Out of the NICU

So we're rooming in! We still in the hospital, right across from the nurses desk. She's off the bazillion monitors and only on the one we're taking home with us.

In the few hours we've already been here she won't sleep. In fact she gets upset when we're not holding her. She better not get used to that :-)

Meanwhile pictures that aren't in a hospital environment.

Almost double

Nora is now just over 6lbs, she has practically doubled in size! She is still practicing hard at breast feeding.

Here's another picture of her sleeping because, well, she does a lot of that.

Silly Dad

Hey Nora,

Years from now you will figure out the internet. You're going to use Google (or whatever we have then) to go looking for proof your dad is a goober. Well, just use this photo.

Love,
Dad

Just a few more days

The final tests have been done / are being scheduled. She passed her hearing test and the MRI of her brain was normal. Her meds are being tweaked and she did great in her car seat. They spend a minimum of 90 minutes in their car seat, or longer if they live farther than 90 minutes away. We have our bags packed and we are just waiting on the word to room in.

We'll get to spend the night at the hospital in a fancy room; It looks like a hotel room except it has oxygen ports on the wall. Nora will be with us the whole time. It will be a beta test before we go home.

So everyone keep thinking good thoughts. I mean the people are really nice here in the NICU, but I'd rather be updating this from my couch.

You want baby pictures, I got your baby pics right here!

Here are some pics I took yesterday. You can see Nora's name tag taped to the bottom of the monitor. It is supposed to be updated every day, but I guess it depends on how busy the nurses are. Whoever wrote this last note was particularly sweet and I wanted to share it with y'all.

And then more pictures of baby :-)

Pics, pics, pics, and exciting news

Nora is up to 5lbs 13.6oz. To me she looks bigger everyday.

Some other kinda important news came out yesterday. If we appease the NICU gods, and they are angry gods, Nora could possibly come home sometime this week. I will pause to let you guys finish jumping up and down with joy.

As with the rest of this experience there's some conditions. She will come home on a cardiac monitor. She is still having those episodes of not breathing which slows her heart rate. She has gotten a loading dose of caffeine, which should help her to remember that breathing is important. We will administer her more caffeine in her feeds. So after two weeks of caffeine the doctors will examine the data from the monitor. From that they may discontinue the caffeine and then only 2 more weeks of the monitor.

The nurses implied that they normally don't send babies home on a monitor. They have confidence that Sara and I are capable enough to handle it. Of course the fact that I am a Paramedic helped a little.

So everyone cross your fingers, pour some out, and say some prayers to the great and powerful NICU gods. If it all works out you guys will be getting pictures of Nora and Blue together. I hope instagram can handle that.

Picture perfect

No news, just pics!

Who likes photos of sleeping babies?

I am pretty sure the answer is "you guys".

No big news, still eating well, still working on breast feeding, but there's light at the end of the tunnel. It's the exit sign for the NICU, and hopefully Nora will get to see that soon. When? Well that's up to her. In the meantime we are waiting patiently.

Rub a dub dub, one little Nora in a tub

Nora had her first real bath from Sara! I am not sure how much she liked it. I think she was confused at the warm water, then liked it, then didn't like us taking her out of the water.
And of course I took pictures!

I don't know... do I like this?

OK, I like this.

No, wait, put me back! I liked that!

Foot loose and tube free

She's taking all of her feeds by bottle well enough that they removed her feeding tube!  Now we're really just waiting for her to grow out of her As & Bs so that she can come home.  And today she weighs 5 lbs 6 oz.  And now pictures!

Look at me now

So today Ms Nora had her eyes checked. The doctor was real mean and put these drops in her eyes and held them open while shining a bright light into them. Typical doctor stuff. However he did report that her eyes were exactly what they should be at her age and level of development. So all good there.

Nora is also steadily improving on her feeds. She's taking more directly from Sara and less from the bottle immediately after. Mostly because she gets full off mommy. She becomes very, uh, sleepy afterwards. The nurses call it "milk drunk". Evidence below.

Super Ultra light weight division

So Nora moved up a weight class, she is now over 5 pounds! By 1 whole ounce. She is also over 17 inches as well, but we may have mentioned that.

Nora has been eating like a champion. She has been cleared to take all of her feeds from a bottle. If she tolerates this for 2 days she can get the NG tube out of her nose.

But on to the good stuff :

feed me, Seymour

I'm running out of clever titles about food but that's still what we're working on.  Weight is up to 4 lbs 14 oz so we're creeping up on the 5 lb mark.

Pictures!

Bottoms up!

Big news of the day:  She took her first two bottles of the day in record time and was approved to take a third bottle.  The nurse that's been with us the last few days was so proud of her :)

And here is the good stuff:

Chubby baby knees get me every time

Sleeping on Daddy after my feed

Let's take a closer look

The nursery!

I took a "panoramic" shot of the nursery. You can see some neat Star Wars prints Sara found on etsy, the wonderful "early is on time" sign I commissioned  Shelley to make, and the Nora that Sara painted and attached ribbons to.

Thanks to Shelley, Brian, Tim, and Bobby for help moving furniture and painting.

baby face

No news, just pictures.  Weighing in at 4 lbs 8 oz today.  Hooray!

Naptime

All snuggled up

I moved up to a big girl pacifier.  

My kitty cat friend is still hanging out with me in my new bed

Look at my new bed!!!!

I figured out my phone camera issue so here are the pictures you've been craving.  

Napping in my crib

Napping in Moma's arms.  Look how chubby my cheeks are getting!

This is a picture of Blue looking particularly cute in his fleece hoodie.  

Growing up in the NICU: Baby Steps

First thing:  I'm sorry that there are no pictures from today or yesterday but my phone is refusing to take pictures and I have no idea where my real camera might be.

Next, big news:  Nora is now sleeping in a crib instead of an isolette!  That means she's maintaining her body temperature which makes changing her diapers much, much easier.

That probably has all of you thinking that she's going to come home any day now, right?  Well, its just one of many little milestones that she will have to hit before the doctors start talking to us about taking her home.

Everyone develops at their own pace and preemies are no exception.  Nora is moving at her own pace which the doctors have reassured me is well within what is considered normal for her age.  Here are some of the things that she's still working on:

• Apnea & Bradycardia--preemies pretty much all have episodes of "As & Bs" and they all grow out of them at some point.  One of the signs that she's ready to go home will be few or no episodes of As & Bs.  For more info on the topic, check out this website: http://www.pediatrics.emory.edu/divisions/neonatology/parent_info3.html
• Bottle feeding--Nora is being offered two bottles a day now of the 8 times that she eats.  As of today, she's taking about half of those two bottles and then being tube fed the rest of her meals.  Its pretty rare that they send a baby home that is still taking feeds by tube.
• Breast feeding--We are still practicing breast feeding but she isn't getting very much at those feeds yet.    Breast feeding is much more active than bottle feeding and takes a bit longer to get the hang of.
• Who knows what else?  I've absorbed these things from being in the NICU but the doctors haven't even begun to talk to us about discharge which is a pretty good sign that we're not ready yet.   

Believe me when I tell you that as soon as we have any idea of when the big day will be, we will be shouting it from the rooftops.  In the meantime, we all just have to be patient while she grows :)  

xo,

Sara 

New Year, nothing new

Nothing new happened yesterday and my phone is being a jerk so I only have one picture to share.  Happy New Year, everyone!!!

xo,

Sara