Onward!
- The doctor called a little later today than usual, which I like. They save the healthiest babies for last on their rounds :) He said she has tolerated her feeds so far so they moved her up to 10mL's every three hours instead of 5mL's every six hours, and are going to increase her feeds like they did before. Maybe even faster since she's restarting and did well previously. Since she'll be 34 weeks tomorrow (they still count her age by gestation), she can start trying to bottle feed while she's still on her special formula and can try breast feeding again when she transitions back to breastmilk. She had one mild brady yesterday and that was it! He heard a heart murmur, which he suspects is from her PFO- the small hole in the upper chamber of her heart that they found on the echocardiogram a few days after her birth. It's to be expected- babies have that opening in the womb and it closes shortly after birth. It obviously takes longer to close in preemies. She'll have another echocardiogram completed in about 2-4 weeks to check on the progress of it closing... since there were no major structural abnormalities found on that initial echo, the doctor doesn't think the murmur is anything other than her PFO and isn't concerned about it. She'll have her head ultrasound tomorrow to check for brain bleeds but, again, he doesn't think there's any cause for concern. Her breathing has been great, so the only real remaining issue is her digestion and belly problems and the occasional brady. Although it seems as if she's steadily growing out of her brady issues.
- I figured I'd stay overnight with her tonight, especially if she could start her bottle feedings. Hubby decided to take a day off from visiting and I can't blame him- he's been making that awful drive since I was admitted to the hospital a month and a half ago. So I decided to wait to see her until tonight so I could stay with her and come back home tomorrow, nap, and then meet up with hubby when he got off work to go see her again. When I got to the hospital tonight, she was so soundly asleep. In fact, when I first walked up to her isolette, she smiled in her sleep. She did this a few times, and her little feet twitched and her eyes would flutter open for a second or two... she was having sweet baby dreams! So I resisted the urge to stick my hand in there to touch her because I really wanted her to sleep- she has had such a rough couple of days lately that I know she has to be exhausted. She hasn't slept well lately because of the gas. When I talked with the nurses (the day shift nurse was just about to leave and the night shift nurse was taking over), I was told that Emma could use another day to rest before trying to bottle feed her because they don't want her getting stressed out. I was disappointed because I was really looking forward to holding my sweet baby and feeding her for the first time, but I completely concur with the nurse's concern. She absolutely needs to rest more, especially after the last couple of days of unrest. After some careful consideration, I decided not to stay overnight. I helped with her 8pm hands-on time, but she practically slept through most of that too. She only "growled" at us once or twice. lol. The nurse then put her on her side and she was awake, but looked very sleepy. I realized that there was no point in staying overnight- she needed to rest. I know she benefits from being held by me and hubby, but not tonight- she wakes up from being picked up and it takes her a little bit to fall back asleep in my arms, and then she wakes up again when she's put back in bed and re-positioned. And by the time she gets comfy and goes back to sleep, she doesn't have much time until the next hands-on. I couldn't do that to her tonight- she was just too peaceful. So I made the final decision to leave after only being there for two hours... it really isn't an easy decision to leave. I feel guilty the whole way home and like a bad mommy. But I have to remind myself that she doesn't need me very much right now because she needs to rest and so do I. Because once we can start breastfeeding/bottle feeding, I'll need to be there a lot to help her get used to everything, which means I won't be sleeping much at all. So I need to rest now. I still feel guilty though, and it's been so much worse since the PICC line debacle.
- I made a sad realization today: if it weren't for all of the wires and machinery, Emma wouldn't be here today. It was a sobering thought... just to realize that my baby wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for modern medicine.
- I also realized that this picture was taken the day before Emma was born:
Crazy, right?! I had no idea when this picture was taken that I would no longer be pregnant the next day. I actually remembered today that I ended up delivering her while still wearing a cami under my gown because we had no time to finish getting me undressed. I also had to take out my earrings, which are practically cemented in my ears because the posts of my diamond hoops are way too snug and are nearly impossible to take out. I couldn't do it myself, so hubby tried too until I had to swat his hand away and said "wait wait wait!!!" when I felt a contraction coming on. On my dresser today, I saw the little plastic urine sample cup that they put my earrings in for safe keeping and it brought back the memory of that part of my labor experience. That was a seriously insane day.
Pictures from today:
Here is mini-hubby, sleeping peacefully on her side. I call her mini-hubby because she looks so much like him- definitely not the milkman's baby ;)
Slight pucker face. See how nice and chunky her arm looks now? She's definitely getting bigger... how big, you may ask?!
4lb 12oz!!!! And that was from day shift- she gained another ounce during the day and is up to 4lb 13oz. Way to go, tiny baby! When looking at her, I felt like she was just so big now and then realized that she's still so small. She isn't even five pounds yet, but she looks so big to me because of how small she was in the beginning. I asked the night shift nurse how it was possible that she has continued to gain weight so well despite having a couple of days of not being fed, and she reminded me that Emma is getting fat, glucose, and protein via IV. However, most babies just maintain their weight with the IV, but my little champ continued to gain. Yay!! Such a big girl! I LOVE her.
No comments:
Post a Comment