Rachel had a good day today. She did have to get her caffeine dose upped since she is getting bigger and the dose she was getting was from when she was a pound.....her last round of steriods was also held due to her blood pressure being a little high....her blood pressure is high due to the steriods that is a side effect of it. But they will not give it to her until her pressure goes down.
This also means that her picc line removal is being held up, but she's had it this long so what's another day!
I was able to hold her today as well....after her hands on at 3 today I was able to hold her....It was not kangaroo care, just holding....it was nice. She also seems to like the pacifier....which helps her with learning how to suck and it also helps the enzymes in the saliva start going down with the food to help her break down the food (I learned that today while at the hospital)
So all in all, today was a good day. They will be weighing her tonight so that will be updated tomorrow morning.....Here's to tummy time and a restful night for Rachel!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Pictures from 8-29 visit
Here are some pictures from our 8-29 visit with Rachel. I got to do kangaroo care for the first time with her. Enjoy!
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| 8-29-09 Visit |
8/30/09
Good day for Rachel today. She was on room air for about an hour today, which means they were not giving her extra O2 while she was breathing....of course that was while she was on her belly....which is her favorite.
Once they moved her to her side/back she was back up on O2......she just does not seem to understand that to not have a flat head she needs to have different positions every so often....she does not like it!!!
She had visitors again today.....Rob's parents came to see her again.....she was pretty well behaved while they were there....not to many ups and downs with her stats....which is always a good thing. She was weighed today and is now 967grams....2.2 pounds. She is also off the antibiotics and the steriods end tomorrow so soon that picc line will be out as well!
She did have a couple events today where she stopped breathing....so the doctor said that they will be checking her caffeine level along with her sugar, sodium, etc that they will do tomorrow. and if it seems low they will up her caffeine dosage. She is certainly our daughter....needs her caffeine!
Love,
Rob and Jenny
Once they moved her to her side/back she was back up on O2......she just does not seem to understand that to not have a flat head she needs to have different positions every so often....she does not like it!!!
She had visitors again today.....Rob's parents came to see her again.....she was pretty well behaved while they were there....not to many ups and downs with her stats....which is always a good thing. She was weighed today and is now 967grams....2.2 pounds. She is also off the antibiotics and the steriods end tomorrow so soon that picc line will be out as well!
She did have a couple events today where she stopped breathing....so the doctor said that they will be checking her caffeine level along with her sugar, sodium, etc that they will do tomorrow. and if it seems low they will up her caffeine dosage. She is certainly our daughter....needs her caffeine!
Love,
Rob and Jenny
Saturday, August 29, 2009
8/29/09
Today was a good day for Rachel....she is stil off the vent and is breathing well and is on low settings for O2 and Daddy came home today.
We went up to the hospital today and since it was time for her hands on...I got to take her temp and change her diaper....she has a little bit of a diaper rash....poor thing....but once we finshed all that she got to lay on Rob's chest for kanagroo care.....she also got her 6am feeding while laying there.
It was so sweet...pictures to come...although once the feeding was done, she drooled or had a little spit up on his chest.....that's what happens when she keeps her mouth open!!!
They had daddy/daughter time for about and hour and 15 min. i've never seen Rob so happy. She was as content as could be....I mean how much warmer could she get....a warm blanket, the blanket from her incubator and Rob the human furnace it could not have been any better.
We did get a few more pictures of her holding Rob's ring, but she actually moved her arm and almost threw it! Future softball star maybe?
Pictures are coming........but for now its movie night for Mom and Dad......Night all!
We went up to the hospital today and since it was time for her hands on...I got to take her temp and change her diaper....she has a little bit of a diaper rash....poor thing....but once we finshed all that she got to lay on Rob's chest for kanagroo care.....she also got her 6am feeding while laying there.
It was so sweet...pictures to come...although once the feeding was done, she drooled or had a little spit up on his chest.....that's what happens when she keeps her mouth open!!!
They had daddy/daughter time for about and hour and 15 min. i've never seen Rob so happy. She was as content as could be....I mean how much warmer could she get....a warm blanket, the blanket from her incubator and Rob the human furnace it could not have been any better.
We did get a few more pictures of her holding Rob's ring, but she actually moved her arm and almost threw it! Future softball star maybe?
Pictures are coming........but for now its movie night for Mom and Dad......Night all!
8/29/09
Rachel had a great night last night. She rested comfortably and behaved! There is a first time for everything!!!
She had some visiters yesterday, Great Grandma met her for the first time and her Aunt Chrissy and Uncle Rob came up as well. They changed her bed out - not just the bedding the whole bed and because of that I got to hold her.....it wasn't kangaroo care, she was wrapped up like a burrito and so darn cute!!! She did so well with me holding her.....hopefully daddy can hold her this weekend when he gets home, but that also depends on how she is doing with her breathing.
She is still off the vent and breathing on her own....such a big girl at 2 pounds! :) She no longer needs to have her blood gas checked for the time being so that is great. No longer poked for blood! Yes! I'm sure she is happy about that!! Maybe this will help her stay on the CPAP.....
She is also getting her caffeine orally now....they add it to her milk.....her own kind of latte!! She is now at 24 calories and will stay there for while unless she is not gaining weight fast enough.....I don't think that will be a problem...she's growing and gaining!! Go Rachel Go!
They are going to remove her picc line soon as well.....she is off the antibiotics and that is the only reason they kept it in after she was on CPAP......so she will not have any lines left....the only thing she will be hooked up to are the monitors for heart rate, O2 level, blood pressure, etc. She will still have to be suctioned, but it's not as much as when she was on the vent.
Here's to another good day for Rachel!!!!
Love
Jenny
She had some visiters yesterday, Great Grandma met her for the first time and her Aunt Chrissy and Uncle Rob came up as well. They changed her bed out - not just the bedding the whole bed and because of that I got to hold her.....it wasn't kangaroo care, she was wrapped up like a burrito and so darn cute!!! She did so well with me holding her.....hopefully daddy can hold her this weekend when he gets home, but that also depends on how she is doing with her breathing.
She is still off the vent and breathing on her own....such a big girl at 2 pounds! :) She no longer needs to have her blood gas checked for the time being so that is great. No longer poked for blood! Yes! I'm sure she is happy about that!! Maybe this will help her stay on the CPAP.....
She is also getting her caffeine orally now....they add it to her milk.....her own kind of latte!! She is now at 24 calories and will stay there for while unless she is not gaining weight fast enough.....I don't think that will be a problem...she's growing and gaining!! Go Rachel Go!
They are going to remove her picc line soon as well.....she is off the antibiotics and that is the only reason they kept it in after she was on CPAP......so she will not have any lines left....the only thing she will be hooked up to are the monitors for heart rate, O2 level, blood pressure, etc. She will still have to be suctioned, but it's not as much as when she was on the vent.
Here's to another good day for Rachel!!!!
Love
Jenny
Friday, August 28, 2009
8/28/09
Rachel is still doing well! When I was there last night She was resting but then decided it was time to party!
She was miving and doing her aerobics.....she decided that the position the nurse was putting her in was not good enough and so she flipped....to her back! Her nurse was therer putting her froggies around her but that didn't matter to her! She also kept lifting her legs to help during her hands on....Jane Fonda anyone?
Her stiches also fell out and her incision looks great....she may have a scar, but it won't be huge.
She had a good night last night as well.....Her O2 percent is the best she has been ever between 22-28%!She is still taking her feeds well.
Here's to another good day!
She was miving and doing her aerobics.....she decided that the position the nurse was putting her in was not good enough and so she flipped....to her back! Her nurse was therer putting her froggies around her but that didn't matter to her! She also kept lifting her legs to help during her hands on....Jane Fonda anyone?
Her stiches also fell out and her incision looks great....she may have a scar, but it won't be huge.
She had a good night last night as well.....Her O2 percent is the best she has been ever between 22-28%!She is still taking her feeds well.
Here's to another good day!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
8/27/09
Rachel is still doing well. Still breathing on her own and still taking the feedings well. Her last dose of sterioids was last night at 2am....and she still gets her caffiene.
SHe had a restful and uneventful night last night so here's to another restful and uneventful day for her!
Here are some new pictures....the first 5 are from Tuesday the first day of cpap....the next 5 are from yesterday....she's still doing well with the cpap, but they had to put a chin strap on her to keep her mouth closed because the O2 will escape through her mouth and it is not supposed to right now.....she hates it!!!
SHe had a restful and uneventful night last night so here's to another restful and uneventful day for her!
Here are some new pictures....the first 5 are from Tuesday the first day of cpap....the next 5 are from yesterday....she's still doing well with the cpap, but they had to put a chin strap on her to keep her mouth closed because the O2 will escape through her mouth and it is not supposed to right now.....she hates it!!!
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| 8-26-2009 |
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
8/26/09
Well, Miss Rachel decided to do some exercise last night while I was there for a little bit and extubated herself.....meaning she removed her vent tube! A lot of babies do that with movement and stuff, but she decided to try push ups! I'm in trouble when she starts to crawl!
Anyway, she decided she was done with the vent and so the the doctor decided to try the Bubble CPAP since she is such a fiesty fighter right now! What that means is she has a little cap on her head with the tube and little prongs for her nose for oxygen and one of the tubs is in a bottle of water and she breaths against it for pressure....just like the vent does but she is the one that is breathing!! She still gets O2 for help, but she has to breath there is no vent!
Her caffeine was also started again to help stimulate her brain and she will still get steriods as well....So right now she is breathing on her own...it's not guarenteed she will stay off the vent she could get tired and have to go back on the vent. Which is not a bad thing so I am prepared for that but for right now she is doing great! Less events, less alarms and breathing on her own....she's growing up! :)
One thing is for sure, she wants what she wants when she wants it! So lets keep our fingers crossed that she keeps herself off the vent since she is in control of that! And here is to 2 more cc's for her feeds! She is at 13 and today she will be moved to 15 with no IV nutrients or lipids!! YEAH RACHEL!
Jenn
Anyway, she decided she was done with the vent and so the the doctor decided to try the Bubble CPAP since she is such a fiesty fighter right now! What that means is she has a little cap on her head with the tube and little prongs for her nose for oxygen and one of the tubs is in a bottle of water and she breaths against it for pressure....just like the vent does but she is the one that is breathing!! She still gets O2 for help, but she has to breath there is no vent!
Her caffeine was also started again to help stimulate her brain and she will still get steriods as well....So right now she is breathing on her own...it's not guarenteed she will stay off the vent she could get tired and have to go back on the vent. Which is not a bad thing so I am prepared for that but for right now she is doing great! Less events, less alarms and breathing on her own....she's growing up! :)
One thing is for sure, she wants what she wants when she wants it! So lets keep our fingers crossed that she keeps herself off the vent since she is in control of that! And here is to 2 more cc's for her feeds! She is at 13 and today she will be moved to 15 with no IV nutrients or lipids!! YEAH RACHEL!
Jenn
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
8/25/09
Just left the hospital and Rachel is having a much better day. They said she was rest much more comfortably and is tolerating the hands on from both nurse and doctors.
The doctor who is on today is starting steriods (which she told me it was an option she was thinking of yesterday) to help Rachel with her lungs to get her off the Oclialtor and back to th other vent. She is also going to be off her TPN (the lipids and nutrition she gets through IV) starting tonight! Her feeds will go up to 13cc's as well. They will be giving her clear IV fluid only just to keep the picc line open in case they need it.
She was weighed again today and was 985 grams.....almost 2.3 pounds! Yeah Rachel! They also turned down her Isolette temp because she was kinda warm and being to warm can make her burn calories....and when they took her temp at noon she had maintained her temp....which is a good thing...that's one thing she needs to do in order to come home!!
I was able to change her and also suction out her mouth....they have this thing that reminds me of the dentist suction thing....at least she will be ready for that when the time comes!!! She didn't do so bad when I was doing that so she must trust me!
More updates to come!
Jenny
The doctor who is on today is starting steriods (which she told me it was an option she was thinking of yesterday) to help Rachel with her lungs to get her off the Oclialtor and back to th other vent. She is also going to be off her TPN (the lipids and nutrition she gets through IV) starting tonight! Her feeds will go up to 13cc's as well. They will be giving her clear IV fluid only just to keep the picc line open in case they need it.
She was weighed again today and was 985 grams.....almost 2.3 pounds! Yeah Rachel! They also turned down her Isolette temp because she was kinda warm and being to warm can make her burn calories....and when they took her temp at noon she had maintained her temp....which is a good thing...that's one thing she needs to do in order to come home!!
I was able to change her and also suction out her mouth....they have this thing that reminds me of the dentist suction thing....at least she will be ready for that when the time comes!!! She didn't do so bad when I was doing that so she must trust me!
More updates to come!
Jenny
Monday, August 24, 2009
8/24/09
Well last night and this morning were not so uneventful for Rachel. She kept flucuating on with her stats last night and needed to have a transfusion today. Her blood count was a little low again....she is still on the antibiotics.
She was given some laysix today to help her go potty, she wasn't really going so they tried that. This afternoon she was better, but I think part of it was because they moved her onto her side and then her tummy, she really does not like laying on her back!
They did try to cath her so that they could get a sample to send to the lab to find out if there is something causing the not pottying issue. But when they put the cath in she peed around it and then pooped......she was trying to say, "leave me ALONE!" at least that is what I think....she had enough of the poking and proding today!
She was resting very comfortable when I left this afternoon. The doctor that was there during the day moved her feedings up to 11cc's instead of keeping it 1.5cc's every 24 hours. So tomorrow as long as te 6pm feeding went well today she will get moved up to 13cc's at 6pm tomorrow. She seems to be tolerating the bigger feeds and hopefully she will continue to.
More updates tomorrow.....
Jenny
She was given some laysix today to help her go potty, she wasn't really going so they tried that. This afternoon she was better, but I think part of it was because they moved her onto her side and then her tummy, she really does not like laying on her back!
They did try to cath her so that they could get a sample to send to the lab to find out if there is something causing the not pottying issue. But when they put the cath in she peed around it and then pooped......she was trying to say, "leave me ALONE!" at least that is what I think....she had enough of the poking and proding today!
She was resting very comfortable when I left this afternoon. The doctor that was there during the day moved her feedings up to 11cc's instead of keeping it 1.5cc's every 24 hours. So tomorrow as long as te 6pm feeding went well today she will get moved up to 13cc's at 6pm tomorrow. She seems to be tolerating the bigger feeds and hopefully she will continue to.
More updates tomorrow.....
Jenny
Sunday, August 23, 2009
8/23/09
Rachel is having a good day again today. They did have to turn her up on the Ocilator because it showed some haziness in her lungs that could be due to them not being fully inflated.
While we were there she was on her belly......she does behave so much better!! And her nurse said she did really well when they changed her vent tube! Yeah Rachel! She was also weighed again today and she went down a little, which is normal....she is now 919 grams or just 2 pounds......which is still over her birth weight! The doctor said that her weight will fluctuate for a little bit. She does look a little bigger to us.
She is still getting her feedings and they should have upped it again by 1.5 ml's at her 6pm feeding. We haven't called to get an update yet since we left the hospital. She did open one of her eyes today for a little bit and it was when Rob was sitting by the incubator....it was so cute!!
Here's to another quiet and good night for Miss Rachel!
Love,
Jenny and Rob
While we were there she was on her belly......she does behave so much better!! And her nurse said she did really well when they changed her vent tube! Yeah Rachel! She was also weighed again today and she went down a little, which is normal....she is now 919 grams or just 2 pounds......which is still over her birth weight! The doctor said that her weight will fluctuate for a little bit. She does look a little bigger to us.
She is still getting her feedings and they should have upped it again by 1.5 ml's at her 6pm feeding. We haven't called to get an update yet since we left the hospital. She did open one of her eyes today for a little bit and it was when Rob was sitting by the incubator....it was so cute!!
Here's to another quiet and good night for Miss Rachel!
Love,
Jenny and Rob
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| 8-23-2009 |
Saturday, August 22, 2009
8/22/09
I just got back from visiting Rachel and she had a a good day and was having a good night......SHe was still on her tummy and she does so well on her tummy they leave her on there, just turn her head so her ears don't get folded.
They also increased her feedings to 9ml's at the 6pm feeding. She had some of the
7.5 ml's left in her tummy from her 12pm feeding so they didn't increase it at the 3pm. I did talk to the nurse regarding the feedings and her IV fluids. Her fluids were also increased due to the increase in the feedings. THe nurse said that once she reaches full feedings.....for her age right now her full feedling will be 14ml's or almost 1/2 ounce she will no longer get the fluids....but they will leave her picc line in in case they need to give her something.
She is still on the Oclilator, but doing well and hopefully they can turn down the pressure so we can begin her journey off of that and back to the other vent. But we will take it one day at a time.....they still give her morphine or adavan to help with staying comfy....but it's only as needed every 6hours (4hours for the adavan).
They will also keep treating her with antibiotics for another 6 days (for a total of 10) and that seems to be helping her lungs clear as well....they also have not had her laying on her sides to help keep the lungs inflated while on the Ocilator.
Hopefully tomorrow is another good day.....and here's to another uneventful night!!!
Jenny
They also increased her feedings to 9ml's at the 6pm feeding. She had some of the
7.5 ml's left in her tummy from her 12pm feeding so they didn't increase it at the 3pm. I did talk to the nurse regarding the feedings and her IV fluids. Her fluids were also increased due to the increase in the feedings. THe nurse said that once she reaches full feedings.....for her age right now her full feedling will be 14ml's or almost 1/2 ounce she will no longer get the fluids....but they will leave her picc line in in case they need to give her something.
She is still on the Oclilator, but doing well and hopefully they can turn down the pressure so we can begin her journey off of that and back to the other vent. But we will take it one day at a time.....they still give her morphine or adavan to help with staying comfy....but it's only as needed every 6hours (4hours for the adavan).
They will also keep treating her with antibiotics for another 6 days (for a total of 10) and that seems to be helping her lungs clear as well....they also have not had her laying on her sides to help keep the lungs inflated while on the Ocilator.
Hopefully tomorrow is another good day.....and here's to another uneventful night!!!
Jenny
Friday, August 21, 2009
8/21/09 - evening update
At today's visit I found out Rachel is now 2 pounds!!! Yeah! Grow Rachel Grow!!!
She also was having a good day and not having a lot of events and her lungs while they are still a little hazy, it is normal it is not showing pneumonia. They are still giving her antibiotics as a precaution because she had something in her trach tube that they weren't sure what it was.
They did up her feeding today again.....she is now getting 7.5ml's and if those go down well she will start getting 9ml's tomorrow beginning at 3pm tomorrow!
Here's hoping for a quiet night and a good start for tomorrow!
Jenny
She also was having a good day and not having a lot of events and her lungs while they are still a little hazy, it is normal it is not showing pneumonia. They are still giving her antibiotics as a precaution because she had something in her trach tube that they weren't sure what it was.
They did up her feeding today again.....she is now getting 7.5ml's and if those go down well she will start getting 9ml's tomorrow beginning at 3pm tomorrow!
Here's hoping for a quiet night and a good start for tomorrow!
Jenny
8/21/09
Rachel has been pretty good the last few days. She is still on the Ocliator, and they do not know how much longer she will be on it, she is the one that is in the drivers seat on this one. She does do better on it, but on the other hand we can't do kangaroo care on this vent. We can still touch her and talk, but since she wiggles and that's how they gauge if she is breathing well or not. And lately she has been having good "wiggles" as the nurses and resperatory therapists say.
She is getting 6ml's of milk now and it gets increase at the 3pm feedings. They increase it by 1.5ml's so hopefully she will continue to take the feedings well and the increases too.
Hopefully we will have more to update after today's visit, but I don't mind the calm of the past few days! Uneventful is good.......
Jenny
She is getting 6ml's of milk now and it gets increase at the 3pm feedings. They increase it by 1.5ml's so hopefully she will continue to take the feedings well and the increases too.
Hopefully we will have more to update after today's visit, but I don't mind the calm of the past few days! Uneventful is good.......
Jenny
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
8/19/09
Rachel had a decent night last night they turned down her settings a little more on the Ocilator and her doses of morphine. She is still pretty active but it's not causing as many destats as before.
She was weighed today and is now 865 grams.....or 1.14 pounds and they have upped her feeding amount as well....she is now getting 4.5mls every 3 hours and seems to be handling it well. So we will see tomorrow how much they move it up to.
She is also becoming less touchy when they have do their hands on. So she must be getting better and thats a good sign. She still needs her incubator cover, quiet and no excitment because that uses u a lot of her energy and calories that she needs to grow and get well. But her nurse and the doctor think she is doing well and are thnking if the next step.....going back on the other ventilator to continue to help her to remember to breathe. Once she masters that they will put her on CPAP.
The resperatory therapist told me last night that she is trying to breathe over the Ocilator,which they don't want her to, but it is showing she wants to breathe without it.
She was weighed today and is now 865 grams.....or 1.14 pounds and they have upped her feeding amount as well....she is now getting 4.5mls every 3 hours and seems to be handling it well. So we will see tomorrow how much they move it up to.
She is also becoming less touchy when they have do their hands on. So she must be getting better and thats a good sign. She still needs her incubator cover, quiet and no excitment because that uses u a lot of her energy and calories that she needs to grow and get well. But her nurse and the doctor think she is doing well and are thnking if the next step.....going back on the other ventilator to continue to help her to remember to breathe. Once she masters that they will put her on CPAP.
The resperatory therapist told me last night that she is trying to breathe over the Ocilator,which they don't want her to, but it is showing she wants to breathe without it.
Monday, August 17, 2009
8/17/09
Today was a better day for Rachel. I didn't go up there until late this afternoon, but she had been having a decent day. Her blood gases were good and her chest x-rays were better each time. The dr would like to her to be a little less active, but says that her activity doesn't hurt anything, but the Ocilator works best when the babies don't move.
She is tolerating the nurses and drs touching her for the hands on a lot better then before so that is also a step in the right direction. She was able to have tummy time too and seems to be much happier and do much better with her O2 during that time.
Her doctor is also going to start bigger feedings starting tomorrow, so hopefully that will go as well as the smaller feedings. They are also going to weigh her tomorrow. They really haven't tried to since before the surgery because she has been so touchy.
Here are the pictures we took on Saturday - She does look a little bigger to me, but doesn't really show much of a different next to the hat.
Enjoy!
She is tolerating the nurses and drs touching her for the hands on a lot better then before so that is also a step in the right direction. She was able to have tummy time too and seems to be much happier and do much better with her O2 during that time.
Her doctor is also going to start bigger feedings starting tomorrow, so hopefully that will go as well as the smaller feedings. They are also going to weigh her tomorrow. They really haven't tried to since before the surgery because she has been so touchy.
Here are the pictures we took on Saturday - She does look a little bigger to me, but doesn't really show much of a different next to the hat.
Enjoy!
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| Pictures from 8-15 visit |
Sunday, August 16, 2009
8/16/09
Rachel had a good day yesterday and she had some visitors.....her Aunt Leah and Uncle Mike came to see her for the first time. I think she was a little to excited to have visitors she kept making her alarms go off which kind of freaked them out.....Nice impression Rachel! :)
I did go see her late yesterday and she was having a better evening. They did put her on her tummy and she loves her tummy time so she was behaving a little better that and a little morphine helped. We did take some new pictures, but have to download them, once they are, we will post them
I got a call this morning from her Dr and she had an okay night. She would fall in her stats and take a while to come back up every few hours. So they are now giving her some morphine every 2 hours, they put her on the Ocilator which is another venitlator that helps keep the CO2 levels down and that is what she needs help with. It also gives her the support the dr thinks she needs at less pressure then the other vent.
They did also do a blood culture to see if she might have an infection from the surgery, which is common, and they are starting antibiotics just in case. Now it's just a waiting game of 72 hours to see if there is anything. But Dr Wiener said that she is active and moving (part of the reason for the morphine) and does not show signs of an infection.
She is also getting another transfusion because her blood count was low. And she is not happy with anyone touching her at all. It's sort of a catch 22 - they need to touch her to help her with suctioning, repositioning and all that stuff, but I also think that the less they mess with her the better she might get.
I'm going up to the hospital to see her and just sit at her bed. I won't be able to hold her for a little while longer now due to the new vent. But just sitting there helps keep me calm......and I can talk to her. Not that she really listens to me, but she does know my voice and sometimes that helps calm her when she is misbehaving!
Jenny
I did go see her late yesterday and she was having a better evening. They did put her on her tummy and she loves her tummy time so she was behaving a little better that and a little morphine helped. We did take some new pictures, but have to download them, once they are, we will post them
I got a call this morning from her Dr and she had an okay night. She would fall in her stats and take a while to come back up every few hours. So they are now giving her some morphine every 2 hours, they put her on the Ocilator which is another venitlator that helps keep the CO2 levels down and that is what she needs help with. It also gives her the support the dr thinks she needs at less pressure then the other vent.
They did also do a blood culture to see if she might have an infection from the surgery, which is common, and they are starting antibiotics just in case. Now it's just a waiting game of 72 hours to see if there is anything. But Dr Wiener said that she is active and moving (part of the reason for the morphine) and does not show signs of an infection.
She is also getting another transfusion because her blood count was low. And she is not happy with anyone touching her at all. It's sort of a catch 22 - they need to touch her to help her with suctioning, repositioning and all that stuff, but I also think that the less they mess with her the better she might get.
I'm going up to the hospital to see her and just sit at her bed. I won't be able to hold her for a little while longer now due to the new vent. But just sitting there helps keep me calm......and I can talk to her. Not that she really listens to me, but she does know my voice and sometimes that helps calm her when she is misbehaving!
Jenny
Friday, August 14, 2009
8/14/09
Rachel had an okay day today - she was a little uncomfortable while I was there and kept falling in her stats, but once they put her on her tummy and also gave her the medication they started today to help her lungs with the ventilator she started doing better.
Her pressure on the ventilator was turned down from 6 down to 5. Which is a step in the right direction. She did open her eyes for a bit today although it was mainly because the pain medication wore off and she was in pain.......they did give her more, but she was still pretty aggitated and kept moving and kicking. I would be too if people kept bugging me after surgery! Poor thing, but she is recovering and is taking it like a champ! And really the nurses are just trying to keep her comfy and help her out! :)
She will have more visitors tomorrow. Leah and Mike are coming up to visit and meet her for the first time.....I told her she needed to behave for her night nurse tonight and rest so she is happy for tomorrow! Here are some pictures from yesterday's visit - they show her incision from her surgery.
Enjoy -
Her pressure on the ventilator was turned down from 6 down to 5. Which is a step in the right direction. She did open her eyes for a bit today although it was mainly because the pain medication wore off and she was in pain.......they did give her more, but she was still pretty aggitated and kept moving and kicking. I would be too if people kept bugging me after surgery! Poor thing, but she is recovering and is taking it like a champ! And really the nurses are just trying to keep her comfy and help her out! :)
She will have more visitors tomorrow. Leah and Mike are coming up to visit and meet her for the first time.....I told her she needed to behave for her night nurse tonight and rest so she is happy for tomorrow! Here are some pictures from yesterday's visit - they show her incision from her surgery.
Enjoy -
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| After surgery pictures |
Thursday, August 13, 2009
8/13/09
Today was an okay day for Rachel. She was having some of the downs that happen after the surgery. She had to be given some Dopamine because her blood pressure was low and she was not going potty. Her blood gas at 6am was not very good so they upped her O2 for a bit.
Her next blood gas at 9am was better so they turned her down and she had gone to the bathroom. They took her off the Dopamine about 5pm and turned down the pressure of the vent. She did not like being touched today, but really who would after having a surgery! Seems like she took after me in that aspect of personality!
When I left this afternoon, she was resting comfortably and was having her tummy time that she loves so much. She did try to open her eyes while I was there, but when she was doing that she was moving a little too much and caused her some pain so they gave her some morphine.....she did keep a grip on my finger while I had my hand in her incubator.
I did call a few minutes ago and her nurse Geri said that she was not only resting very comfy, but she tolerated her hands on (blood gas test, suctioning, repositioning, etc) and did not fall in her stats or O2!! Woo Hoo! There is a first time for everything....she behaved during hands on!!
It's still a long road, but she is fighting and is doing better since the PDA has been closed so although it was a hard thing to go through (which at least she won't remember, but we will!) it was something that needed to be done.
More updates tomorrow
Love Jenny
Her next blood gas at 9am was better so they turned her down and she had gone to the bathroom. They took her off the Dopamine about 5pm and turned down the pressure of the vent. She did not like being touched today, but really who would after having a surgery! Seems like she took after me in that aspect of personality!
When I left this afternoon, she was resting comfortably and was having her tummy time that she loves so much. She did try to open her eyes while I was there, but when she was doing that she was moving a little too much and caused her some pain so they gave her some morphine.....she did keep a grip on my finger while I had my hand in her incubator.
I did call a few minutes ago and her nurse Geri said that she was not only resting very comfy, but she tolerated her hands on (blood gas test, suctioning, repositioning, etc) and did not fall in her stats or O2!! Woo Hoo! There is a first time for everything....she behaved during hands on!!
It's still a long road, but she is fighting and is doing better since the PDA has been closed so although it was a hard thing to go through (which at least she won't remember, but we will!) it was something that needed to be done.
More updates tomorrow
Love Jenny
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
8/12/09
Surgery went really well for Rachel....her PDA is now closed!! We saw the xRay and the clip looks good. She did not need a chest tube either.....her vitals are good and she is down to 21% O2 the best she has had in about a week!! Go Rachel Go!
I just called to see how she was doing and she's still resting comfortably!!! They were going to be giving her a little more medication so she doesn't feel pain and continues to rest comfortable. Her incision is not huge, it's about 2 inches long (maybe, I'm not the best at guessing measurments) and underneath her arm.
Although she will be on the vent for a little while still, she was not put on the Ocilator machine so that is s good sign too. They did put in her feeding tube again so feedlings could start as soon as tonight again or tomorrow morning. I don't think she was happy that those stopped!! That's our girl....go for the food!!
thanks everyone for the prayers and happy thoughts for Rachel!!!
Love Rob and Jen
I just called to see how she was doing and she's still resting comfortably!!! They were going to be giving her a little more medication so she doesn't feel pain and continues to rest comfortable. Her incision is not huge, it's about 2 inches long (maybe, I'm not the best at guessing measurments) and underneath her arm.
Although she will be on the vent for a little while still, she was not put on the Ocilator machine so that is s good sign too. They did put in her feeding tube again so feedlings could start as soon as tonight again or tomorrow morning. I don't think she was happy that those stopped!! That's our girl....go for the food!!
thanks everyone for the prayers and happy thoughts for Rachel!!!
Love Rob and Jen
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
8/11/09 -Evening Updates
We just got back from the hospital and Rachel will have her surgery tomorrow at 7:30am - She will be in good hands. The surgeon is coming from Children's Hospital to take care of her. It's still a little scary for us, but we have talked to the neonatal doc and also the anastheialogist (sorry about the spelling!) who will both be with her through the whole thing and they have done this before so they have answered any questions we have and will answer more if we have any.
They will make sure she is stable and everything prior to doing the surgery. She will have a scar on her back afterwards, but it will be her battle scar to show she made it through the NICU.......she is a fighter so that will also help her get through this as well as prayers.
I did get to hold her today for an hour and 30 minutes.....so that was awesome......she had the best stats during that time too.....although she didn't open her eyes until Daddy got there! Hmmmm could it be she is already a daddy's girl? She held on to Rob's finger and squeezed for at least 5 minutes...and was peeking out of one eye the whole time......it was so sweet!
Will write more tomorrow once we have info on how she is doing and how the surgery went, gotta get up early to get to the hospital by 6:30a!!!
Love,
Jenny and Rob
They will make sure she is stable and everything prior to doing the surgery. She will have a scar on her back afterwards, but it will be her battle scar to show she made it through the NICU.......she is a fighter so that will also help her get through this as well as prayers.
I did get to hold her today for an hour and 30 minutes.....so that was awesome......she had the best stats during that time too.....although she didn't open her eyes until Daddy got there! Hmmmm could it be she is already a daddy's girl? She held on to Rob's finger and squeezed for at least 5 minutes...and was peeking out of one eye the whole time......it was so sweet!
Will write more tomorrow once we have info on how she is doing and how the surgery went, gotta get up early to get to the hospital by 6:30a!!!
Love,
Jenny and Rob
8/11/09
Last night was an uneventful night for Rachel.....they have been tying to keep he a little sedated so she can est and not move around so much since she does need to rest.
Her echo yesterday showed that the PDA is not getting better so they are working on scheduling her for surgery. They are trying to keep in at St Joe's, but depending on the doctor who will perform it she may have to go to Children's Hospital. But we are still waiting on all the details.
She did open her eyes for a little bit yesterday when I was there. She still will hold onto our fingers when we put our hands in the incubator even when she is sleeping. She also still loves her tummy time and has a preference on how she likes to lay. She shows her personality to the nurses everyday so that helps me get through these rough days......I am hoping today that I can hold her again, but if she is "misbehaving" (what I call her events!) I might not be able to....the movement is a bit stressful fo her even though we do love our kanagaroo care time.
More updates to come........
Jenny
Her echo yesterday showed that the PDA is not getting better so they are working on scheduling her for surgery. They are trying to keep in at St Joe's, but depending on the doctor who will perform it she may have to go to Children's Hospital. But we are still waiting on all the details.
She did open her eyes for a little bit yesterday when I was there. She still will hold onto our fingers when we put our hands in the incubator even when she is sleeping. She also still loves her tummy time and has a preference on how she likes to lay. She shows her personality to the nurses everyday so that helps me get through these rough days......I am hoping today that I can hold her again, but if she is "misbehaving" (what I call her events!) I might not be able to....the movement is a bit stressful fo her even though we do love our kanagaroo care time.
More updates to come........
Jenny
Sunday, August 9, 2009
8-9-09 Update
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| 8-9-2009 |
We just got home from the hospital and seeing Rachel. She had a better day today starting at noon. Her blodd gas was not good at 6am so they did another at 9am it was a little better, but not great. So they did another one at 5 and that was not so good either. Her last one was at 9 while we were still there and it was much better so they are not going to change her ventilator.
They are still giving her stuff to sedate her and make her more comfortable so she was pretty much snoozing while we were there. She had some visitors again, Aunt Chrissy and Uncle Rob came up to see her.
She does have her echo tomorrow to see how the PDA is and then we will know the next step, whether it's wait and see how it does or if there will be surgery. She's still pretty active and fiesty so that is a good sign, but she is going through some tough times with her breathing.......which is normal at least that's what they tell us.....
More updates tomorrow.
Love,
Rob and Jenny
Saturday, August 8, 2009
8/8/09
Went to visit Rachel today - it was a better day then yesterday and lots better then Thursday. They did end up changing her tube to a little bit bigger one to help with the air leak.
It did help and she is getting more of her tidal volumes and not falling in her stats like she was Thursday and yesterday. I did get to hold her again today. I have to say that is the best thing ever!! My mom was with me so we got our first 3 generation picture....although you can really only see the top of Rachel's head!
She was resting again today and they gave her a little morphine to help her rest especially after getting the new tube. They are still turning down her humidity and she seems to be handling that well and is still handling the feedings well too.
More updates tomorrow
Love
Jenny
It did help and she is getting more of her tidal volumes and not falling in her stats like she was Thursday and yesterday. I did get to hold her again today. I have to say that is the best thing ever!! My mom was with me so we got our first 3 generation picture....although you can really only see the top of Rachel's head!
She was resting again today and they gave her a little morphine to help her rest especially after getting the new tube. They are still turning down her humidity and she seems to be handling that well and is still handling the feedings well too.
More updates tomorrow
Love
Jenny
Friday, August 7, 2009
8/7/09
Well today was a better day for Rachel. She was resting all day and didn't have many events today. Her next Echo is Monday to see if the PDA changed directions. If so she will be scheduled for surgery as soon as late next week.
She did gain 25 grams since Wednesday! Go Rachel!!! She is now 1.8 (and a half) pounds! And she is tolerating the feedings pretty well too so that is also a good sign.
Hopefully there will be more to update tomorrow!
Night!
love
Jenny
She did gain 25 grams since Wednesday! Go Rachel!!! She is now 1.8 (and a half) pounds! And she is tolerating the feedings pretty well too so that is also a good sign.
Hopefully there will be more to update tomorrow!
Night!
love
Jenny
Thursday, August 6, 2009
8/6/09
Well today was one of those down days for Rachel. She had a transfusion to help lift her red blood count up, again that is normal, but still a little tough to see her little arm wrapped up. They also moved her back up on the ventilator. When we left tonight she was at 60. Basically she is not breathing above the ventilator. Which again is normal. She is still pretty little to be breathing on her own.
Part of the problem could be she has a little air leak with her tube, but they do not want to change her to a bigger tube because it would be too big for her. They did start little feedings today. She will get 1.5ml every 3 hours. It's just to get her tummy ready for bigger feedings. The small ones will be for about 7-10 days.
I did get to hold for a little bit today - just while they were changing her bedding. I'm hoping tomorrow I can hold her a little longer. My parents came up to see her for the first time tonight so that was nice she had some visitors. She was on her tummy again tonight, which she loves. She was more restful laying like that then she was today on her back.
She did open both eyes today, but was pretty much sleeping while we were there tonight, which she needs to be doing!!! Between today and yesterday it's been an emotional roller coaster for me. They told us to expect ups and downs, but being told that and actually seeing it happen is harder then I ever imagined.
I am hoping that tomorrow is a better day for Rachel and that tonight is an uneventful one!
More updates tomorrow.
Love,
Jenny
Part of the problem could be she has a little air leak with her tube, but they do not want to change her to a bigger tube because it would be too big for her. They did start little feedings today. She will get 1.5ml every 3 hours. It's just to get her tummy ready for bigger feedings. The small ones will be for about 7-10 days.
I did get to hold for a little bit today - just while they were changing her bedding. I'm hoping tomorrow I can hold her a little longer. My parents came up to see her for the first time tonight so that was nice she had some visitors. She was on her tummy again tonight, which she loves. She was more restful laying like that then she was today on her back.
She did open both eyes today, but was pretty much sleeping while we were there tonight, which she needs to be doing!!! Between today and yesterday it's been an emotional roller coaster for me. They told us to expect ups and downs, but being told that and actually seeing it happen is harder then I ever imagined.
I am hoping that tomorrow is a better day for Rachel and that tonight is an uneventful one!
More updates tomorrow.
Love,
Jenny
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
8/5/09 - update
As Rob said I got to hold Rachel today, it was awesome! She kept peeking at me from her one open eye - hopefully she will have both eyes open tomorrow!
Tonight was so much better then the day that's for sure. She had her echo and while the murmer and PDA is still there it is going the opposite way then they thought. Basically it is going left to right not right to left. Instead of going towards the lungs it is actually taking the blood towards the aorta - so for now no surgery, but they will be checking it again next week
She also kept going down with her vitals today and not breathing on her own - partly due to the whole echo and also the removing of her umbilical cord line. She had a pretty stressful day so that was her way of telling the nurses that she had enough!
I did get to change her diaper and take her temp again twice today - she likes to stick her feet up in the air during the whole diaper change too! Her way of helping I guess.
Tonight was so much better - partly because I got to hold her and partly because she was finally able to rest from everything that happened today. She also had some blood cultures drawn today because her white blood cell count was elevated. They did start some antibiotics just in case, but we probably won't hear anything for up to 72 hours on the results. Better to be safe! She also might have to have another transfusion - but the doctor said if her blood count is better tomorrow she won't have to have it, but if not it will be done tomorrow. They will be starting small feeds tomorrow as well! Hopefully that helps her too! She was weighed and she had lost about 14 grams so she is now 670 - part of the loss could be due to loosing water weight.....the small feeds hopefully will help her gain some pounds!!
She is still as fiesty as ever and I know that is helping her continue to fight!! Like Rob said enjoy the pictures and more updates tomorrow......
Love,
Jenny
Tonight was so much better then the day that's for sure. She had her echo and while the murmer and PDA is still there it is going the opposite way then they thought. Basically it is going left to right not right to left. Instead of going towards the lungs it is actually taking the blood towards the aorta - so for now no surgery, but they will be checking it again next week
She also kept going down with her vitals today and not breathing on her own - partly due to the whole echo and also the removing of her umbilical cord line. She had a pretty stressful day so that was her way of telling the nurses that she had enough!
I did get to change her diaper and take her temp again twice today - she likes to stick her feet up in the air during the whole diaper change too! Her way of helping I guess.
Tonight was so much better - partly because I got to hold her and partly because she was finally able to rest from everything that happened today. She also had some blood cultures drawn today because her white blood cell count was elevated. They did start some antibiotics just in case, but we probably won't hear anything for up to 72 hours on the results. Better to be safe! She also might have to have another transfusion - but the doctor said if her blood count is better tomorrow she won't have to have it, but if not it will be done tomorrow. They will be starting small feeds tomorrow as well! Hopefully that helps her too! She was weighed and she had lost about 14 grams so she is now 670 - part of the loss could be due to loosing water weight.....the small feeds hopefully will help her gain some pounds!!
She is still as fiesty as ever and I know that is helping her continue to fight!! Like Rob said enjoy the pictures and more updates tomorrow......
Love,
Jenny
Kangaroo Day!
Today was the first day Jenny got to hold Rachel and do Kangaroo care. Earlier in the day they removed the final lines to her umbilical cord so all that is left is the respirator lines and the picc line. They put her on her stomach for the first time today and she liked it! She also peeked and opened one of her eyes today a little bit for the first time!Jenny got to hold her for about 55 minutes or so, her arm went asleep but she loved it. Rachel was so good for the whole time, never had any problems with her breathing or vitals. They put a warm blanket over both mom and baby to keep the temperature high.
Jenny will write more tomorrow, enjoy the pictures
Love
Rob
Jenny will write more tomorrow, enjoy the pictures
Love
Rob
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| 8-5-2009 |
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
8/4/09 updates
Today has been a pretty uneventful day for Rachel. I called to see how her evening was and she had a pretty restful one. I like those calls! Her day today was also pretty restful. I called around lunch time to see how she was doing and she was just resting.......
I was at the hospital for a few hours just sitting with her and she was pretty stable. Tomorrow will be a big day - we see if the Indomethacin worked on the PDA. I keep praying that the second round worked. If it did she will have her other umbilical cord line removed!! Woo hoo! That also means that they will start small feedings with her as well.
I am not going to think about what the next step is if the second round of medicine didn't work. We will cross that bridge when we need to. Right now, happy thoughts and prayers that it did work!!
Depending on how I feel after dinner, I might go back up for a couple hours again, but tomorrow I will be there for the echo and stay after for a few hours so I might just call to see how she is doing. It gets harder and harder to leave after every visit. There are things I don't want to miss - like if she opens her eyes. I want to see that and just sitting there at her isolette is the most calming experience ever!
She is one of the nurses favorites in the NICU - they all like taking care of her and think she is a sweetheart. They also can't get over how much of a fighter she is. They like her fiestiness and her long eyelashes!!
Love,
Jenny and Rob
I was at the hospital for a few hours just sitting with her and she was pretty stable. Tomorrow will be a big day - we see if the Indomethacin worked on the PDA. I keep praying that the second round worked. If it did she will have her other umbilical cord line removed!! Woo hoo! That also means that they will start small feedings with her as well.
I am not going to think about what the next step is if the second round of medicine didn't work. We will cross that bridge when we need to. Right now, happy thoughts and prayers that it did work!!
Depending on how I feel after dinner, I might go back up for a couple hours again, but tomorrow I will be there for the echo and stay after for a few hours so I might just call to see how she is doing. It gets harder and harder to leave after every visit. There are things I don't want to miss - like if she opens her eyes. I want to see that and just sitting there at her isolette is the most calming experience ever!
She is one of the nurses favorites in the NICU - they all like taking care of her and think she is a sweetheart. They also can't get over how much of a fighter she is. They like her fiestiness and her long eyelashes!!
Love,
Jenny and Rob
Monday, August 3, 2009
8/3/09 - Evening update
As promised here are some updated pictures - some are from yesterday's evening visit - and Rachel was squeezing Rob's finger like crazy - it was too cute!!!! She was comforting him I think. 2 are from today when I was there and the ones with the socks and hat (part of her coming home outfit) are from tonight.
The hat is about as big as she is and the little socks are almost as long as her legs! I think we are going to take pictures every couple weeks to see how she is growing. It will be a while for her to grow into the socks and hat....the gown that they match would be a blanket on her now!!!
She had her first visitors today other then Rob and I. Rob's parents came to see her and my mom and dad are going to come either tomorrow or a little later in the week. They want to make sure that she is stable enough and today was such a big day with her scan and the one line being removed. They thought it was better to postpone their visit for a little later in the week.
I was able to change her diaper and take her temperature again today. I'm getting better with the diapers that's for sure.......it's a little different to change a diaper on a preemie then a full term baby! She also lets her nurse know if she is uncomfortable in her position. Her alarms start to go off.....at first it scared me, but usually once they move her, suction her or just move the little froggy things around her she goes back up and the alarms stop! She is learning how to run the show!
All the nurses she has had have been fantastic and they all get so excited when they can be her nurse. I know she is getting the best care possible and the fact that the people taking care of her love their jobs make it a little easier for me to accept that I have to leave her there. I've started a little journal that documents her day, or any questions that I have as well as letters to her that let her know what Rob and I are thinking.......they aren't long, but I figure she can look back on them along with the pictures and see how small she really was.
Enjoy the pictures!!!
Love,
Rob and Jenny
The hat is about as big as she is and the little socks are almost as long as her legs! I think we are going to take pictures every couple weeks to see how she is growing. It will be a while for her to grow into the socks and hat....the gown that they match would be a blanket on her now!!!
She had her first visitors today other then Rob and I. Rob's parents came to see her and my mom and dad are going to come either tomorrow or a little later in the week. They want to make sure that she is stable enough and today was such a big day with her scan and the one line being removed. They thought it was better to postpone their visit for a little later in the week.
I was able to change her diaper and take her temperature again today. I'm getting better with the diapers that's for sure.......it's a little different to change a diaper on a preemie then a full term baby! She also lets her nurse know if she is uncomfortable in her position. Her alarms start to go off.....at first it scared me, but usually once they move her, suction her or just move the little froggy things around her she goes back up and the alarms stop! She is learning how to run the show!
All the nurses she has had have been fantastic and they all get so excited when they can be her nurse. I know she is getting the best care possible and the fact that the people taking care of her love their jobs make it a little easier for me to accept that I have to leave her there. I've started a little journal that documents her day, or any questions that I have as well as letters to her that let her know what Rob and I are thinking.......they aren't long, but I figure she can look back on them along with the pictures and see how small she really was.
Enjoy the pictures!!!
Love,
Rob and Jenny
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| 8-3-2009 |
8/3/09 Updates
I went to visit Rachel today and it was a pretty big day for her. She had her CT scan and it came back normal. She does not have any bleeding in her brain and the fluids surrounding her brain appear to be normal! Yeah that's a good thing. She will have another scan when she is between 28-32 weeks. Which is prett normal. If there was this scan looked weird she would have had another one sooner.
They did remove one of her umbilical cord lines. The one that was giving her some of the nutrients, but those same nutrients will be given through her picc line. They did keep the other line in at least until Wednesday. That is the day she has her next echo to check on the heart murmer. She had her last dose of Indomethacin today at 2, so they are giving it some time to work to see if the whole will close. She has a soft murmer, but the hole is pretty big and that's what is causing concern. We will cross the bridge of surgery if it comes to that.
Wednesday could prove to be a bigger day for her, if the murmer is gone, her other umbilical cord line could be removed, and they will start some small feedings!! And the best part about that whole thing is we can finally hold her!!! Keeping all prayers and thoughts that the 2nd round worked!! I want to hold my daughter!!!
I did get to "cradle" her today during her last dose of medicine. What I got to do is have her head in my left hand and her feet cradled in my right so she was contained my me instead of the little froggy things they use. It was so awesome!! She kept flexing her feet in my hands, but she did stay calm and restful, which is what that is supposed to do. I held her for a good 25 minutes. Lost feeling in my arms, but it was SO worth it. She also took the removal of her line like a champ....she let them do what they needed to and didn't fidget! Of course when they were done she started to, but that's what she does best.
More updates after tonight's visit
Love,
Jenny and Rob
They did remove one of her umbilical cord lines. The one that was giving her some of the nutrients, but those same nutrients will be given through her picc line. They did keep the other line in at least until Wednesday. That is the day she has her next echo to check on the heart murmer. She had her last dose of Indomethacin today at 2, so they are giving it some time to work to see if the whole will close. She has a soft murmer, but the hole is pretty big and that's what is causing concern. We will cross the bridge of surgery if it comes to that.
Wednesday could prove to be a bigger day for her, if the murmer is gone, her other umbilical cord line could be removed, and they will start some small feedings!! And the best part about that whole thing is we can finally hold her!!! Keeping all prayers and thoughts that the 2nd round worked!! I want to hold my daughter!!!
I did get to "cradle" her today during her last dose of medicine. What I got to do is have her head in my left hand and her feet cradled in my right so she was contained my me instead of the little froggy things they use. It was so awesome!! She kept flexing her feet in my hands, but she did stay calm and restful, which is what that is supposed to do. I held her for a good 25 minutes. Lost feeling in my arms, but it was SO worth it. She also took the removal of her line like a champ....she let them do what they needed to and didn't fidget! Of course when they were done she started to, but that's what she does best.
More updates after tonight's visit
Love,
Jenny and Rob
Sunday, August 2, 2009
8/1/09 Updates
We just got back from our "good night" visit with Rachel. She was resting comfortably and had a pretty good day. I was there earlier for a couple hours and the biggest thing going on was she kept going up and down with her oxygen level.
They don't like it too high, but it should not fall below 82. She kept fluctuating. It's pretty normal, but all the alarms were a bit much for me! She did gain some weight from Friday. She is now 684 grams or 1.8 pounds. That's a step in the right direction! Once she gets started on small feeds she will hopefully gain more!!
They also did her second echo and the PDA is still there so they started her second round of Indomethacin. She got her first dose at 2pm, she'll get the second at 2am and then the last at 2pm tomorrow. They could do the 3rd echo as soon as Tuesday morning to see if this round worked. If not, the next step is heart surgery to close the hole.
Rob held her hand while we were there and she held on for quite a while, as if to say "Dad, I'm okay and we are going to be just fine". His hand is about the size of her body! Once we download those pictures I will post them, but since Rob is going back to work tomorrow we are calling it an early night. Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow!
Love,
Jenny and Rob
They don't like it too high, but it should not fall below 82. She kept fluctuating. It's pretty normal, but all the alarms were a bit much for me! She did gain some weight from Friday. She is now 684 grams or 1.8 pounds. That's a step in the right direction! Once she gets started on small feeds she will hopefully gain more!!
They also did her second echo and the PDA is still there so they started her second round of Indomethacin. She got her first dose at 2pm, she'll get the second at 2am and then the last at 2pm tomorrow. They could do the 3rd echo as soon as Tuesday morning to see if this round worked. If not, the next step is heart surgery to close the hole.
Rob held her hand while we were there and she held on for quite a while, as if to say "Dad, I'm okay and we are going to be just fine". His hand is about the size of her body! Once we download those pictures I will post them, but since Rob is going back to work tomorrow we are calling it an early night. Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow!
Love,
Jenny and Rob
Saturday, August 1, 2009
8-1-09 Update
Rachel Update:
She is doing well tonight. We just got back from the hospital and she was sucking on her ventilator tube and sometimes her finger. Her nurse said that is a good sign because she is comforting herself. She took the Indomethacin medication pretty well and they will be doing her second echo tomorrow to see if the first round of 3 doses worked. We will know tomorrow if she will need a second round.
They checked her platlets today and she was down just a little so they ordered a transfusion of platlets for her. It will take about 2 hours for it to be completed. It is pretty normal for that to happen as well, especially for preemies that are getting the Indomethacin.
She still has her Umbilical cord lines - they said that could be a few more days. It's not a bad thing that she has them, since some things that they are giving her cannot go through her picc line. Those lines are just meant to be temporary. Once those are removed we can start the Kangaroo Care. Which is they lay her on either my chest or Rob's and its comnforting for both us and Rachel.
She also had a little bit of a poopy diaper already! That's also a good thing!!! I'm getting pretty good at changing her diaper, but not sure if I'm ready for the poop yet! :)
We'll be going up again tomorrow and will have more updates. Here are some newer pictures. Enjoy!
Love Jenny and Rob
She is doing well tonight. We just got back from the hospital and she was sucking on her ventilator tube and sometimes her finger. Her nurse said that is a good sign because she is comforting herself. She took the Indomethacin medication pretty well and they will be doing her second echo tomorrow to see if the first round of 3 doses worked. We will know tomorrow if she will need a second round.
They checked her platlets today and she was down just a little so they ordered a transfusion of platlets for her. It will take about 2 hours for it to be completed. It is pretty normal for that to happen as well, especially for preemies that are getting the Indomethacin.
She still has her Umbilical cord lines - they said that could be a few more days. It's not a bad thing that she has them, since some things that they are giving her cannot go through her picc line. Those lines are just meant to be temporary. Once those are removed we can start the Kangaroo Care. Which is they lay her on either my chest or Rob's and its comnforting for both us and Rachel.
She also had a little bit of a poopy diaper already! That's also a good thing!!! I'm getting pretty good at changing her diaper, but not sure if I'm ready for the poop yet! :)
We'll be going up again tomorrow and will have more updates. Here are some newer pictures. Enjoy!
Love Jenny and Rob
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