Life in the NICU - Update

I need something in writing so the days to blend together while we're in the NICU. So here it goes

July 14 - Calista Mae Wilkinson was born at 5:08 pm. She is 5 pounds, 6 ounces and 18.5 inches long. The NICU nurses barely made it to my room before she was born - yeah that's how fast labor was. After checking her out, they let me hold her for 30 seconds before taking her to the NICU. Kyle doesn't get to hold her. Bo and Grandma Deb come to see her in the delivery room. Later, I go to see her with my delivery nurse and my mom. She's in her isolette, grunting because she's trying to breathe but can't. They had her hooked up to Comfort Flow oxygen - forced oxygen. She sounds awful. Later that night, they switch her to a CPAP machine and she gets some relief. IVs are started.

July 15 - Still hooked up to the CPAP and she looks pitiful with it on. Still not allowed to eat by mouth.

July 16 - Very swollen from CPAP, especially in her face. Somewhere between July 15 and July 16, the doctor says that if this doesn't work, they will consider intubating and giving her surfactant (the hormone she's missing in her lungs). This will immediately fix her breathing problems, but they do not want to do it if they don't have to. Started on 10 cc of breast milk.

July 17 - Has a hard day. Given Lasix to get rid of her extra fluid, and taken off CPAP. Back on Comfort Flow oxygen. Billi lights started today for 24 hours. Up to 20 cc of breast milk. She has problems keeping her IV in, so they start an umbilical line.

July 18 - Off billi lights. Nurse tells us we won't be able to hold her until the umbilical line comes out, which would be Wednesday when she's off antibiotics.

July 19 - Off oxygen. Does awesome most of the day off of it. New nurse tells me I can hold her during her feeding!! :-) Kyle comes during lunch hour and he gets to hold her for the first time. She desats (drop in oxygen level) later in the day and they put her back on comfort flow.

July 20 - Get to "practice" breastfeeding. She latches great! Get to hold her twice today during feedings. Off of oxygen now completely since 1 am that morning.

July 21 - 1 week birthday! She gets a bath, a crib (no more isolette!), clothes, and more practicing breastfeeding. The nurses do not want to wear her out by trying to breastfeed. She sleeps through her bath - very relaxed little baby! I believe at this point she is taking 2 - 6 cc of breastmilk by nursing.

July 22 - present (July 28). Breastfeeding going good, she just tires easily. All she has to do is "wake up" and eat without needing her feeding tube. Up to 50 cc at this point. We introduced the bottle on Sunday and she does good with that too. I think this has to be the most frustrating part because she's not sick anymore. Doctor says there is a method to their madness and she really does need to wake up and not miss any feedings otherwise she could get sick and end up back in the NICU or hospital. By July 26, her highest breastfeeding intake is 34 cc

July 28 - Happy 2 week birthday! She has been doing great at breastfeeding today! She actually breastfeeds better than she takes a bottle :) I took a quick walk around the NICU and felt very fortunate that Calista is not as sick as some others. Not that I can see or am being nosy, but when there is a sign on the door that says "Caution" or "Enter quietly, I'm growing" you know there are some really premature babies down here. I have thank God she is healthy and will be going home soon. :) She also has been gaining weight at the rate of an ounce a day -- awesome!! She had a great day intake-wise - a new record of 36 cc by breastfeeding. I have a feeling we will be going home soon, but time will tell.

July 30 - Calista had a great night! They are letting her eat from a bottle whenever now. One of the nurses frustrated me at the 11 pm feeding - not her nurse - because once she was done breastfeeding, I wanted to try the rest from a bottle. They have to warm up the milk regardless if it goes through the feeding tube or the bottle. She did not want to me to try the bottle. Whatever. The 2 am feeding went awesome, and the nurse bolus in the remaining 6cc. I should have asked for a bottle then but oh well. At the 5 am feeding, she ripped out her feeding tube (Go Calista!). And it never got put back in - even though a nurse practitioner told her day nurse that she better go ahead and put it back in because she didn't think Calista could do it. Did she ever prove her wrong. She did great all day.

July 31 - Still doing awesome. New nurse practitioner says we will be out of here in "a couple of days" if she continues to do well. She says to go ahead and bring in her carseat for the carseat test (make sure she doesn't have any apnea spells), and they will do her hearing test. She passes both with flying colors.

August 1 - We are going home!! Both the Dr. and nurse practitioner agreed that if Calista had a good night, they were ok with letting her go home. This makes for one happy momma!