From: Josh & Joia Lucht Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2002 11:35 PM
Just a brief update on Helena...she is up to 8 cc's of milk per feeding with no digestive problems whatsoever. Her jaundice is going away and she has gained 2 tenths of an ounce (.2 oz) in the 48 hours since she started being fed.
From: Josh & Joia Lucht Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2002 9:10 AM
I am realizing more and more how blessed we are. All the articles I read on caring for a preemie don't even seem to apply to our situation because Helena is doing so much better than any of their predictions. She doesn't have breathing problems, she doesn't have digestive problems, she doesn't seem to have a high-strung nervous system...all in all it's like she's a perfect full-term baby - only in miniature.
She's up to 12 cc's per feeding now, the jaundice is gone and she's starting to put on weight. She may be taken off the IV today as she's getting everything she needs from my milk. The lactation consultants are now extremely positive about my chances of being able to eventually nurse Helena. I had feared I'd be stuck to this pump forever while she bottle-fed. :-)
From: Josh & Joia Lucht Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 9:15 PM
Helena is continuing to do wonderful overall, although she had a rough night last Sunday night (March 3rd). Due to some minor digestion problems, the nurses put her back on the IV to keep her hydrated while cutting all of her feedings for 24 hours. It was really hard for us as she was so fussy Monday since she was hungry. They had her up to 23 cc's per feeding prior to this incident, but cut back down to 5 cc's when they started back up again at 7pm Monday night. As of tonight (Thursday 3-7) she is up to 17 cc's.
I've been assured by the nurses that this sort of roller coaster is extremely common as they try to get her digestive system used to eating. They keep telling me not to be discouraged or to think of it as a set back, but rather to think of it as part of the process. After all, we continue in an overall positive direction despite the minor setback. Still, it was frustrating to feel like she was making solid progress until this!
In spite of this, she is now back up to her birth weight of 3lbs, 3oz. I've been told that once her feedings get back up again they'll be mixing in the high-fat supplement with the breast milk to help her gain weight. Although she's not getting released as soon as we hoped (we had originally projected her discharge for this weekend or next), she is continuing to progress and will probably be out in another two weeks.
My mother has been here helping us for the two weeks since Helena was born (2-21) but she will be going back to Texas this Sunday. She will be coming back up here when Helena comes home, though, in order to provide what I expect will be much needed assistance. I've been told that it would not be surprising if Helena has to nurse every 1 1/2 - 2 hours, plus her sleeping schedule is going to be a nightmere for us.
FYI for those of you in the Chicago area... I've had several inquiries about what the situation is with hospital visits. Allthough you cannot hold Helena or go into the hospital nursery, if you would like to come and see her through the nursery windows you are more than welcome to do so. (She is getting so pink and fair complected...and we've noticed her eyelashes and eyebrows are growing in BLOND in spite of her black head of hair!) Also, visits to our apartment after Helena gets home may be tricky. We've been asked by the doctors to keep visitors to a bare minimum for the first few months until her immune system is more stabilized. We especially can't have any children visit at all for some time.
We are increasingly thankful for Helena's status as we study up on preemies. She is amazingly healthy for her weight and early birth. Our situation could have been so much worse. We thank God we do not face a hospital stay lasting many months and home care that includes oxygen tanks, apnea monitors, countless medications, life-threatening respiratory infections, feeding tubes, severe digestive problems and numerous other complications. When Helena comes home we face several months of careful watchfulness, difficulties in her day-to-day care and a very limited social life, but little else by way of major problems.
