Mikaila was a bit tired today after her ordeal yesterday. If you will recall Mikaila was put through a rigorous and traumatic eye exam. Immediately following her exam, she downed bottles on consecutive feeds; quite remarkable actually. Typically, babies are exhausted after these exams. Well, it appears Mikaila had a delayed reaction. During her 2pm feed she was only able to manage 12 mls by bottle. She was given the balance through the tube. Kim believes that her struggle was more a function of the nurse using the more difficult nipple than Mikaila being tired. When the correct nipple was used at 5pm she managed to imbibe the entire 26 mls without issue.
She was weighed this evening at 8. She put on an additional 25 grams bringing her to 1355 grams. She is less than 10 grams short of 3 lbs. That's about it for this evening.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
I can see clearly now.........
Mikaila’s feedings continue to produce results. Kim bottle-fed Mikaila at her 11am, 2pm and 5pm feeds. Nurse Cliff (save the cracks) remarked that she sucked down her 2pm bottle in 3 minutes flat. That may have been a slight exaggeration but she did devour her bottle’s entire contents in each instance. Well done. Mikaila’s successes during feedings have continued to yield results. She gained another 35 grams today bringing her to the brink of the 3 lb mark. She currently stands at 1330 grams or a shade under 2 lbs 15 ounces. She is roughly 35 grams from 3 lbs. Oh, also related to her feeds, I failed to mention that her team bumped up her volume to 26 mls every three hours.
Mikaila’s isolette temperature was reduced to 27.5 C or 81.5 F. She really hasn’t had any issues with maintaining her temperature. Assuming she handles this reduction, and she will, they will move her to 27 C. The next step is room temperature so she really is close in this regard.
The last little nugget to report relates to Mikaila’s eyes. She had her first eye test today. Although the event was rather traumatic for our little peanut, she emerged relatively unscathed and passed her examination with flying colors. She didn’t even study. This was a routine test and will be re-administered in a month.
That’s all I have for today. Kim will be posting a picture or two momentarily.
Here are the pics and I have been instructed to introduce them with some detail. As a rule, I try to avoid accommodating specific requests. I mentioned in an earlier post that entertaining these requests can be dangerous; my lawyer friends know well the slippery slope argument. However, we had a suggestion that I thought was worthy enough to consider breaking my rule; to capture Mikaila in a picture with my wedding band. If you will recall, I took a picture of Mikaila with my wedding band on her wrist when she was only a few hours old. Well, fortunately, that same band would have no chance of fitting on her wrist at this point. So, we decided to post a picture of Mikaila with my wedding band next to her arm.
Mikaila’s isolette temperature was reduced to 27.5 C or 81.5 F. She really hasn’t had any issues with maintaining her temperature. Assuming she handles this reduction, and she will, they will move her to 27 C. The next step is room temperature so she really is close in this regard.
The last little nugget to report relates to Mikaila’s eyes. She had her first eye test today. Although the event was rather traumatic for our little peanut, she emerged relatively unscathed and passed her examination with flying colors. She didn’t even study. This was a routine test and will be re-administered in a month.
That’s all I have for today. Kim will be posting a picture or two momentarily.
Here are the pics and I have been instructed to introduce them with some detail. As a rule, I try to avoid accommodating specific requests. I mentioned in an earlier post that entertaining these requests can be dangerous; my lawyer friends know well the slippery slope argument. However, we had a suggestion that I thought was worthy enough to consider breaking my rule; to capture Mikaila in a picture with my wedding band. If you will recall, I took a picture of Mikaila with my wedding band on her wrist when she was only a few hours old. Well, fortunately, that same band would have no chance of fitting on her wrist at this point. So, we decided to post a picture of Mikaila with my wedding band next to her arm.
Monday, May 5, 2008
She Loves that Bottle
Mikaila hit the bottle early and often today. She was fed by bottle by Kim at both her 2pm and 5pm feeds. Fear not, she has been authorized to be fed by bottle once a shift. Mikaila has really mastered manipulating her bottle. In fact, she took both feeds entirely by bottle! Now, that's progress. Her nurse weighed her before her 8pm feed and she gained another 25 grams. She currently stands at 1295 grams or a little more than 2 lbs 13 1/2 ounces. Everything else is stable. That's about it for tonight.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Slow and steady
Quick Monday morning update- I didn't start a new post as I thought the pics were too cute to bump. Mikaila gained 60 grams last night. She now weighs 1270 grams or a little under 2 lbs 13 ounces. She has now more than doubled her weight at birth.
Mikaila was fed by bottle three times in a 22 hours span despite the directive on her chart prescribing one bottle feed every 24 hours. She is beginning to master manipulating the bottle and actually took her entire 2am feed by bottle. Bottle feeding is hard work for little Mikaila. She expends a great deal of energy that might be redirected toward growth. However, as previously stated, for her to be discharged to the custody of her parents, that's us, she must be comfortable feeding by either bottle or breast. So, we have two competing forces here, both critical, that must be accommodated; growth and non-tube feeding. The solution seemed easy to Kim and I; bump up Mikiala's blend from 27 calories to 30. I pitched it to her dietitian and thankfully she agreed. Mikaila will be getting extra calories starting tomorrow. She gained 20 grams yesterday which is ok but we would like to see her consistently gaining 30-35 grams daily. The extra calories should help.
They should be weighing her at her 11 pm feed. I may not post the update until tomorrow.
Mikaila was fed by bottle three times in a 22 hours span despite the directive on her chart prescribing one bottle feed every 24 hours. She is beginning to master manipulating the bottle and actually took her entire 2am feed by bottle. Bottle feeding is hard work for little Mikaila. She expends a great deal of energy that might be redirected toward growth. However, as previously stated, for her to be discharged to the custody of her parents, that's us, she must be comfortable feeding by either bottle or breast. So, we have two competing forces here, both critical, that must be accommodated; growth and non-tube feeding. The solution seemed easy to Kim and I; bump up Mikiala's blend from 27 calories to 30. I pitched it to her dietitian and thankfully she agreed. Mikaila will be getting extra calories starting tomorrow. She gained 20 grams yesterday which is ok but we would like to see her consistently gaining 30-35 grams daily. The extra calories should help.
They should be weighing her at her 11 pm feed. I may not post the update until tomorrow.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Not Much to Report so..........
My apologies for my tardiness this evening keeping you apprised of Mikaila’s progress. I have spent the preponderance of the day refinishing the floor in her nursery. Perhaps I should explore the impact of her early arrival a bit as I have very little to report otherwise. Mikaila arrived on March 24th, roughly 12 ½ weeks premature. So, essentially, we lost 12 ½ weeks of preparation; preparation related to the house, Kim’s professional future, the stuff Mikaila will require and our competency as parents. Kelly and co didn’t even have time to plan and host a shower for Kim. There is a chance, although slight, that Mikaila will be in attendance at her own baby shower some time this month or next. So, as you might imagine we have been thrown into scramble mode. I’m not complaining at all; I’m simply enlightening you by giving you a glimpse of our current reality. The nursery is looking great by the way. We put up crown molding in her room. I don’t have crown in my bedroom! I gutted that room, taking it down to the lath. When Mikaila enters her room for the first time she will be greeted by kangaroos and koala bears. An Australian theme was selected among hundreds of options. She will see small replicas of creatures indigenous to the region adorning her shelves, furniture and walls. I’m sure she will love them unless of course they freak her out.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Not much to report.
There really isn't much to report today. Mikaila's feeds were bumped up to 24 mls every three hours. She didn't have any aspirates today but wasn't able to manage any gain in weight; Not surprising given her astounding 50 gram gain yesterday. All of her vitals are stable.
Kim wanted me to report to Mikaila's public that she now has the beginnings of a butt. You may have noticed, especially in the early going, that Mikaila was all torso. Well, it appears that her bottom half is beginning to catch up. I now feel like a tabloid reporter. Thanks Kim. That's all the news that is fit to print (and a bit that really isn't.)
Kim wanted me to report to Mikaila's public that she now has the beginnings of a butt. You may have noticed, especially in the early going, that Mikaila was all torso. Well, it appears that her bottom half is beginning to catch up. I now feel like a tabloid reporter. Thanks Kim. That's all the news that is fit to print (and a bit that really isn't.)
Thursday, May 1, 2008
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!
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!
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