Pressure Control

Solomon is doing well.  Up until this morning, the ventilator was delivering a steady stream of oxygenated air (CPAP) as well as short bursts of oxygenated air (pressure control).  All week long he had been getting weaned off the pressure control, alternately lowering the rate and volume of the artificial breaths.  So today they turned off the pressure control altogether.  He has been on just the CPAP all day and seems to be handling the change just fine.  He is a bit tachypneic (breathing rapidly) but this is not entirely out of the ordinary for him so they are keeping him off the pressure control for the night.  This is another step forward and much like the breathing tube, it might take a few tries.

Many people are asking if he needs to hit a certain weight to go home.  There is no weight requirement to be discharged.  Basically, he needs to get off the CPAP and then he needs to learn to drink milk without the feeding tube.  There's really no telling when he'll be at that point but he is heading in the right direction.  2490 g.