March 18th, 2012

Well it has been a very exciting day today! Ryan is still on the CPAP and is actually doing a great job! They have been lowering the pressure rates every day and he seems to managing it just fine. He and his "pod mates" have been moved to another room due to a leak from the ceiling. Generally, when you move to the next room, it is because you "graduated" to a lower intensive unit within the NICU. Due to Ryan doing such a great job lately, the nurses tell us they don't think Ryan will be moved back to the high risk room; we just have to keep our fingers crossed that his lungs are developed and strong enough for him to keep progressing forward. He has been going down and up on his weight, but remaining near 3 pounds, and is now starting to progress and is almost 3 pounds 1 ounce. He also received his first non-bed bath from Ryan and I today! Although it was very scary with all of the monitors off, it was the best experience I feel so far we have had with him. He seemed very curious as to what exactly was going on with the water and rag, but he didn't get fussy or cry! I can only hope we will soon have the chances to experience all of these things in the comfort of our own home!

March 13th, 2012

Hello All!

Ryan is again doing a great job! Last post I had talked about the jet vent and why he was put on it. Since Thursday, he has switched to the regular conventional vent. His lung is doing good, but from here on out, they will be keeping a close eye on it. He has been doing great for the past few days on the vent, so they are trying him again on the CPAP today. I had called around 11:00am, and the nurse said they had just put the CPAP in at 10:00am and that she didn't think he looked comfortable. Most likely when I call again in a few, the vent will be put back in; I am hoping Ryan comes around though and that doesn't happen. He also has switched into a new incubator. The one he has been in is more for temperature control, but since he is now 3 POUNDS, he can maintain his own temperature and is usually hot - - just like his dad. Soon the nurse said he will be able to switch to an open crib! For now, we are just hoping his breathing gets better so he can get all the tubes out of his mouth/nose. When he is awake, you can tell they really bother him :(

March 6th, 2012

We snuck in a picture of his face

while they were changing his tubes

Happy 4 weeks Ryan!!

Well it always seems like when I have too much good news, I hear bad news. Although the ventilator is helping Ryan to breathe better, it does come with its risks--one of which being Chronic Lung Disease. This is not a disease and is characterized by general lung damage. Having the tube constantly down his throat has affected his right lung. A few days ago, his lung was showing signs of collapsing and he had to be switched to a jet ventilator. This jet ventilator supplies constant air pressure to his lungs so they don't have a chance to fully expire. This also in turn helps with the damage the tubes are causing because the tubes are not rubbing on the walls of his lungs. They have him lying on his left side for now to let his right lung expand back up. After a couple of X-rays, his lung is back to normal and he is doing great. Although there is still some damage, his lungs are still very immature and overtime as his lungs continue to grow, the new lung tissue will have more power to make up for the damage. He is getting little doses of morphine to help with the pain from the damage. Although you obviously do not know he is in pain, their sure the damage and stress from the lung isn't comfortable so the morphine will help put him at ease. He seems to be back to his normal self being very active and there is already talk of getting him off the jet ventilator.

On a brighter note, Ryan is now 2 pounds 14 ounces! This means he is only 4 ounces away from 3 pounds! We also weighed him before he was able to poop, so it may have contributed to extra weight. Haha. Either way, Ryan and I are very excited our little buddy is doing so well in that area.



March 4th, 2012

Well Ryan is back on the ventilator. Same things as always, he just got pooped out from breathing on his own. The doctors keep reassuring us that this is not a setback, but it’s still hard to know he can't breathe on his own for too long--no one likes to hear that their kid is struggling. He's higher up on his oxygen requirement than usual, but hopefully after having the vent breathe for him, he can gain some strength back and lower it. He got a blood transfusion to hopefully raise his oxygen supply as well. Blood, or hemoglobin, helps oxygen travel throughout the body, so when he doesn't have enough blood, the oxygen isn't being circulated. After running a few more labs, we will be able to see if the transfusion helped him at all. He also has a new doctor for the next two weeks. Being that she knows nothing about him, I was able to be there when the resident physician caught her up on everything. She wasn't there when they did his first echo, ultrasound, or x-ray, so she has upcoming plans to order them. When he was first born, there was an extra valve his in heart that wasn't closed all the way. Usually babies born at 25 weeks need medication to close the valve, but Ryan was able to do it on his own. When they first found the valve open, they would hear a murmur when they would listen to his heart. Now, 3 weeks later, they hear a slight murmur again. An echo was ordered and the valve hasn't reopened so that was reassuring. They say to look at his progress at a week by week basis, but it’s hard when you see him or call every day, and hear about something new; good or bad.

Until next time, just keep praying his tiny body can keep him breathing!