more good news

The pediatrician was in this morning. He listened to Jonathan's chest and said he sounds better, that he doesn't sound as coarse. He said he would probably be weaned off the oxygen by tomorrow if we are lucky. He oxygen is at .2 liter and his saturation level is at 92/93 right now. That's not 98, 99 or 100 so we'll be keeping an eye on him today. He heart rate is normal and when the nurse listened to his breaths per minute this morning they were down to 28 instead of between 40 and 60 which is what they were at the height of his sickness. After he goes off oxygen, they will work toward a normal feed and get him off his 24-hour feeding schedule. He was still aspirating his formula a little bit when he was being fed every three hours, so they put him on a continuous feed. He doesn't cough or gag nearly as much now. The pediatrician said that if he shows tolerance as we up the volume of the feeds (3 oz every two hours on the NG tube, then 3 oz every three hours on the NG tube, then 3 oz by bottle every three hours) he won't have to do a barium study to see if he has reflux. We are hoping his gagging and coughing was due to congestion and not due to another problem--reflux. We will know for sure in a few days. As it looks right now, my prediction is that we will be home by Wednesday or Thursday. I can't wait! :)