Three Weeks / Four Pounds

Maggie is 3 weeks old today and has passed the 4 pound mark. Today she weighed 4 lbs 1 ounce. She seems to be gaining an ounce or two each day, which is great news! It's all about eating and growing!

Maggie had a few record breaking nursing sessions this week (getting 12ml at two different feedings). We determine this by weighing her before and after we nurse to know how much she gets. Then she receives the rest of her feeding via gavage. She now is up to 37ml per feeding (every 3 hours).

Jeff asked when Maggie will start to add bottle feedings to her routine. Right now the nurses said that once Maggie reaches 35 weeks gestation, which is early next week, they will add a bottle feeding once at night along with the two nursing sessions we are currently doing.

35 weeks coincides with the natural stage in a baby's development where they develop the sucking reflex. As long as she does well with those, I think they will gradually start adding more nursing and bottle feedings. This will bring us much closer to bringing her home. We anticipate Maggie to be in the NICU at the very least another two weeks.

The only other new development to report is that Maggie has a diaper rash, so she has a special ointment to take care of it. It's a bit different from regular diaper rash. It's more of a yeast-infection type rash. Maggie was given antibiotics when she was first born, which killed some of the good bacteria that would typically fight off this type of infection. I think that the ointment is working, as she didn't have the same pimples on her skin that I noticed yesterday.

I can't believe the last three weeks have passed so quickly. I looked at the calendar today and it's already Halloween next weekend. I feel like time has literally stood still, but it obviously hasn't. While we still have a little time left before Maggie comes home, I feel like we have so much to do.

Jeff and I will spend much of the weekend getting progress made on Maggie's room, setting up the bassinet in our room, washing baby clothes, etc. We are just so excited for her to come home.

Crib!

The big news of the day is that Maggie is now in a crib! She has been successfully weaned from her isolette and is maintaining her temperature well enough to graduate to an open air crib. Very exciting!

She is bundled up in a onesie, fleece footie jammies, socks, hat, and swaddled in a blanket with another fleece blanket over her. She looks so warm and cozy.

This week, I am making trips to the hospital twice a day to nurse with Maggie. I have worked out a schedule that allows me to be there for her 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. feedings.

Our feeding this morning was a bit of a disaster. I didn't put her diaper on very well before we started, so her diaper managed to fall off and she ended up peeing all over the Boppy pillow. Then she started to spit up.

Tonight's feeding went a little better. I like going to visit at 8 p.m., the nursery is quiet and peaceful. We just talk and I sing to her. She nurses and I hold her during her gavage (tube) feeding. It's just so nice.

Maggie is still only managing to get about 4ml per nursing session. I think in the next week or two things will start to progress as far as feedings go. Babies develop that sucking reflex around 35 weeks gestation. Maggie is now 34 weeks. She shows real interest in nursing - she's always alert when it's time to eat. Plus, she's gaining weight and will only get stronger in the weeks ahead. I look forward to the day she'll be able to get a whole ounce (which is what she gets through gavage at each feeding). I know it will be soon.

Feeder Grower

This weekend Maggie is being weaned off of her isolette and the nurses report that she most likely will be in a crib by Monday. She needs to be able to maintain her temperature today with the isolette set to room temperature. Of course, she is bundled up in a onesie, footie jammies, blankies and a hat. The nurses regularly check Maggie's temperature to make sure she's not too hot or cold. Maintaining temperature is one of the four things she must be able to do before coming home.

Maggie continues to make great progress nursing. She has successfully taken 4 ml at each feeding this weekend. The nurses determine this by weighing her before and after her feeding. Today I will start going to the hospital twice a day to nurse with Maggie. Jeff and I hope to have figured out a good schedule that allows him to return to more regular office hours, but also allows time for him to visit Maggie at the hospital. It's a lot to coordinate, especially with Cece at home.

All in all, Maggie continues to do just great. She just needs to keep growing! In fact, this next stage will be considered "feeder grower" stage. On Saturday, the nurse reported that Maggie gained an entire ounce since Friday. So, she is definitely growing. The nurses add a fortifier to the breastmilk she recieves through her feeding tube. This fortifier helps her bones grow and provides extra calories without adding volume.

We always get the question - "When will Maggie go home?" The doctors/nurses say to plan on her coming home close to her due date (Nov. 29), but she could come home earlier. It all depends on her progress. I'm optimistic that she's going to come home early to mid-November.

Two Weeks Old, Sort of . . .

Maggie is 2 weeks old today (33 weeks 2 days) and Jeff and I are amazed at the progress she has made in these 14 days. Maggie's bilirubin is back down after another day of light therapy (6). The nurses do seem optimistic that she could possibly be done with that.

Since going off of caffeine a few days ago, Maggie has NOT had an apnea spell, which is great news. Maggie's weight also continues to go up (3lbs 9oz today).

Also, the temperature in her isolette continues to go down. This temperature has been slowly going down over the last two weeks, as it approaches room temperature and Maggie is able to tolerate that and stay warm while dressed and swaddled, she will come out of the isolette.

The biggest news of the day is that Maggie has figured out nursing. In just a few short days she has made amazing progress. Today, she successfully coordinated all of the motions - breathe, suck, swallow - without having any sort of spell. She managed to get 4 ml successfully (the nurses are able to measure this by pulling back what's in her tummy through her feeding tube).

This is a real milestone for Maggie. Once she is able to get more than 5 ml successfully, she will start to be weighed before and after nursing to get a better idea of how much milk she got. She actually spent 45 minutes nursing today. She shows so much interest and motivation. It's amazing to me, since she is just so tiny. In the next few days, I will be making trips to the hospital twice a day to nurse with Maggie.

Maggie was very alert during our entire visit, which was so fun. We read her books, got her dressed, sang her songs. We just love her so much. I had a really hard time leaving her today, but I know in a few short days I'll get to spend lots more time with her.

12 Days / 33 Weeks Gestation

At our visit with Maggie yesterday, just a few new things to report. Maggie is now 12 days old (33 weeks gestation). Her weight was up to 1610 grams (she was 1500 when she was born, which equal 3 lbs 5 ounces). The docs also decided to take Maggie of the caffeine, which they were giving her to help reminder her to breathe (to prevent an another apnea spell). They feel that she's doing well enough to not need this anymore.

Maggie's bilirubin level was up again (at 7), but the doctors were going to hold off putting her under the lights again and recheck it in the morning. There may be a possibility she'll have the lights on again today.

We practiced nursing again and Maggie did awesome. She woke up once we got there and was looking at me and Jeff as we changed her diaper and took her temperature. She was alert the entire time we were nursing and she really did a great job. She started to show signs of rooting, did well with her latching, etc. She seems so determined, a trait she gets from her father.

Jeff and I will make our daily visit this afternoon. I feel like our visits are always too short. Hopefully, we'll get to spend more time with her today. Next week I'll finally be able to drive, so I can spend more time with Maggie.

We developed some of our pictures of Maggie for Cece and put them in a photo album for her. She likes to look at the pictures and give her sister kisses. She also points and says Maggie or baby. We can't wait until she can kiss her sister in person

Practicing Nursing

At our visit with Maggie yesterday, we helped her pass another milestone in her development. The nurse encouraged us to try a "non-nutritive feeding" - meaning Maggie got to practice nursing. Since a full feeding would be too much work for her at this time, we did about 5-10 minutes of practice to see how she'd do. Our nurse said Maggie is starting to develop a rooting reflex and does a good job sucking on her pacifier, which is what prompted this practice session.

Maggie latched on right away, which the nurse considered as 100% success. Right now it's important to Maggie to know who her mommy and daddy are (recogize the sound of our voice, the way we smell, etc), and this practice is one way to help her do that. So, as a next step, we are going to practice this during our visits over the next few weeks until she can handle a feeding.

Also during our visit yesterday, Maggie moved to a new nursery. The babes in the NICU move around quite a bit, as they are remodeling the unit. Maggie is now in nursery 3C, we picked out a nice sunny spot by the window for her!

We're so happy that she continues to do so well! I hope that the rest of October goes fast so we can get our Maggie home!

Rock Star!

Maggie is a little rock star! At least, that's what her nurse told me today. I'm very happy to report that Maggie is now up to full feedings (30ml) and no longer needs the TPN and lipids, she is getting all of her nourishment from me! Her IV is also out, so she looks so much more comfortable. Her nurse told me that she's a pooping machine, which sounds gross, but it's really great news - signs that things are working. She eats, sleeps and poops, just like any other baby!

Today she was back under the lights, hopefully for the last time. As her weight goes up and her age goes up, she'll be able to tolerate her bilirubin level (which is around 6 or so right now), which means she most likely won't need any more light therapy.
No more light therapy means that she'll get to wear her cute little preemie clothes.

We hope she continues her great progress. At our visit on Saturday, we did an hour of kangaroo and then I got to dress her up, change her diaper and take her temperature. Her eyes were open and she was alert while I got her dressed. It was the most we have been able to interact with her. She is just a sweetie and was totally chill while we did all those things with her. It is always hard to leave her, but we look forward to our next visit.