Steroids again

Just hangin' out
(on Halloween blankets from my Nonna!)

I can see my daddy!

A very rare picture of Rhys with no tape on his cheeks
and as you can see he does NOT appreciate their efforts to retape.

I am Rhys...

Hear me ROAR!
(I think this was actually a yawn, as he isn't red)

Rhys has had two good days this weekend. He responded almost immediately to the steroids, which were started on Friday night. They were able to wean a little today on the pressure, but the weekend doctors aren't as aggressive as the weekday doctors so they don't typically try as much. He's had two fantastic blood gases today, with CO2 in the 50s. Rhys is still having tummy troubles and gets very fussy when his tummy hurts. I feel so bad since he is on breast milk and I would seemingly be the one "contaminating" the milk with bad food, but I don't think that is the case. The nurses tell me all babies usually have this problem to some extent, whether they are formula fed or are on breast milk.I was told yesterday that Rhys has two fractures on his ribs. This was news to me, as well as Rhys' primary weekend nurse. I know several weeks ago they were concerned about Rhys' calcium levels that indicated he had brittle bones, and they adjusted his supplements to try to get his levels back up (which they have since successfully done). They think it probably happened prior to this because it appears as though the fractures are "old" and healing properly. I can't imagine having to deal with undiagnosed fractured bones; however if this happened when they think it did he was still on regular doses of morphine and versed.

Rhys is weighing in at 1925 grams (4 pounds 3.6 ounces). Woohoo! We are used to seeing him wrapped up most of the time, but today I noticed he was no longer sporting skinny arms and legs. In as much as he's able to his little arms and legs have filled out. I don't think our rings would fit on his wrist anymore. I would love to get a picture to that effect just to see the difference.

Rhys is starting to stay awake for good bits of time now. Yesterday and today he was awake and checking things out for a good hour at a time. He also has a mobile on his crib that he seems to stare at which is a good sign. We've been told he's acting very "age appropriate", and that is a reassuring. The eye doctor made a visit this week and his ROP has advanced from mild to medium, but is still in stage 2 which doesn't require intervention, and his vessels are growing farther out towards zone 3 like they are supposed to. She will be back next week again to check and see how he's doing. We're still not in the clear yet, but we're moving in the right direction.

The primary doctor is back on tomorrow so I am hoping his aggressiveness benefits Rhys' attempts to get off the vent. The possibility of a soft airway still lingers though, so extubation might not be as close as we would want it to be.