Ugh....Reset

CG had a brady yesterday, the countdown clock has reset. Back to day 1 :(

Notice anything different?

No? Need another picture? See it yet?

Well, let me help you out. Charlotte had her feeding tube removed today! She jumped from 4 to 8 bottles like a Champ. So, let's recap the things she needs to accomplish before coming home:

• Maintain temp - check
• No cannula - check
• No caffeine - check
• Take all 8 bottles - check
• No bradys for 7 days post caffeine - working on day 3
• Car seat test - will be done after 7 day brady count down

We are almost there!

R.I.P Mr. Caterpillar

Mr. Caterpillar has apparently gone to the big laundry mat in the sky. We knew you would want to mourn with us. Never fear, he will promptly be replaced by several clones so Mommy doesn't have to go back to hell on earth should this happen again.

P.S. HOE is Babies R' Us. I despise that place.

Hank is starting to worry...

I think he knows he is moving down a peg on the priority ladder. We are getting close, very close to bringing his new master home.

Charlotte is making great progress with her bottles. She is up to 4 a day and I think we will be moving to 6 tomorrow or Friday. The big news is, they took her off her caffeine today and she appears to be tolerating it very well. We will have to give her a few more days to adjust before we get really excited, but things are looking good.

Charlotte weighed in at a whopping 6 pounds 2.4 ounces tonight (2,790 grams) and she is now 17.7 inches (45cm). Now instead of worrying about her being too cold, we have to make sure she isn't too hot! A much better problem to have, for sure.

More soon.

2 Months

Our sweet Charlotte is two months old. 61 days to be exact. That is how long we have been in the NICU, counting grams, centimeters, milk intake, digestion residuals, temperature readings, caffeine dosages, air flow levels, etc, etc, etc. Don't even get me started on the monitor. The evil, evil, monitor. I wouldn't wish that much information on any new parent, it can be paralyzing. Sometimes it is easy to get lost in the science.

Outside of the science, I have learned (or have been reminded of) a thing or two during our time in NICU.

• Babies are incredibly resilient, much more so than parents.
• A baby's contented sigh or half smile can melt your heart and get you through the next day.
• Things can always be better and things can always be worse, one day at a time is the only way to get through both.
  
• Nurses make the world go 'round.
• I would rather have great nurses and average doctors over the reverse any day (side note: we have a great doctor).
  
• Family can hold you together, even when there is no glue in sight.
• True friends are hard to come by and Aaron and I are so lucky to be blessed with several.
  
• A great partner is worth more than a thousand helping hands, especially in stressful times.

Charlotte is nearing 6 pounds now and is still working on her three bottles. She is making good progress and I am sure she will be bumped to 4 bottles tomorrow. Occupational therapy will be by to feed her once tomorrow to see if there are any tricks to make things easier for her. These therapists are neonatal specialists, so they are the experts when it comes to teaching a preemie to take a bottle.

Things are moving right along, but keep the prayers coming anyway.

The many faces of Charlotte

I know, I know, it has been too long since the last update. Charlotte's public has made it perfectly clear that four days is entirely too long. So to make up for it, I present to you the many faces of Charlotte:

This is her, "What nap? You take a nap, I'm not tired" face.
This is her, "Get that out of my face and feed me" face.
This is her, "Ah, I love this place" face.
Little Miss is up to 2,495 grams or 5 pounds 8 ounces. She has moved back to three bottles a day and they have removed her cannula. Good news all around.

Taking a step back

Charlotte had a very big week. We started bottle feeding, they reduced her caffeine, and they reduced her air flow. She did so well during the first few bottle feeds that she moved very quickly to three bottles a day.

We now know we moved too quickly, because she has not been finishing any of the three bottles and has been very tired. It is a big work out for her. We talked to the doctor today and we all agreed that we should move her back to 2 bottles a day for now. She needs to be more efficient so she doesn't completely wear herself down. We will see how she does over the next several days and reevaluate then. She will get it eventually, but we still have some work to do to get to 8 bottles a day.

Grandma Mary has been very busy, this is her newest hat. BIG hit with the nurses.
Signing off with a wink and a smile from the little one,

5 pounds 1 ounce tonight!

We've got a regular fatty on our hands.

Charlotte's Stats

Things are changing quickly around here. Charlotte:
1. weighs 2,245 grams or 4 pounds 15 ounces. 23 grams from 5 pounds!
2. has moved up to three bottles a day.
3. has had her caffeine decreased by 5 mg. 10mg to go.
4. has her airflow at the lowest setting.

Now for some gratuitous cuteness.

Quick Update

Charlotte finished her bottle today. All 44ccs in less than 20 minutes. Dr. Wong gave an order to try a second bottle on the night shift, so two in 24 hours. She also had her airflow turned down today without any problems. Hopefully she will be off the cannula soon.

Big Day!

Sorry

We didn't get any caterpillar pictures today, because we were busy with THIS.....Charlotte got her first bottle today and she did really well. She finished 30 of her 44 ccs without any problems. We are so proud of her. It is going to take some time, but we are hopeful that it continues to go well and we can work right up to 8 bottles a day.

The weight gain continues. She now weighs 2,145 grams or 4 pounds 11.5 ounces.

All good news here, she will be home before we know it.

Caterpillar #2

I assure you, she wasn't screaming and throwing her hands up in defense of an imminent blow. Constant motion provides interesting frames every once in awhile. I thought this was a much better caterpillar picture. This outfit actually fits her.

Charlotte is 1960 grams or 4 pounds 5 ounces. She is starting to put the weight on a little more quickly these days, I think we will make 5 pounds in no time. We did get her length remeasured and I was right, she didn't shrink. She was 42.5 cm on Monday evening, which is about 16 3/4 inches.

Now we just need to get the doctor to order the bottle feeding. Maybe this weekend.

4 pounds 1 ounce

High five everybody.

OPEN CRIB!!!

Charlotte was moved to an open crib today and yes, I think it is three exclamation point worthy. We had a double bed room for awhile to see if she was going to hold her temperature and she did great, so the incubator was wheeled away.Charlotte's caterpillar picture was a little difficult to do today. Since she is having to maintain her own temperature for the first time, we didn't want to unwrap her too much and make it more difficult for her. In a few days, I will snap one when we have her undressed for a diaper change or a bath and post that.As of last night, she weighed 1735 grams or 3 pounds 13 ounces. They measured her length at 40.5 cm, which is 1 cm shorter than last week. We told our nurse tonight and she said she would measure her again. I know it isn't an exact science, trying to measure a moving target, but Charlotte is working so hard on getting bigger, I don't want them to take anything away from her.

Day 39 and itching to get out of the incubator

Charlotte weighed in at 1,700 grams or 3 pounds 12 ounces tonight. Only 114 grams away from 4 pounds. We are hoping that some time in the next week she will move from the incubator into an open crib. I am also telling anyone that will listen she is ready for a bottle. She is really working on that pacifier and she consistently roots for a nipple before every feeding and anytime I am holding her. I figure, if I tell enough nurses, it will make it into the chart notes enough times to prompt the order. I also plan to meet the new Attending on Monday and will see what she has to say about bottle feeding.

In other news, we are starting to get a more complete picture of what hurdles Charlotte has to overcome before coming home. She must:

• maintain her own temperature (closing in on this one).
  
• have no bradys for seven days (heart rate dropping below 80 beats per minute).
• be weaned from the nasal cannula.
• be weaned from her daily dose of caffeine.
• be able to take all eight feeds from a bottle.
• pass the car seat test. They basically feed her and then promptly place her in a car seat and monitor her for bradys or desats (desaturation of oxygen in her blood stream).

Unless they spring another one on us, we think that is it. Quite a lot for our little girl, but I know she is just around the corner from all of it. Also, most of these things will happen simultaneously.

That's all for now.