Back to the Good Side of the Roller Coaster! Day 22 and 23!

TEE SHIRT ORDERS! I will be sending out for an order of the shirts. If you want some please let me know. They are $8 each. Send me an email if you want one. Thanks.

I am sorry that I am a couple days behind on posting. I am here to tell you if I work, I really don't have it in me to sit down and get a post together. So I will be more than happy to catch you all up today. Weight chart above is unbelievable. Just 3 more ounces and he will be at 2 POUNDS. Just the thought of the number 2 is so exciting, it is a true sign of improvement. Every time we look at him though, we can tell that he is getting bigger and his skin is starting to get smoother and his color is much more natural. Calen is up to 5.2ml of breast milk feedings every 3 hours running though the OG tube, he is absorbing it well and he is having significant weight increases because of this. They have started to decrease his IV TPN and lipids also, so with all prayers he will be off TPN and lipids in about another week. He has to be getting 80ml of breast milk in a 24 hour period in order to shut off the TPN and lipids. 

Yesterday March 7, this was Calen's last day on the ventilator. They decided that they would extubate him and put him on the CPAP and see how he did. After correcting his ET tube the other day he did really well over a full 24 hour period making it seem that he didn't really need it. 

So here we are on March 7 with the CPAP on. He went for about 3 hours on the CPAP. The first hour went well, the second hour he experienced a multitude of apenic spells and heart rate drops, he was doing a really good job of bringing his heart rate back up on his own though. It seems as though the 2nd hour was so hard on him that he was to tired come hour number 3. So the 3rd hour he had less spells but he was struggling much more to recover from them. 

They decided to place him on the SiPAP. This is what he was on before they decided to put him on the vent a couple weeks ago, but since he has been on it, he has not had any problems. We are really happy that he is tolerating being off the ventilator now and we ask you all to pray that he is able to stay off. 

This was during his transition phase. They had both machines in the room as they were deciding which machine was going to be the most appropriate for him. 

If you look at this picture, he is a weird position. His legs are all elevated. He started getting some swelling in his legs and honestly in this picture I can see the swelling in his leg. Yesterday the swelling was pitting edema (you could push on it with your finger and it would leave an imprint). They decreased his overall amount of IV fluids and are decreasing the sodium in his TPN to help him get rid of the excess fluid. His chest x-rays have been clear, not showing any fluid on the lungs. They said that this can be normal in prematurity and sometimes has to be treated with diuretics (medicine that helps get rid of excess fluid). Elevating his legs have helped drain the fluid out of his legs and they are also giving him 5 minute leg massages with each assessment to help decrease the fluid in his legs.