Progress Report

Hi Everyone,

I apologize for missing a post yesterday--it turns out life as the mother of two is much busier than sitting in a hospital alone :)

Ok--Update on Reese:

1.  She is off of all breathing help!  They took her off her nasal cannula Monday afternoon, and she has been breathing on her own ever since.  She still has occasional spells, but is doing awesome.

2.  We started bottle feeding her on Tuesday morning, and she started slow, but she has been picking up in the last day or so.  We started giving her 10 mL and she is now up to 50mL at some feedings.  Hopefully this continues to improve.  She has also nursed a couple of times and done well.

3.  Her bilirubin count went down enough that she is off of her blanket. It went up a bit again today, but the nurse said they expect that.  She shouldn't have to have any more light therapy.

4.  She moved out of her incubator to a crib!  This means we can pick her up anytime we want :) :) :)

5.  They pulled her feeding tube, so now her beautiful face is visible all the time.

6.  Her IV came out and they didn't start a new one! The only thing left on her is her little stickers that monitor her heart rate, breathing, and oxygen levels.


SO, as you can see, she has made tremendous progress in the last 2 days. The nurse practioner got my hopes up this morning that she could go home as early as tomorrow,  but then she came back later and said she had missed a couple of decelerations in Reese's heart rate/breathing rate on her chart.  Ideally, she should not be having any more of these "spells" for a few days before she goes home...but each doctor handles it differently.  We are going to do a car seat test this afternoon (she sits in her seat for the time it takes us to get home--so an hour) and see if she does well there.  Tiff, the nurse practioner, called it a "gray area" of neonatology, so it's really up to each doctor's discretion.  I will know more after rounds this afternoon, but we would LOVE to be home by the weekend.

I have been busy feeding her, cuddling her, and trying to take care of myself.  Tuesday night was great being home with Harper, but it was also busy unpacking and organizing.  I had horrible guilt about leaving Harper again on Wednesday morning--I feel so torn between home and this hospital.  But she seemed to love going back to daycare yesterday, and Jason says she is doing well.  I just want her to have some stability and routine again, but it looks like it will be a few more days.  I would love if you would include Harper in your prayers (and me too...and Jason :).

Speaking of Jason, he has been a rock star taking care of Harper and keeping things up at home.  He went back to work today, but I don't think he will be able to stay away for long. 

I could not stay sane without the help we are getting.  I am so grateful.  I will try to be better about posting timely updates!  Now for some pics.