Friday, March 20, 2009

On the Road to Recovery

Our sweet little Elise is doing well again today. They increased her continuous feeding to 5 cc every hour and are now fortifying my milk to 24 calories per ounce (20 is standard, 22 was the first increase, 24 is now the second increase, they go as high as 27 I believe).

Kit and Ellie were able to cuddled this afternoon, and she was clearly enjoying herself. She had gas last night while I kangarooed with her and kept crying and tensing her back when she needed to get it out. With dad she cried a tiny bit but mostly just tensed up her body and then let 'em rip. It was precious, and I could even hear them from a couple of feet away (normally she's been pretty silent on such things).

I went in for my two week follow up with my doctor this morning. Everything looks good so far. He's going to do some blood work at my next appointment to check for a couple of underlying problems (he mentioned lupus and some autoimmune diseases) that might effect having a placental abruption. He said that 60% of cases are from unknown causes so we probably won't find out why it happened. He has a case like this about once every 3-4 years. The rate of occurrence is about 1%, and the rate of recurrence once you've had one is about 5%. For any future pregnancies, he would have me go to the hospital for any abdominal pain or cramping for monitoring so as to be on the safe side.

He pointed out something I hadn't thought about - the changes that tipped them off regarding the abruption happened right at about 7:00pm, which explains why the first nurse seemed in no hurry about anything and then Lisa, the second nurse who came on at the 7:00 shift change, was in action the moment she walked in the room; if I had come in earlier in the day, they might have sent me home since I wasn't symptomatic of the abruption (had a concealed hemorrhage so I didn't have the bleeding that can be a symptom in addition to pain) until 7:00. Praise the Lord for the perfect timing in getting me into the hospital at just the right time.

Here are some photos from today's daddy/daughter cuddle time.





3 comments:

Anonymous said...

From one mom of a preemie to another, she is doing sooooo good! She looks really great and seems to be progressing just awesome! My son was born at 25 weeks and weighed 1lb 13 oz, so I know what you are going through with the emotional roller coaster, but she really is doing just great! The hospital seems to be very progressive and wants you to do a lot to care for your Ellie. I think that's wonderful! Keep your smile and your dependence on Him and He will carry you through!
Kristin
Mauriceville, TX

Melissa Nickerson said...

Wow! Can't believe Elise is 2 weeks old now!!

Erin said...

Oh, I am so happy that she is doing well. I love the pics of your hubby with precious Elise!