Weight- 680 grams ( ~1lb 8 oz---back up from birth weight!)
Belly Circumference- Still 19 cm (praise the lord)
IV's- Two 24's in my hands- waiting on my PICC line
Oxygen- Bubble C-Pap for now
Disposition- A little too chillaxed.......
The beginning of the roller-coaster ride. We were told on day one that NICU babies, especially the micro-preemies are a crazy sort. A literal up and down from day to day and that we should expect almost anything at any time. Being as Juan and I are both nurses, I thought we had a good grasp. And for the first few days, we definitely rode the roller coaster up the hill (I think our roller coaster is one of those old wooden ones because it was a bumpy ride up). I think we are starting that head over heel feeling of going down.....and I think like most rides, its hard to be prepared once you actually get to the top of the ride......
Prudence has been having more episodes of A's and B's. With each episode it takes longer for her to recover and wake up remembering to breathe. So a lot of the talk today revolved around the fact that she might soon have to go back on the ventilator if she keeps acting up. A little more than heart breaking, but also something we have been told to expect from the day they pulled her breathing tube. However, all day long the good lord has been watching over her. Her chest x-ray today looked "pretty good" according to her nurses and her blood work has been decent or getting better. She was on a lab holiday today and we won't recheck most of the stuff until tomorrow. She also received a blood transfusion today to see if her drop in her hemoglobin wasn't causing her A's and B's. While it seemed to make her wake up from the episodes easier, she is still taking a fair amount of recovery. The last we heard tonight was that if she continued to have episodes, she was going to get a caffeine bolus to stimulate her nervous system and an increased daily dose of caffeine.
Oh and by the way, Prudence has prescriptions for several vices- caffeine, UV rays.....Most Americans follow NICU order sets in daily life apparently.........
And our new, and probably inappropriate joke, is that we always leave Prudence with the saying "Give em hell kid"......of course she probably will (what can I say, she is her mothers daughter....)
But all in all, its become a very back and forth up and down side swinging kind of day.
Outside of Prudence's health problems, we have had several blessings in the past few days that I feel are gigantic. One was when we learned that micropreemies (or babies under 1 kilogram birth weight) qualify for medicaid. This means that whatever our insurance does not pay for Pru's ENTIRE NICU stay (surgery, treatments, medicines, EVERYTHING) will be covered by medicaid. And we are talking bills that can get into the millions. THANK YOU JESUS!!! It is horrible to think for a second about the huge bills we are incurring in a time when your baby is needing so much, and now God has provided for us and proven yet again that we need not worry for our Father is watching out for us.
Next, and possible to much information, is that I have been fortunate enough to have no problem what so ever with pumping breast milk for Prudence. This is a huge deal since at the hospital they won't give micropreemies formula because it is way to harsh on their digestive system. So its either mothers milk or donor breast milk. And lets face it, mothers milk just seems a little less weird if you ask me.
We have seen an outpouring of generosity. And I mean overwhelming extraordinary things that mean the world to us. God has blessed us with so many wonderful people in our life. My parents and family for devoting so much time and effort not only to make sure Lucy is taken care of, but that Juan and I are as well. My house has been cleaned, we have meals being cooked and most of all people who are there for our little family in whatever way they can be. We have received well wishes, cards, gift cards, preemie onesies (which will fit Prudence hopefully in a few months), prayers, kind words, shoulders to lean on, and mounds of support from old friends, new friends, barely friends, and even strangers. It is amazing.
Holding grandma's hand....
Good Night from Micro-preemie world!
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