3/31/2011 (31 weeks, 6 days)

The oxygen tube is out!  I knew it wouldn't be long, because Eleanor kept pulling it out on her own.  The feeding tube will be next, because not only does she pull that out too, but she's taking her pacifier well and they will try to start her eating on her own soon.  It will just be one feeding per day to start and we'll have to see if she's strong enough to suck and if she can stay awake long enough to get all the milk she needs.

She's still moving around a lot and if she's on her belly, she can lift her head and switch sides she's laying on.  She keeps getting her monitor wires all tangled in her legs and the nurses have started tying all the wires together to keep her out of them.  (I think she's trying to braid an escape rope.)

So far, she's got a really sweet disposition and the nurses are having a bit of fun playing dress-up with her.  They've been putting her in Newborn-sized clothes and they are a little large, but not as bad as you'd think.

She's almost 17 inches long and she's up to 3lbs 7 oz as of last night.  She's doing better at regulating her temperature and she'll probably be out of the incubator soon as well.  She just needs to fatten up a bit more.

Tuesday was her two-week birthday (flying by already!) and based on absolutely nothing- I'd predict she's got another two weeks in the hospital at most.  Thanks to everyone for the thoughts and prayers.  And thanks to Kamie for the bucket of clothes.  I think we have the same taste in childrens' clothes; everything is adorable.

In other news, Grace has two cracked teeth (!) and needs a double root canal and caps (!).  She's already been to one dentist and refused to let him treat her, so we're trying again next Tuesday.  The dentist said it's probably because she snacks all day long and doesn't give her mouth a rest from having food/ sugar in it.  Please add Grace to your prayers this week.

3/25/2011 (31 weeks gestational age)

Last night we were back up to 3lbs.  That means Eleanor has put on a little over an ounce the past two days.  She needs to put on as much weight as possible to be able to regulate her body temperature.  I'm not sure if she's had any breathing problems today, but she didn't yesterday and her heart rate was fine as well.  She's bee spending more time awake and the nurses all call her a little wiggle worm.  She wiggles out of her bunting and really doesn't like to be confined (as if I didn't know that already.)  She's taking her pacifier well and kept trying to get Grace's finger in her mouth last night.  Grace didn't want "baby slobber" on her hands.

She gets a brain scan today and I'm sorry to admit that I'm not sure why.  I know it's a standard thing, I guess just to make sure everything is where it should be.

I need to send special thanks to Ms. Gayle for the pasta dinners and to Don (Mr. Dos Equis) for the home made gumbo and spaghetti.  Thanks to everyone who has sent thoughts and prayers as well.  One day I'll get to thank everyone personally, but until then know how much it means to us to know so many people care.

Bath time!

All fresh and clean

Tug of War over Grace's finger.

On a side note, you may have noticed I added buttons under each post title.  You can use those buttons to share a post on your Facebook page or Twitter feed if you want.

3/23/2011 (30 weeks, 5 days)

I got a huge surprise yesterday when the nurse called to say they were moving Eleanor from the NICU to the Special Care Nursery.  This is still a step above the regular nursery in terms of care, but it's for infants who are less sick.  She's been having very few episodes of apnea and she's tolerating her feedings well.  They are even going to take her off the oxygen for a trial period tonight.

She reached her lowest weight yet on Monday at 2lbs 13oz, but today she was up to 2lbs 13.8 oz.  She should start putting on 1/2 to 1 oz per day.  The nurses say she's on a "feed and grow" and the next big challenge should be getting her to nurse in about 2 weeks, or when she's at 33 weeks gestational age.  They also warned that sometimes preemies "poop out" and if that happens and she starts having breathing issues, they'll move her back to the NICU.  If she knows what's good for her she'll stay put.  The SC is like a spa compared to all the noise and craziness in the NICU.  She's so much calmer in SC.

So, looks like she'll be there at least another two weeks before we try to get her eating on her own, and then however long that takes.  Knowing her, there will be a few more surprises in store.  I just hope they continue to be good news.

3/21/2011 (30 Weeks 3 days)

Eleanor is a lot happier without the IV lines in her arms.  She's getting all her nutrients from milk now, so they took out the glucose line.  They are still supplementing the milk with extra calories and she should be gaining weight soon.  Once she puts on a little weight it will be easier for her to maintain her body temperature.  I was very surprized that they took out the IVs already.  When they explained about increasing the feedings, I thought it would be a few weeks, maybe, before she could digest as much as she needed.  It seems like things are moving faster than I expect and I hope I'm ready for her when she's ready to come home.

I also expect to get some bad news every day, but so far, things have been really good.  She's still having a little apnea and they are going to give her a bit more caffeine to help keep her stimulated.  I got to hold her yesterday and she was very snuggly and fell right asleep in my arms.  Unfortunately, that caused a heart-rate drop, so I had to shake her up a little.  I learned that "pat her butt" means "shake vigorously" in nurse language.

She's still on and off the sun lamp, and I expect that will continue.  She's very wiggly and gets tangled up in her wires.  She also pulls out her CPAP tube so often that they considered taking it out.  The NICU nurses are all very sweet and are good at pushing me to do things for her even when I'm scared, like taking her temperature or changing her diaper.

The pumping is going well.  I'm up to almost 2 oz per session.  It still hurts a lot and the 2 hr thing is a drag, but when I see her and how good it is for her, it makes it easy to forget the inconvenience.  I've read that my body is putting the same nutrients into the milk now that she would be getting in the womb, so it also helps me feel a little less guilty about not being able to carry her longer.

I'm still struggling to figure out some kind of schedule or routine to get me through the day to day of the next few weeks.  It's still really easy to just crawl into bed and ignore everything.  But if there's ever been a time to put on the big girl panties, it's now.  And if I let the temptation to slack off get me now, then my priorities have been out of whack for a long time because I've been able to fight much harder for things far less important.
The other kids have been great.  Jackson is a little more clingy than usual, but Grace has been getting stellar conduct grades every day for the first time this year.  Margaret has been taking care of Jackson, cooking him lunch and taking care of scratches with the most elaborate home health care get-up you can imagine.
Thanks for all the comments.  I'm not sure I'll get to respond to everyone, but I do like to read them all and know you are all thinking of us!

3/19/2011 (30 weeks, 1 day)

Eleanor is getting almost all her nutrients from the feeding tube and almost none from the IV.  Thankfully, my milk seems to be coming in just in time for her to be able to use it.  Sean and the girls went to drop off some breastmilk this morning and Margaret told the nurse "Momma must have worked her butt off for that" when she gave her a bottle with a few teaspoons of milk.  When I took Kayla and Beau to meet her this afternoon, I was able to feed her with a syringe and she's up to 17cc per feeding.

She's spending more time awake and tried to keep her eyes open when she heard Kayla and I talking.

She's still breathing on her own and having fewer apneas, but her heart rate still drops every now and then so they are giving her caffeine to keep the rate up a little.  She gets really cranky when the nurses mess with her to change her and take her temperature, but she stays pretty calm when they just let her lay on her belly.  They dressed her in a little yellow outfit today and Kayla and I decided she needs a bow for her head.  I'm also going to look for a sassy cooler to transport her milk in, since I'll be spending lots of time doing that.  Maybe hot pink and zebra with her name on it. LOL.

Kayla brought her an awesome Louisiana Baby Book with pages for things like "First Crawfish Boil" and "First LSU Game."  I can't wait to get her home so we can start adding experiences.

Generally, I'm hanging in.  Pumping is hard and I'm not really getting a chance to recover from the delivery yet, but I'm not anywhere near as overwhelmed as I could be.  Sean is a huge support and I definitely couldn't do this without him.  That's not saying if we have a bad turn I won't collapse into a heap on the floor, but so far I can at least be as tough as Eleanor is.

3/18/2011

Eleanor is still breathing on her own.  She's on a CPAP tube for supplemental oxygen because she still forgets to breathe sometimes, which is completely normal for newborns.  She only has apnea about 5 times a day, though, and that's very good.

The doctors started giving her food by tube Wednesday.  She's up from 4ccs to 13ccs every three hours and is digesting everything well.  I am pumping every 2 hours to get my milk supply going.  It's very difficult to get the milk to come in without a baby there, but I'm building up supply, slowly.  I think when I'm a little less afraid and start the kangaroo care (skin-to-skin contact) it will help with the pumping.  They say she may be able to nurse in as little as two weeks, but maybe as much as four.  As stubborn as she is, it'll probably be a week.

She's been on a sunlamp to prevent jaundice, but they took her off today.  I expect she'll be off and on the lamp every now and then since she's cooped up indoors.

Today, I had the first urge to snatch her up and take her home.  I'm getting less afraid of her and seeing the nurses manhandle her while changing her and moving her around, I'm getting more confident that she's not as breakable as I think she is.  Seeing Sean's hand in hers today really made me realize how small she is.  Margaret will finally have someone to push around for a while at least.

All in all, we've been fortunate so far and I just pray that the obstacles ahead of us are as surmountable as the bumps of the past few days.

Getting fed by Daddy

Elle likes to hold Daddy's finger

Nosey Nosey

Getting her tan on

I'm very fortunate that my boss has given me permission to work flexible hours until she is released from the hospital.  That will give me time to pump and visit her often, while allowing me to save my maternity leave for when she does actually get home.  Besides, there are things at work I need to wrap up and I'd probably go insane just sitting home pumping all day with nothing else to occupy my mind.

Birthday- 3/15/2011

Friday evening I noticed some contractions and spotting, but it really wasn't enough to concern me.  Saturday morning, however, there was more spotting so I went to the hospital.  They put me on Brethine for 3 doses, but it didn't stop the contractions.  They decided to admit me and try Magnesium Sulphate.  After that seemed to work, they put me on an oral med.  Each day, I would wake up with hardly any contractions and they would talk about sending me home on bedrest.  But, by evening, the contractions would be regular again even if they were weak.  

I was really happy that my dad came to stay with the kids Sunday evening because I hadn't seen my family since the previous Sunday.  They were cruising to Belize and Honduras.  Sean brought the kids to see me before dad got there.  It was difficult trying to explain what was going on and trying to not scare them too much.  Sean stayed with me Sunday night and came back Monday and Tuesday.  He was planning to stay Tuesday night, but that's when things got hairy anyway. 

Sean got to the hospital Tuesday at 9:00.  The contractions were already very regular and painful.  We had done the Brethine and Mag Sulphate again, but it wasn't working.  I knew there weren't any other options.  Shortly thereafter my water broke.  I was very scared because I knew she was coming fast.  The doctor didn't really believe me and was trying to do bloodwork (!?!).  At 9:28 I felt her coming and she was out with one push.

I could hear her cry right away and the doctor seemed surprised that she was breathing on her own and very active.  She was also much bigger than I expected, 3 lbs 4 oz.  The NICU doctor asked us who she gets the attitude from.  We were able to visit her that night and they let me hold her.  I remember thinking that she looked like a regular baby, just smaller.  

I wish I knew when she will come home, but there are no hard and fast rules in these situations.  She needs to be able to regulate her body temperature, eat on her own, and breathe without assistance.  There is no magic weight or age at which all that is guaranteed to happen.