Day 106 in the NICU- December 13, 2012

Sorry about not posting yesterday. It was a long day. I worked, then played whirlyball with work, then Tim and I went and toured children's rehab and then we went and visited Avery. We didn't get home until late.  The rehab facility was okay. It was nice but its not really in the best neighborhood. I just really hope Avery doesn't end up getting sent there since its farther away from my work than hillcrest hospital is. I am not going to see Avery till later tonight so I won't be posting an update until much later.

I am posting this update from my phone and it won't let me put captions above the pictures :-(

I will post an update tomorrow morning. Sorry, I am too tired tonight

Day 105 in the NICU- December 12, 2012

Avery had a pretty good day today. They tried feeding her with a different type of nipple/ bottle called a pigeon nipple Here is a little bit about it:

Pigeon Nipple

The Pigeon Nipple works by compression only. The nipple has a firm side that goes toward the roof of the mouth and a softer side that goes on the tongue. A small notch at the base of the nipple serves as an air vent. This notch should be uppermost under the baby's nose when feeding. Tightening the nipple and collar slows the flow of milk. Loosening it makes the flow faster. If the nipple collapses, loosen and retighten the nipple. A plastic one-way valve fits into the nipple to keep milk in the nipple. The valve should be placed with the flat side toward the tip of the nipple. When the baby begins to suck, milk flows readily. The infant controls the flow of milk and no squeezing is needed.

Avery had a little difficulty at first but caught on. I think she is going to do very well with this type of bottle/nipple. The occupational therapist was very optimistic.

Therese, the March of Dimes liaison, hooked me up with a haircut/style at Michael Christopher Salon in Highland Heights. When your child is in the NICU 100 days, they provide a manicure/pedicure or haircut for the mother. It was awesome. The place was great and I highly recommend it.

Avery's neighbors, Emme and Sabrina, are going home tomorrow. I am so excited for their parents Jen and Josh. We met them at the parent support meetings that we go to on Wednesday nights. They have been in the NICU over two months and have been through a lot. I hope Jen and I keep in touch.

Avery weighed in at 5lbs 13 oz today. She is going to be 6lbs soon!

My little toes..I have all my toes even though this picture looks like I am missing one.

 

 

 I am so little in the swing.

Daddy feeding me with the new bottle today.

There she goes again, Mommy is posting another embarrassing picture of me.

Day 104 in the NICU- December 11, 2012

Avery had a good day with bottle feeding today! She took 8ml from Tim, 16ml and 20ml from the nurse and 8 ml from me. She seems to be getting better at it but we still have a long way to go. In order for her to be discharged, she needs to consistently take her full feeding(currently 45ml) in 30 minutes. The nurse was super excited about her progress and took some cute pictures of Avery when we weren't there and also got her a reindeer hat and outfit.

They stopped her caffeine today. She was getting caffeine to help with the bradys/desats. The last time they tried stopping it, she had a rough time so I am hoping it's going to go better this time.  Avery currently weighs 5lbs 11oz!

Look at all the chub on my arms!

 

 So the reindeer hat looks a little big..it looks like a crown on my head!

 

Really Mom? Already embarrassing me by posting naked pictures of me. She will probably show these to my boyfriend when I am older.

 

I told you it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in my room!

Day 103 in the NICU- December 10, 2012

Avery had a good day today. She took 10ml and 11ml from the bottle. Grandma and Grandpa came to visit today. Avery is now 5lbs 9oz. The hospital called us and suggested we make an appointment for a tour of the rehab center. I have a feeling that Avery is going to be transferred there pretty soon.

Grandma came to visit me today and she told me everything is going to be alright.

I got to hang out in a swing last night for the first time. I look ticked off but I had a good time.

 

I am laying so snug and peaceful.

 

 I am looking mighty chunky today!

Day 102 in the NICU- December 9, 2012

Tim spent the night in the NICU. I asked him how it went and he said it was awful.  He fed Avery around 9pm and then the nurse woke him up at midnight to feed her again. Tim held her from 12-2 and she would not stop crying. The nurse took over and Tim went back to bed. Avery ended up crying from 12-4. They decided not to wake Tim up at 3 to feed her again. He woke up at 6 and Avery was really sleepy (probably from being up from 12-4) so they just decided to not try and bottle feed her. They just gave her the whole feeding through her feeding tube. Tim then went back to bed for a few hours.

I hung out with Avery for the afternoon today. She was pretty calm thanks to being up all night with Tim. I tried feeding her and she only took 5ml but she seemed to not struggle as much as she has been. The doctor updated me on her progress. He said they wanted to get all the tests (sleep study, swallow study and MRI) out of the way before Avery is transferred to the Rehab facility. There is only one test left to do before she would get transferred and that is a hearing test. She will be having that done sometime this week.

I worked on our Christmas card today. If you know us, you know we always like to include all of our animals on our card. Even though these past couple months have been really hectic, I still wanted to create a card this year. I am not spoiling it. You will see it when you get one in your mailbox. I am ordering them pretty late this year so I apologize if it ends up being delivered after Christmas. I am going to post pictures of our past cards below.

 

I love balancing my head on my arm

 

 

 I am looking at Mommy.  She was probably telling me how cute I looked in these "ruffle butt" pants.

 

2011

 

2010

 

2009

 

2008

 

 

Day 101 in the NICU- December 8, 2012

Today was my original due date. I am sad that Avery decided to come so early but it has been amazing watching her grow and develop outside of my body. They say that the NICU is the "womb with a view" and I totally agree. 

Avery had a good day today. Yesterday she was put back on the cannula because she kept desatting from being sedated. Last night she was taken off of the cannula and has nothing in her nose again, besides the feeding tube. She has been great off the cannula. Another doctor confirmed that the MRI looked normal so Tim and I are very thankful for that. Avery is 5 lbs 7oz.  Avery had a visit from her two aunts today! Tim decided to spend the night in the NICU so we will see how that goes.

Aunt Terri talked to me and I was really interested in what she had to say.

 

Aunt Janet was holding me and Mommy wanted to take my picture. I tried to hide my face.

 

I am happy in this picture because I pulled out my feeding tube!

 

I am happy because Daddy is coming to hang out with me tonight :-)