September 29, 2008

Things are pretty much the same with Amaree. She did go up a little on her settings (*sigh*), but is stable and mostly calm. She is scheduled to have another head ultrasound today, but the results won't be available until much later. This is routine and is just a 30 day check up.

Since there isn't much news, I am posting some fun pics and video we took over the weekend. Enjoy!

The whiring sound you can hear in the background is the ventilator. You can also see the size of her binkie. Tiny!

This is a view of Amaree's room. You can see Andrew by her isolette, and she has one roommate. This is so much better than room 1. The lights are softer and there is so much less going on.

Big eyes! You can also see the blanket she is laying on is one that I got to pick out. I know it is silly, but I like them.

September 28, 2008

Amaree had a rough night. They said that she went up on her oxygen and they think that part of her lung collapsed. Her settings on the ventilator are up quite a bit. They did another x-ray this morning and it looks good, so they think they got the lung to re-inflate. She has two days left on the antibiotics, and so we are hoping that the infection is gone by then.

She has gained some weight, and is now approximately 2 lbs 13 oz! Two more and she will have gained a pound! I got to pick her linens last night, too, and I had a fun time doing that. I choose mint green with a blue moon and star pattern. Sometimes it is nice to feel like I am DOING something, even as silly as picking her sheets and changing the occasional diaper.

September 27, 2008

Amaree has been sleeping almost all day. They are giving Amaree some asthma medicine to help her breathe easier. She is still struggling on the settings with her ventilator. We really want to get this infection and pneumonia over with! Her x-ray this morning did look better, but her settings haven't gone down much.

Last night she really went to town on her binkie. She really enjoys it. She also had the covering removed from her stitches. Her incision looks great! There will not be a huge scar from her surgery. The line is really smooth and clean.

Things are pretty much status quo. Not many changes, but we keep praying she will get better soon.

September 26, 2008

She is still handling her feedings very well. The infection that she has responded to a certain antibiotic so they switched her medicine to it. She also has stayed about the same on the ventilator today.

When we got here last night we made it in time for evening cares. I put some milk on her pacifier and gave it to her when they fed her and she really liked it. She sucked on it fairly well considering the tubes in her mouth. Hopefully when they come out she will be able to learn to feed fairly easily.

This morning she was on her tummy and had her eyes open. She was doing this funny bouncing thing where she was pushing up with her feet and then moving back down. It was really funny to watch.

They do Halloween pictures here where they put the babies in little costumes and take pictures. Amaree has to be off the ventilator for that to happen, so we are hoping that she is off the ventilator and the CPAP by the time Halloween rolls around.

September 25, 2008

I just heard from the hospital. The infection is from the fluid in her lungs, so it is pneumonia. The blood and spinal tests are not showing any of the infection. The good news is that she has been on the antibiotics for a few days already and they are the same ones that they would have started to treat the pneumonia. They did an x-ray this morning and it looks better than the one that they did last time. She has had to go up on her ventilator settings, but what do you expect with pneumonia? It sounds like she is doing better and has already been receiving the treatment. Hopefully we can get this taken care of and keep moving on getting off the ventilator. Andrew's main priority is getting her off that thing!

September 24, 2008

When Amaree is comfortable and relaxed, she puts her hands up by her face. We see her in this position quite frequently. The tube that you see coming down and covering her face is the tube for feeding. it goes straight down into her tummy. You can also see the gel pack in front of her body. Sometimes this is under her, and sometimes it is like you see here, and they wrap her arms around it. It gives support and also it is warm and is supposed to help her feel comforted.

I spoke with Galina (her NNP) this morning about her. She doesn't have the infection in her spinal fluid (hooray), and she isn't showing any signs of being sick. The infection is showing up in a test, but Amaree is still eating, (now up to 24) and resting and has opened her eyes and was looking around when Galina looked in on her. They are still just going to give her seven days on antibiotics as a general rule. Hopefully we get this thing beat before Amaree even knows she is sick. They are still running some more tests to determine where and and what kind of an infection she has. If the infection isn't causing the fluid in the lungs, but is just in her blood, they will have to give another medicine and probably some steroids to help get the fluid out of her lungs. I hope I am conveying all this information correctly-sometimes I get overwhelmed and a little confused about everything!

We would also like to thank everyone for their comments-it is so much fun to hear from you and we are so grateful that you care enough to check this. We love you all and really do appreciate the prayers and thoughts. We sincerely thank you.

This is Amaree's favorite position. She loves to be on her tummy. They can put her on her tummy since she has a machine breathing for her. We know it is her favorite because her settings are always good, and she sleeps, and she digests her food best in this position. Also her hands relax and and she just looks so comfortable.

Well, we know why Amaree is struggling moving down on the ventilator. She has stayed about the same, or when ever they move it down, she has been going back up. Amaree has fluid in her lungs. They ran some tests to find out why she has the fluid, and she now has an infection. It is for real this time. They have started her on antibiotics but they are running some tests to find out what kind it is and where the infection is, if it is in more than just her lungs as a pneumonia. She won't be coming off the ventilator for a while. She needs to have strong lungs and at this point she has to get over this before that can happen. The good news is that she is still eating and handling her feedings of breast milk. They did have to put another IV in to give her the medicine that she needs. Another bump/hill/mountain to cross.