July 20, 2008 evening

Stu and I were at the hospital tonight from 7:45-8:45. We had a nice visit with Brandon. He was good most of the time. He only had one desat and it was when he had to be suctioned. After he was suctioned he was fine. Stu took Brandon's temperature and I changed his diaper. We decided not to kangaroo with him tonight because we wanted to give him a chance to relax. Sue is his nurse tomorrow night so I will kangaroo with him then.

July 20, 2008 Afternoon

Stu and I went to the hospital around 11:45 and stayed for an hour. We talked to Dr. Hudom for awhile. She said that Brandon's blood gas was not bad but that he was really getting tired from trying to breathe on the CPAP which is why they put him back on the ventilator. She said they tried a few things including the blood transfusion before putting him back on. She said it only would have been a matter of time before he went back on. Brandon definitely seemed much more comfortable today. She said they are going to really focus on feedings. He is being fed again today. He is getting 3 cc's of milk every 3 hours. They did not feed him yesterday incase he was put back on the ventilator. She thinks he will probably be on the vent for a week or two and then they will try the CPAP again. Dr. Hudom said that we can kangaroo with Brandon again. She also said that he is average to above average of where a 26 weeker is.

Brandon is back under the bilirubin light again too.

Back on the Ventilator

I just talked to Brandon's nurse, Michelle. He is back on the ventilator. I can't say that I am surprised. I saw how much he was struggling yesterday and today. He was on such low settings on the ventilator yesterday morning that they wanted to take him off but I guess he was just working too hard. This way his lungs can have some more time to develop and they can work on nutrition with him. Hopefully they will be able to start feeding him again tomorrow.

Brandon had a blood transfusion earlier today too.

Not a Great Visit

I came to the hospital a little before 12:00 today. When I got to the hospital I talked to Dr. Hudom. She told me that Brandon had four apnea episodes in the morning. They did a chest x-ray and his lungs were a little hazy but not any more than they had been. She told me there was a good chance that he would be put back on the ventilator. His blood gas was good though. She said they had taken him off because he was at such low levels on the ventilator but that he is working too hard on CPAP. She also said that if he is put back on the ventilator they would keep him on longer this time to really work on nutrition. She also told me that he was not going to be fed today incase he needs to be put back on the ventilator. They will resume his feeding either later today or tomorrow depending on what happens. Mark, his nurse, also said they were not going to remove him from the isolette for kangaroo time today because they want to leave him alone as much as possible.

Kangaroo Care With Daddy

Stu and I went to the hospital last night. When we got there Lynn, Brandon's nurse, was finishing his care so we didn't get to help. Stu did kangaroo care with Brandon last night. To do kangaroo care you wear a button down shirt. Brandon gets tucked into the shirt like a baby kangaroo would be tucked into it's mother's pouch. Brandon's oxygen level was great when he did the kangaroo care with Stu. He really enjoys doing kangaroo care.

I called Lynn this morning to see how Brandon was. He was still on CPAP and the amount of oxygen he was receiving was down to 32%. She said he was good last night. The only time his oxygen levels went down and he had a desat were when she did his cares. Hopefully he will eventually get over that. She said he was tolerating 5 cc's of milk fine.

Off the Ventilator

I went to the hospital at 12:00 today. Dr. Alemany came up to me a little after I got there and told me that Brandon was the lowest that he could be on the ventilator and that his lungs sounded great so he was going to extubate him (remove him from the ventilator) sometime today. Brandon was wide awake when I got to the hospital so I spent some time looking at him and talking to him. I went to pump a little after 1:30. When I came back Brandon's nurse Lisa and the respiratory therapist had finished removing the ventilator tube and were putting him back on CPAP. When I left the hospital a little after 2:30 Brandon was on high oxygen on the CPAP. Dr. Alemany said he was going to give him a few hours to settle but if he is still requiring high oxygen in a few hours he will have to go back on the ventilator.

Brandon's food was increased to 5 cc's today.

Stu and I are going to go back to the hospital after dinner.

Like Father, Like Son

Stu fell asleep on the couch earlier. I took a picture of him because I had seen Brandon sleeping with his arms in the same positions as Stu had his arms several times. I got to the hospital tonight and Brandon had his arms in the same position as Stu had earlier.