My laptop stopped working a few days ago, just out of blue. I hope the hard disk is sound and safe because all of Emilia's pictures are on it.
Also lately I have been getting home around midnight from the hospital and that does not give me much time to write stuff.
Once my computer is repaired and when I have the time to sit and think, I will post some pictures with updates.
So far, Emilia is doing well and growing (almost 3Kg!!!)
Emilia was born on May 31, 2011, at 25 weeks and 5 days in gestational age. She came home on October 21, 2011 after spending 143 days in the hospital. Today she's a thriving, happy baby who continues to amaze us every single day. This blog records the journey of our miracle baby.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Emilia turns 12 weeks old
Emilia is now 12 weeks old.
12 weeks sounds like a long time, but looking back, it was not too long. I guess the life in NICU is full of events and surprises that 12 weeks kind of goes by fast.
This week, of course, was another eventful one with her being transferred to Level III and then back to Level II. After so many pokes and tests, she was fine in the end. She's back on low flow oxygen. However she does seem to have a terrible reflux problem, which is causing her to gag, spit up, cough, sneeze, and sometime have bradycardia (due to stopped breathing). She is on two kinds of reflux meds but she still does have episodes of bradycardia after making gagging sounds. After speaking to other moms, I realized that a lot of preemies have this problem. Who knew these little ones also needed tums?
She now weighs 2880g, which is 6.3 pounds for those people who don't think in metrics.
Her ROP eye exam showed mild-moderate ROP(Stage I and II in Zone II area). I don't expect this to progress to Stage III and beyond. But, again, who knows... the life in NICU takes unexpected turns, especially when I have my guard down.
This week, Emilia is giving her parents grief because of her feeding issues. Other than that, her breathing seems to be better and she is growing well.
12 weeks sounds like a long time, but looking back, it was not too long. I guess the life in NICU is full of events and surprises that 12 weeks kind of goes by fast.
This week, of course, was another eventful one with her being transferred to Level III and then back to Level II. After so many pokes and tests, she was fine in the end. She's back on low flow oxygen. However she does seem to have a terrible reflux problem, which is causing her to gag, spit up, cough, sneeze, and sometime have bradycardia (due to stopped breathing). She is on two kinds of reflux meds but she still does have episodes of bradycardia after making gagging sounds. After speaking to other moms, I realized that a lot of preemies have this problem. Who knew these little ones also needed tums?
She now weighs 2880g, which is 6.3 pounds for those people who don't think in metrics.
Her ROP eye exam showed mild-moderate ROP(Stage I and II in Zone II area). I don't expect this to progress to Stage III and beyond. But, again, who knows... the life in NICU takes unexpected turns, especially when I have my guard down.
This week, Emilia is giving her parents grief because of her feeding issues. Other than that, her breathing seems to be better and she is growing well.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Emilia moves to Level II again
Emilia has moved down to Level II Nursery. We stayed in Level III for 6 days during which we couldn't find any infection or any feeding related problems. It must have been that she was exhausted and started to show breathing problems.
She's on low flow oxygen still and eating well.
She's on low flow oxygen still and eating well.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Another roller coaster ride
Just as I thought all we had to do until we go home was just let Emilia grow and develop, Emilia decided to do something funky and throw all of the plans out the window.
Emilia suddenly had a lot of apneic spells yesterday. She always had some apneic episodes and resulting desaturation and spells. But what she did yesterday was totally unsual of her. In NICU, of course, this is treated as a sign of an infection even though she looked normal. Immediately an X-ray was taken, a lot blood work was done, feed was stopped, a urine sample was taken and an IV had to be inserted for dextrose and meds injection. Now, this IV took over 2 hours to get because her veins are too hard to find. She had to be poked by so many different people over the 2 hours, getting at least 2 pokes in each hand and each foot, and once into her arm. Usually they document how many IV attempts were made by which RN and so on, but yesterday it was not even documented. I guess they didn't want to write out all the names of the people and the 7-8 attempts that were made.
Then, what happens? We had to be wheeled back to Level III NICU, Emilia had to be put in an incubator because her body temperature dropped because she was exposed during the IV attempts, and to top it all off, cerebral spinal fluid sample had to be taken by lumbar puncture (LP). LP was done in 3 attempts. Trust me, I knew they wouldn't get it done in 1 attempt. Last time she had LP, it took 2 attempts.
And to throw the whole affair into even more confusion and chaos, we got a call from the lab saying the blood culture was positive for a bacteria, only to be told an hour later that the result was not for Emilia but some other baby with a very similar last name. So, we don't even know if she has an infection, YET.
So, right now, we are still waiting for the results from all the tests we did yesterday. Emilia looks and acts normal now, although she was totally exhausted and hungry. She is also back on the CPAP machine with biphasic settings because of all the bradycardia she was experiencing. The transfer is of course tossed out the window. We are back to the starting point: no feed with CPAP mask in the incubator. I feel we made one small step forward and took five big steps backward. I don't know how long it will take Emilia to get back to where she was but as long as she is not sick and doesn't have to be poked around, I am content.
I even finished writing all the thank-you cards in case we got transferred out yesterday. Now I feel the NICU roller coaster is not going to be over, EVER, even after you go home.
This is a post that updates Emilia's status but also serves as a dummy ear that is listening to me vent about the day, because I really needed that. I admit I was really stressed out and emotionally drained yesterday. From today on, I will be strong, for Emilia. I need to be strong.
Emilia suddenly had a lot of apneic spells yesterday. She always had some apneic episodes and resulting desaturation and spells. But what she did yesterday was totally unsual of her. In NICU, of course, this is treated as a sign of an infection even though she looked normal. Immediately an X-ray was taken, a lot blood work was done, feed was stopped, a urine sample was taken and an IV had to be inserted for dextrose and meds injection. Now, this IV took over 2 hours to get because her veins are too hard to find. She had to be poked by so many different people over the 2 hours, getting at least 2 pokes in each hand and each foot, and once into her arm. Usually they document how many IV attempts were made by which RN and so on, but yesterday it was not even documented. I guess they didn't want to write out all the names of the people and the 7-8 attempts that were made.
Then, what happens? We had to be wheeled back to Level III NICU, Emilia had to be put in an incubator because her body temperature dropped because she was exposed during the IV attempts, and to top it all off, cerebral spinal fluid sample had to be taken by lumbar puncture (LP). LP was done in 3 attempts. Trust me, I knew they wouldn't get it done in 1 attempt. Last time she had LP, it took 2 attempts.
And to throw the whole affair into even more confusion and chaos, we got a call from the lab saying the blood culture was positive for a bacteria, only to be told an hour later that the result was not for Emilia but some other baby with a very similar last name. So, we don't even know if she has an infection, YET.
So, right now, we are still waiting for the results from all the tests we did yesterday. Emilia looks and acts normal now, although she was totally exhausted and hungry. She is also back on the CPAP machine with biphasic settings because of all the bradycardia she was experiencing. The transfer is of course tossed out the window. We are back to the starting point: no feed with CPAP mask in the incubator. I feel we made one small step forward and took five big steps backward. I don't know how long it will take Emilia to get back to where she was but as long as she is not sick and doesn't have to be poked around, I am content.
I even finished writing all the thank-you cards in case we got transferred out yesterday. Now I feel the NICU roller coaster is not going to be over, EVER, even after you go home.
This is a post that updates Emilia's status but also serves as a dummy ear that is listening to me vent about the day, because I really needed that. I admit I was really stressed out and emotionally drained yesterday. From today on, I will be strong, for Emilia. I need to be strong.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Emilia is 11 weeks old
Emilia turns 11 weeks old today (actual age). She is almost full term now as she is 36 weeks and 5 days. She is now 6 lb (2.73 kg), 45cm in length and 33.8 in head circumference. For now, the head circumference is the only measurement that meets 50th percentile. The length is still at 10th, and the weight is somewhere between 50th and 10th percentiles.
Her 11th week was all about growing and developing: learning breastfeeding and gaining good weight. Also she is still on low flow oxygen through nasal prongs. She is doing pretty well.
I have bathed her myself twice already. It was nerve-wracking at first but after all, it turned out to be one of the pleasant activities I can do with Emilia. During the first bath I gave her, I was so worried she might feel cold. And I swear I heard her teeth chattering in the middle of the bath so I had to cut it short and started drying her. Only at that point I realized she doesn't even have teeth to chatter... I must have imagined the sound.
Today, the second time went much more smoothly, though Emilia was a bit nervous and she was clutching onto the rim of the bowl she was sitting in. It was so cute. I think I can do a lot better next time. Each time I get more confidence that I am in control and I can take care of my baby.
Breastfeeding is going well as planned. We do it only twice a day but I am planning to do it more often once she hits 37 weeks. Eventually I would need to nurse her (or bottle her) round the clock before she gets discharged. Otherwise the hospital does not let you go home.
Her 11th week was all about growing and developing: learning breastfeeding and gaining good weight. Also she is still on low flow oxygen through nasal prongs. She is doing pretty well.
I have bathed her myself twice already. It was nerve-wracking at first but after all, it turned out to be one of the pleasant activities I can do with Emilia. During the first bath I gave her, I was so worried she might feel cold. And I swear I heard her teeth chattering in the middle of the bath so I had to cut it short and started drying her. Only at that point I realized she doesn't even have teeth to chatter... I must have imagined the sound.
Today, the second time went much more smoothly, though Emilia was a bit nervous and she was clutching onto the rim of the bowl she was sitting in. It was so cute. I think I can do a lot better next time. Each time I get more confidence that I am in control and I can take care of my baby.
Breastfeeding is going well as planned. We do it only twice a day but I am planning to do it more often once she hits 37 weeks. Eventually I would need to nurse her (or bottle her) round the clock before she gets discharged. Otherwise the hospital does not let you go home.
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