3-31-12

33 weeks tomorrow! Random notes from the week ...

We're trying for the third time to wean Tess off her nasal cannula. Turned it down from 2L of room air to 1.5L of room air (I guess that's how much air it's blowing per minute?) yesterday, and she did well, so this morning at 9 the doctor had it turned down to 1L, which she did fine with all day. She can't start nursing or taking bottles until the cannula is out, and she can't go home till she's nursing/bottle-feeding well, so this will be an important achievement!

Her heart rate continued to jump above 200 even after lowering her caffeine dosage, so today the nurse just quit the caffeine altogether. As long as she doesn't start having lots more bradys and apneas, she can stay off the caffeine.

Today's weight was 3lbs 6.9oz. She is gaining weight veeery slowly, but at least she's going in the right direction!

Thanks again to all for the prayers and help! Everyone's support has been an enormous blessing during an otherwise difficult time. Our other three children are in playdate heaven and think this is the most awesome time ever. :)

Bathtime Pictures

We got to give Anna a bath on Sunday! It was also Blake's birthday, and bless his 8-year-old heart for actually being excited about heading to the hospital for half the day.



Are YOU my mommy?!

 

Reading "The Crown on Your Head" to Anna ...

 Anna's fantastic big brother, who has been promised an awesome party after the baby comes home!

Three Weeks Old

Anna's been having lots of spikes in her heart rate, so the nurses said we'd try to see a cardiologist today. Theorizing it might just be a result of her getting too warm - she is in a new isolette where the temp isn't quite so controlled. Praying it's nothing serious.

Gave Anna a bath on Sunday - pictures coming later. Also got to dress her for the first time when she hit the 32 week mark Sunday - I think she looks older in clothes!

UPDATE .... Had an ekg yesterday - looked good - and a caffeine test, which showed pretty high levels. She's been getting caffeine daily almost since birth to keep her heart rate from dropping too much, and it looks like lowering her dosage will take care of the spikes in her heart rate. So so happy this is such an easy fix!

Two Weeks Old

Busy day for Anna. She had her IV and PICC line removed last night, and today she got rid of her cannula. That means she's breathing completely on her own, and holding her is much, much easier without all those extra tubes and lines!

She's still eating well, more and more every day. She has regained her birth weight and today came in at 3lbs, 2.9oz. Doesn't she look a little chubbier?! Yay Anna!

Still getting to hold her an hour a day, but the wonderful nurses always let me push it to as much as two hours if she's stable. Bless those nurses.

The biggest risk to Anna right now is infection, so our main goal is keeping her well. Next priority is for her to master the art of breathing, sucking and swallowing simultaneously, and she'll need to maintain her body temp before she can come home. We've been told to expect her to be discharged on her due date, plus or minus two weeks - WAY too long, given that her due date isn't till May 20. So our specific prayer request (aside from staying well) is that she can master those skills SOON! She'll be 32 weeks Sunday, and then she can start trying to nurse.

THANK YOU to all who are offering prayers, playdates, meals, etc. You are all angels! We know that God can never be outdone in generosity, so we can only imagine the great things He has in store for Anna!

9 Days Old

Look what's missing - CPAP! Anna Therese is now on a high-flow cannula, which means we can see her sweet face. She's done well with it since the doctor made the change yesterday. Lots of good feedings today, no spitup. Results of brain ultrasound show two grade 1 bleeds (all bleeds are graded 1-4, with 4 being worst), which generally don't cause any developmental problems. The nurses have called Anna "feisty" several times - we are glad she is spirited, not unlike her patron saint Therese, the Little Flower!

Echo Results

Got the results of Anna's echo this morning. The duct is still partially open, but the doctor expects it to finish closing on its own over the next several weeks. Worst case, they could do surgery, but the doctor said that in five years, they have not had to go that route a single time. Soo... A good report, and she is back on breastmilk every three hours.

Kangaroo Care

One Week Old

Anna had a milestone today - one week old! She spent the morning with Dad and the afternoon snoozing peacefully in her isolette while Mom sat beside her. She is completing, probably as I type this, her third and final dose of Indomethacin to close an open duct in her heart (patent ductus arteriosus). She will have a second echocardiogram Wednesday to see whether the medicine did its job, and if it did, problem solved, and she'll go back to receiving breastmilk through a tube every three hours. She had to stop her feedings just while she received the medicine because it would've interfered with digestion. She generally does well with her feedings, so they're increasing by 1mL every 12 hours. Anna will also have an ultrasound of her head on Wednesday to see whether she had any bleeding in her brain in the first few days after birth. It'll be a busy day for her!

I did not get to "kangaroo" today but am hoping to Wednesday. We appreciate all the kind thoughts and prayers - we know those prayers are working and are counting our blessings that things have gone so well in the past week. We can't wait to bring Anna home!