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
The URL that you cited is from Emory.edu . That is where Carlie works. or I should say worked. She was education at Emory. interesting how we are all connected. I love you all.
ReplyDeleteSlow and steady! That's the recipe to progress that lasts ... like dissertation writing, or getting in shape, or growing as a premie. :)
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