Today marked day 75 in the NICU and Benjamin came off the ventilator! They ultimately decided to transition him to the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine instead of the nasal cannula because it’s easier to regulate.
We can finally hear him cry, but we’re so sad because you can tell he hates it. The CPAP is the most cumbersome apparatus. We thought we couldn’t see much of his face before, now it’s even worse! He’s got this mask over his nose with a huge hose coming out of it and it’s strapped onto his head. Ryan and I spent more than 3 hours tonight trying to get him to settle down and we left the hospital with headaches and knots in our stomachs because we were so unsettled and tense. Hopefully he’ll do even better over the next few days and they can get him right on to the high flow nasal cannula.
His blood work came back good yesterday so he’s off the antibiotics and is now up to 2.1 ml/hr. on his feeds. He weighs 4 pounds 1 oz. and is 15 inches long. I honestly think most of his weight is in his cheeks. He’s got the chubbiest cheeks!
So great to hear. Yes, I know what you mean about the cpap - Audrey hated it too. She was getting worse, vs better when she had it. It was one of the reasons we decided to trache her.
ReplyDeleteI pray for little Benjamin every night - that he continues to get stronger and that your hearts remain strong too.
Keep telling him that you love him and that the doctors are doing everything they can to get him home to you. Your calming words and love will reach through to him.