Reese and I took a trip to the Castle (Sanford Children's) on Tuesday for a checkup at the apnea clinic. We saw a nurse practitioner who looked Reese over and asked about how the monitor had been going.
Reese weighs 7 lbs 11 oz and looks great! She has had a couple of episodes where the monitor has gone off, but we haven't seen her change color (get blue) or had to stimulate her to breathe--she comes out of it on her own. The nurse prac. was happy with her progress.
The next step is that a doctor has to look at the download from her apnea monitor, and when he gives the go-ahead, we will start weaning Reese off the caffeine she is taking to help stimulate her to breathe. Apparently babies go through caffeine withdrawal too, so they recommend cutting the dosage in half for 5 days before cutting her off :)
Then we will go 5 days without caffeine, and then she will have to go back to the hospital for one night to have a pneumogram (sleep study) done. She had one of these done when she was in the NICU too, and that's what revealed her apnea. They want to be sure the apnea is resolved, and the sleep study is the best way to do that. I hate to go back for a night, but I would rather be sure things are resolved. If that sleep study goes well, then we will finally be able to get rid of the monitor.
All of this is a nuisance, but I know that things could be much worse. I am thankful that we got to walk out of there and go to Target. I am thankful I got to buy my girls matching fall outfits and have strangers at the mall stare at my baby in her stroller. I am thankful Harper was at daycare so I didn't have to chase her :) So thank you to all of you who prayed for Jason, Harper, Reese, and me--I am so thankful for you, too.
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