Bigger, Longer (well..you know the rest)…Morgan Update

Morgan is doing well on the high flow nasal canula. He is back to 4 liters O2, up from 3. But he got a blood transfusion yesterday which should help with breathing, etc’¦

He is now officially 3lbs, and has grown one inch, so he is 16 ½ inches long. All the nurses love him. They all say how cute he is and how mellow. I am sure they say this to all the mom’s, but even the ones who aren’t taking care of him come over to see him and to tell me how cute he is.

So it occurred to me the other day, that he really doesn’t cry all that much. Which made me wonder, is this a sign of things to come? So I asked Nurse Holly and she said, yes his temperament now is a good indication of how he will be later. If so, then we have hit the jackpot, because Morgan is a very mellow baby!

Also, I asked today what marks Morgan needs to hit to come home. Here they Are:
‘¢ Weigh 4 ‘“ 5 lbs
o Usually when a baby is born at 27 weeks they want him to weigh 5 lbs before coming home, but if he is eating well, they’™ll let him go at 4 lbs
‘¢ Be very proficient and eating and breathing at the same time
o Proficient enough that he can maintain his weight and continue to grow and gain weight
‘¢ Breath self sufficiently
o Babies may go home with some light oxygen support such as when eating

The Suck, Breath, & Swallow reflex kicks in at around 32 ‘“ 34 weeks (Morgan is 31 weeks), so around that time they’™ll start bottle feeding him to see if he can do all 3 things at once.

They are increasing his feeds by 1cc every other feeding, up to 24ccs. He is at 21ccs now. Once he gets to 24 cc’s, they will take out his central line and he will no longer need IV nutrition. This is good for 2 reasons, one the formula, or breast milk, is more fattening, and two the IV is a source of possible infection. So, look for news of his IV being removed in the next couple of days.