One Small Step for Emma
First off... I should have changed the title... it should read "One Large Step for Emma"
Well, Emma has had a great couple days. While she continues to hover around the same weight (~ 1900 grams), she is making great strides in other areas. Primarily in her lungs. As I stated before, she extibated herself on Thursday night. While some of her preliminary bloodwork was not real promising, she has turned the corner and is doing very well. So well in fact that Emma's weekend nurses talked the doctors into letting us put Emma on nasal canula a couple times a day when we hold her.
When originally given this permission, it was for a 1/2 hour slot... now we are able to keep her on nasal canula as long as she can handle it. Right now we know that she can handle at least 2 hours, twice a day at a rate of 1 liter per minute of 50% oxygen (the numbers sound high, but don't be concerned... the 50% oxygen is just what is delivered to Emma's nose and is diluted by the time it gets to Emma's lungs). Emma really enjoys the nasal canula at this time.
That being said, Emma HATES the nasal CPAP. I guess something about putting long tubes up her nose isn't pleasant. Go figure I guess. But, she has been doing very well on CPAP also. The doctors have been continually reducing her setpoints (rate of 10 (was 20)). The amazing part is that when you redue the amount of assistance the ventilator provides, one would expect that Emma would require a higher oxygen requirement. But, Emma is suprising us once again - Emma's oxygen requirement continues to drop, and has been as low as 30% (normally now about 32-35%).
Update - Emma spent three hours this morning on nasal canula, and the only reason why the doctor decided to put her back on nasal CPAP was because they wanted to ween her more... so, now Emma no longer has a forced rate breath on her ventilator! She now only has a constant pressure (also known as PEEP) of 6, and other than that, Emma does all the work herself. The doctors said that they will continue to do longer "trials" (yes, they are now trials i guess) on the nasal canula so she can move toward being solely on nasal canula.
Emma also continues to mature - you can tell that when she looks around, she is really looking at things and is acknowledging sounds and shapes (or something along that). I may be just a proud dad bragging about his daughter, but I am really impressed with her maturity at this stage.
I love nasal canula... although sometimes i still cry (inaudibly at this time).
Hi!
Now everyone can see what I look like... the question is, do I look more like mom or dad?
A great family photo!
Emma is now the most senior baby in room #1 (although not in the whole nursery). This picture depicts where the two babies that had been in the nursery longer than Emma. It seems empty without them here anymore, but we are glad that they are both in the process of going home (they are currently in room #2).
And, just for a visual aid, this is where Emma has live the past 11+ weeks. It may not look like much, but it has been great for Emma, Liz and I.
Hope you enjoyed the videos and pictures. More to come as usual.
Well, Emma has had a great couple days. While she continues to hover around the same weight (~ 1900 grams), she is making great strides in other areas. Primarily in her lungs. As I stated before, she extibated herself on Thursday night. While some of her preliminary bloodwork was not real promising, she has turned the corner and is doing very well. So well in fact that Emma's weekend nurses talked the doctors into letting us put Emma on nasal canula a couple times a day when we hold her.
When originally given this permission, it was for a 1/2 hour slot... now we are able to keep her on nasal canula as long as she can handle it. Right now we know that she can handle at least 2 hours, twice a day at a rate of 1 liter per minute of 50% oxygen (the numbers sound high, but don't be concerned... the 50% oxygen is just what is delivered to Emma's nose and is diluted by the time it gets to Emma's lungs). Emma really enjoys the nasal canula at this time.
That being said, Emma HATES the nasal CPAP. I guess something about putting long tubes up her nose isn't pleasant. Go figure I guess. But, she has been doing very well on CPAP also. The doctors have been continually reducing her setpoints (rate of 10 (was 20)). The amazing part is that when you redue the amount of assistance the ventilator provides, one would expect that Emma would require a higher oxygen requirement. But, Emma is suprising us once again - Emma's oxygen requirement continues to drop, and has been as low as 30% (normally now about 32-35%).
Update - Emma spent three hours this morning on nasal canula, and the only reason why the doctor decided to put her back on nasal CPAP was because they wanted to ween her more... so, now Emma no longer has a forced rate breath on her ventilator! She now only has a constant pressure (also known as PEEP) of 6, and other than that, Emma does all the work herself. The doctors said that they will continue to do longer "trials" (yes, they are now trials i guess) on the nasal canula so she can move toward being solely on nasal canula.
Emma also continues to mature - you can tell that when she looks around, she is really looking at things and is acknowledging sounds and shapes (or something along that). I may be just a proud dad bragging about his daughter, but I am really impressed with her maturity at this stage.
I love nasal canula... although sometimes i still cry (inaudibly at this time).
Hi!
Now everyone can see what I look like... the question is, do I look more like mom or dad?
A great family photo!
Emma is now the most senior baby in room #1 (although not in the whole nursery). This picture depicts where the two babies that had been in the nursery longer than Emma. It seems empty without them here anymore, but we are glad that they are both in the process of going home (they are currently in room #2).
And, just for a visual aid, this is where Emma has live the past 11+ weeks. It may not look like much, but it has been great for Emma, Liz and I.
Hope you enjoyed the videos and pictures. More to come as usual.
posted by Chadwick at 10:19 AM
2 Comments:
You know, it's funny you should happen to say 'do I look like mom or dad'-- since the first pictures, I have seen so much of Liz in Emma (lucky girl! Gorgeous mom, her)... But now, with her growing and maturing, I can see more of Chad in the most recent batch of pictures!
More importantly, i'm so glad to hear that she's doing so well! You must all be so excited to be using the nasal canula!
Wow Chad! The three of you have been going through so much. I can't even imagine. I'm very happy to read about Emma's progress...she's looking great! I'm sure you can't wait for the day you get to take her home! Sending warm wishes your way and lots of positive thoughts! :)
Post a Comment
<< Home