When are his lungs going to mature?

Reid had a rough night last night - he had 8 episodes of apnea. At 2am, the respiratory therapist increased his CPAP level to 6 (which is the highest it can go). The next possible thing to go to would be the intubation, but the doctors are going to really try hard to avoid it at all costs. Usually when babies are intubated, they have a hard time coming off of it. The doctor feels that with Reid's growth that he will eventually be able to outgrow this problem on his own.

Speaking of growing, Reid is up to 2lbs 4oz. He has shown a nice steady incline in weight gain and the doctors are pleased. His feedings are now up to 4cc every three hours and they expect to be increasing the feedings daily. He is eating like a champ. :)

Blood transfusion #3??? Not quite yet. His hemocratic count is at 35, which is close enough to warrant another transfusion, but the doctors are now giving him Procrit/Epogen to help him produce his own blood. He is finally at an age and weight where he can take this medicine and the doctors are crossing thier fingers that it will work. Today is day one of this medicine and he will get it every three days.

What else? Possible blood infection. One early test came back positive for a staph infection (which could have easily come from his own skin during an IV placement). Another test came back negative, so a second blood test was taken on the 16th. Meanwhile, they have started Reid on an antibiotic just in case. The second culture should come back today and they will continue doing cultures until they come back negative. Doctor has not ruled out that his blood may have been contaminated between the time it was taken to the time it was put in the culture. Doctors and nurses are very methodical about this and are not overly concerned, so Kristen and are remaining positive and calm. No use worrying over something that may turn out to be a false positive. So, note to family: don't stress out about this. We will know more soon and no need for you to worry. And no need for you to make us worry. :)

Anyway, this post is a lot to digest. Doctors keep reminding us that Reid is doing a lot better than some of the tests and numbers show. They do factor in the visual clues into their magic they do and are very pleased with how he reacts to stimulation and feedings. Prognosis is still excellent and it is just a waiting game (or growing game as the nurses like to call it).