Day 12 in NICU

October 2nd, 2015

Day 12 in NICU

27 Weeks Old Today!!!

My precious baby girl is 27 weeks old today and she is a whopping 1lb 14 oz. According to Dr. Su this is probably her birth weight and it's amazing she has gained it all back. They have increased her feedings again to 16ml every three hours with 2 packets of milk fortifier to increase her calories even more. 

When I showed up this morning baby girl was screaming and when I looked in her isolate I noticed she had pulled her CPAP with prongs down into her mouth. She was very worked up and when I put her CPAP prongs back into her nose she got even more angry. She continued to cry and get more worked up until the nurse switched her back to the CPAP mask. Once she put the CPAP mask back on she immediately relaxed-and she relaxed so much she stopped breathing. It took a lot of stimulation to get her to take a breath and even though I know it's normal it's really difficult to watch your baby girl turn from a nice pink healthy oxygenated color to gray....

Abby's CPAP remains at 21% PEEP of 5, isolate humidity has decreased to 30%, her temp before I got to hold her today was 98.1, she had no residuals after increased feeding dose. When I was holding her today she was very alert and had her eyes open. I held her for over an hour. Amazing...

Abby's room: Room #21

Abby's isolete

Abby's feeding tube pump

Abby's vitamins

CPAP machine

hospital breast pump I get to use at the bedside

Holding Baby  girl

Abby's CPAP

Day 11 in NICU

October 1st, 2015

Day 11 in NICU

Abby's Brain Scan was Negative!

I can't believe that it is October 1st already. It is also the first time driving a car since August 28th, the day my water broke. My C-section is healing well and I'm no longer needing pain medication.

I drove up to see Abby by myself this morning and got the chance to hold her but again for only a short period of time. Miss Abby kept dropping her heart rate every time she was working on a poop.  We let her finish and then her little feisty self pulled out her feeding tube. She is so active for being only 26 weeks old. All the nurses say she seems older than she really is because she is so active and alert. Once she finally got her feeding tube out she was so proud of herself!

Abby weight today was 1 lb and 13 oz, and her PICC line came out making it so much easier to move her as she is no longer hooked up to TPN and lipids. Her feedings have increased to 14ml every 3 hours with an added human fortifier that helps increase her calories. I can't remember if they told me the fortifier increased her calorie intake by 22 calories per ml or oz. Abby's bottom still remains red but is getting better. She got a bath last night as well-she will get a bath every 3 days during the night. I hope next mouth when they switch to baths during the day I will get the chance to give her a bath as well.

Thank you all for all the prayers and positive thoughts. God truly is working miracles as Abby's brain scan came back negative today for any hemorrhage. Dr. Su informed us that her little brain looks great! Another brain scan most likely won't be done unless there are concerns.

She is getting bigger each time we see her. 

Aunt Bonda got her very own carseats today as well. The kids were excited especially Trey as he got to face forward. I didn't have the strength or energy to get his seat in rear facing....

Day 10 in NICU

September 30th 2015

Day 10 in NICU

26 weeks and 5 days

I was not able to see Abby today but she had a good report from her nurses. I was scared to call in the am as today was supposed to be the day she had her BIG head ultrasound to look for any problems. Bill called and it turns out it's tomorrow. So I got all worried and stressed out for nothing....

Tube feeds were increased to 14ml every 3 hours and she is tolerating them well. She finished her bag of TPN and lipids and doctor gave the orders to remove her PICC line. This is a HUGE milestone. This doesn't mean she won't have to get another one at some time but we can continue to pray that she doesn't have to get another one. She continues to have the apnea events so she will continue to remain on CPAP and caffeine for a while.

Aunt Bonda having fun with the kids!

Day 9 in NICU

September 29th 2015

Day 9 in NICU

26 weeks and 4 days old

I was anxious to get to the hospital today as I got uplifting news that I could try and hold Abby again today. I am still unable to drive due to my c-section so Aunt Bonda was kind enough to drive me up to see Abby.

Abby had 3 apnea events in the am but once she got her am latte the nurse said she was doing better. TF still remained at 12ml every 3 hours with little to no residuals.  They started adding iron supplements and a liquid multivitamin to her tube feedings in preperation to getting her PICC line out and stopping lipids and TPN. Her bottom still remains red so I hope they leave her bottom to air so it can heal up. Everything else remained the same.

I got to hold Abby for about 1.5 hours before we had to leave to get the kids in San Marcos. It was an amazing feeling holding her little warm body against mine.

Baby Abby right before I got to hold her

Emma also had her second soccer game this evening. It was the first time I have gotten to see her play  since I was in the hospital for most practices and her first game. She really struggles with getting out there and playing so her daddy has to hold her hand.

Day 8 in NICU-1 Week Old Today!

September 28th 2015

Day 8 in NICU

Abby is 1 Week Old Today!

Today Bill and I visited Abby late in the evening around 8pm. She had a rough day with increased apnea events. We have been reassured that this is normal for her age, but it is still worrisome for us too see. We did care time this evening-changed her diaper and took her temp. Her bottom has started to get red and break down so we started to put cream on it. She has tolerated tube feeds so they have increased them again to 12ml every 3 hours and she is tolerating the increased dose. They are also giving the feedings over an hour-something we suggested. With increased tube feeding means we got to go down on TPN to 1ml/hr. It is looking like we will get to take out the PICC line soon as long as she continues to tolerate feedings. They have also decreased the humidity in her isolate to 60% from 72%. CPAP remains the same at 21% with peep of 5. She has gained 20 grams and is now 1 lb 10oz!

We weren't able to hold Abby today because of all the apnea events but we did place our hands on her body and held her hand inside the isolate. It is important that she gets the human "touch" daily.

She is always kicking her feet 

Respiratory therapy took off her CPAP to assess her face and head for skin breakdown and we got to see her beautiful face and all of her dark hair. She is truly another Abide girl!

Day 7 in NICU

September 27th, 2015

Day 7 in NICU


Posting this a few days late....

After a wonderful visit on Saturday I was hoping for the same on Sunday. I was overwhelmed with emotions as today would be my first time holding baby Abby. I had butterflies in my tummy just thinking about it.

It was going to be a long visit as we were going to introduce the kids to Abby and grandma Rosie was  going to see baby Abby for the first time as well. A big day for our family. Grandma and I scrubbed in and went to see Abby. Only two people at a time are allowed into the NICU and you have to be accompanied by one parent of the baby in the NICU. Grandma had a nice visit with Abby.

Our nurse today was Kim and she gave Abby her first bath in the am. After her bath Abby's temperature dropped a little so we weren't 100% sure I was going to get to hold her. Otherwise her vitals were stable. Her tube feeds increased to 9ml ever 3 hours, with no residuals. She weight 1lb and 9 oz today.

Both kids were sleeping so we didn't bother waking them up to see Abby. Instead Bill and I started our care time. Changed her diaper and took her temperature. Abby's temperature was high enough that I could hold her so the nurses gathered up all her tubes, lines etc. and put her tiny body on my chest. It was the most amazing feeling holding my daughter for the first time.

Unfortunately, I only got to hold her for a short period of time as Abby's heart rate kept dropping into the 60's and she stopped breathing. We had to rub her back to stimulate her to take a breath. Her temperature also dropped when I was holding her. We weren't sure if her temperature dropping is what caused her to have bradycardia episodes or not. Either way she had to go back into her isolate quickly to get stabilized. Bill and I did get to place our hands on her back and do touch time for about five more minutes until we had to leave.

My emotions definitely took over after that event. I was so sad that I didn't get to hold her and that I was the problem she didn't do well.

So in love with my beautiful peanut!

Family photo with my double chin.....

Day 6 in NICU

September 26th 2015

Day 6 in NICU

26 weeks and 1 day old

I was so anxious to see Abby today. I called the nurse as early as I could to figure out what would be the best time to see Abby today. Abby remained stable over night with no changes. After Dr. Su rounded in the am they increased her tube feedings to 6ml every 3 hours. She is doing well with her feedings and has gained some weight today. She was 1 lb 11oz. Her weight will fluctuate as sometimes they weigh her with her CPAP on and other times they get the opportunity to take it off. 

Megan was Abby's NICU nurse today and we really bonded with her. She also had a baby early and we had similar stories. Her son is 6 years old now and had his first soccer game today. She was such a sweet and carrying nurse. 

We knew today going up to see Abby that there was a possibility of us getting to hold her and Bill and I were so excited. When we arrived we took Abby's temperature and changed her diaper together. Then we got ready to hold Abby Rose for the first time. I really wanted Bill to have the honors of holding his precious little girl for the first time. Plus daddy's are the best to snuggle with. Bill was very nervous at first but once he got her on his chest his smile said everything. It was such a special moment as parents and I will cherish today forever. 

Skin-to-skin care has so many benefits that we didn't know about. It really can improve babies outcome so it's important to do it as much as possible. They want parents to hold baby for a minimum of an hour each time and as close to the skin as possible. Moving baby to much can be overwhelming for baby and he/she may not tolerate it, so once they get settled on your chest it's best to keep them there for as long as you can or baby tolerates it. Abby snuggled right into Bill's chest and fell asleep. Such an amazing site to see and she tolerated it so well-in fact her vital signs improved.