Kate's New Bed

We went to see Kate tonight with all the kids.  They loved seeing the changes in her and also her new bed.  On Thursday she was moved to a "big girl bed."  It's actually just a normal baby isolate that most babies are put in as newborns. When preemies hit 4 lbs. and can hold their own temperature they get to switch over.  Yep- that's right- she's 4 lbs. now!!  It's getting harder and harder to walk out of the hospital leaving her behind now that she's doing so well and looking so good!  Today, I had a twinge of jealousy when I passed a new mother getting out of the wheelchair and into the car with her baby in the infant carrier on the back seat of their car. 
 
Kate was turned down to a 2 yesterday afternoon on her flow.  She sailed for the rest of the day, but became a little tired through the night and also today.  She started having more periodic breathing again and a fast respiratory rate that followed.  So far she's ok to stay on a 2, but not doing well enough to be weaned down to a 1.  The nurse told me tonight she would probably need one more day on a 2 and then she will probably be strong enough to make the jump.  This means on Tuesday we might get to try her first bottle!  (In general, preemies go home quicker when they are on the bottle rather than breastfeeding-even though it's not recommended by lactation.)  Because I just can't get my milk supply to give me more than one ounce per pumping- I know I will never be successful at breastfeeding her and I want to get her home as quick as I can- bottle here we come!  I'm so excited for Tuesday-  it just might be a huge day for her:)  Two weeks ago I scheduled an appointment for Tuesday with a photographer that takes pictures of NICU babies for free.  She had a baby in the NICU recently and wants to help make the stay for NICU families a little bit better by doing this.  I've been looking forward to this for awhile now.  Today my nurse told me that if Kate gets down to a 1 on her flow by that day- she will have less "stuff" on her face for the pictures.  She will just have a small nasal cannula and her feeding tube will go through her nose rather than her mouth.  We will be able to see more of her cheeks, mouth, and chin.  Seems kind of ironic- this could all happen on Tuesday- crossing my fingers! 

Kate's hemoglobin went from an 8.6 to an 8.8 in her lab tests on Saturday.  It's still borderline of needing a transfusion, but we are hopeful with this small increase she will continue to gain.  A transfusion at this point would be helpful for her short term, but in the long run it would teach her body to rely on that instead of producing her own bone marrow.  Kate was put back on the Human Milk Fortifier- it's a packet of powder put out by Similac that gives preemies the extra nutrition they need.  When she was first on it several weeks ago she didn't tolerate it well.  She was very gassy, had a distended tummy, and was constipated/or runny stool.  So she was switched to Nutramigen and had to have a lot of the extra nutrients added into my milk.  My nurse told me this made her feel like a chemist with all the formula's she had to follow and substances that had to be dumped in.  The problem is that it still didn't give her the complete nutritional elements she needed.  So far now Kate has tolerated the Human Milk Fortifier well- she is more constipated again, but they want to give her time to work through it.  The dietitians prefer she stays on it, because Kate's labs show that she is very low in protein.  Her weight and length are growing consistently, but she is still teeny at the 10th percentile (even with her new chubby cheeks and thighs).  Today she has been in the hospital for 65 days. 

 

 

 

 

She's come a long way from the picture below 1 1/2 months ago!