Today is the day I was supposed to give birth to Lorena. I had it planned so perfectly! I had done my research and picked Dr Thompson to be my ob/gyn. We would have Lorena in Clay Center KS, just a short half hour drive from home. I would have her on a Friday and bring her home on the weekend. That's how it works for everybody right? God did have other plans. If you need to know details refer to my first post from Stormont Vail hospital on 9/1/2012.
Lorena is 87 days old today and her adjusted age is now 1 day. She finally fits into the onesie we got from the hospital the day she was born. She weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces on Thursday, 3 times the size she was at birth.
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| Lorena at birth 2 pounds 7.9 ounces |
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| Playing with her animals |
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| Onesie from Stormont Vail 7 pounds 4 ounces |
His plans are not what we always want them to be. I wish we wouldn't have needed extra help to get pregnant, or had a miscarriage earlier this year, or had Lorena 3 months early. Dan and I want Lorena to have siblings, but will be scared to try again. We will cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now we are enjoying having Lorena at home. Having a preemie changes you. We are very over protective. If Lorena gets RSV, a cough, or flu, she could end up back in the hospital on a ventilator...so we are constantly worried about her getting sick. Lorena is starting to look like a "normal" baby but her immune system is still weak from being premature. I never thought much about getting vacinations before I had Lorena but now I understand the importance of them. Vacinnes protect those that are vacinated and also protect those who can't get vacinated, like small children and those with weakened immune systems. I also never thought much about germs...this is especially true for Dan. We have both become obsessed with hand sanitizer and agree that it is a big reason we have been healthy this fall. We are so thankful for a healthy month at home. Eventually we will get Lorena out more but she is still under house arrest for the time being.
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| Posing for the camera |
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| Crazy eyes |
We had to take Lorena to Topeka and Kansas City yesterday for doctor appointments. She had her second round of Synagis. It is prescription medication that is used to prevent serious lung disease caused by RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). She will get a shot of it each month for the next 4 months. She is such a trooper when she gets shots! She only cried for about 5 seconds max. Then her second appointment for the day was with her eye doctor. She saw no signs of ROP and Lorena's eyes are developing normally! We don't have to go back for 4 months. Preemies have a higher risk for being near or far sighted and having cross eyes, so the doctor wants to evaluate her next spring. I'm not too worried about her...I already assumed she would need glasses since I am extremely near sighted and have had glasses since age 6. Then we headed to KC for her cardiologist appointment. Lorena has had a PDA, patent ductus arteriosus, since birth. If the ductus arteriosus (which is the connection between the pulmonary artery and aorta) doesn't close at birth, it can cause a heart murmur. Her echo showed a heart murmur but Dr Parthiban couldn't hear it during the exam. She said that it is so small that she thinks it will close on its own and really wasn't too concerned about it at all. We go back in 6 months for a checkup. I think she is just taking after her Grandpa Ernie who had a heart murmur most of his life. :-)
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| Purple outfit from Grandma Cox |
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