Finally! It's catch-up time.
David is now at 3 lbs 6 oz (he lost an ounce or 20 grams, which can be a diaper change). I think that means he gained half a pound over the past week. Go, David!
His head circumference is at 29 cm. The ultrasound showed improvement for two consecutive weeks. Thank you for praying! We don't want David to need a spinal tap or a shunt, so continue to pray for the fluid to drain on its own.
His breaths per minute are still at 32 today (Thursday, 1/3/08), down from 40 last week.
They increased his feeds today up to 28 ml every 3 hrs (to give you a frame of reference, 30 ml is an ounce, so he's almost there).
His O2's up a little bit (60%?)
BIG PRAYER REQUESTS
Please pray that David doesn't keep pulling out his breathing tube. The tube tends to develop bacteria, so frequently having a new one put in would have been a great way to avoid developing an infection or pneumonia except that it's really hard on his vocal chords to have a new tube put in so often. Pray that he doesn't develop an infection from the breathing tube and that he would stop pulling it out.
The HMF was definitely irritating his tummy and causing blood in his stool, so they took him off of it. They're going to see how well he does this week just on breastmilk. They're expecting to have to supplement the milk with high calorie formula or put him back on the HMF, so please pray that he continues to grow. Grow, David, Grow!
David had a chest x-ray on the 29th, which looked good. The doctor has been encouraging about the x-rays. While the last two x-rays were still hazy, there were no cysts developing, which a lot of preemies have. Continue to pray for David's lung development. He's on the right track!
BIG NEWS
David has pulled his breathing tube out on his own twice. On the 29th it was loose and it had bacteria growing in it, so they took it out and tried him just on the breathing mask for about 10 minutes. He was breathing on his own! He had to work really hard, but the doctor was encouraged because some preemies get the mask on and don't know what to do at first. David is such a little fighter!
(By the way, Susan said that she finally got to see what David really looks like since the breathing tube was out of the way. She says he looks just like his Daddy.)
Susan finally got to hold David again on Saturday the 29th. On the 30th she gave him his first bath in a tub. He loved it.
He had two blood transfusions on the 30th and he handled them and the IV for them well.
The eye doctor examined his eyes on Monday, the 31st. He has a follow-up appointment in two weeks because he's so premature. The optometrist didn't forsee any problems, and he doesn't see any problems now with David's eyes, which is a huge blessing! David certainly isn't your average preemie!
Susan has finally been told that as long as David's having good days, she can hold him three times a week for half an hour, just not for two consecutive days.
Now we're finally up-to-date. Lots of big news and specific prayer requests. Let's start the new year with renewed faith. May we not grow weary in doing good--our prayers are powerful and effective. And we're seeing the fruit! David is AMAZING!
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