Breathing Easy

Went back to visit Bella today for the first time as a visitor as opposed to an in-hospital patient...

She's doing so great! She really continues to amaze me everyday when I really think about the fact that she came NINE WEEKS EARLY! She's a real, true preemie. I hardly ever think of her that way...I just think of her as my baby. My regular, normal baby. So, it's weird to think of her as a preemie...just seems like other people have preemies. Not me. But, alas, here we are, day 4 in the NICU. And I must say....Bella is kinda awesome. :)

The caffiene treatment is working great for her...her breathing is basically perfect, and it seems like her CNS is remembering to breath all the time! A definite plus! At the end of our visit today, they took off her nasal cannula and she is now breathing 100% room air with no help! So far, she hasn't had any apnea episodes or desaturations of any kind! When I talked with the nurse this evening, she said they finally took all that tape off her face (that was holding all her breathing equipment)...so, she's all cleaned up. I can't wait to see her sweet, unobstructed face tomorrow!!!

Her bilirubin levels continued to climb (causing her to be jaundice) and her doc decided to start her on phototherapy today. So, as I was leaving, they were setting up her tanning bed lights. She could be under the lights for just a few or many days. It all just depends on how she responds to the therapy. But, she's pooping great...and that always helps! :) Basically, the lights allow the bilirubin to be converted to products that can be pooped and peed out...both of which she's doing very well! So, only time will tell! She'll wear a shield over her eyes to protect them from the lights. Only bad part about the lights is that I wont be able to hold her very much during the treatment. It's a 24/7 treatment. Depending on how she's doing, the nurse thought that I may only be able to hold her for 15 mins or so... we'll just have to see how she's doing. Hopefully, her bili levels will decrease quickly.

The increased her feedings up to 15cc (3 teaspoons) every 3 hours, and she's tolerating that perfectly! No residual milk left in her belly so far!

And, lastly, she's gaining weight again!!! Yay! She was down to 3 lbs 9.6 oz yesterday and 24 hours later, she is now back up to 3 lbs 11 oz! She's a growin' girl. :)

It was great to see her today- we did more Kangaroo Care and she snuggled down into my shirt and slept perfectly soundly for an hour! It was wonderful. I could have sat there all day with her. When I went to put her back in her bed, she woke and up looked at us with those beautiful, big eyes until we left. She wanted to see me before I left. :) She looks so different to me when she opens her eyes- like she's more real. :) I love it...can't wait to see those eyes again. I took this pic right as I was leaving with my phone camera, so it's not the best quality. But you can see her without the cannula...but she still has all the tape on there.
So, she's doing great. Slowly, but surely, she's getting stonger and bigger and more wonderful everyday!