March 3, 2013:

RJ is feeling great today cause he was fighting the ventilator when we arrived this evening. He was lying on his stomach and turning his head back and forth. He had tried doing some man push-ups earlier this afternoon the nurse said. They weaned his rate on the ventilator today down to 15 and his Fio2 is in the 30s. He oxygen sats were in the 80's-90's when we arrived. He has a couple more days of the decreased dose of steroids left. They are going to get an xray in the morning and hope to still plan on weaning and plan for extubation this week. I thought doing a lil infant massage would help to calm him down, but he just stayed fussy. So, the nurse got a snuggy for us and I flipped him on his back and helped wrap him up. He started to finally calm down and relax before we were kicked out of the nursery because of a new admit. It was just bad timing.
Our plan is to give RJ a bath tonight. We want to help open up his lungs and get him ready for extubation!! He has hit the 3lb 3oz mark. Getting closer to doubling his weight!! They increased his feeds to 11ml per hr. Now that he's past 32 wks, they are in the range to start bottle feeding, but we have to get on less oxygen support and make sure he can tolerated bolus feeds. I'm hoping for some changes to take place in the next couple weeks. :)
It was nice that Robert was off today and we were able to get some things done around the house before heading into the hospital. It's so tricky trying to fit home life around the random times the NICU is open. I so wish they had an open door policy like the rest of the hospital, at least for parents. Anyways, we will try to be good parents and follow the rules. :)
Thanks for all the love and support we continue to receive. We are truly blessed.