Week #3

Oh my goodness, how crazy the past two weeks have been! Brooklyn has been doing wonderfully since her birth on the 26th. Here is a quick "overview" of her achievements to date:

11 hrs old - received 2nd dosage of surfactant; removed from oxygen & intubation.

Week 1 - Receiving breast milk via nasogastrical tube in addition to fluids by IV; increasing feedings by 1 ml per feeding. No longer needing bililight or IVs. Pick line (IV) removed. Taking the bottle when offered; taking 2-3 mls at a time. Bottle offered once a day. *by the end of the week, she thrives solely on breast milk with added calories.

Week 2 - At 34 mls per feeding (just over 1 ounce). Bottle now being offered up to 3 times a day. Taking between 18-20 mls on average per bottle feeding; remaining fed through feeding tube. Still at 34 mls per feeding. Reached the 4lb mark midweek. Has continued to gain 20-30 grams each day. Has continued to breathe on her own. Still has episodes of periodic breathing (pauses between breathing) but does not require outside stimulation to begin breathing again.

This week we are hoping to move her to an open crib (she is currently still in an Isolate). I will hopefully find out tonight at her 7pm feeding when the doctors are wanting to do that. She will bottle feed in the morning and then sleep through her next 3 feedings (approx 9 hours) so she still has a while to go and more weight to gain before she is able to stay awake through more than 2-3 bottle feedings a day. She is past the 4 lb mark and is breathing fine on her own so her last big hurdle is the bottle feeding. Once she is taking all of her feedings by mouth for a 24 hr period, they will remove her feeding tube. Then its only a matter of days before she will be able to come home. As of right now, it looks like it will be another 3-4 weeks at least before we are able to get to that point. Last night I also discussed with her nurse about breast feeding and hopefully we will be able to start attempting that once she is awake a little more for her feedings.

Her feedings are still every 3 hours - 7am, 10am, 1pm, etc. Most days I am only able to go to her 7pm feeding but I am so grateful for being able to see and hold her each day. Now that she is past the 4 lb mark, I can hold her during her "touch time" for as long as I am able. Occasionally I am able to do "kangaroo care" (skin-to-skin) and absolutely LOVE that time with her! It has been wonderful to hold her this past week without the leads connected to her and me constantly watching her monitor for signs of stress (lowered pulse-ox reading, etc). Aside from when I'm holding her, she will remain on the monitor (breathing, pulse-ox, heart rate) until
she goes to care-by-parent.

We are all so looking forward to having her home! Pumping has been a challenge for me but I have contacted the NICU Lactation RN and hopefully she will be able to help me get things more on track. Right now I'm having to pump every hour to try and build my supply back up as stress/exhaustion has seriously affected my output.

Though I have my days (most often when I have neglected to take my medicine the night before), I have been very blessed with lots of help to make it through this time. I am so thankful for such a caring church and wonderful friends who have kept us all in their prayers on a daily basis. Those prayers have made such an incredible difference.

I am needing to go pump so I will have to sign off for now. Here are Brooklyn's current stats:

As of 10/12 - she is 4 lbs 2 oz or 1873 grams
Taking 34 mls every 3 hours; being offered bottle up to 3 times per day
Currently waiting for results of TORCH test in regard to her head size (head circumference is under the 25th percentile). Results should be back tomorrow or Thursday.