Saturday, April 4, 2009

Happy Four Week Birthday, Elise!

Today marks four weeks since Ellie's birth. She's come so far, and we are blessed.

She's still off CPAP - praise the Lord! She weighed in last night at 3 pounds, 3.9 ounces and tonight at 3 pounds, 4.7 ounces. Last night her nurse, Robby (sp?), took out her feeding tube from her mouth and moved it to her nose (I'll post pictures soon) so that nursing would be easier and so that she could get used to using her mouth without the tube in it.

Today they switched her from the open bed to an isolette/incubator. The NICU she's in likes to have babies who having breathing assistance in the open, temperature-controlled beds for easier access; however, the isolettes provide a quieter environment along with temperature control so they move them to that type of bed once they can breath on their own. Eventually I think she'll be moved into a crib before we take her home. (I'll post isolettes pictures soon too.)

Last night and tonight both I was able to try nursing her again. She was a bit tired tonight; however, she kept her sats up well the entire time she was nursing. Last night her sats dropped a couple of times while she was nursing - leading to a few pauses in nursing - but I also hadn't pumped in a few hours due to leaving pump parts at the hospital and then at home so she had a lot of milk coming her way. Last night she managed to get 2 cc of milk into her little tummy. I had pumped tonight so if she got anything it was just a bit.

Well, I'm off to bed.

5 comments:

Kari said...

Its so wonderful to read your blog and see the amazing progress Elise has had in just these four weeks! I pray for much more good news in the weeks to come :-)

Anonymous said...

So excited for her growth and the opportunity for you two to get to nurse together. Not to mention being off her CPAP and the moving of her feeding tube.It really is amazing to read about her progress! Many blessings, Brenda

Our growing family said...

good to hear!
i hope you are doing well!

Becca Sue Congdon said...

Yay for getting to nurse! It's such a beautiful thing, isn't it? :) Random thing I learned about nursing - it only takes like 20 minutes for your body to "fill up" again after you've pumped. I was always worried about whether I was pumping myself "empty" and not leaving any for Ethan back when we were still trying to transition him to just nursing. It was relieving to know that at least! :) I'm so excited for you guys! She's growing like a little weed. Woohoo!

Kristin Duke said...

It's so cool that she's doing so well. I came over from Kelly's Korner and have been checking with your progress from the start. I am so happy for you guys. My preemie stayed in the hospital for 12 weeks and went home weighing 4lbs 9oz, so you guys may be home sooner than you think! That's so cool that you can nurse miss ellie. I am jealous, I have to say, never could do that with my little one; you are so blessed!!

Kristin
Mauriceville, TX