Apnea & Caffeine

Per the doctor's call this morning, Ellie had one spell this morning but hadn't had one since yesterday afternoon at 1. The doctor is lowering the flow of room air going through the cannula to see how Ellie does.

She seemed to be doing well at our visit last night and got a tiny bit of milk during our nursing time. Hurray! The nurse taught me some different ways to hold her while nursing, and we enjoyed learning more ways to help her eat. We'll most likely bring her home on predominantly bottle feeding and gradually get to more nursing over time.

I forgot to mention yesterday that the spells they are concerned about are actually apnea - where Ellie forgets to breath. It's super common for premature babies to forget to breath (they have so much else to remember), and she should grow out of it with time.

Also, yesterday the doctor increased Ellie's caffeine intake. I don't think I've mentioned on the blog before that she's getting caffeine, but the doctor said the increase yesterday may be part of what helped her to do better. As she grows, they'll continue to increase the caffeine so that the intake is in conjunction with her weight.

Last night she weighed in at the same weight of 3 pounds, 7.9 ounces, and today the doctor increased her feedings to 32 cc every three hours.

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Please pray for the Silva and Dyal families today. As I type, the funeral for Tony and Laura is process. This loss impacts many people in many different communities.