Ethan's Day 5 Update

Eric's update:

Well today was another good day for our little fighter. Jayme and I are really proud of the little guy for continuing to improve. Early today, the doctors did another chest x-ray. They again saw improvement over yesterday, and this along with his strong vitals, gave them the confidence to remove the c-pap machine, and replace it with a cannula. As I mentioned yesterday, this is another big step forward. All day long Ethan remained on the cannula, and had no "desat" episodes. In fact, by this evening, the cannula was only providing him 21% oxygen, which is equal to the oxygen volume in the air that we all breathe every day. This is leading the docs to believe that the PDA valve in his heart is continuing to close, and this means that we are one step closer.

Another big step forward today came in the form of nourishment. Up until today, the only nourishment Ethan was getting was from the IV. Today, they cut back on his IV volume, and did his first tubular feeding. He is not quite ready to jump on a bottle just yet, but that will be his next step if his improvement continues. The plan is to continue to ween him off the IV feeding, and make him reach his nutritional needs get me through formula, just like he is supposed to.

Although the news was primarily positive, we did have a little bump with his bilirubin count going up. He is very jaundice right now, and because his body is so focused on breathing and growing his lungs, it is not doing enough to break down the bilirubin. The docs placed him under a heat light today, and they expect him to be there again tomorrow. These lights are designed to break down the bilirubin so that the baby doesn't have to do it all alone.

All said, today was a real good day for our little guy, and we feel as if we are one step closer to having him home with us. Thanks again to everyone for all of your support. We will check back in tomorrow with another update.

Eric, Jayme, and Loryn Steinbach

***Jayme's Update:

While I was visiting with Ethan in the evening, he was as usual being the little fighter that he is started to pull once again on his tubes. Not surprising, he pulled his feeding tube out. This is no big deal as he wasn't being fed at the time and they can replace that easily. He also decided he was done with the canula and continued to pull it out of his nose to chew on it, or just try to push it off his face. The nurse let him keep it off to see how he would fare. She and I sat there watching him for a few minutes, which then turned into 45 minutes before I left. Ethan kept his oxygen levels stable the entire time, which was a huge milestone for him. Especially if you consider he was very agitated last night with all the tubes and the head covering to keep his eyes protected with the lamp on him. He has a strong little voice and a mind of his own.

He has learned to like a pacifier and has a decent suck. So hopefully the transition to bottle will be easy. Once he is off the lamp for his bilirubin, then he will be moved to a crib and not the incubator he is currently in. This means, that we will actually be able to hold him. YAY!!!!

In the morning, they will repeat all of his usual tests and do another chest x-ray.

Again, we thank you for your thoughts and prayers and just can't wait to bring our little boy home.