Emily Update 3/31/09

Emily is doing great today. She had her first eye exam today, it went well. Her eyes are developing normally for her age. The reasoning for the eye exam was to check for Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). This is a process of abnormal blood vessel growth in the retina of the eye. There is a strong association with ROP and prematurity as ROP is seen most frequently in infants born at less than 32 weeks gestational age. Besides prematurity, additional risk factors for ROP include respiratory problems, anemia (low blood count), heart problems, hemorrhage in the brain, and the need for supplemental oxygen necessity. Of course we are looking for the reasons of respriatory and oxygen use. She is up to 2 lbs 15 oz. So hopefully tomorrow she will break the 3 lb mark. She is active and fiesty. And is all about trying to help the nurses take care of her, usually by grabing the tubes they need or are trying to use and pulling on them.

Emily Update 3/30/09

Emily has had a great night and day. She put on 2 oz which now brings her to a whopping 2 lbs 14 oz. She is still really low on her oxygen intake. Which what we want. They ran her nutrition labs again today, and everything was nice and high. Her iron was really high, which also really good. And her bilirubin was nice low, which means she isn't jaundice. The 2 oz could also be partially water gain, since babies her size don't normally gain that much weight at a time. Thanks for following Emily's journey and keeping her in your prayers.

Emily Update 3/29/09

Emily is still doing very well. They turned down her oxygen to 21%. Which basically means she is breathing the same air that we are, just it is a little more forceful to keep the air sacs in her lungs opened up. She is recieving 24 ccs of milk with 24 calories for every ounce in it. She is up to 2 lbs 12 oz now. She is geing so close to the 3 lb mark. We are hoping once she is up to that point she may not need all the help with her breathing. She can't get moved into an open crib until she is off the CPAP and is no longer in need of the ventilator. We finally found clothing that fits her, doll clothing. But I doubt that will last for very long at the rate she is growing. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who is reading these blogs and keeping Emily in their prayers.

Emily Update 3/25/09

Emily is doing great. Her retick count was right where it needed to be. This means she is making her own red blood cells and at a good rate. She is tolerating the CPAP well. She did lose about 1/2 oz, due to the fact they skipped a feeding last night. They wanted to see how well she would tolerate being on CPAP and didn't want to overwhelm her. Her head ultrasound came back perfectly normal. Her brain is growing and function just as it should. I got to dress her for the first time today. It was to cute, even her preemie clothing is to big on her. But she will grow into it soon enough, at least I keep telling myself that.

Emily Update 3/25/09

Emily Maire is one month old today. She is doing great. They removed the ventilator yesterday, and is now back on CPAP by mouth. With a little (lot) of help from Miss Emily. She is keeping them very busy and on their toes. Emily seems to have many tricks up her little sleeve. She weighs 2 lbs 11 oz. They moved her feedings up again, she is now getting 24 cc of milk every three hours. They are doing a head ultrasound today, checking for white brain mass. The white brain mass is good. It shows the brain is developing like it should. They also are doing a rountine check. And doing what is called a retick count, this will see how fast she is making her own red blood cells. If she is making them at a fast enough rate, then they will leave her alone. But if not then they are talking about another transfusion. We are getting closer to getting her in an open crib. She has to have all leads and tubes taken off of her before that. So we have the CPAP and just the basic leads left. They are talking in about being able to dress her soon, so Mom and me have spent the last two nights getting clothes together for her. Thankfully we have plenty of preemie clothing. Thank you to all who gave them to us. I wanted to use these because by the time she gets home she be in newborn/0-3 monthes. And at 34 weeks they will attempt to feed her through a bottle. She has to be able to take it and keep most of it down for 48 hours before she comes home. Keeping our fingers crossed that she will be home before long.

Emily Update 3/22/09

Emily Marie is doing beautiful today. She is up to full feedings now, which is 22 cc of milk every three hours. She is tolerating it very well and keeping it all down. She is still getting 24 calories added to every 30 ounces of milk. She now weighs 2 lbs 8 3/4 oz. She normally puts on about 20 grams a day. And once she reaches 34 weeks they will begin to bottle feed her. She got her ventilator settings turned down again today. She is now receiving 15 breathes per minute, and is pretty much driving it herself. Which means that it really only puts pressure on her when she falls below the set setting. She had a chest x-ray and it looked perfect. They are looking at taking her off the ventilator around Monday or Tuesday. Keep sending prayers and good thoughts our way.

Update Emily 3/21/09

Emily is doing really good. She is up to 2 lb 8oz. They are weaning her off the ventilator. She has been stable for the last two days, and it is looking like a good night for her. She had another chest x-ray, which is clear. Her blood gas is excellent. All her levels are where they need to be. She is still getting 21 cc of milk every three hours and 24 calories added to every ounce of milk she takes. They won't increase her feedings until she stops gaining weight, then they will increase it again.