He's HUGE!

Wednesday July 11, 2007

He is 2 weeks old today and 2lbs 3oz!! Yaaay Jack! He gained almost 3oz in the last 24 hours. Have you ever seen how they make foie gras? It's kind of like that. He's up to eating 16mLs every 3 hours. The nurses assured us that this would not happen every day. There still may be days where he loses weight or stays the same, but we should still expect an average of about about 1oz per day.

He had a blood transfusion on Sunday night, which we were told should be expected at his size, and may occur a few more times during his stay in the NICU. Because he isn't ready to be breathing yet, he doesn't easily produce his own red blood cells (if you remember back to 8th grade science, red blood cells carry oxygen).

He is also back on the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure), which is the tube on his nose and the straps that hold it on his head. This is not breathing for him or providing oxygen, just humidifying and pressurizing the room air, providing a little more help than the little oxygen tubes. He was off of it for awhile, but having too many apnea episodes (forgetting to breathe for more than 15 seconds). He'll be back on it for a few days and then they'll try taking him off it again. This will also come and go during his stay in the NICU. If he is having any trouble breathing, they don't want him to use the energy working too hard.

Here's a video to prove that a little guy can make some big noise.