3 Weeks Old

Caitlyn turned three weeks old last night and made a few more significant steps toward coming home (though still a ways off). She is no longer on the C-pap, replaced for a nasal cannula. The cannula sits in her nose and delivers puffs of pressurized air, whereas the C-pap was placed through her nose down the back of her throat. She appears much calmer and at ease with the cannula than she does with the C-pap.

We too as parents must make progress in caring for her in order to bring her home, and Brian changed her diaper for the first time today. Caitlyn, like her big brother Aidan, gave daddy a nice surprise when the changing took place - though instead of peeing on dad (like Aidan did), Caitlyn projectile pooed on him.

Stats for 6/30:
2 lbs; 0.5 oz.
21% oxygen (room air equivalent)
lost umbilical cord today
awake more often

We have ourselves a two pounder!

Caitlyn continues to progress nicely, and is now at 2lbs on the button. Her morning chest x-ray was great and her lungs continue to mature. She did have a spell last night, however, for about 16 seconds where she needed to be reminded to breath by the nurse. The doctors gave her more caffeine this morning, which is supposed to help her remember to breath. We were told that these spells are common at Caitlyn’s age, and that she would have to have a few more before they would consider reintubating. Feedings have been increased to 16 ccs every 3 hours to make up for the lost nutrients from removing the PICC line. Also today the doctors lowered her blood draws (the only thing we’ve seen her dislike more than the bath) from every day to two times a week.

6/27 stats:
2lbs, 0 oz
C-pap – 28% oxygen
16cc/3hrs milk

Caitlyn graduated to an isolette today!

First Bath

Caitlyn had two milestones today – she was given her first bath and her PICC line was removed. All of her nutrition is now provided through breast milk, which is now up to 13 ccs every 3 hours. She is almost 2 lbs, and we are hoping to pass that milestone in the coming days. As for her bath, she didn’t care for it at all. Her heart rate went from 184 to 210 rather quickly and she let out a few cries to alert us to her disapproval.

6/26 Stats:
1 lb, 15.9 oz
C-pap – 28% oxygen
No PICC line
Loves sleeping on her tummy!

A Day for Bonding

Today we got to hold Caitlyn for the first time! The hospital calls it "kangarooing" - they placed Caitlyn on my chest and let her rest there for about an hour. It was wonderful bonding time and is therapeutic for both Caitlyn and me. She is so precious!

Day 16 stats:

- 1 lb, 14.3 oz
- extubated with a C-pap

- feedings are 10ccs every 3 hours

- PICC line still in place

Two Weeks Old

Caitlyn turned two weeks old yesterday, and was rewarded for her progress over those 14 days by getting extubated this morning. Below is a picture of her yawning - the larger tube in her mouth was her breathing tube that was removed.


This next picture is of her after the breathing and feeding tubes are removed - her first picture with nothing sticking out of her mouth or nose!



They then put a C-Pap in her nose to help her breath if she forgets (hasn't happened yet) and also assists in adding air pressure to keep her lungs inflated.




They then put her feeding tube back in her mouth - she is now getting 8cc's of breast milk every 3 hours. If she does well overnight, the doctors are considering removing her PICC line (delivers protein, fat and sugar to supplement the breast milk) tomorrow and increasing her feeds to 10 ccs over 3 hours.

Caitlyn is now up to 1 lb 14.5 oz.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We are so blessed with the great family and friends that God has provided us!

Day 13 - Moving on Up!

Caitlyn's second week of life in the NICU has gone as well as we could expect. She gets chest x-rays every morning to monitor the expansion of her lungs - now up to 9 ribs on each side (that's a good thing). Caitlyn is tolerating her feedings and has moved up to 5ccs of breast milk every 3 hours (up from 3ccs every 4 hours at the beginning of the week). The best news of the week, however, was that Caitlyn moved from Bay 1 of the NICU to Bay 2. Bay 1 is reserved for the sickest of the kiddos, so this move symbolizes great progress given her age and weight.

Day 13 stats:
- 1 lb, 11 oz
- still intubated

I'm Home!

After 11 days in the hospital, I am finally home! And Caitlyn is just over one week old. She has passed her birth weight, and is now 1 pound, 10.5 ounces. She had an Echo done one her heart (an ultrasound of her heart), and everything is great! When babies are born, even term babies, they have holes in their heart that need to close. Sometimes when they don't close up on their own, the doctors have to use medicine or surgery to close them up. But Caitlyn's closed up all on her own!

Welcome Caitlyn!

Things have been pretty exciting around here. I came to the hospital on Thursday, June 5th for my regular 26-week exam and I was told I would have to stick around for further testing. They didn't like my blood pressure, and wanted to make sure things were going as they should. After further tests, they admitted me on Friday the 6th at 10am as a preeclampsia patient. After two days of constant monitoring, they decided to do a c-section. My blood pressure kept increasing, and baby's heart rate was dropping. On Sunday, June 8th at 9:46pm Caitlyn Grace was born.

I am still in the hospital, because my blood pressure has not stabalized. I feel fine, except the medicine makes me extremely tired. Caitlyn is doing great- she is passing all her tests, and is doing everything as expected. She has had a couple blood transfusions, has been off and on her ventilator and has had a couple treatments for jaundice. This is all very normal for a baby born at 26 weeks. She had an xray of her brain, and everything looks great!

Here are some pictures Brian took the first day of her life. She is so small- 13 inches long and 1 pound, 9 ounces. She has dropped weight since she was born, but she is on her way back up. She is even taking breast milk through a tube in her mouth!

Notice Brian's wedding ring on Caitlyn's tiny foot...