Now just hold on a minute...

I found my new favorite nurse last night. When she arrived on shift, she saw us sitting next to the baby and treated us like normal parents! She said she would take care of the vitals and then we could hold the baby. We didn't even ask to hold, she just assumed that we would. She didn't know that Jordan desatted the last time and we've been too sick to try again. Of course, I saw my opportunity and asked her if she had a gown for the mama ali to wear. Long story short, the baby was held by the the mother again! Last time the baby was cradled in his mothers arms while lying on his back. This time the baby was held against the mothers chest where he could hear the heartbeat and he's a week and a half older. They were together for over half an hour! They could have lasted longer, but his temp was low enough where he was starting to burn calories to try and maintain.
I knew that he would eventually take a step back at some point this month, but I didn't know how or when. Yesterday he was taken off of the high flow cannula and put on the CPAP. The CPAP looks worse than it really is. It works just like the cannula in that it blows air up the nose so that the lungs don't completely deflate. When the lungs completely deflate, he has to work harder to inflate them again. You and I are good at this, but he isn't. The CPAP just pushes harder than the high flow cannula. It pushes hard enough that it is a mask over his face so that it can stay in place. It looks horrible, but it's still a step up from the vent. It's also exceptionally good for less than 30 weeks gestational age. He will be switching between the high flow and the CPAP until he gets stronger. I am in the middle or recovering from my cold, so I will get to hold Jordan later this week.