In your experience, is this normal?

[sunnylove]

Nurses can be so vague when you ask them questions. They want to make sure they cover all the bases and don't give too much hope, yet don't want to be pessimistic either. So I feel like I rarely get a straight answer, so I'm asking you ladies! I'm wondering if the breathing machine my son is on seems normal for his gestation?

He was born at 26+3 and he is now 31+3 and he currently weighs about 3 lbs 4 ozs. He is on the high flow nasal cannula on about 2 liters. Does that sound right? I feel like the nurses have sort of made it sound like he should be on less liters, or on low flow by now or something? He was on high flow right after he was born, but then got switched to the nasal cannula vent for about 2 weeks, and now he's been on high flow going on 2 weeks. Thoughts?

 

[Pink_Sparkle]

It depends on his oxygen saturations and requirement but I'd say at only 2 litres he'd be ready to try low flow.
My son is a 23 weeker - almost 36 weeks adjusted and he's on 3 litres just now with his oxygen around 33% but he has chronic lung disease. Here they don't have babies on 2 litres generally they go from 3 litres to low flow.
If I were you I'd ask his consultant xx

 

[25weeker]

My dd was still on cpap at that gestation and the doctors were fine with her being on it at that gestation. I know its frustrating as there was times I thought she would never come off cpap but she did xx

 

[sunnylove]

thanks ladies. They've put him back up to 2.5 liters because his bradies have increased a lot. Yesterday, over a period of 24 hours he had about 16 bradies. They are short and he recovers fast but they have increased a lot. Though his oxygen requirement has gotten a lot better. (At times he's saturated at 100 on 21% oxygen.) I don't really understand it since he's breathing a lot better, but hopefully as he gets bigger his bradies will decrease.

 

[sunnylove]

UGH!!!!!! Today they bumped him up to 3 liters because of all the bradies. He may as well be on CPAP!! We know he has apnea of prematurity, so his As and Bs aren't being caused by anything else, which is good...but he's almost 32 weeks gestation, and I thought he'd do a bit better by now...definitely not getting "worse."

 

[staky89]

Hope ur little one is doin ok. My Little girl was constantly bein put up and down. It was when she had a blood transfusion she came on wonders. Went from 5litres high flow to off oxygen all together within about a week. But she had been on a while before this. She was about 36 weeks gestation at this time tho. Born at 28weeks. Your little one will do it when they ready. No rush! Good luck xx

 

[25weeker]

My initial thoughts were maybe she is anaemic too. However she is hitting a stage where they might hold off as long as possible to give her bone marrow a chance to kick in and do what it's supposed to do. By giving the transfusions it can cause the bone marrow to delay further but sometimes they are essential.

My daughters apnoea's probably started to decrease around 34/35 weeks gestation but her oxygen continued swinging for a further couple of weeks.

x

 

[SMoose]

We had a lot of 2 steps forward, 1 back with our guy with the high flow. They'd drop him, then he'd get stressed and have A & B 's. he was on high flow at 2 a lot. Even off everything, he'd still have A & B's, we were sent home on a heart and apnea monitor + caffeine. He was born at 28 weeks, was in NICU till 36 weeks- then on monitor with medication until he was 5 months old.

Don't get discouraged- he will get there!

 

[inperfected]

We had the same up and down journey with it, but for us (29 weeks) he started on cpap for 10 min, then ventilated for 15 hours, then cpap for next 6 weeks I think so started high flow at 35 weeks. It's a forward and backwards journey, and sadly, you just have to ride it