| Mon 12th October Day 35 | Yet another good day. Still six hours on six hours off,
but we've been lucky enough to visit during the hours off.
In order to boost his growth, Nathan has been put up from 150ml to 200ml per kilo. This means he's on 9ml an hour. What we know that they don't is that this has been Nathan's plan all along. The kid can eat. In the evening Nathan had a really alert spell, looking all around him, and reaching and grabbing anything in reach. Laura suspects that she heard a gurgle, which would be the first non-crying sound Nathan has made. We'll see if he does it again soon. Later dad had another cuddle. What Nate likes is to rest against dad's chest. It's probably the heartbeat. He went out like a light. |
| Sun 11th October Day 34 |
Another good day. Nathan spent about 18 hours off CPAP. He's up to 7.5 ml an hour feeds, and usually there's nothing left in his stomach at the time of his next feed. Nathan was weighed yesterday. His weight is up to 1040g. Hurrah! |
| Sat 10th October Day 33 | Today Nathan spent half the day off and half the day
on the CPAP. He had a cuddle, and for the first time he got his nutrition
at the source.
Nathan is still fighting the CPAP, but kind of forgets that it's there after a few minutes, after which he usually gets down to valuable sleeping time. |
| Fri 9th October Day 32 | Nathan was on and off the CPAP today. The single prong
into his nose didn't work too well because he moved his head around
so much that the inside of his nose bled a bit. Instead, it's back
on to the two prong CPAP, although it is now tied a lot more gently
onto his nose, so it's not squashing him quite as much.
At today's weigh-in Nathan weighed 1010g so that's going the right way. After four weeks, babies get extra iron in the form of Sytron. Nathan also gets another diuretic (than Furosemide) in the form of Spironolactone. Nathan also had his blood transfusion in the evening. Another balancing act that Nathan has to perform is that of his lungs getting better because of the dexamathazone (steroids), and his getting bigger and stronger because of the milk. Strangely enough, the dexamethazone has the effect of retarding Nathan's growth somewhat, so we all hope that he doesn't need to stay on it for too long. |
| Thu 8th October Day 31 | Well, Nathan's back on the CPAP,
although we did get him out for a cuddle in the evening. He's also
been looking very pale. In fact, his haemoglobin levels (the bit in
blood that transports oxygen) have been borderline. Below ideal, but
not quite enough to warrant a transfusion.
Chronic Lung Disease or Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) is common among premature babies. The damage caused to the lungs due to being born before surfactant production has matured can lead to problems throughout infancy. Nathan's return to the CPAP may be caused by the damage caused to his lungs. It's too early to know what this will mean for him in the future. For now it means that he gets bad days along with good days. |
| Wed 7th October Day 30 | Another good day. Nathan is still off the CPAP although
his oxygen saturation is bumping along the bottom of the acceptable
limit. I think the nurses would prefer to keep him off, so as long
as the machine doesn't go beep (when oxygen saturation goes below
87 percent) too often, they'll leave him to it.
A new baby arrived in the ward today, and seeing her parents reminded me of our own feelings one month ago. Just like me the father was asking questions all the time, making jokes, being cheerful, trying to second guess the doctors, finishing their sentences for them. It's like the way your reactions speed up as you see the glass you've nudged off the table fall to the floor. You're in survival mode. The baby wasn't expected for another two months, and you're desperately trying to find your feet. I wish them and her the best of luck. |
| Tue 6th October Day 29 | Nathan's incubator was missing it's CPAP machine. He's
been off it for 48 hours, and it's possible that he won't have
to go back on. This means that at the moment, he's breathing only
oxygen enriched air at atmospheric pressure.
Nathan was measured for the first time in a few days, and he's up to 1000g. I always said the kid knew how to eat! Today it was Dad's turn to cuddle Nathan. We held gazes for a few minutes before one of us fell asleep. Finally for today, it being Laura's birthday, Nathan had thoughtfully
remembered to make a card (thanks to the nurses). |
