I am breathing on my own!!

Today was a big day for our Callie, they took out her breathing tube and she is off the ventilator! Normally, the next step down from the Ventilator is a breathing machine called CPAP, but they decided to skip that machine and try her on a nasal cannula. So far, so good!! Nasal cannulas deliver a higher than normal amount of oxygen to help babies oxygenate their bodies. Nasal cannulas also provide a small amount of pressure as the oxygen blows into the nose, which can help babies’ lungs to stay inflated and can remind them to breathe. She has been relaxing and breathing on her own since around1 o'clock...we can't begin to tell you how much more comfortable she looks! They have said that many times preemies will take a step back and have to be intubated again, but we are praying that won't happen and Callie will continue to breathe on her own! Either way, we are just so grateful she is getting a break from the ET Tube!

This picture is right after they took the breathing tube out. As you can see, she is happily blowing bubbles! The white on her face is residue from the tape (this is now all off!).


We also want to point out that our daughter was wearing purple in the last picture because she is a girl, NOT because she is cheering on the Ravens! Daddy will let her decide if she is interested in sports, but if she is, she will be chanting E-A-G-L-E-S! Also, notice the size of a full term baby bib on our girl!