Lauren weighed 2 lbs, 12 oz tonight, another small increase. Today she had her first set of immunizations and took them like a trooper, with very little crying and no apparent soreness after the fact. Her feedings have been advanced to 12 cc's every three hours and she is still getting the TPN feedings. Daddy held a gauze soaked with sterile water to her lips and Lauren sucked and sucked on it until it was almost dry. She swallowed a few times and didn't cough, a good indication that she is able to swallow normally. If any of it had gone down into her lungs she would have coughed it up.
12/2/01 11:30PM:
Lauren lost a little weight today. She weighed 2 lbs, 11.8 oz this evening. When Mommy went to visit, the nurse asked if she would like to try BREASTFEEDING Lauren. She readily agreed after getting over the shock.... Unfortunately Lauren couldn't figure out how to work that nipple thing Mommy was sticking in her face and she ignored it after a few moments (don't worry Lauren, Daddy will give you a few pointers :). The nurse then asked her if she would try bottle feeding Lauren. According to Mommy, all Lauren managed to do was get the milk all over her face and lips. She let the nurse try and after some firm coaching, Lauren started to suck, swallow, and breathe in a coordinated fashion... She sucked down the ENTIRE 12cc's!!! Mommy and Daddy are thrilled!!! They will be letting her bottle feed once per day from now on and will increase the frequency of the bottle feedings as she gets used to it... This is another of those milestones in her development that had the potential of going terribly awry... Some preemies get apneic and bradycardic when they start bottle feeding...
12/3/01 10:00PM:
Baby Lauren gained weight again. She is up to 2 lbs, 14.4 oz now. Mommy attempted breast feeding again tonight and after a few frustrating minutes, Lauren latched on!!! She didn't quite know what to do at first and just held it in her mouth, but after a few moments she got the idea and began sucking.... She got tired fast, though, and let go. Mommy and Daddy then fed her the 12 cc's with the bottle. The nurse told us that the ophthalmologist checked Lauren out again and this time he saw some abnormal vessels forming. Officially she has Stage 2, Zone 2, no plus ROP at this time. ROP stages 3 and above are categorized as severe and must be treated to prevent blindness. Anyone interested in what this all exactly means can click here for a great explanation of the disease with excellent pictures. According to the statistics, 61% of extremely preterm babies get ROP, and 21% progress to severe ROP. Baby Lauren got moved back to a private room today, and just in time - the NICU got several new admissions and the noise level is much higher!!! She now has her own little Christmas tree...
12/4/01 11:30PM:
Baby Lauren is almost three pounds!!! Tonight she weighs 2 lbs, 15.8 oz... (for those of you not familiar with the system, it means that she is 2/10 oz away from 3 lbs). Mommy tried breastfeeding again today, but Lauren just wasn't interested, nor was she interested in the bottle... Needless to say, Mommy left the NICU a little frustrated. Lauren, does Daddy need to show you how it's done?? :) Her feedings are up to 14 cc's every three hours now, and her stools are more formed. We heard that Dr. Bufo might take her to surgery when she reaches 2 or 2.5 kilograms in weight rather than having a specific time frame (2 Kg = 4.4 lbs). It seems that the complication rate is higher when the stoma reversal is done when the infant is below that weight. Keep up that weight gain, Baby, and soon you'll fit into some doll clothes...
NOTE: Click here for a GREAT site for information on neonatal/NICU diseases.
12/5/01 11:00PM:
Lauren weighed the same tonight as last night. She took her bottle feeds well for the first few cc's then she stopped breathing. They tried a few times but she stopped again. They decided to hold off on the bottle feeds for now - the don't want to jeopardize her breathing....
12/6/01 11:30PM:
Lauren is now up to 3 lbs, 1 oz. She is still on the TPN as well as the gastric tube feeds. They were going to increase her feeds from 14 to 16 cc's, but her stools started to get watery again, so they are holding off for now... They're going to let her gain weight litlle by little...