Benjamin on Nasal Cannula

Day 103 - Update

Just a quick update...Benjamin now weighs 6 lbs, 7 ounces; he is getting so big.

Benjamin's eye exam today was the same as last week, still mild ROP, but his eyes are still developing.

We are still waiting on the report for his kidney's and that should be in tomorrow.

Benjamin tried nasal cannula (NS) for the first time today and it seems like he handled it ok. He did have another bradycardia while on NS during one of his feeds, but he bounced back. Hopefully this gets under control soon.

They are taking it slow with him right now-switching him between CPAP and NS every 6 hours for the first 24 hours. Tomorrow, depending on how he is doing, they will put him back on CPAP if he is not handling NS or extend the time between CPAP and NS to every 12 hour if he is doing ok.

Please continue to keep Benjamin in your prayers.

Day 102- Big Steps Ahead

Benjamin is doing very well, but tomorrow will be yet another big and challenging day for him. Tomorrow he will be taken off of CPAP and allowed to breathe on his own with just a little supplemental oxygen via nasal cannula. The plan is to try it for about 6 hours and see how he does... Come on Benjamin!!!

Benjamin is also experiencing some apnea (pauses in breathing) and bradycardia (drop in heart rate) during his feeding. He went over 21 days since his last one, but he has had one episode a day for the last three days. Right now, we are just watching it, but we think this may be related to acid reflux. Hopefully, this gets under control.

Tomorrow he will also have another eye exam. We are so hoping that we are told his eyes are continuing to develop correctly on their own. They are also going to do a Renal Ultrasound to check on his kidneys.

God continues to amaze us with all he is doing in Benjamin's life and ours.

Thank you for your prayer support.

New Pictures have been posted

New pictures have been posted. If you still need the link here it is...



http://www.flickr.com/photos/toddporter1/collections/72157622510508790/

Day 99- Merry Christmas!

What an amazing day it has been! Benjamin is doing wonderful. He seems so relaxed and happier than ever. He is tolerating his assessments and being held much better than just a week ago. It has been such a special day for us; we enjoyed spending Benjamin's 1st Christmas with him in the NICU. We took in his stocking and a few of his presents. : ) I held him skin to skin earlier in the day and Todd held him swaddled this evening. What a blessing he is.

Benjamin has now hit the 6 pound mark! He weighs 6 pounds 1.2 ounces. The doctors even bumped up his feeds a little more today- watch out full term babies. His doctors are planning to try and take Benjamin off of CPAP and try him on only oxygen thru a nasal cannula in 7-10 days. This will be another huge step for him. They have said it could be challenging, but we're ready for him to try it!

Thank you for your continued prayers and Merry Christmas! We are so thankful for the special gift God has given us.

Day 96 - Big day ahead

Benjamin had another good day today. His eye exam remains the same, which is encouraging. We are all hoping his eyes will correct themselves and heal properly. The doctor is watching some areas closely to see what happens. Benjamin is still breathing a little faster than preferred with his settings weaned on the CPAP from 6 to 5 on PEEP. Tomorrow early a.m. he will have quite a few tests. He is going to be getting an Echo done to check and see if his heart is still working properly on both sides with the changes in CPAP settings. If everything looks good this will also indicate that his "chronic" lungs aren't as bad anymore.

He will also have a chest x-ray to see how his chest and lungs are looking, a CBG to look at the blood gases and a thyroid test as a standard test to be performed.

With all of this in store for him tomorrow morning, I am hoping to get to hold him skin to skin tomorrow afternoon so he can relax and have some bonding time with Mom.

Please keep Benjamin in your prayers. He has so much going on. We have already seen him overcome some of the biggest hurdles imaginable and he still has so many additional areas to continue to develop and mature.

All of your prayers are truly helping Benjamin- he continues to amaze the doctors, nurses, and his parents! : )

Day 95 - Getting Bigger

Benjamin is still going strong and is really growing. He is now 5 lbs, 12 ozs and is starting to act just like a full-term baby.

Benjamin's lungs are starting to improve and look and sound much better. They have now lowered the pressure settings on his CPAP from 6 from 5. This may sound like a small difference, but it is really a big step. He is making some great progress.

Tomorrow is another eye exam. Please pray that his eyes are still developing correctly.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for his eyes and lungs.

Day 89 - Going Strong

Benjamin is doing pretty good and is continuing to grow and get stronger. He is now 5 lbs, 4 ozs and is 17 3/4 inch long.

His lungs are still an issue, but they have lowered some of his settings so they are slowly improving. We just have to be patient and remember that it takes time.

He had another eye exam today and they still look the same - mild ROP.

We are still holding him and reading him a bedtime story each night which puts him right to sleep.

Please continue to pray for his eyes and lungs.

New pictures have been posted

New pictures have been posted. You can really see how far he has come.


Here is the link....


http://www.flickr.com/photos/toddporter1/collections/72157622510508790/

Day 83 - Santa's Little Helper

Benjamin is doing great this week. Today he took pictures with Santa! He seemed to have a good time, I know we did. He had all sorts of outfits to pick from. We have updated some pictures tonight, including a few with Santa.


Benjamin's doctor today hadn't been on rotation to take care of Benjamin in about 1-2 weeks and he said Benjamin was doing so much better than the last time he saw him. He also said he is doing so good on the weight gain that he was going to cut back just a little on his milk intake.


The doctors have been able to continue to wean his Nitric Oxide that he is on for his lung development and his oxygen requirements are still around 35% which is also pretty good. We will continue to be patient and wait on the Lord to finish developing his premature lungs.


Benjamin's eye exam this week was the same as before - mild ROP and the eyes are still developing.


Benjamin also weighs just over 5 lbs now.

Thanks for your continued prayer support!

Day 81 - Still cruising

Benjamin is cruising along and is getting bigger; last night he weighed 4 lbs, 12 ozs and is 17.25 inches long. He is looking so good.


His eyes still have mild ROP, but they are still developing, so we are just waiting to see if they continue to develop correctly on their own.


Recently, when he feeds, his oxygen requirement goes up, so it looks like his acid reflux has returned. This was happening when he was on the ventilator, but once he was put on CPAP, it seemed to stop. So today, to try to help, his feedings were changed to continuous feeds instead of once every three hours. This should help his acid reflux because he is always getting a little bit of milk, instead of a lot at once. Hopefully this helps him get the reflux under control.


Benjamin seems to be doing well. He is very alert and will look at you when you talk to him or touch him. He looks like he is trying to process what is going on. He also likes his lullaby music as it puts him right to sleep.


Right now, we are just waiting on his lungs to develop further. He is making some great progress. We are so proud of him. Please continue to pray for him!