5/6

HOWDY!!

We are having a pretty good week. Jaxson is improving with his A's and B's. He's having less of them (about 7 a day) and the quality is getting better in that he's not needing to be stimulated as aggressively as before. He's catching himself before going into to full bradycardia, so I call that progress!

A head ultrasound was done again on Sunday to check for hemorrhaging. That came back clear. His head circumference was also done and that is looking good. They use head circumference as a measure of growth rather than baby's overall weight. They measured him to be 15.7 inches long and his weight as of this morning was 3 lbs. 14 oz. Just two more ounces and he'll be 4 lbs.!

The doctors are happy with the treatment he's getting right now. They are giving him the Prilosec for reflux and the Theophylline to stimulate (rather than the caffeine they were using previously) his respiratory system. The combination has definitely yielded better results than everything we tried before.

He just needs a little more time to mature. He's 32 weeks this Sunday and he's 36 days old today.

There are several factors that doctors use in determining when to release a premature infant from the hospital. Many hospitals don't have specific weight requirements for premature infants to be released, but there are other important requirements that must be met, including the following:

Consistent body temperature in an open crib.
Gestational age of approximately thirty-four weeks.
Infant can be fed by mouth and is gaining weight.
Infant's medicine doesn't require hospital aid.
No recent changes in medicine have occurred.

Since we'll be at 32 weeks on Sunday, I don't think number two is going to happen. When he finally gets done with the CPAP, we'll see how teaching him to eat will go. It could take two weeks or 6 weeks. It really depends on him. I personally think he's going to be ok with feeding. He has a great sucking reflex and tends to open his mouth nicely when a passy is presented to his lips.

All this talk about Jaxson makes me lonesome. I'm going!!!

P.S. Jeff held him for the first time this past weekend AND changed the diaper. We have pictures, but we can't find the cord to get them off that camera. We'll post them when we find it.