Striking a balance

Good news!  Jonathan's had a bit of an improvement with his breathing since starting on the diuretics - when he's relaxed his breathing is now very good.  But, it still goes a bit crazy when he's cranky, so because it fluctuates, they don't want to take him off the oxygen yet, so he's still got an extra set of tubes going to his nose.

The diuretics actually made him lose all the weight he'd put on over the last few days, so it did turn out to be just fluid!  Jonathan's birthweight was 2.7kg, and after the diuretics, he now weighs only 2.785kg.  The cardiologist who saw Jonathan today said he hasn't really gained weight because he spends all his energy on breathing.  So with the help of these diuretics he should find it easier to breathe, and then hopefully put on some weight.  And the more weight he gains, the safer it will be for them to operate on his heart in a few months time.  The tricky part the doctors have to figure out is the right dose of diuretics that will allow him to breathe well, but also process enough food so that he puts on weight...

This is Jonathan's monitor which keeps an eye on his pulse (the top blue line), oxygen saturations (the middle green line), and breathing rate (the bottom white line).  They're aiming to keep his oxygen saturations between 75 and 85, and his respiratory rate should be around 60 or so... so he wasn't quite on target when we took this photo.

Anyway, despite his problems breathing, he still has enough energy to pull some strange faces at his mum and keep both us and the nurses entertained.

"Who's this strange lady who keeps on making funny baby noises at me?"

"If only she knew my nappy is wet and my bottom is soggy!  Change me this instant!"

He also had lots of fun playing with his new toys this week.

"Thanks Wing-Sze for my floppy dog who likes to sleep on my belly!"

"And thanks Matt and Rach for my soft teddy bear who likes to hug me around my head!"

"And thanks Christian and Ros for my cuddly black cat (that came with a few extra goodies to keep mum and dad happy)!"

"And thanks Por Por Emily for my strange dog that seems to like wearing sheeps' clothing!"