Today Maisie is up to 26ccs per feeding! This is great news that she's able to tolerate more and more food each day. I spent almost the whole day watching her today, and was really excited to see her get fidgety and active around her feeding times- fussy but without crying. Good babies get hungry when it's time to eat so we're excited to see Maisie growing into hunger!! Also, we're trying out nuzzling some when Kangarooing, and I was so excited that she actually tried to suck a little bit. (The docs said one huge hurdle for preemies is learning how to eat- I think Maisie's gonna be just fine!!)
She had to spend the day again under the bilirubin lights, but her counts were down this morning and we're hoping they continue to drop so she can put the jaundice bout behind her. It will be SOOO nice to be able to hold her for longer periods of time and more frequently. The silly lights just make Mommy impatient!
We continue to feel all the prayers and faith sent our way- thanks everybody! Please keep it up!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
One Week Old!!!
I can't believe it's already been one whole week that Maisie has been blessing our lives! And for only one week on earth as a premature baby, Maisie is doing remarkably well. Today her feedings were bumped up to 22 ccs each and her IV was removed!!!!! YAY!!!! (The nurses kept having to move her IV around and it was so painful and uncomfortable for our little girl- being IV free is so good on many levels!)
She is jaundiced again and had to go back under the bilirubin lights. This was hardest on Mama, who doesn't get to hold Maisie as often or for as long as she would like now- I only get to hold her for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. SO NOT FAIR!!! I try to remind myself it's for Maisie's best and will keep her healthy and help her come home faster, but it's a difficult sell psychologically for a new mom that is craving constant contact with baby!
We have been trying to leave our camera in her room to take more pics and videos and will post as much as we can!
She is jaundiced again and had to go back under the bilirubin lights. This was hardest on Mama, who doesn't get to hold Maisie as often or for as long as she would like now- I only get to hold her for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. SO NOT FAIR!!! I try to remind myself it's for Maisie's best and will keep her healthy and help her come home faster, but it's a difficult sell psychologically for a new mom that is craving constant contact with baby!
We have been trying to leave our camera in her room to take more pics and videos and will post as much as we can!
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| Mama's Kangaroo Care Time |
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| Tanning Under the Blue Lights |
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| Maisie gets comfy |
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Update Day 7
We spoke for a bit with Maisie's NPN and one of the neo docs while they were making rounds this afternoon. Maisie is up 5 grams from yesterday!! (She was born at 1474 grams, dropped and is back up to 1430.) She is also eating more! First they had her eating 10 cc's of milk at a time, then 15, and today they bumped it up to 18. The goal is to bump up her milk intake, reduce her IV fluids, and get her ready to just eat on her own, so this is all very good progress she is making!
She is also doing just fine as far as billirubin counts go- no more jaundice! Also, the nurse did NOT hear her heart murmur today- yay!!! But Maisie has had a lot of "Brady's" lately- those episodes where her heart rate drops really low and she forgets to breathe. If she doesn't improve, they may try to medicate her to help her stabilize more. I think it's funny the meds they would give her is just plain old caffeine! :)
I asked about when she might be discharged- what they look for, when they think she could go home. The NPN said usually all preemies stay until they are gestationally 40 weeks old (so closer to her actual due date). She said they can progress a whole bunch and seem perfectly normal, but still have to stay in the NICU until they are ready to be full babies. They have to be stable, eat well on their own, and that last part- learning to eat is what takes the longest. She can gain weight, get off the tubes and all, but still have to wait until she can eat on her own. So pray hard that she gets stable and learns how to eat FAST!!!
I did get to hold her a bit this morning and am hoping for more "Maisie Time" this afternoon! I LOVE that skin-to-skin time with Mom and Dad are a big part of her care! Ross and I keep forgetting our camera at home, but we're bringing it back with us to her room today and will make sure to leave it there so we can take LOTS of lovely pics!
She is also doing just fine as far as billirubin counts go- no more jaundice! Also, the nurse did NOT hear her heart murmur today- yay!!! But Maisie has had a lot of "Brady's" lately- those episodes where her heart rate drops really low and she forgets to breathe. If she doesn't improve, they may try to medicate her to help her stabilize more. I think it's funny the meds they would give her is just plain old caffeine! :)
I asked about when she might be discharged- what they look for, when they think she could go home. The NPN said usually all preemies stay until they are gestationally 40 weeks old (so closer to her actual due date). She said they can progress a whole bunch and seem perfectly normal, but still have to stay in the NICU until they are ready to be full babies. They have to be stable, eat well on their own, and that last part- learning to eat is what takes the longest. She can gain weight, get off the tubes and all, but still have to wait until she can eat on her own. So pray hard that she gets stable and learns how to eat FAST!!!
I did get to hold her a bit this morning and am hoping for more "Maisie Time" this afternoon! I LOVE that skin-to-skin time with Mom and Dad are a big part of her care! Ross and I keep forgetting our camera at home, but we're bringing it back with us to her room today and will make sure to leave it there so we can take LOTS of lovely pics!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Our Beautiful Angel
She has tape on her face so the nurses can attach little "sunglasses" when she has to be under the photo-therapy lights for her jaundice. Even with the tape, she is the most beautiful thing either Ross or I have ever seen!
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| She can't keep her eyes open long, but this face tells us she's still listening and attentive |
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| She likes to sleep with her hands by her face. |
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| A happy Maisie resting on Mama, holding Papa's finger. |
Maisie Update - Day 6
Ever since I was released from my C-section, all I have wanted to do is spend my whole day with Maisie! I'm jealous of all the other parents of newborns who get to hold their babies round the clock. They probably get tired of it, but when you CAN'T hold your baby, it drives a new parent crazy!!!! We only get to hold her for a little bit at a time, and only for a couple of hours total per day- and Ross and I have to share our limited time taking turns. So not fair!!
Medically, Maisie is doing very well under her circumstances. So many complications are possible when babies are born this early, but she seems so healthy thus far! She does have a heart murmur, and an EKG showed the docs that this was caused by an open pulmonary alveolar duct. (Here's a very thorough site explaining the whole thing) Apparently it bypasses blood past the lungs in the womb and then closes when the baby is born, allowing blood to flow into the lungs when they’re actually needed. In preemies, sometimes it doesn’t close, and that’s the case with Maisie. Luckily for her it is small right now, so the plan is to watch it and see if it closes on its own. If not, next week the docs will assess if she needs some intervention- they can give meds to help, and final resort would be surgery- scary!!! So pray that it will close (and STAY closed since they can often reopen) on its own quickly!!!
She continues to have what the nurses call “Brady’s”- little bradycardia episodes or arrhythmia of the heart rate. She’ll be resting so snug, her heart rate will drop. Sometimes she brings it back up on her own, sometimes she needs rubbed on the back and reminded to breathe. The nurses say this isn’t really related to her PDA, just another complication of being born so early.
When Maisie first arrived at the NICU, they tried feeding her every 3 hours and she didn't react well. They slowed her down to feedings every 6 hours, and she did well so they started feeding her every 4. Now she is back up to eating every 3 hours. In addition, the amount of milk she gets at each feeding is also increasing. They tried her on formula to start and she hated it! She seems to be liking her Mama’s milk much better and it's helping her grow so fast!!! She has already outgrown her first tiny diapers and is up a size! She is still too little to eat on her own and has to get fed through a tube for now. The goal is eventually to be a fully nursing baby- I can't wait because in the meantime we have to deal with a nasty feeding tube down her throat (which she is fond of pulling out!)
She has excellent nurses, docs, and people watching her round the clock- she is in excellent hands (minus the snippy nurse that made a fuss over letting me hold her!) Ross and I are feeling SOOO blessed!!
Medically, Maisie is doing very well under her circumstances. So many complications are possible when babies are born this early, but she seems so healthy thus far! She does have a heart murmur, and an EKG showed the docs that this was caused by an open pulmonary alveolar duct. (Here's a very thorough site explaining the whole thing) Apparently it bypasses blood past the lungs in the womb and then closes when the baby is born, allowing blood to flow into the lungs when they’re actually needed. In preemies, sometimes it doesn’t close, and that’s the case with Maisie. Luckily for her it is small right now, so the plan is to watch it and see if it closes on its own. If not, next week the docs will assess if she needs some intervention- they can give meds to help, and final resort would be surgery- scary!!! So pray that it will close (and STAY closed since they can often reopen) on its own quickly!!!
She continues to have what the nurses call “Brady’s”- little bradycardia episodes or arrhythmia of the heart rate. She’ll be resting so snug, her heart rate will drop. Sometimes she brings it back up on her own, sometimes she needs rubbed on the back and reminded to breathe. The nurses say this isn’t really related to her PDA, just another complication of being born so early.
When Maisie first arrived at the NICU, they tried feeding her every 3 hours and she didn't react well. They slowed her down to feedings every 6 hours, and she did well so they started feeding her every 4. Now she is back up to eating every 3 hours. In addition, the amount of milk she gets at each feeding is also increasing. They tried her on formula to start and she hated it! She seems to be liking her Mama’s milk much better and it's helping her grow so fast!!! She has already outgrown her first tiny diapers and is up a size! She is still too little to eat on her own and has to get fed through a tube for now. The goal is eventually to be a fully nursing baby- I can't wait because in the meantime we have to deal with a nasty feeding tube down her throat (which she is fond of pulling out!)
She has excellent nurses, docs, and people watching her round the clock- she is in excellent hands (minus the snippy nurse that made a fuss over letting me hold her!) Ross and I are feeling SOOO blessed!!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Meeting Maisie
I finally got to meet my little girl yesterday!!!! I can't express how beautiful she is, how wonderful it was to hold her, and how I dreamed of it over and over all night- having to say good-bye for the night was probably the worst experience yet!!!! Ross and I are in love with her, and she is truly AMAZING!!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Nursery Time
I finally picked out the fabric I'm going to use for our nursery. Beatrix Potter is still the theme, but My Goodness-there are so many different Beatrix Potter prints out there to choose from! No pre-made sets, but tons of fabric. I had a hard time figuring out a plan of attack.
I've ordered a ton of this fabric:
And I plan to create something like the following (but using this Peter Rabbit print instead of the toile, obviously):
I'm excited! We'll still have plenty of other stuff in the "nursery room"- my piano, a guest bed, storage stuff, etc. But hopefully a crib with cute bedding and matching curtains will go a long way to make it feel more like a baby's room!
I've ordered a ton of this fabric:
And I plan to create something like the following (but using this Peter Rabbit print instead of the toile, obviously):
I'm excited! We'll still have plenty of other stuff in the "nursery room"- my piano, a guest bed, storage stuff, etc. But hopefully a crib with cute bedding and matching curtains will go a long way to make it feel more like a baby's room!
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