Day 29 - Samuel Update

Samuel is slowly progressing. The last couple of days he has been able to come down on the air on the cpap. He ranges from 35%-40% oxygen support on the cpap now. I've held him each time that I've gone in there the last 3 days. It's so nice to be able to hold my little baby. His "picc line" is coming out today or tomorrow, depending on if there is a nurse that can do that today or not. FYI: The picc line is what they call the central line, where a catheter type tubing is inserted through his arm into a vein and pushed all the way to his heart so that he gets everything through the IV faster whether its nutrition or antibiotics. He no longer needs the picc line because he no longer needs the assistance of what they call the "TPN Nutrition" which is everything his body needs like lipids, amino acids, etc., because he is getting that from the 7 ml/hr of fortified breast milk that he is recieving through his feeding tube. They will bump it up to 8 ml/hr after the picc line is taken out. His bowels are still working well (well enough to have an actual blow out. Yesterday the nurse had to change everything in his isolette, his diaper, bedding and all of the cushioning around him supposedly. That's my boy!!!)

This picture was taken on Sunday. He woke up after I held him and of course just before I left. He is such a precious little baby.


These next 4 pictures are from yesterday, the 4th of July. As of today he weighs 3 lbs 5 oz but the nurses aren't sure if it was an accurate reading because he is up 3 oz from yesterday. A couple of times the last few days I have heard him actually cry. It's a teeny tiny cry but it is not hoarse anymore since he's been off of the ventilator for a while. He woke up for me again just before I left and as the nurse was changing his cannulaid (the nose piece). He did so well yesterday.