Day 41 in NICU

October 31 2015

Day 41 in NICU

Abby's 1st Halloween!

I got to spend some quality time with Abby today and made up for lost time yesterday during the bad weather. Baby girl looked so good. She remained on CPAP at 21% with little events. Feedings have been increased to 25 ml every 3 hours with minimal residuals. Soft tummy with good bowel movements. Her skin looks great with no break down. Her weight was 1240 grams (2lbs 12 oz). Grow Abby Grow!

Little Strawberry!

Kitty Cat

Cute puppy

milking cow ;)

Day 40 in NICU

October 30th 2015

Day 40 in NICU

31 Gestation Weeks Today

Today I woke up to lighting and thunder and a phone call from Bill saying there was a tornado coming. Me and the kids headed to the basement. The weather remained nasty all day causing flooding in the area. Are basement flooding and we discovered we had a leak in our rough. 

There was no way up to see Abby today but got report from the nurse that her energy was back. Her weight was 2 lbs 11 oz and she had an eye exam today for the first time. The eye exam came back good. It doesn't appear that she has any damage or abnormalities to her retina. They will continue to monitor her eyes every 2 weeks while she is in the NICU. 

Trying to have some fun on this rainy day

backyard flooding

over flow

flooding our backyard

Day 39 in NICU

October 29th 2015

Day 39 in NICU

Baby girl got a lot of blood taken this morning-4ml which Dr. Su said is about 4% of her body weight. You could definitely tell it took a lot out of Abby today as she was lethargic when I visited today at noon, she also looked more pale. I stayed with her a long time and held her for over 2 1/2 hours. She really needed her mommy today. She had a really bad episode while we were visiting as well. Overall, I didn't feel good about leaving her so Bill and I decided to visit again in the evening. When we arrived I could already tell her skin color looked better. Daddy got to hold his baby girl and all was better.

Abby's weight was 2lbs and 13oz (1270 grams). Seems like a big jump so we will see if it's accurate tomorrow.

The kids had a Halloween party at school. Trey was so excited to wear his costume. 

Day 38 in NICU

October 28 2015

Day 38 in NICU

2 pounds 11 ounces & Brain Scan

The protein seems to be helping as today Abby weighed in at 2 pounds and 11 ounces (1230grams)! She is definitely starting to look bigger to me. Her belly is getting bigger and after she eats it's big and round but remains soft. Abby has lots of blood work to be done tomorrow so please pray for her.

Abby's scan of her brain also looked really good. Wasn't aware that they were repeating this test but glad we got good results.  They are looking for cell death from lack of oxygen or blood in and on her brain and her scan came back negative. This is great news and she gets older to continue have good brain scans. 

Trey watching the dogs 

Day 37 in NICU

October 27th 2015

Day 37 in NICU

Abby has remained stable today. She is digesting her food well and belly remains soft. She hasn't appeared to have any problems with my breastmilk which is great as I know some moms have to change their diets for their babies. I feel pretty blessed that my diet and milk production hasn't been an issue. Although, they have added protein to her diet she did not gain any weight, she remains at 1190 grams. I'm guessing this will take a few days before we really see a difference but she seems to be tolerating it well. Grandpa Foisy visited with Abby today as well.

Day 36 in NICU-5 Weeks Old

October 26th 2015

Day 36 in NICU

Grandpa Foisy visits & Flu Shots

Today Grandpa Foisy (aka Grandpa with the dog) got to visit Abby at the hospital. Abby is still doing well but needs some help gaining some weight. She appears to be very petite and is gaining weight slowly so Dr. Su decided to add protein to her diet to help with weight gain. They would like to see half an ounce a day. They have added 0.1ml every three hours (such a small amount). If she tolerates this they will add more. She continues to digest her feedings well with little residuals. Her weight today is 1190 grams. 

The kids got flu shots after we saw Abby today and they did great!

Day 35 in NICU

October 25th 2015

Grandma and Grandpa Abide's Visit

The Grandparents arrived this weekend and Bill got to make some Halloween biscuits in our new kitchen. It was a rough week with moving but we always try to enjoy the weekends together even when daddy has to go work.

Abby is doing well today. She remains on CPAP and the changed it to 5 at 21%. Her weight is the same as yesterday 11grams. Grandma and Grandpa Abide got to visit at her bedside before heading back to Dallas.

Day 34 in NICU

October 24th 2014

Day 34 in NICU

Rainy Day

Today the weather was awful and made the drive up to North Austin difficult. Bill was on-call this weekend but finished in time to drive up with me. Grandma and Grandpa Abide came in this weekend to help since Bill was on-call. 

Sweet Abby was happy to see her daddy and did skin-to-skin with him. She loves being on daddy's chest. Her heart rate decreases and oxygen levels increase. It's pretty amazing. Abby was 1140 grams today (albs 8oz).

Day 33 in NICU

October 23rd 2015

Day 33 in NICU

30 Weeks Gestational Age Today

Aunt Bonda and I visited Abby today. When we arrived she was on CPAP prongs at 21% and she was not happy about it. You could hear her crying through the isolette. Her cry has definitely gotten stronger. She is so feisty and strong that it took two people to get her face cleaned up. She is tolerating her feeds and had her first blow out diaper today! The nurse put her in a bigger diaper and a cute outfit afterwards. Her weight was 2 lbs 8 oz today. I got to take some pictures of kangaroo time today and you can tell she is getting bigger. 

Thankful that the week is almost over. The move has been difficult and I'm so thankful for all those who have helped especially Aunt Bonda. 

Day 32 in NICU

October 22nd 2015

Day 32 in NICU

Today was a big day for Abby-she got her first paci! 

I had a rough start to my day and I started to feel crummy in the morning. I think the stress of the move, my kids not sleeping, me not sleeping, pumping 24/7 and traveling to see Abby everyday started to get to me. I still wanted to see her but didn't want the risk her getting sick so I didn't do skin-to-skin. When I arrived Abby had her hand out like she was doing a push-up! So cute.

I was really upset that I wasn't going to get to hold her and I had such a wonderful nurse who helped me overcome today's feelings. She also was a NICU mom who became a NICU nurse-->this may be my calling too in the future. Anyways, Abby was 2 lbs 6 oz -growing steadily. CPAP remains at 21% and she continues to tolerate her feedings.

We gave Abby a paci today because she was smacking her lips and sucking on her tube feeding tube. She took it right away and was sucking on it! This is a huge developmental milestone. When her paci fell out she was actually rooting for it, turning her head side to side. It was so amazing and I was crying happy tears at the bedside. Wish Bill was there to see her. Her eyes were open and she was so content.

Her little paci. 

Day 31 in NICU-1 Month Old!

October 21st 2015

Day 31 in NICU-1 Month Old!

Abby is 1 Month Old!

Abby had a great 1 month old birthday and a fabulous nurse. Today's nurse, Gladis, suggested that she go back on CPAP to help with her apnea episodes and she is doing much better off of BIPAP. She was placed back on CPAP at 21%. She weights 2 lbs 5.39 oz and has grown an inch in length since birth. She has a soft belly and is tolerating her increased feedings well (22ml Q3hours). We did skin-to-skin for a long time today and she was a happy girl!