It's A Race
Hello friends and family!
Today, Xavier has reached 1625 grams, that's 3 pounds, 9.3 ounces!
Yesterday, Xavier (unknown to anyone) decided to give himself a practice "room air test." He pulled his oxygen tube completely off and for :20 minutes or so breathed room air in his open pod. Rebecca was the one who noticed his disconnect from his oxygen. No alarms sounded, no bradys and no desats during this time. In fact, he was hi-satting the whole time. Hallelujah!
Dr. Liz mentioned in rounds today that Xavier should be able to go home when he reaches (some undefined weight) between 1700 and 1800 grams (3 lb, 11 oz to 3 lb, 15.5 oz). Glory to God! And a little scary as well. Xavier is only 75 grams shy of the minimum. Now, it's a race. Will he reach 4 pounds first and we can use our newly purchased car seat to carry him, or will we have to scramble and overnight a car bed to us.
If we do need a car bed, it will not be for long. We can donate the bed to either Children's or (our preference) to the NICU. There are three preemies under four pounds ("peanuts" as our case worker calls them) waiting to go home about the same time. The NICU only has two car beds to loan out, and they are currently loaned out. It would be nice to sow something back in the NICU.
An event occurred today that shows how involved in the details of Xavier's development we have been. When Rebecca went to put Xavier back in his isolet, while managing all the wires and tubes, she bumped Xavier. While he loudly let the world know about his discomfort. Rebecca's first thought was not, "Oh, baby, I'm sorry you're hurt." Instead, it was "Thank God he is developed enough to feel, recognize and react to pain."
Thank you all for your prayers. Great and mighty is our God!
Here Xavier is practicing another going home skill. He is inside a preemie-sized sleep sack. The purpose of this item is to keep him on his back and safely immobile while in a crib. It's essentially a baby straight jacket, only more comfortable.
Xavier close up. The red modeling is from his recent immersion bath. We used his little scalp brush to exfoliate his head. He is also recovering from his first round of inoculations, three shots given, two at the same time so he only knew two moments of discomfort. Of course, he was loaded up on sugar.