Finally! After 8 days on the ventilator (it feels much longer than that) Ava is being extubated today! Her doctor is going to do one more wean on her vent and then she is going to pull her tube this afternoon. I am SO excited. I could jump up and down with joy! The ventilator is one of those things in the preemie world that is a necessary evil. Obviously it keeps babies alive, and if it weren't for the ventilator, neither of my babies would be here today, but on the flip side, every day spent on a breathing machine causes damage to the lungs. What a catch 22, eh? Yesterday they weaned her way down and so her doctor said "it's time!". She does still have a lot of secretions coming from her lungs so we have to hope and pray that clears up soon. Her blood culture from yesterday morning came back negative but the one from the day before was positive. Hopefully the most recent one will STAY negative. They have to get two days in a row of negative to know the infection is gone.
In other news, Ava is sometimes tolerating her feeds and sometimes not. She has had more trouble since they started fortifying the breastmilk to make it 24cal/oz. They are backing down to 22cal/oz and if that doesn't help they will just give her straight breastmilk. Her belly looks fine so it's just a matter of finding out what works for her. I didn't ask for her weight this morning because I was so excited about the extubation news. Last night she was still 2lbs 12oz. Her doctor says she looks amazing. That is always a great thing to hear. I am so proud of my baby girl, she has already had a tough fight and she is barely two weeks old. I am hoping and praying that now she can just grow and eat and thrive. Keep those prayers coming!
2 comments:
SO EXCITED that she's extubated!!! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that she tolerates the 22cal better than the 24, and that the infection is gone for good!
such good news today!! I've been rooting for Ava since before she was even born. I am so happy to hear she's been extubated and that the infection may be gone! God is good :). Hopefully the 22 cal sits better with her, and if not at least she can tolerate breastmilk for now. What a little trooper :).
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