Four pounds and counting

Thursday was a day for change and celebration. Naomi was five weeks old and Mom and Dad had received a phone call filled with good news in the morning. The doctor had informed us that Naomi was doing well. She was digesting and seemed to be having regular stools. She was also IV free! Her feedings were close to her daily calorie needs, so they decided not to start a new IV in the morning. After watching the nurses try to start several IV's one day, I learned that it's better not to stick around to try to help. I'll never forget my daughter's cries and how little I could do to comfort her at the time since she was in an isolette.

Ana and I both arrived at the NICU around 1 PM on Thursday. We were both excited to help with her cares. We noted the board said she was four-pounds and one-half-ounce. Every gram counts in the NICU.

The pre-highlight of the day though, was the grand opening of her isolette. It's basically the Miller Park of isolettes, except it only takes about two seconds to open the roof.

After the grand opening, cares seemed to be effortless. In addition, we found out that we were allowed to pick Naomi up before or after cares and hold her. It was another step towards normalcy.

Needless to say we were elated. No IV, no roof, fewer holding restrictions, and something that Ana knew, but didn't tell me. In my half dazed state laying on the couch one recent afternoon, I thought I overheard the nurse asking Ana if she wanted to give Naomi a kiss. I dismissed it as a mishearing and thought we can't kiss her since we have to wash our hands for two minutes and use foam afterwards before touching her. I found out I was wrong though (as long as I wasn't sick). So with little time for fanfare, I scooped her up and gave her a kiss on the head. I waited 36 days for that kiss. Ana and I try not to over do it now, especially since she is still at high risk for illness and infections, but I sneaked in four kisses to her three.

With all these steps forward though, we hit a snag. By that evening, Naomi was de-saturating regularly. It had been five days since she was taken off of caffeine, and like dad, she was forgetting to breath. Her heart rate never dropped so she wasn't given a ticket for a spell, but it was still concerning. After some discussion with the nurse, Naomi was put back on a low flow cannula.

It was very nerve wracking since Naomi seems to swallow a lot of air without the aid of a cannula. That's why they tried to remove her from it a week and a half ago. So with vivid pictures running through our minds of Naomi's earlier digestive problems, we watched as they strapped on a cannula.

Afterwards, we went home to get some rest. I was worn out from the week and crashed almost immediately. Ana stayed up for the usual pumping routine. We both awoke early though today to make it to the NICU in time to talk with the doctor. After some discussion and relaying of our concerns we decided to put Naomi back on caffeine. She'll still be on a cannula until she is breathing room air consistently and not de-saturating, but we hope it will be removed sooner with the caffeine, rather than later. The consequence of our decision is that Naomi will likely need to wear a monitor for two months when she gets home since they will keep her on caffeine until approximately two weeks after discharge.

Having lived around monitors for a while, we think we will be moderately comfortable around a monitor, at least until the first alarm goes off. We were warned that they are sensitive and the alarm is loud. Looking at the big picture though, we hope it will allow Naomi to be cannula-free soon since we've just made it over the digestion hurdle. Ana's back on the caffeine wagon too. I'll have to quit being so stingy with the coffee around the house.

I'll end this post a video. In most areas, Naomi is acting much older than her gestational age. She's currently training to nurse so she can head home. So far, our best guess for that day is 38 weeks, or approximately four weeks from now. Thanks again everyone for all of your support and help.