On day 8, absent the lines in her belly button (which have been replaced by IVs in her arms), I got to hold her for the first time! They call it 'kangaroo care,' for reasons best known to the medical community. They untangle all the tubes and wires, tape them to the chair, and perch her on mom's chest to keep warm while also beginning to learn to regulate her body temp outside the 91 degree incubator. Just getting her out is a two-nurse production.Day 10 -- 1 pound, 9 oz.
Echocardiogram showed PDA still present, so started 3 days of ibuprofen (along with Zantac to prime her stomach, since ib. has been known to burn through babies' stomach lining).
Day 11 -- Chromosome test results show that the abnormality was limited to the placenta, and not present in her! Hoorah!
Her anticipated departure is March 9, the original due date (and Chaica's birthday!). But really, it depends on her ability to do 4 things:
Keep herself warm outside the incubator.
Breathe on her own.
Eat on her own.
Weigh at least 4 pounds.
I hope her growth and bloom will echo the weather's progression, in which frozen brittle stasis will give way to tender buds and sweet-smelling air.
Meanwhile, I've been off pain meds for 3 days now and am feeling fine, thankyou.
Especially good news about the chromosome abnormality being confined to the placenta only.
ReplyDeleteSo happy to hear that she's doing okay and that you got to hold her. What was that like?
Yes! I'd dreaded those test results for months, so the news was especially great. So she's not a sick baby after all... just a tiny one.
ReplyDeleteHolding her is a delicate thing, since she's intubated -- so shouldn't move much -- and is supposed to sleep as much as possible. And though it's probably involuntary, I'm thrilled that she can grip the end of my finger. I'm paying careful attention to make sure she's not squeezing out a message in Morse code... like, "get this damn thing out of my throat!"