Jaxson, Level III NICU Graduate
During his 68-day stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center, Jaxson learned life skills other newborns take for granted.
Pregnant and due to deliver on Oct. 25, his mother Ann felt her water begin to break 10 weeks early on Aug. 14. “I leaked amniotic fluid over the next four days, until I had none left,” she said. “I was on antibiotics to prevent infection and magnesium sulfate to stop the contractions. They gave me two steroid shots to help Jaxson’s lungs develop while he was still in the uterus.”
On Saturday, Aug. 18, Ann delivered her 2-pound, 13-ounce son by cesarean section. “My pregnancy had gone relatively well, so the early delivery came as a surprise,” she said. “He went straight to the Level III NICU at Memorial City and was immediately put on a ventilator for four days, followed by CPAP for another four days. Then he was moved up to a nasal canula. He was healthy, other than the issues associated with prematurity.”
Among those issues was development of the suck-swallow-breathe reflex. During his 68-day stay in the Level II and III Neonatal Intensive Care Units at Memorial Hermann Memorial City, Jaxson learned to suck, swallow and breathe simultaneously, skills full-term infants take for granted.
“In most infants, the suck-swallow-breathe reflex matures at 34 weeks’ gestation,” said Rita Muthappa, M.D., Jaxson’s neonatologist at Memorial Hermann Memorial City. “Until neonates reach that level of development, most receive gavage feeding through a small flexible tube.”
His mother said it took some time to learn the reflex. “It took time and practice for him to learn to bottle feed,” she said. “When he sucked from the bottle, he would stop breathing and his oxygen saturation and heart rate would begin to fall.”
Jaxson was taken off oxygen in early September. A month later, he went back on oxygen when his saturation levels dipped precariously.
“It was a very stressful time for us,” Ann said. “My husband was staying at our home in Humble, and I was staying with my parents in the Memorial City area to be close to Jaxson. The nurses in the Level III NICU were awesome. They consoled me on my bad days and were incredibly supportive.
“Having a baby in the NICU can be a frightening experience that leaves you filled with uncertainty and hundreds of questions. The nurses and doctors answered all my questions and gave me as much of their time as I needed. They did everything they could to make a stressful experience easier to manage.”
When Jaxson was well enough to be moved to the step-down Level II NICU, his former Level III nurses came to visit him. He was released from the hospital on Oct. 25, his due date.
“If you look at him now, you’d never know he was a preemie,” Ann added. “At 16 pounds, 10 ounces and 26 inches long, he’s within the normal range for his age, and he’s bright, active and happy.”