Closing Week 5

Week five of life in the NICU is coming to a close and, for me, the last few weeks may as well have been three years. It is hard to describe the daily stresses, combined with worries of what is to come, and how it all affects me. I remind myself daily of how lucky I am to have a rock of a husband and a wonderfully supportive family. It is still incredibly difficult.

Charlotte has had a few rough days, which equals a very stressed out Mom and Dad. They have been trying to wean her from her nasal cannula and they were too aggressive. The doctor reversed some of the orders so that she is getting more air flow and that has helped. Today was a much better day. Perhaps more frustrating than the problems she is having, is the answers to our questions typically sound something like, "Well, this is normal for preemies". If you have never wanted to punch someone in your life, come to the hospital with me and I promise that will change.

In more positive news, she is still gaining weight. She is up to 1,480 grams or 3 pounds 4 ounces. They will measure her length again tonight, so I will be sure to report that with a caterpillar picture tomorrow or Tuesday. We haven't reported her feeding level in awhile, it has steadily increased and she now gets 28 ccs at each feeding. I noticed today that her hands are starting to look more like "baby" hands with a little pudge on them. She has also started rooting around for a nipple and she loves to suck on her pacifier when she is being fed. That tells me she is making the connection and I am hopeful we can start trying to bottle feed her in the next two weeks.

To the family, thank you for bringing Christmas to us. It was great seeing everyone, even with a dead tree and too many people in a too small house. I hope you all made it home safely.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Houston. We hope you all have a wonderful- fun filled day with loved ones.

Oh My, I'm 3 Pounds!

Charlotte broke the 3 pound mark last night. Pray that she keeps it on.

We also got the great news that she was being moved to the 8th floor at shift change this evening. She will be in the Cheetah pod from this point forward. Hopefully this will be the last move for her before we get to bring her home.

Cheers.

Caterpillar Monday

Just so you know, we take a picture of Charlotte with her caterpillar every Monday. It might not make it to the blog on Monday, but we do take it every Monday. Or that is our goal.....what do they say about good intentions? Anyway, I digress, Charlotte weighed in at 1300 grams last night and measured 38.9 centimeters, or 2 pounds 14 ounces and 15.2 inches. Growing, growing, growing. Also, since I am posting late today, we already know that she weighed in tonight at 1330 grams, a mere 30 grams from 3 pounds even. A very merry Christmas will be a consistent 3 + pound weight recording. Fingers crossed.

In other news, much to Charlotte's chagrin, we are exactly at the in between point of weaning and not weaning from the automated warming system. Some days she runs too hot to have the warming system on and other days she doesn't keep her temp up with just the fan maintaining a constant air temperature for her. So that means, some days with clothes and other days without, after she packs on a few more grams we won't have the back and forth. Also, we were told today that Miss C is slated for a big move to the 8th floor, true NICU 2, and that is should happen by the end of the week, BUT, it is a holiday and we may have to wait due to "logistics" and staffing. The 8th floor is the holy grail for parents, private rooms for each bundle of joy. If your neighbor is a screaming, squealing, never content baby, you don't care, because there is a wall between you, not 24 inches of carpet. Yes, Charlotte's current neighbor is not the best bunk mate and Aaron and I have had our fill of it.

Aaron calls this her Hans Solo picture, "She's dead asleep"....

Update from Charlotte

Hello Peeps, Charlotte here. I know everyone is really excited about my weight gain and anxious to hear about more, but that isn't really what gets me up in the morning. You want to know what I get excited about? Clothes. That's right, clothes. It means one thing for me. It means my Mom and Dad will have to stop posting naked baby pictures of me all over the internet for the world to see. I mean, a girl needs to have some secrets.

The nurses turned my automated warming system off today in my bed. I still need help staying warm, but I will have to do some of the work myself now. That is why I can wear clothes. Luckily, my Mom brought me some cute outfits to wear. I don't really dig the hospital issued clothing, white is so plain.

Love to you all,
Charlotte

All about the weight

Charlotte weighed in at 1,235 grams tonight! That is 2 pounds 12 ounces. She is only 125 grams from 3 pounds. That doesn't represent a special milestone in hospital speak, but it is exciting all the same.

Still Growing

While this isn't the best caterpillar picture, it made us laugh, because she would not put her arms down. Charlotte is now 1,110 grams and 37.5 cm or 2 pounds 7 ounces and 14.7 inches. Good trends and good news for us.


Since Aaron and I have been spending so much time at the hospital, we have started to get to know the other parents that are there with their babies. In particular, there is a couple with a little boy named Jorge, from Charlotte's first pod. Jorge is having a hard time, has had surgery, and may still need more. While you are saying your prayers for Charlotte, please include one for Jorge and his parents. They could use any extra help you can spare.