Good Day

Mikaila's day was solid yet non-descript. She did very well with her bottle feed at 2pm sucking down 18 mls of the 22 in the bottle (she was given the balance through her tube.) She had a little de-satting during the bottle feeding but not much. Understand that nursing on the bottle and swallowing its contents is no easy task for a baby of Mikaila's size. She did very well.

One of the critical elements doctors evaluate in determining whether or not to discharge a NICU patient is body temperature; is the baby able to maintain her own body temperature. Let's take a step back for a moment. Soon after birth, Mikaila was placed in her temporary home; a controlled environment known as an isolette or incubator. The temperature in the isolette at that time was 37 degrees C or 98.6 F. At that point Mikaila was unable to regulate and maintain her own temperature. Over time, her team has weaned her isolette down to it's current temperature of 29.2 C or roughly 84.5 F. She is making tremendous progress in this regard.

Of course, the second of the two determining factors is the willingness to take to either breast or bottle. Frankly I prefer breasts but that’s me. As we have seen, she has made remarkable progress with both breast and bottle feeding so I would say discharge is in her not too distant future. Perhaps 2 weeks? Stay tuned.

Quick update, she was weighed at 11 last night and gained 50 grams. I know, that's a lot. They checked it three times. She now weighs 2 lbs 10 ounces or 1190 grams. Sweet!