6 weeks...and 5lbs!

Well, what a week it has been! Here are some milestones for Rachael:
~ began taking ALL bottles by mouth!
~ she's now eating 50 cc's at every meal
~ 3rd NEGATIVE MRSA swab
~ passed her hearing screen
~ hip evaluation shows that her hips are in place (they are commonly out of joint if you're the first-born, breech female...especially from a mom whose water broke early)
~ very mild bladder reflux....she'll remain on a low dose of antibiotics through 18 months

The only thing we're "working on" is the acid reflux. She's still having frequent brady's because of this. They'll do some further testing this coming week to see what else is going on in there and to hopefully give her a different med that will keep the reflux from getting worse or damaging her esophagus.
Folks keep asking...."when is she coming home" - - honest answer, we don't know. We won't believe it until she's in the car with us...many times, the NICU staff will tell you that they're ready and it'll still take a couple of days....so.....it's very much a wait-and-see kinda thing.

We are so thankful for the continued thoughts and prayers of our family and friends. Our patience has been tried, that's for sure, we're still amazed that we have any left.
Here are some pictures of a 5lb Rachael....and some from her last days with the feeding tube in:

The light bulb is flickering...

So, they have this phrase in the NICU that, with preemies, the "lightbulb" will turn on and they'll be ready to eat and grow and do all of these wonderful things. We thought Rachael's light bulb turned on this week....and it's on sometimes...not quite all the time, yet. She's now taking 6 of her 8 feeds (mostly) by mouth, but at least twice a day, she needs a feeding break and the nurse puts her food "down the tube".
We talked with her medical team today and they'll give her one more week to work out the reflux issues (sometimes just growing helps with this) and if they don't resolve, they will intervene with some further testing.
(She's refluxing after most of her feeds, causing brady attacks...this will keep her from going home.)
In good news, she got her 2nd negative MRSA result on Tuesday (AMEN!) and she is now 4lbs, 9oz!
Uncle Dougie paid his niece a visit...the NICU is now allowing us to bring one support person in to the unit. He was immediately smitten with her and she enjoyed cuddling with him after dining on some fantastic combination of breastmilk and formula. We spent a lovely Valentine's day together....Mike took me to brunch at a yummy cafe in Durham and then we were in the NICU with our sweetheart for a good majority of the day. We gave her 2 bottles and a bath...she loves the warm water and being washed from head to toe. When we came home for the evening, Mike cooked me yet another fabulous dinner. I am one lucky girl to have both  he and Rachael to love.
Here are some pictures...

Uncle Dougie holds Rachael
for the first time!

A bottle with Daddy on
my 4 week birthday!

After a bath on my
one month birthday!
(Wearing an outfit from
mommy's doctor)

FOUR weeks old!

Happy 4 week birthday, Rachael! It seems that I already can't remember life without you in it, nor do I want to. And, as I was looking back through pictures last night, you've already grown and changed and I can't seem to recall you being that tiny...even though, to many, you are still so small. In these last weeks, your daddy and I (ok, mostly I) have shed happy tears, scared tears, and thankful tears for you. I imagine these weeks are a microcosm of your future....there will be happy, scary, and thankful times ahead. How about we make a promise for there to be more happy and thankful times than scary ones? I guess we'll have to trust in God for that, huh?

The beginning of parenthood....even including the pregnancy...and the trying to conceive part, for that matter, has been stressful and anxiety & fear provoking. (Is it that way for everyone?) I'm a bit sad about that, as I envisioned it in a completely different way. However, the love, hope and faith I have for this little girl FAR outweigh those fears and anxieties and makes the journey worth. every. minute.

Because I want to remember....here are some milestones, you are:
~taking 35-37.5 cc's by bottle or tube, depending on your energy level. (most days, you average 2 complete bottles, 3 partial bottles and 3 feeds by tube
~awake more and more each day
~enjoying bath time, except after it's over...you don't like to be cold and wet!
~growing and gaining weight....you're now 4lbs, 4 oz!
~tackling a MRSA scare (after the initial positive, the first swab came back NEGATIVE!)
~fighting a UTI....with an IV placed in the scalp :( - - turns out, you're a hard stick, like mommy


 Here are some pictures for comparison:
2 days old...CPAP, billi lights...no clothes....

FOUR weeks!
Drinking from
a bottle, wearing
clothes, 4lbs, 4oz

Long week in the NICU...

Well, as if MRSA wasn't enough to keep us on our toes, on Friday afternoon, after several days of breathing issues, Rachael tested positive for a Urinary Tract Infection. There are two kinds of bacteria...one that makes you less sick and one that makes you more sick...she has the later. The GOOD news: they caught it before her white blood cell count was elevated! They began treating it aggressively right away! The SCARY news: she had to have a spinal tap on Saturday. Now, we've learned, that this is less painful than an IV stick to an infant...thank goodness and the preliminary results of the spinal tap are encouraging...we'll wait for the final results on Tuesday. So far, she's hanging in there and seems to be feeling better already, with a lot less trouble breathing and she's taking most of her feeds by mouth!
Enough of this medical mumbo-jumbo....we got lots of cuddle time this weekend, here are some pictures:

An outfit from mommy's
nurse, Colleen.
photo taken 1/31
no more nasal cannula since!

The outfit says, "love me"
Ummm, OK, if we must! :)

Daddy love in the MRSA gear...
special gown & gloves!

Mommy in the MRSA gear,
yellow is NOT my color! :)

A Scare...

Well, we had a bit of a scare last night....Rachael tested positive for MRSA- it's a staph infection that lives on many folks (50% walk around with it and don't even know it!) and is often passed to patients by health care providers. (Great! Thank goodness she's in a hospital....I say sarcastically!)
It's dangerous because IF a patient becomes INFECTED, MRSA is antibiotic resistant, which can make it fatal. LUCKILY, Rachael is just a "carrier" - meaning she is NOT sick, nor does she show signs of infection. However, she needs to test "negative" 3 times in a row before she comes home...they test her once a week....so, it'll be the end of February (with any good luck) that she comes home. We've been reassured by doctors and nurses that she is fine and they haven't seen an infection at Duke in over 20 years, especially because they caught it early, when she was just a carrier. They haven't ever had a fatality at Duke from this. We are praying for her to test negative for three weeks in a row and then we're bringing her home and locking her up until she's 30. :) My heart can't take much more of this up and down stuff! Sorry for the novel...but...that's the story of us right now!
If you are so inclined, please keep Rachael and her heart-sick parents in your prayers!

Spoke TOO soon!

Within 8 hours of being moved over there, they moved Rachael back to the NICU....she was having some pretty frequent apnea/brady spells and so, they brought her back and put the nasal cannula (at room air) back in her nose. Since then, she's been doing really well and holding her own. Doc says she just got tuckered out from breathing on her own for a week and needed some help and that this is common in preemies. I was shocked and saddened at her back step,but, glad to see that she rested yesterday and today and is doing much better. She even took the bottle today and we'll go back on the breast tomorrow.

The pumping is going OK...I only make 80% of what she needs, apparently, this is common in PCOS girls....FIGURES....I hate my ovaries! :) After I'm done having babies, I'm going to drive them over with the car! HA!
The best news from the last 48 hours: the pocket of air in her chest is getting smaller. If we can get her back on track with the breathing, then, we can get her to the hospital that is 3 miles from the house.
See...the NICU rollercoaster got us once again! We're trying hard to be patient and take things moment to moment...but...we've been doing that for so long now, our patience is wearing thin.