end of November catch-up

Well, I've been busy this week but apparently Dad has been as well and didn't get around to uploading my pictures till today which is why I've been holding off posting until now (since who wants to read boring old text with no pictures?).  So now I've got a few days to catch up on.

Monday, Nov 28

Up to 4 lb. 1 oz. - now that I've broken the 4 pound barrier I'm not turning back!

Mom and Dad came to visit in the morning, which is generally when I'm the most awake.  So that was a nice change - got to actually visit while I was alert instead of our usual drill, where I half-wake-up to say hi and then fall right back asleep.  In fact, I was already awake and looking around when they showed up:

They took advantage of my alertness to try bottle feeding me again, and I did pretty well - took just about my whole bottle!

So that was nice - I'm really enjoying getting the chance to taste my food!  Unfortunately, the day went downhill from there, with the eye doctor coming in the afternoon, which meant I had to have my eyes dilated, which is NOT fun in the first place, then they come and check your eyes which is equally unamusing.

In fact, the whole eye doctor process stressed me out so much that even though I've been breathing perfectly fine on my own the past couple days, I kept desating afterwards until they put me back on nasal cannula.  Not that I'm complaining about having the extra help breathing, but I was feeling pretty independent until the stupid eye doctor had to set me back.  Look at these eyes, isn't it pretty obvious there's nothing wrong with them other than their striking beauty?

I know, right?  Anyway, I think this next one sums up my feelings about the eye exam:

In fact, Mom came back later in the day to try breastfeeding me but I was still so distraught (and still desating so often) that they didn't want to take me out of my incubator.  So in summary, a day that started auspiciously but ended on a down note.

Tuesday, Nov 29

Up to 4 lb. 3 oz, another 2 oz. since Monday!

Mom and Dad came in the morning again, and though they were a little disappointed I had had to go back on the NC, they were glad I had stabilized and was doing well again.  I was even able to wave when they showed up!

Unlike the night before, Mom was able to take me out to try feeding me this time after I woke up a bit.

 

Since I had done bottle feeding yesterday, this time she tried breastfeeding me.

I know my life experience thus far is limited to what happens in the NICU, but I get what everyone says about people being in too much of a rush and not stopping to smell the roses - I was taking a long time to get started eating, just enjoying being held, no rush, right?  And then they said since I had been there 15 minutes (!) I must not be interested in eating, so Mom should put me back and try breastfeeding Ben instead.  Well, you can imagine I wanted no part of that plan, so that was my cue to actually start eating.  I did pretty well, took about 20 ml (more than half my scheduled feeding) there, but really would it have been a crime to just let me sit with Mom a little more without everything having to be about "you have to eat at this time, do this at that time, etc."?  I swear, if it's not some complaint about how fast I'm eating it's about not beating my heart enough, or not taking breaths, or some other trivial thing - this place is so demanding!  Lucky I'm a tough girl!


Wednesday, Nov 30

So after everyone being all about "keeping things on schedule" yesterday, this morning they confused the schedule and had Mom feed Ben before me instead of our usual schedule which is him being a half hour after me.  The nerve!  And haven't they ever heard of ladies first?

At any rate, by the time Mom actually sat down to give me my bottle, it was 45 minutes late and I was pretty upset.  I scarfed down the whole bottle - all 36 ml of it - superfast!

Nurse Lynda also noticed that my incubator was no longer any warmer than the room air (they've been gradually lowering the temperature in it to get me ready to come out), so she moved me to a crib!

And so far so good with the crib - Dad came by this afternoon and I had kept my temperature up nicely, and was sleeping soundly despite all the new noises now that there's not a plastic box around me all the time.

He took me out and held me for about an hour; I had a few desats and one somewhat serious brady but managed to recover with a little help from some extra oxygen (temporarily turned me up from 21% to 30%).

I think we're caught up now, hope you enjoyed hearing about my last few days.  I'll try to get Dad to do better in the future so we don't have these awkward gaps.  For now, it's off to bed for me...

Sunday 27 Nov

Yeah, baby, FOUR POUNDS!

And check this out:

Notice anything different?  That's right, nasal cannula GONE - I'm breathing on my own!  You may applaud....

Okay, that's enough.  Other news.  They took me off the cannula early this afternoon and so far so good.  The doctor said that if I drop my oxygen saturation below 85% for over fifteen minutes they'll put me back on the NS so I've been careful to keep it up - don't want to have those annoying tubes back in my nose again!

In other news, I'm still handling my feedings well and digesting everything I'm given so they upped me once more, now up to 34 ml per feeding (still the 26 cal/oz fortified milk).  I took my entire feeding from a bottle early this afternoon and the nurses gave me a new goal of taking all my feedings completely via bottle in the next few days.  Not sure I'm up for that quite yet but I'll give it my best....

Mom and Dad came by this afternoon to visit but I was sleepy from working so hard to drink my bottle earlier and breathe on my own all day, so I just stayed asleep.

That's about all to report, making good progress today and excited to keep moving forward tomorrow!

Saturday 26 Nov

Holding steady at 3 lb. 15 oz.  Nurse Sandy had just finished changing my diaper and was putting my clothes on when Mom and Dad arrived this morning.

Since it was time for my feeding, they decided to try me on the bottle again.  Dad took it on this time.  I was pretty sleepy at first, which we've discovered isn't very conducive to bottle success.

After about 10 minutes of not really anything happening, Nurse Sandy said that maybe I wouldn't really be able to handle the bottle today.  Well, you know me - don't like anyone counting me out!  So I immediately started chowing down just to show her.

She had put 28 ml in the bottle and I finished off ALL of it in a row (well, with one burping session in between where I spit up on Dad's hand).  She was duly impressed - in fact, she hadn't even put my whole 32 ml feeding in the bottle since I was so sleepy they thought I wouldn't eat much!  They refilled the bottle and Dad tried to get me to eat the remaining four, but I was back asleep by that time - I figured I had made my point and didn't have anything else to prove!

After trying to get me to finish the feed for a few minutes, they realized it wasn't going to happen and gave the rest of it to me through my tube while I slept.  Then Dad held me while I napped and digested for awhile.

By the time they put me back I had been out for 2 and half hours - almost time for my next feeding!  So that was a nice change of pace being out of my incubator for that long, and I had a nice visit with Dad.

I got wrapped up like a burrito again -

- and called it a day.  I was busy and need my beauty sleep!

Friday 25 Nov

6 weeks old and going strong - put on another 2 ounces!  So now after a minor weight setback earlier this week I'm closing in on 4 lb., again, just an ounce away at 3 lb. 15 oz.

I'll keep it short today in honor of the holiday weekend, but don't worry, you'll still get plenty of pictures of me (I know what my audience wants!).

The big news to report is that I continue to get better at bottle feeding.  Mom fed me today, and I took 25 of my 32 ml feeding via bottle! (got the rest of it through my tube later).  It's definitely a big help for me to be awake when they want me to try to eat, as opposed to a couple days ago when I was asleep and only took 1 ml.  As you can see, today I was alert from the moment they took me out of the incubator:

This is still new to me, so it took me a little while to figure out what was going on and remember what I was supposed to do with the bottle.

Once I figured out that they wanted me to eat, though, I went right to town:

Had a good meal and a nice visit with Mom, then passed out on her shoulder for a nice nap afterwards.  A good day!

Thurs 24 Nov

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Mom and Dad said this is a day to be thankful.  So what am I thankful for?  First off, that I finally started putting on some weight again!

It's not a lot, but it's an ounce more than yesterday, and that's something after losing weight the past couple days.

Second, I'm thankful for all the nurses, doctors, and staff at the NICU.  I know sometimes I complain when they're doing things to me, but this is a good day to remember that it's all because they're trying to help me, and they do a great job.

Third, I'm thankful I keep making progress and growing - not just putting on weight but with my feeding and breathing.  Still on the nasal cannula at 21%, and another good night with very few desats.

A big step feeding-wise today.  I did two big poops (one early in the morning, the other when Dad changed me early this afternoon), so that shows that I'm processing my food better.  When Mom and Dad came to visit, Nurse Janetta told them I could try eating from a bottle again.  I was wide awake and ready to try, and even practicing with my pacifier so I'd be ready to suck on a bottle!

Dad took his first try at giving me the bottle and I was doing well, taking in a lot of it!

In fact, I was drinking so fast that I started to spit some of it back up - in my defense, I figured I deserved a good Thanksgiving dinner too, and most meals they just feed me through a tube straight into my stomach so I was enjoying getting to actually taste my food!

So Nurse Janetta took me and showed Dad how to burp me.  I made two really good burps.

Still not sure how I feel about the burping - I like getting that air out of me but don't like getting hit on the back.  I guess I'm indifferent:

Anyhow, after I was burped they gave me the bottle back and took the rest of the bottle.

Did you catch that?  That's right, I took my entire 32 ml feeding through the bottle - didn't need to get ANY of it tube-fed.  Hooray for me!  Nurse Janetta, Mom, and Dad, all said they were really proud of me for doing so well with the bottle.

After I was done Dad held me for about half an hour so I could digest better, then they put me back in my incubator to rest from my big adventure with the bottle.

I'm gonna sleep well tonight!  Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Love,
Rory

Wednesday 23 Nov

Well, I'm not sure what to do.  I've been handling my feedings great lately, with little or no residuals, I'm getting the fortified 26 cal/oz milk, and they've upped my feedings another two ml to 32 ml per feeding.  Yet for all that I'm not gaining weight, and actually lost an ounce!

I don't know anything different to do about that so I'll just stick with it and hope I do start putting on some weight again.  The nurses said that as I'm trying new things (like the bottle practice yesterday, less heat in the incubator so I have to regulate my own temperature more, etc.) that can wear me out and burn a lot of calories but as I get used to those things and they get easier I'll start putting on weight again.  Hopefully they're right.  I'm trying to sleep as much as I can and conserve energy, not sure what else I can do....


Mom and Dad came to visit this morning; I woke up as soon as I heard their voices and turned on the charm with a mischievous grin to show them I was happy to see them:

A lactation consultant met up with Mom and Dad to help me try breastfeeding.  She put me in Mom's arms and they gave me a little milk, and after some confusion at the start (I know, I know, this is supposed to be a natural thing, but I'm still little and need to learn some of these things!) I latched on and did a really good job feeding - it was nice to actually get to taste my food for once after having it just piped straight into my stomach all this time!

They're not sure exactly how much I ate, but Mom says that judging from how much she pumped compared to usual, I probably ate 10-20 ml which the nurses said is really good for a first time!  So yes, I'm pretty awesome!

After that Mom burped me and held me for awhile.

I got nice and comfy and we had a good visit - I was even awake for part of it!

I think Mom enjoyed it too!

I was pretty pooped from trying the breastfeeding so passed out pretty quickly.

I had a minor brady/desat episode afterward but I recovered quickly on my own and the nurses said it was probably just because I was tired from trying the breastfeeding so they weren't overly worried.

A busy day but an enjoyable one!  Now I need to rest up for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow so back to bed for me...