Busy Week

I went to see Lorena on Wednesday and Friday.  Thursday I worked.  It was nice to get back to something normal.  I enjoy working but I am realizing I won't be able to put in the hours that I am used to.  I can see that this whole working mom thing will be tougher than I thought...and she isn't even home yet!   The drought will have to end sometime, making farmers happier and giving crop adjusters a break.

Lorena was off all oxygen and breath support for most of the week.  When I got there on Friday, the nurse had just put her on a low flow nasal cannula because she was having more desaturations (drops in oxygen level).  This is normal for babies to go back and forth off of the oxygen.  She is on the lowest dosage of oxygen possible and hopefully she will be off it soon.  Lorena had a head ultrasound on Tuesday to look for bleeds.  Everything looked normal. 

Lorena also had an eye exam on Tuesday.  An ophthalmologist checked her for Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP).  ROP affects the blood vessels on the retina in a preemie's eyes and can cause blindness.  Lorena had a good exam.  Her eyes are still premature, which is expected because she is only 32 weeks gestation.  By 34 weeks, the blood vessesl are developed enough to supply the retina with a good blood supply.   Therefore, she will have her eyes checked again in 2 weeks which is standard in the NICU.  The blood vessels are growing normally and look good so far! 

Pretty Girl. 

Lorena's feedings have increased greatly over the past week.  Earlier this week she would get 24-28 milliliters every 3 hours.  On Friday, she was getting 32 milliliters (with some milk fortifier, vitamins, and minerals) every 3 hours.  This is equivalent to about 8 ounces a day and is considered full feedings at this stage.  I probably mentioned this several days ago, but Lorena's feeding tube is now in her nose.  They are expecting her to gain 1/2 ounce to 1 ounce per day.  As of Thursday night, she weighed 3 pounds 7 ounces.  Her PICC line was removed on Friday so she is no longer getting an IV nutrition.  No more IVs!  I also helped give Lorena a bath on Friday.  The picture is below after her bath...notice she is free of all monitors for a few minutes.