Another message from Grandma (actually from me in regard to the previous message from Grandma): if interested in garage sale-ness please contact Grandma (Bonnie) at citizenad@cornhusker.net.
Meanwhile......at the hospital.....I am happy to report that Christian has maintained his "off the ventilator" status! His oxygen has been that of room air at times (21%) and his nitric oxide is currently at 6 (from 20). They say the nitric wean is the hardest from 5 to 0 so fingers crossed it goes as smoothly as the other 15!
His Fentanyl drip was stopped today. He was on a very low dose so hopefully he will not have any withdrawals. If he does there are already controls in place so keep him as comfortable as possible. He actually doesn't have anything through an IV anymore (all meds are oral) so we are also downsizing cords and wires....a few less things for mommy and daddy to tangle up in making holding much easier. I have held him nearly continuously......somehow trying to make up for the weeks I couldn't. I've been puked on several times and delight as I get a whif of it on my fleece or pick dried spit up from my arm.
He's been awake a lot the last few days and most of the time is content. He loves music and his mobile. He has discovered his voice and has learned that if he cries the girls come running. He's quite popular in the unit.
He's at full feed amounts and is on continuous drips. I foresee that changing to bolus feeds this week. This means they will give him a "large" amount over a shorter period versus a small amount continuously. This will help him learn to eat like a "normal" infant. Eventually, the goal is to start bottle feeding or nursing. This all will take time..........
Owen spent some time with his "baby broder" yesterday. He was very sweet in reading to him and rubbing his head when he was crying and having him smell his stinky toes. He's also become quite popular with the girls in the unit. We took him hiking.....well....as much as Owen hikes:)
Looking forward to another week of successes for Christian!
The Paulsen's
What a wonderful update on Christian's progress! Praise God. You all continue in my thoughts and prayers.
ReplyDeleteYeah for all the weaning and less tubes and more food!!! Keep up the great work Christian (and Aubrey, Mike and Owen)!!!
ReplyDelete