Ali was able to give him a sponge bath last night. We are also able to feed him breast milk (Ali's colostrum) with a Q-Tip in his mouth. That's mostly to keep the mouth clean and get him used to feeding. Brady moves his mouth and his tongue and seems to really enjoy it. Right now he's getting all of his nutrients through an IV with a special diet based on his testing results. Eventually Ali will be able to nurse him in the NICU.
We are also able to move his limbs a little. He is able to move his limbs on his own (another good sign). However, while his body is being cooled he won't move much. We'll know a lot more about his movements (and brain stem development) after his body is warmed.
The doctors made their rounds again this morning and Ali and I were there for the update. They are really pleased with his progress. He's no longer first on their rounds. This is a sign that other babies are at a greater risk. He's almost completely off of the blood pressure medicine. His heart beat is stable and strong. His blood sugars have stayed around 150. He had one dose of insulin last night, but his pancreas seems to be working well. His liver and kidneys are also getting much better.
He's on a smaller ventilator today. He's having 40 breaths per minute on his own and receiving 15 from the machine. This again is much better than yesterday. They hope to keep weening him off the ventilator as time progresses and as he gets stronger.
The best news we received today was the test results from the placenta. There was some concern that the placenta had failed and left him without blood and oxygen for a long period of time. The test results came back today with a healthy placenta, so we're hopeful that he wasn't deprived of oxygen or blood for long. We still don't know what caused him stress in the womb.
Brady will be removed from the cooling unit at 10 p.m. He will have an MRI of his brain at 9 a.m. tomorrow. We'll know a lot more about his brain development with those test results tomorrow.
Ali is also doing remarkably well with her recovery from the C-Section. She will be released from the hospital tomorrow. It's been so nice to have a room here and walk down the hall to see Brady. It sounds like they have several options for us to visit in the upcoming weeks as we try to balance family, work, and a growing baby.
Once again, we feel blessed to be surrounded by so many talented doctors and nurses throughout this entire process at Ridges and at the U of M. We're also thankful for all of the messages of encouragement and prayers.
It will be a big day tomorrow for Brady coming off the cooling unit and testing his brain. We'll keep everyone posted as we learn more.
With love,
Tyler, Ali, Ava, Casey and Brady
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