Feb. 5 Evening Update

We went to visit Colton about 11:30 today. He continues to make progress with his respiratory system. His CPAP settings will be reduced from "10" to "8" today and he is still only on room oxygen. If he shows progress at the 8 setting, then they move him to 6 and finally to 4. What this all means is that if he continues at this rate, he will be CPAP free within a few days. This is a huge milestone in moving from the Level III NICU to Level II.

We spoke to his neonatologist today (Dr. Hernandez) and she is removing his light therapy (for bilirubins) and reducing his fluids for now. She hopes this will help trigger the body in closing that hole in his heart. He still has the murmur so the hole is still open. However, he will have his heart scanned tomorrow to see if that hole is starting to close. If the hole is closing, that would be some of the best news we have received yet. If it isn't closing, he might be doing well enough on some of his other targets to try the medicinal route to close that hole. At any rate, we should have answers by tomorrow afternoon on if the hole is closing or not. We continue to pray for a good outcome on his PDA.

We got to remove his hat today and see a little more of his face and head. Wendy got to change his diaper today which was really good since she has not been able to hold our baby. She also held him up as his little bedding was changed. Colton decided to relieve himself a little more when his diaper was off! So his urine output is good which is yet another good sign of kidney function.

We also got to hear the little guy cry for the first time today! With that breathing tube in, he was not able to make any crying noises. Wendy kept messing with his right arm (as a pediatric physical therapist is prone to doing) and he showed his complete dissatisfaction of being messed with! We've determined that he has his mom's disposition when he is mad.

We do have a new concern with his right arm. He's not really moving it although he does make a fist and move his fingers on that arm. Wendy's pediatric physical therapy instinct kicked in and she brought it to Dr. Hernandez's attention. Colton will be evaluated by a pediatric orthopedic specialist tomorrow to determine what's going on. Wendy suspects something with the brachial plexus but that diagnosis will need to be made by the orthopedic doctor.

All-in-all, a good day for Colton. Continued stability of vital body functions, respiratory improvement on CPAP, and quality time with mom and dad. More updates tomorrow! Love - Bret, Wendy, Sydney and Colton.