Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Requirements for Discharge

Since many people are asking when Justin can come home I thought I'd post the requirements for discharge:
  • is gaining weight at a rate of 15-30 grams per day
  • is able to maintain his body temperature in an open crib
  • has had no significant apneas (stops breathing) or bradycardias (heart rate under 60 beats per minute) for at least five to eight days
  • is able to take all of his feedings from a bottle or breast
Since they started adding Polycose (sugar supplement) to his feedings Justin's weight gain has been pretty consistent and ranges from 8 grams to 111 grams.

Justin won't be put in an open crib until he reaches approximately 1,500 grams and is taking all of his feedings from a bottle.

Justin has had a few apneas and bradycardias since they stopped the caffeine treatments but nothing too significant.

Justin is being nippled for two out of his eight feedings but he may not always take the entire bottle. I never really thought about it but it takes a lot of work for a baby to eat, trying to coordinate sucking, breathing and swallowing. So sometimes he's too tired or has been overstimulated from eye exams, physical therapy, etc.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting this, I know you told me before on the phone but its so hard to remember all the details. And people like Tiffany, Heather and my sister have been asking me what is all involved in him being discharged. I never can seem to remember all of that, especially the specific details. Now I can let them know for sure. Goodluck to justin passing all his tests!!

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  2. I also found this posting very informative since I thought I knew the criteria but realized I had mixed a few things up after reading this.

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  3. Could we back up a bit .. to the caffeine part? Please explain.

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