with Landon is that we get to check our email and read your messages :)
Oh, he is sooooo cute!!! Glad things continue to improve.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Cold cabbage leaves inside your bra can really help with the discomfort.
he has the best little feet!! so glad that he's doing so much better.
ReplyDeleteYou can really see his face in these pictures. Cute!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad he continues to do better and better. You've got a fighter! Hope you and JP are feeling better too, and enjoying your new baby.