Finally Due!

We are finally getting up to date on the blog front. Nothing note worthy happened mid/late January... Nico's oxygen requirements yo-yo'd slowly up and down but nothing too drastic. He seemed to plateau. The only thing we do know about Nico's personality is that he will not be rushed, so we sat patiently and kept getting our reassurances from that doctors that all was fine. On Jan 19 he received a certificate and a cot quilt to mark his 100th day in the NICU. The nurse/ admin clerk showing me all the hand made quilts, telling me about the group that makes them said "and at 200 days, you get a full blanket". I didn't mean to but I must have given her a death stare because her face fell and she quickly said "Not that you'll be here then, I am sure..." I DON"T WANT A BLANKET! I CAN BUY A BLANKET! In saying that, it is a really cute quilt he got. I was very aware of how many more types of breathing support methods he would have to go through and the fact that he was officially still on conventional ventilation, albeit through prongs, was wearing me down. A few days after the 200-day-blanket conversation with the admin clerk/ nurse, I asked one of Nico's regular nurses whether she thought we would be here long enough to get a blanket. She looked at me in a serious but sweet way and said "Mmmm, maybe. But not in this Bay at least" Pfff. Whoever said honesty was the best policy may have needed to test the theory in multiple situations. Spirits were low. I knew she had to prepare me and not give any false hopes or expectations, but that knowledge wasn't enough to get rid of the feeling that I had just swallowed rocks. The heavy stomach lingered for days. About a week ago, I went in and found a CHANGE had been made!! His breathing rate had been reduced from being given 50 automatic breaths to 30, meaning he is given more opportunity to take his own breaths over the top of the ventilation. The next day the pressures decreased, not to a low pressure but still a step in the right direction. My early morning check in on Saturday 30 January nearly had me bouncing of the walls. "We actually changed him to CPAP at 4am and his oxygen requirement hasn't really increased, he's good" I did some silent dancing around the house, Saturdays are my husband's turn to sleep in. CPAP basically holds the lungs open a little, to make taking breaths less tiring for baby. If his lungs were to deflate fully, like ours can, it would be hard for him to get them back up. It was explained to to us like how blowing up a new balloon is harder than one with a small breath in it already. This way, the hard work is already done. This was not the only big step the day held for the wee man. When I arrived to see him, the nurse was holding up a syringe of milk for him... I think I neglected to mention this part of Nico's battle previously. He has/ had chronic reflux so to minimise this, the doctors replaced the tube to his stomach with one that the weaved through his stomach, basically straight to the intestines I suppose. They then used a drip to give him a continuous feed. The sight of the nurse holding a syringe meant one thing: no more drip feeding! No drip feeding meant no bypassing the stomach. Nico was back to "regular" feeds of 16 mls on the hour, every hour. He seems to have taken very well to his new ventilation and feeding program as he has been much more settled and sleeping a lot better. One theory is that he enjoys feeling full. I also think it must be more comfortable to take your own breath than have it forced into you with all that pressure. Whatever his reason, I am just stoked that nearly 48 hours, he is coping still just fine!