Growing.......

We feel incredibly fortunate that Gavin is a healthy little boy who just needs to grow.  Most of the tests that the physicians need to run on him have been completed, all with great results.  After eight days straight with the CPAP, Gavin got a little taste of freedom.  The physicians decided it was time to give him a trial run of  breathing without any type of assistance.    The CPAP machine doesn't breathe for him, but helps inflate his lungs.  He doesn't have the strength to fully inflate his lungs on his own, due to his prematurity.  He made it 48 hours before his breathing got a little shallow.  The attending physician then decided to put him back on CPAP for a few days to give his lungs more time to mature.  This made Gavin mad, and he made sure his nurses and physicians knew it.  He cried angrily and continued to rip out his nose piece whenever they would reattach it.  Gavin eventually won the fight and the CPAP was replaced with a nasal cannula.  The nasal cannula is still a two pronged device inserted in his nose that helps his lungs inflate, but it is a lot less cumbersome than the CPAP.  Gavin seems much happier with the change.  It is also a step down with the amount of assistance it provides him. We hope that he can come off this in the next few days and breathe completely on his own. 

We are also waiting anxiously for him to grow.  He has his good growth days and his not so good growth days, sometimes gaining close to two ounces in one night and other nights growing only about 1/3 of an ounce.  The physicians' goal is to have him gain about an ounce a day, putting on about 2 pounds a month.  He is currently weighing in at 2 pounds, 14 ounces.  We think he will be in the NICU another 4 to 5 weeks before he is strong enough to come home.  

*The first picture above is a picture of Gavin with the nasal cannula.  The second picture is a picture with the CPAP.