Elizabeth is still getting good reports from the doctors and nurses.
Her feeds are going up every 12 hours now until she reaches 15cc (1/2 an oz)right now she is up to 11cc! She will be off all IV fats and nutrition tonight and her big IV should be out by the weekend!
Elizabeth is growing now up to 1lb and 11 1/2oz! My doctor stopped by to visit me and was surprised to see how much she has grown in little over a week.
Everything is still about the same. The doctors tell us no news is good news and they don't have much to say. One of her doctors told me that she is amazed that Elizabeth is doing so well given her small start. She said that it is mircalous that she is even able to go on her nasal canulla. Today Elizabeth is up to 8cc feedings!
Elizabeth gave us a small scare this morning. She was having what they call "events". This means that Elizabeth had a drop in heart rate called a "brady" or a drop in her oxygen level a "desat". Elizabeth usually doesn't have bradys and had some Monday and today. She also had a higher temp than they would like. Luckly Elizabeth's cafeine level was low causing her events and her isolette was over heating making her warm.
All is well God is great!
Elizabeth is doing well. She has had a great week.
On Wednesday afternoon her feeds were increased to 2cc, she was doing well with that and was bumped up to 3cc on Thursday morning, and today she is getting 4cc. Her goal is 13cc, as long as Elizabeth is tolerating each feed well she will be increased by 1cc each day. So far so good.
Her CPAP pressure was taken down from 6 to 5 and that is as low as they will go. Her next step is to be weaned off the CPAP very slowly onto a nasal cannula. They will do this by taking her off the CPAP for a short time each day and increasing the time off as Elizabeth tolerates it . On Wednesday Elizabeth was taken off CPAP for one hour a day while I held her. It was nice to see her whole face! She sure is a pretty baby! Starting today Elizabeth will be on nasal canulla for 1 1/2 hours twice a day while being held.
Apparently Elizabeth feels that she has been in the NICU for a while and now knows how to operate some of her equipment. The past few day Elizabeth has removed her feeding tube several times each day and removed her CPAP too.
Have a great weekend everybody!
Just a quick update
Elizabeth is still doing well on her CPAP, one of her doctors
called her a "mighty mite"
Elizabeth has grown, she now is now about 1lb 8oz and 13 inches
long. What a big girl! She is also doing well digestive wise, they
have uped her feeds to 2cc every 3 hours to see how she does with
that. They are also taking blood tests less often, which is good
news; both because she doesn't get a stick and is more
stable.
I will post more latter
Elizabeth is still doing well on her CPAP. She has surprised everyone, who thought for sure she would be back on her vent after a day of CPAP (of course she can go back at any time, her lungs are still very premature). Now that Elizabeth is off the vent we are able to hold her, today I kangarooed with her for the third time. Matt is planning on holding Elizabeth for the first time tomorrow.
The big news of the day is that Elizabeth has finally pooped! Never has this event been more celebrated! She had three dirty diapers, two while I was there so I helped to change her. Elizabeth is still tolerating her feedings for the most part, now that her digestive tract is moving better, hopefully she will improve more.
A few people have asked if Elizabeth has opened her other eye. She has, she did it on the same day just later that night. The following day was her heart surgery so it had slipped my mind and I never posted that event.
As I watched Elizabeth sleep on my chest today, I was struck by the thought that I was holding a true miracle. Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support, it means the world to all of us. Elizabeth is a testament to power of prayer, as one of our pastors, Pastor Mike, said “God is still in the miracle business.” How true that is!
So far so good. Elizabeth really seems to be doing well on the CPAP, her oxygen requirement is really low around 25%. She does look a little funny in the contraption. The down side of CPAP is that it blows a lot of air into her tummy, so she is having a few problems digesting her food with all of the extra air in there. With her tube out now, Elizabeth is able to cry. I heard her make a noise for the first time last night, it was a very quite little squeak. Her vocal chords are swollen from the tube, she will get louder as she recovers and gets stronger.
Yesterday Elizabeth Grace turned a month old. This itty bitty baby girl has been thru more in her first month of life than most people in their entire life. Here is a short and I am sure not complete list (I am sure that the insurance company has a much more complete list!)
Born 17 weeks early, weighing 1lb3oz and 10inches long
Countless heel sticks and blood draws for blood test
At least 6 (more I think) blood and platelet transfusions
Countless X-rays (she had 3 today)
2 chest tubes
1 heart surgery
1 septic infection
She has been on 2 ventilator machines, 2 CPAP machines
2 arterial lines (which are great, they can draw blood with out a stick)
0 poops (we are still waiting for that!)
Lots of loving and skilled nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, and other support staff
2281 hits on her website as of this posting
More prayers from around the world than we will ever know
One beautiful miracle of God
On CPAP
