Over the last week, I have been really riding the NICU roller coaster. I was able to wean off the CPAP and went to the high flow oxygen last Thursday. My Mom said this was the best day ever because she could see how happy I was. I was so alert and finally stable enough that my Dad was comfortable holding me for the first time. I stayed on that for 2 days but my rebound put me back on the CPAP on Saturday. I did pretty good with that until today. Instead of giving up on me, my doctor decided to try the high flow oxygen but with a stronger flow. So far this is working and we are praying that it is good enough to keep me off the ventilator. For some reason, my little lungs are just not ready to work full time (kinda like my Mom). We are going to try to hold out as long as possible, but I may have to get some more steroids. We are hesitant to do the steroids because long term use of them can sometimes have some not so great side effects. I am 8 weeks old today and just over 32 week gestational age. I have continued to grow and am now 3lbs 7oz. I am up to drinking 1 ounce of milk every 3 hours. I took an eye test last Friday and overall had good results. I scored a level 1 on a scale from 0 to 4, with 4 being the worst. The opthamologist will continue to monitor me to make sure my eyesight is ok. Prolonged use of oxygen can sometime lead to abnormal growth of blood vessels in the eyes of preemies. This was pretty good news. They are watching me now to make sure I don't have an infection because my white blood cell count was a little high. Overall, not too bad - definitely could be worse. Please continue to keep me in your prayers and hopefully I will be breathing room air soon.

Well, it's been 6 days and I am still off the ventilator. Things have been going well with the CPAP so far and my settings are a lot lower. I will be done with my steroid dosage on Thursday and then we will start the big test. After the steroid treatment is over, there is usually a "rebound" period where progress takes a few steps back. Last time, the rebound bounced all the way to the other end of the court and landed me back on the ventilator. This time, we are hoping for an offensive rebound quick tip right back into the basket. My weight gain is stagnant as expected during the steroid period, but I will be focused on getting bigger as soon as I am done with my medicine. I had a wonderful Father's Day with my Dad. I can't wait to wear the Florida State onesie that Mom got me and to watch the FSU vs Miami game with Dad. He got a really cool FSU diaper bag too. We are going to look really cool on the couch.

Trying to Kick the Habit

I guess they underestimated me by thinking it would take until the weekend for me to wean off my ventilator, because I was able to do on Wednesday. Yay! Needless to say, everyone is happy. I am using the CPAP machine now and am looking forward to my next challenge. I am doing well with the CPAP and have been able to reduce the settings over the last 2 days. With my continued lung development, weight gain and prayers, I am really hoping that I will be able to leave my bad vent habit in the past. After almost 3 weeks, my Mom was able to hold me again today and we loved every minute of it. So long for now.

Round 2

I know it's been over a week since my last update and my Mommy says to apologize (she forgot to bring me the laptop..lol). As of Monday, I weighed 2lbs 15oz, so it seems that I am gaining weight pretty good now with the help of these protein shake like fortifiers that they are adding to my milk. I had a couple of incidents over the last week where my vent tube had to be removed and replaced (long story) and not to mention a trachea infection scare, but God carried me through everything. I had my PIC line removed because I am eating well. This is good because it lowers my risk for getting an infection. I also had my 1 month brain scan and everything is still good. I started another round of steroids on Monday and we are praying really hard that this time will lead to the permanent removal of the ventilator. We are hoping that my added weight will help sustain my ability to breath on my own. This weight gain thing has been pretty cool, because I actually moved up diaper sizes and was able to finally put on clothes....yay! It was just a preemie onesie for now, but but I know I am in for some great things because I heard my Mom yelling at my Dad because he was looking on the Burberry website for an outfit for me....LMLTO (little tush, in case you didn't get it). That's about it for now. We will hopefully be weaning off of the ventilator by the weekend, so that is what I am looking forward to. As always, thanks for the thoughts and prayers and my apologies again for those of you who have been waiting on this update.

Smooth Sailing

It's been a week since my roller coaster excitement, but now I am cruising on the yacht. Earlier in the week, I had an episode where my breathing passage got clogged with a mucus plug and I kinda froze up. The nurses had to use that breathing bag while they suctioned me. Talk about a scary sight - it was so Grey's Anatomyish. Other than that, I have had a pretty good week and have not had any other episodes. I celebrated my first month of life on Thursday and am 29 weeks 2 days gestational equivalent age today. I worked my way back up on my feedings and am actually getting 2cc's more than last Sunday, so I am up to 22. I weighed in at 2lbs 6oz today. I am still on the ventilator, but my doctor has been letting me get my rest and grow a little more before we try breathing on my own again. Tomorrow is test day, so we will see how things go.

I want to send a Happy Birthday shout out to my God brother Li'l Nic, my Uncle Nick and my friend Nicole. It's like Tony, Toni, Tone, but instead Nic, Nick, Nicole...lol. Sorry I missed your party Li'l Nic, but thanks for the goody bag - I can't wait to play with my miniature Hummer truck.

The Roller Coaster

Well, I finally got to ride the roller coaster everyone was telling me about. There's a reason why they have those height requirements at the amusement parks, because the roller coasters are not fun for little guys. After taking my ventilator out on Thursday, I did really good breathing on my own Friday and Saturday. By Sunday morning, I was back on the CPAP machine and by Sunday evening, back on the ventilator....ugh. My doctor's think that I am catching an infection because my white blood cell count is high and my heart rate was hovering around 215bpm. So now, I had to pull back on my feedings, get a blood transfusion and start taking antibiotics. Worst of all, I had to get an IV in my forehead, because they couldn't get any good veins in my little legs or arms. Ok, not cute at all. Don't worry, Mommy is ok with it....well, now she is but it took a day to get used to it.

Today, things were back on the upswing and everyone is feeling a lot better. The doctor said that this type of episode is normal in preemies and that I am blessed that it took this long before I ever had one. Once my weight increases and I get to be around 34 weeks (gestational age), things should really start to stabilize. I am 28 weeks and 3 days as of today. They started my feedings again today and my weight was 2lbs 1oz. We are going to work on slowly decreasing my ventilator settings until it looks like I might be ready to try breathing on my own again. Thanks again to all of you for continuing to check on me and for your continued prayers. Me and the family really appreciate it.