The Journey of James Weston

Monday, March 8, 2021 Update : James had a pretty steady day recovering from yesterday. He rested most of the day, which is good. He weighed in last night at 2160g or 4 pounds 12 ounces, with his feed at 42 ML.  He is pacing to weigh in right around 5 pounds for his 10 week birthday on Thursday. James will be 36 weeks this week and approaching his due date of April 8. He is 15.3 inches long!  His most recent blood gas was 71 CO2 this morning and the X-ray came back showing atelectasis (white spots on the lungs) on his left side which means it’s not inflating. So, similar to a balloon releasing its air, James needs to be in a position to inflate that area. James has been lying on his right side most of today to allow more air into his left side.  For now, we are rooting James on to get more air into the left lung.  We will continue to monitor this area and during the next several days (maybe 1-2 weeks) we will see if James can have another attempt at the NIV or CPAP. ...

Sunday, March 7th, 2021 Update (6:45am): James gained more weight last night and is now at 2150 grams (4lb 11oz)! After 3/4 Thursday's recent ECHO we found that his PDA has closed!! He has had a slight increase in CO2 retention found during his blood gases, so because of that they had increased the rate to 25 on the ventilator. This will help dispell more of the CO2.  Hoping that the extubation will happen this morning! We are ready! James has been resting since yesterday morning.  UPDATE: At 8am this morning, James was EXTUBATED ! He is now on NIV which is a little different than CPAP. NIV provides ventilation support without having a tube down his throat. Please see diagrams below photos. They also gave him a larger OG tube to release air in his belly. No one likes gas pains! James had his first audible cry! Day 67! Sounded just like a baby lamb. He definitely put up a fight during the transition. Took about an hour to get him settled. He is now laying on his stomach b...

Saturday, March 6, 2021 This morning James had another bath and now he is resting up for the big test...  Update:  Last night weighed in at 2080 grams (4lb 9oz). Up to 42 MLs for feeds. More updates to come later... For now, check yesterday's post for recently added photos and video. Cute NICU onesie from Maria and Ashlee (H3Bs)! He is going to love to fish! 🎣 Update: So it has been delayed due to several sick babies recently admitted into the NICU. One in particular is very critical. They may push Jimmy's extubation to tomorrow morning. They want to make sure they have the staff to focus their attention where needed.  Unfortunately this is going to be a very rough night. He is currently on 62% oxygen support which has increased from 50% from this morning. His leak is still ranging between 50-80%. He continues to desat constantly because of the leak.  Photos after his bath this morning... Falling asleep sitting up... James hasn't moved since then... just sleeping AN...

Friday, March 5th, 2021 Prayers for Baby James tomorrow, Saturday March 6th! They are going to take his small tube out and give him a chance to prove himself on the CPAP. Looking at his current numbers, there is a high probability he will just need to be reintubated with a bigger tube. However, miracles happen everyday! Thank you for all of your prayers from the Midwest to East Asia. 🙏❤️🙏 #JamesWeston #FightingIrishJew #26wMicroPreemie #35wpp #GrowLungsGrow 📣 Well wishes 📨 can be sent directly to James at JamesWestonAbramowitz@gmail.com. ❤️ 💕 P.S. You can email James your love and support as often as you’d like:   JamesWestonAbramowitz@gmail.com

Thursday, March 4th, 2021 This morning James had an EKG and an Echo. These were not his favorite. We are still waiting to hear results. This evening James weighed in at 2050 grams (4lb 7oz). He hasn't been making a lot of regular bowel movements so he may lose a few grams in the days to come. James also pulled out his OG tube again in MacGyver style. Yesterday he learned how to spit and blow bubbles so he does this to loosen up the tape on his chin holding down the OG tube. Once the tape has come off he then uses his tongue to move the tube out of his mouth. It is amazing! Lol But also hard to watch the nurse put this back in, as he gags the entire time. So that is 3 OG tubes out this week! James sported a new onesie that is very cute and soft, but a little big for him still. Room to grow! He is our rainbow baby! Thanks Grace! Mom was able to do a 3-hour hold today from 3:00pm to 6:00pm. James did excellent and slept the entire time except for the last 15 minutes where he was alert...

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021 Lots of photos and videos today! Current weigh-in tonight: 2010 grams (4lb 6o z) 💪👶 ✔️ First Bath:  Today James received his first bath given by Mom, his primary nurse, and a respiratory therapist. He really loved it and definitely was kicking his legs! It probably felt like the womb, except with a lot more room. ✔️ First Onesie: After Jimmy's bath, we picked out his first outfit. Actually the only one that fit was his smallest one! Thanks Tierra for the adorable little outfit! A tiny little onezie with micro-preemie pants.  ✔️ New Neobar:  James also got his ET tube guard changed, which is great because it was pinching his little cheeks. He is growing everyday! Today's Goal: Decrease his FiO2 and ventilator settings. Right now he is at 50 FiO2, with a peep of 11, a rate of 22, and a leakage of 75%.  What that all means... FiO2: Defined as the concentration of oxygen that a person inhales. Ours is at 21%; his is 50%, so that he can reach...