The good news is that Jacob has joined his Sister on the High Dependency Unit (HDU) which is a massive step forward for him! He has been there since Tuesday evening and is doing well.
There's recently been a switch in Doctors looking after Jacob and Lilian (the Senior House Officers and some Registrars, but not the Consultants) on the unit as they have to rotate every 6 months to different hospitals, which has slowed progress for the twins as new people learn the ways of our twins.
As a result of this Jacob was put back on BiPAP on Thursday because his gas result wasn't too good (although it was later confirmed that it is a perfectly normal result for him!), he had also spent nearly all day on his back (his least favourite position, and the hardest position to breathe in due to gravity acting on their chests) so we don't feel that Jacob going back on BiPAP is truly representative of how he is getting on. Ever since then he has kept his oxygen requirement low and as a result was put back on Flat CPAP around 3pm today.
Lilian is still on Flat CPAP after being put back on it a few days ago but is continuing to do well, so we are hoping she will get a chance on 'High Flow' again soon. Lilian has had Fortifier added to her feeds to help her gain more weight. Her feed volumes can't be increased as she is already on full feeds for her weight, but her weight gain is not as rapid as it should be and her progression on her growth chart was starting to plateau. We're pleased to report though that the addition of the Fortifier has helped her to gain a more acceptable amount of weight.
Jacob is now gaining weight continuously over his weigh days and as a result the Doctors are happy to reduce his TPN amounts and increase his milk. The increase in milk isn't having a negative effect on his Stoma losses either which is really pleasing!
Today it was officially confirmed by the Surgeons that they are happy for Jacob to be released to our local hospital once he is stable on Flat CPAP. He will then need to go to another specialist hospital near our local hospital for his Stoma reversal surgery as, unfortunately, our local hospital do not have the surgical expertise required to reverse it themselves.
We're keeping everything crossed that we can take that long-awaited journey down the motorway and get the babies back nearer home.
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