- When the doctor called this morning, he said that Emma's tummy had improved so they were starting her on a special formula at 5mL's every four hours and if all went well, they'd slowly increase and transition her to breastmilk. He also said that she has continued to do well overall other than the tummy issues. Hooray for that! 32 weeks is apparently in the gray zone for a cerebral ultrasound to check for a brain bleed, which is one of the risks of prematurity. The doctor decided to order one to be completed when her scalp IV came out but solely as a precaution, adding that she wasn't presenting with any signs of a brain bleed. I asked if the PICC line was in and he said no, but he was aware that they had attempted last night. I then mentioned that they were unable to finish because she was too squirmy and stressed and asked if they would be sedating her, to which he replied that all they had to do was ask him for sedation. End doctor's report.
- I cried for most of the night last night and was very teary and stressed this morning. I think it was the PICC line and hormones... I still can't bear the thought of how she must have felt last night when they were holding her down and poking her with needles... and I'm still feeling really guilty for not being there for her afterwards. They sedated her and finally got her PICC line placed in the back of her lower leg above her heel/ankle and I guess the procedure went well. I don't know how many times they attempted between last night and today, but it's in. When we went to see her this afternoon, she was sound asleep but the nurse (my favorite one again!) said that the sedation had already worn off. In fact, she was reportedly pretty squirmy and alert right after the line was in. So that's that for that. I just pray that this PICC line stays in place and doesn't cause her any problems. If that's the case, then she hopefully won't have to be poked for an IV again and she'll only have her heel pricked for blood draws.
- We went to see her after we stopped at Babies R Us to buy most of the rest of the stuff we needed for her. Thanks so much to everyone who purchased gift cards for us- it helped so much and we're so grateful for your generosity! They had a fantastic sale this weekend AND we had a coupon for 20% off of everything we purchased that wasn't on sale. I think we saved around $100! Then we made a stop at Target on the way home and picked up some more stuff with our Target gift certificates. Holy shopping day! Hubby put together the pack n play tonight and I got some more of the nursery organized. Bit by bit, we're getting it all together and ready for our precious daughter to come home!
- Shortly after we arrived to see our baby girl, we were able to hold her. I went first, then hubby, then I held her again until it was time for hands-on. She was really grumpy today... when we held her, she growled (I don't know how else to describe the noise, but it was basically a super cute angry/annoyed sound) if we moved her or shifted our position. And she did the same thing during hands on- she was really making it known that she did not approve of what we were doing. She turned red from head to toe, frowned, and growled at us! All with her eyes closed. But I guess after the last two days of being poked, prodded, and held down in addition to not having been fed for a couple of days, she has the right to growl at all of us! After we were done messing with her, she calmed down and then her eyes opened and she looked all around the room while daddy gave her the pacifier. I say it every time, but I just love when her eyes are open! She's so cute... and the nurse agrees with that ;)
- She seemed to tolerate her first feed pretty well. She had a few mL's of some mucousy slightly green stuff but the doctor instructed the nurse to dump it and feed her. The formula she's being given is actually already broken down so she doesn't really have to digest it. As she progresses with that, they'll slowly start mixing it with breastmilk until she's solely eating the breastmilk. Hubby and I talked with the nurse about everything that has happened recently, and the nurse said that this situation isn't unheard of and is most likely just due to the fact that she was 8 weeks premature so her body and systems are still immature. She just wears out sometimes and her little body isn't always capable of doing what it's supposed to. I mentioned my theory of her being put into her crib too quickly and she concurred, admitting that the communication between doctors and nurses and day/night shift nurses isn't always great. I appreciated that because I like it when people are honest, even when it means admitting something like that. Aside from the fact that she's very nice, friendly, and really loves and cares about Emma, I really like this particular nurse because she's not afraid to swallow her pride and ask for help or an opinion from someone else nor is she afraid to admit when she doesn't know something. I get really irritated with nurses who have to act like they know everything.
- Hubby really advocated for me to ask the nurse last night to put Emma on her tummy. It did the trick- the nurse suggested that her being on her tummy was a big factor in the resolution of her tummy issues. Well, it wasn't completely resolved, but the improvement was significant! At its biggest, her belly measured about 30.5cm after starting out at about 28cm. This morning, it was down to 27cm, but went back up to 28cm this afternoon. But it's still so much better! She also just looks so darned cute when she's all curled up on her belly with her little cheek resting on her hand. Gosh, I just love everything about her!
- She's up to 4lbs 9oz! She already has the female issue- she hasn't eaten anything for a couple of days but still gained weight. Lol.
PICTURE TIME! (I forgot to take a picture of her board today. Boo.)
This is pretty much how I slept with my maternity pillow while I was pregnant with her.
"Good grief, mommy! No more pictures!"
Daddy helping Emma with her pacifier. She has to have her pillow like this so she doesn't kick out her PICC line. And check out her adorable "bed sheet"- it's my favorite receiving blanket :)
"Mommy, seriously. I need a nap! I've had a rough day."
(you can see how yellow she is in this picture and the other one like it. But her jaundice levels aren't high enough for her tanning bed light yet)
She is way too cute.
ReplyDeleteBeing feisty and grumpy is actually a good sign. Babies that are really passive and just let them (dr/nurses) do whatever to them are usually pretty sick and too weak to fight. When babies are feisty it shows that they are strong enough to voice their displeasure. I know it isn't fun to see them like that, but it is actually a really good sign.
Also be forewarned, Emma will probably want to sleep in a "nest" once she comes home. We had to have rolled up receiving blankets around Zacahry for months once he came home from ICU. I put them underneath his crib sheet. He got so used to having the blankets next to him in the hospital, that he refused to sleep without them.
That's a good point, Dawn. DH and I had joked that her sound machine should consist of beeps, alarms, and housekeeping. lol. And her nurse said that it's difficult for NICU parents sometimes because their baby gets used to sleeping on their belly and enjoys it, and then they're discharged home with instructions to never place the baby on their belly. But I never thought about the fact that she's so used to sleeping her her blanket rolls surrounding her. That's a brilliant idea to put them under her sheets... we're going to use her pack n play as her bassinet and it has this comfy looking "napper" on it that'll hopefully keep her snuggly without extra stuff. But transitioning her into her crib may be a challenge... we'll see!
DeleteIf she ends up having reflux, which many preemie babies do, I can't say enough wonderful things about the Fisher Price newborn rock n play sleeper. It was a lifesaver for us! It kept him upright enough, yet it is approved for overnight sleeping. When we put him in his crib, we used a bunch of receiving blankets and made a U shape under the sheets. We also had the top of his crib elevated, so this helped him not slide down too far. Eventually when we were ready to get rid of the blankets, we just made the nest a little bigger each night. We didn't worry about getting rid of the nest until he was rolling over though.
DeleteWe had to have Zachary sleep on his side. It was the only way he would sleep at all. He still pretty much just sleeps on his side or his tummy.
The good thing is she will be used to sleeping through noises. That is so important. Some people always tiptoe around when babies sleep, and that really isn't good. You want babies to be able to sleep wherever, so being able to sleep through noise will save you lots of hassle in the long run. As a side note, I can't believe the housekeeping stories you tell! At our hospital, I don't think they were ever in our room before 10am, and they were never really loud. It was always the 5am blood draws that got me. Like they seriously can't wait until 7am??