Yesterday morning Elizabeth was still breathing with the help of the cpap and being fed through a tube down her throat. Yesterday afternoon they took off the cpap and put her on a canula, which Elizabeth kept pulling out of her nose and putting in her mouth to suck on. By the end of the day the doc took off the canula, and Elizabeth has been breathing on her own, without assistance, ever since.
I was able to give Elizabeth her first bottle yesterday at lunch time, and she powered through it in about 30 seconds. Since she did such a good job with her second bottle, the nurse took the tube out of her throat.
This morning I went in for Elizabeth's early feeding, and I was able to nurse her. She latched on without a problem and nursed for 20 minutes - such a little rock star! She was also holding her own body tempertature, so they turned off the heat bed and swaddled her.
I tried to nurse Elizabeth at lunchtime, but she wasn't interested. The nurse thinks Elizabeth wore herself out this morning and was too tired to nurse. So she got a bottle instead, which is just fine with me. I just want her to eat, eat, eat!
Elizabeth is hitting all of the marks she needs to - she's eating by mouth, breathing on her own, and maintaining her body temperature. The next big step is for her to glucose levels to stay where they need to be without the help of an IV.
The doctors still won't give us an estimate on when we'll be able to take Elizabeth home, but if things continue, it will be sooner rather than later.
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Also, a huge thank you to everyone who has commented and e-mailed. Your messages of support and encouragement mean a great deal to me and B. I've been especially encouraged by all the stories of preemies who are now thriving. Hearing the success stories has been tremendously reassuring.
And now, some pictures from yesterday morning. I'll try to get some more today with a better camera.
5 comments:
woo HOO!! go BABY!!
Oh, my goodness... she's just *precious*... she looks like a little doll, just *perfect*!!
Yeah! Such thrilling news. Thanks for the updates, H.
Oh, a beautiful baby and a loely, happy Mama. I so remember those days of *willing* them to eat.
Our first pediatrician, whom I loved and was so sad to move away from, told us that, for newborns, eating a "meal" is the equivalent of running up three flights of stairs. No kidding, tiring! I hated those first few weeks of needing to set an alarm to wake Emily to eat - such a relief when they said to go ahead and follow her lead.
Keep taking good care of you!
What a beautiful baby!! Thanks so much for the updates.
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