They took James off the ventilator a few hours ago, and he's doing fine. (They put him on a nasal cannula just in case he needed it for the transition, but he's on a low level of support from that, so he doesn't seem to be needing it much at this point.) They also discontinued his fentenyl, and his nurse says he doesn't seem to have noticed that it's gone, and that he seems very comfortable. Yay! It seems like just having that tube in was causing him a fair amount of agitation.
I'm breathing easier now that he's extubated, too. Even though I know that our NICU staff are experts in resucitating babies, the episodes of him clamping down on the tube (or having the tube get clogged) and essentially (temporarily) suffocating himself were pretty unsettling. My parents tell me that when I was a baby/toddler, I would hold my breath when I got mad, but the doctor told them that I wasn't going to hurt myself doing that -- but in James's case, I'm not so sure that was true! Anyhow, we're all much happier now.
He still had the replogle (tube down his throat to suck secretions, etc. out of his stomach) in when we last called, but the surgeons said that it could be taken out as well. I'm sure James will be glad to have that gone, too!
He's continuing to have some stool output, so the surgeons and the neonatologists will be making a plan about when to restart his feedings.
Meanwhile, here at home, we are playing exciting games such as "Can We Finish Eating this Meal Before Matthew Wakes Up?"
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7 comments:
We're so glad to hear that James is recovering well and that you are all feeling better!
In our house the outcome of the "can we finish this meal before the baby wakes up" was always no! Daniel seemed to have some 6th sense about that and ALWAYS woke up about 30 seconds after we sat down to eat!
Great news about James' progress! Sounds like some important steps toward recovering from his surgery.
Your game with Matthew is a lot of the reason we switched from getting movies from Netflix to TV shows. :)
We're glad to hear that James is improving. We think of you all often and send big hugs to all of you...including Stanley!!!
This is the best news I have heard in many days--yay! And, the best of everything for all of you.
Sri
That sound like such a fun game. Is there an app to keep track of that?
That is a fun game. What's even more fun is the "I'll eat quickly while you do X with the baby, and then we'll trade" game.
Thanks, y'all!
Jeff -- yes, we're playing that game, too!
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