Day 18

Day 18

Jax day 18: 1020 grams or 2lbs 4oz (back to birth weight). The vent is out! Jax is no longer intubated! He is still on a ventilator but he is getting the air via a nasal cannula. He is getting some help from the ventilator but he is breathing on his own. It is up and down as far as oxygen saturation goes. When he relaxes and just breathes deep, life is good. Dr Nold noted that he will be angrier than normal and will have a little roid rage moments and she was right. I expect any moment for him to turn green, rip his diaper off Hulk style, and throw it at me! He seems to be responding well overall and the first set of blood gasses pulled an hour after show that he is expelling CO2 well. He is now going to showing us "episodes" that the nurses call the A's and B's (Apnea and Bradycardia) where he just forgets to breath then decreases oxygen levels that then slows the heart rate (below 80 bpm). The first time it happened it scared the crap out of me. It is very common and generally he will catch himself but can also be corrected by a small stimulation of touch or rubbing his back. He will likely do this until a couple weeks before we leave the NICU. Last set of steroids are today and they gave him a boost of caffeine to help him transition. Again he is hopped up on caffeine and roids... Yeoswa when he gets mad! He started accepting milk today, so they upped the dose to 2ccs every 3 hours. This is a huge day for Jax. Good job buddy! FOJSP!!!