May 31, 2011

I had an ultrasound of my head done today. Besides the cold goo that they put on my head... the nurse practitioner looked at it and said that any the spot of bleeding that I have had is small and is resolving itself. So there is nothing new with that and, of course, that is very good! Other than that my feedings have continued to go up. I had 11 ccs. today and will increase to 12 ccs. tonight. The doctor said that if I continue to tolerate the increased feedings, then they will probably take out the picc line around Thursday! They decreased my steroids today in order to start getting me off them and in a few days I will be done with them. Hopefully I am able to maintain the good levels that I am at after my steroids.

May 30, 2011

Happy Memorial Day everyone. I spent most of the holiday sleeping and I have had a very good day. My vent settings are down a little more and I have had some really good blood gases. I am still tolerating my feedings and am up to 9 ccs. The doctor wrote an order to increase the feedings 1 cc. every 12 hours. In addition I now weigh 880 grams! That is about 1 pound 15 1/2 ounces. I hope that everyone else has had as nice of a holiday as I have!!!

May 29, 2011

Happy one month birthday to me! This weekend has been up and down, and according to the doctors and nurses... that is the life of a premee. There is some mucus built up in my lungs and that is causing me to have a few more problems breathing. The nurses turned up the ventilator last night in order to help break up the mucus. However, throughout today my breathing has sounded better and therefore my ventilator settings have come back down. In addition, my feedings are continuing to be increased. I am not getting 7 ccs. and at my 9 o'clock feedings I will be up to 8 ccs! Hopefully this will help me grow faster which the doctors say is the most important thing for me to become healthier. The bigger I am, the better I am going to be able to fight off infection and breath better!

May 27, 2011

Things in the NICU are pretty much the same. My ventilator settings are down a little bit more and I am now up to 5cc. of breast milk! The doctor told mom that it would take 10 cc. for me to be able to maintain hydration without the IV fluids... however, they will probably continue the IV fluids until about 15 cc. feedings. He also said that there is a chance that I could be up to the 10 cc. feedings by early next week. The more I eat the more I grow, and the more I grow the stronger I am. The doctor also told mom that if I get to the 15 cc. feedings, they may take out my picc line. This is a good thing because the more lines I have going into me, the more chance of infections. The doctor also had a talk with the nurse practioner about possibly moving me to the conventional ventilator. They decided to wait a little longer and let me become a little stronger before they do that. The doctors rotate every three weeks, and therefore a new doctor will be starting on Monday. Hopefully he will continue with the same ideas as my current doctor. Today I am four weeks old... I have fought against all the odds and am stronger now than I was. Mom and dad keep saying that I must have been brought here for a reason, and that I teach them each and every day about strength. I may be small, but I have more strength in me then any full grown adult! I hope everyone enjoys their long weekends.

May 25, 2011

The past two days have been going really well for me. The steroids seem to be working well and my oxygen and ventilator settings are continuing to go down. The nurses are saying that they feel I look a lot better and when mom and dad visit me I am more active. They finished the last dose of 2 mg. of the steroids, and today will start six doses of 1 mg. After that they will see how I am doing before making any more decisions. They increased my feedings today from 1 cc. of breast milk to 2 cc. The nurse also was curious as to how much I weigh and so she did a mid-week weighing... I am now 800 grams! (Up 20 grams from Saturday night)



I can see you!!!



May 23, 2011

So... last night the nurses started giving me the steroids. They are going to start with six doses (three days). Since then, my blood gases have come back really good and they have gone down six settings on the ventilator! That is very exciting. We are hoping that the steroids are the right answer and that it helps my lungs enough to move foward and maybe off this ventilator. Mom and dad visit as many times a day as they can and they are keeping their hopes up. So far so good, and its time for me to get some good sleep. Mom said she will try to get some new pictures sometime this week, but it is not really easy always to get pictures in the nicu.

May 22, 2011

I had a pretty difficult night last night, and spent a lot of today trying to remain calm and stable. The not so good news first, my ventilator settings had to be brought up quite a bit last night and the doctor has decided that it is time to start steroids for my chronic lung disease. I will be starting that tonight. Now, there is some better news... I had a bath last night and did really enjoy that. Also, I now weigh 780 grams (1 pound 12 ounces), so I am continuing to gain weight. Mom and dad are asking that the positive thoughts for me continue, as I need them now as I fight through this rough time. Thanks!