8w3d old

BIG SMILE <3

58 days old/days in NICU

Weight: 4 lbs 13 oz (-2 oz)

Sooo much has happened in the last few days. I should have blogged so that this all doesn't have to go into one blog post but oh well. I've been so busy. 

Sunday the doctor said we could feed on demand. Olivia was sick with a really bad cold so I went to the hospital alone. Ella nursed twice that day. She lost 85 grams that day BUT, the nurse (and I) both agree that was because the doctor is changing her diuretics to a different kinds and she had two dosages of diuretics that day, so of COURSE she lost weight. The new doctor who is rounding this week doesn't see it that way unfortunately. Then on Monday, she lost another 15 grams and today only gained 10 grams so we got one of our breastfeeding sessions taken away. The nurse and I BOTH tried to talk to the doctor about this and the thing with the diuretics but she didn't seem to agree with us. It was pretty frustrating. However, I had a really long discussion with the nurse and we came to a compromise. I told her I was fine with Ella getting only three FEEDINGS without the NG tube at breast, but I wanted to be able to put her to breast for comfort sucking or when she was rooting around. I told her I didn't care if Ella had to also get an NG feeding but that I was tired of denying her what she was asking for by rooting around. They give her a paci when she starts rooting and that's essentially telling her that when she wants to nurse, she'll get a latex nipple to suck on instead of me. Not fair. Luckily, I had a fabulous nurse today and she agreed with everything I said. She was also unhappy with the neonatologists decision and we agreed that while Ella can only go to breast for three FEEDINGS, she can go to breast at any time she wants to and even if she DOES get a feeding, I suppose she'll still get an NG feeding. That way, if I'm holding her during her feeding and she wants to go to breast, she can. Plus, if she's cranky, or has a big spit up, or just wants to suck, I can bring her to breast instead of giving her the paci. I was VERY pleased with that compromise. I KNOW that eventually she'll get her feedings from breast...she is so good at nursing when she does, it's just a matter of getting older and being able to be awake for her feedings. 

Changed from a mobile to an aquarium that plays music. She REALLY likes it!

On Saturday, Ella had a renal scan and it was found that she had kidney stones in her left kidney. The doctor said that was from the diuretic which was why they had to change it to a different diuretic. They said the kidney stones were non obstructive and weren't causing her any pain or discomfort so changing the diuretic will help. 

I can't remember if I mentioned before that Ella was put on Albuterol, which is a steroid lung treatment--it's what I use for my asthma and Olivia gets neb treatments when she's sick and gets Albuterol. It's working REALLY WELL. Her O2 needs went down to 25-30% on Saturday night and stayed down at that level. I was really surprised and pretty annoyed that they didn't turn her liters down from 3 liters to 2.5 yesterday but they did today, so now she's at 2.5 liters. 

We are 99% sure at this point that Ella is NOT going to be home by my due date. My due date is in 2 weeks and 2 days (Dec 16) and there is just no way. I'm not even sure if she'll be home by Christmas. Sigh. That's really hard for us to accept. I know, she'll be home eventually and this is where she needs to be. I KNOW that, but that doesn't make me feel better about it. 

Olivia saw this and said "Nurse!" I asked her if she wanted to color it and she said "Ella nurse!" So we colored it and gave it to Ella's nurses. Ella's nurse Margo came out in the hallway so Olivia could personally give it to her <3.