Six Weeks Today!

First of all forgive the interruption in our normally scheduled programming!  These past couple of weeks have been all about figuring out a schedule that works for everyone.  New parents of full-term babies are sent home with time off from work and advice like "sleep when your baby sleeps" and they work out a schedule.

Preemie parents with babies in the NICU are given sympathetic smiles and are told to do the best they can.  Sometimes it's easy to figure out, as you are recouperating from major surgery there are some things your body just will not do.  Other times it seems perfectly reasonable to work full time, spend several hours at the hospital and get up 2-3 times a night to pump breast milk so your supply doesn't dry up.  It's enough to leave a girl feeling a little fractured, even with a super helpful husband.  SO... we've gotten the schedule under control, I'm getting better at not being quite so "type A" about everything, and I'm cutting back a little with work and hospital visits.  And Ian and I are talking and not calling each other third-grade playground names any more, so it's a win-win.

Teagan Leigh at 6 weeks

Over the past two weeks, Miss Teagan has had all the IV's removed.  She only has her high-flow nasal cannula, and her feeding tube. Her oxygen intake has decreased to 3.0 liters at 25%.  Once she is down to 1.0 liters and 21% we should be able to move to a regular cannula.

We had a scare that she might have MRSA, which is an antibiotic resistant strain of staph infection.  This was especially hard for me because she was put on isolation, which among other things meant that all non-parents had to put a gown and gloves on before entering the room.  So instead of the nurses bustling in to adjust her oxygen when she had an breathing episode, I would watch while the nurses stood at the door and waited to see if Teagan would start breathing again on her own or whether they would need to come in.  I can't blame them, but it was an awful thing to endure.  Luckily her second test came back negative and all is back to "normal".

Her weight is up to 800 grams or 1 lb 12 oz, if I do my math right.  She's up to 5.3 mL of milk every hour, which is considered full feeding for her weight and she has extra calories added, trying to increase her weight.  Right now these are her two primary goals: strengthen her lungs and breathing so she will stop having apnea/bradycardia episodes and increase her weight.

Teagan, you are super cute today!  Your eyes are huge and you love to look around at your surroundings.  You also seem to recognize Mommy and Daddy's voices and move your eyes and little arms toward them when we talk to you.  Other things you love today:

Hooray for Binkies!

-Blowing mouth bubbles.  You are getting really good at this!  As well as sticking out your tongue at Daddy (I SWEAR I didn't teach you this!)  You also really enjoy the tiniest pacifier I have ever seen.

-Pooping!  Especially right after Mommy has just changed your tiny diaper!  The best was the time I made some comment about having a stinky diaper in a closed, warm isolette and you looked up at me and crossed your eyes.  You already are getting a great sense of humor!



-Kangaroo Care with Daddy!  You absolutely cracked me up the first time Daddy held you.  I watched as your tiny hand came down and grabbed...chest hair.  And then your tiny forehead wrinkled in confusion and you looked up and your eyes went SO wide!

What the....

Don't eat me!

-Hats...all the nurses LOVE to spoil you and bring different hats to keep you warm while Kangaroo Care-ing.  You currently have 3, but the pink one was a little small, so I smuggled it home to add to your collection of tiny things.

I can totally rock out with my pink hat!

-The awesome crafty "T" that godmom Sydney made for you!  We also made a bulletin board of cards, pictures and other little things to let you know how many people love and care about you! 

T is for Teagan

Holding Our Own

"Tired" would be the theme for the week.

Welcome to Week Three!  We were able to hold Teagan this week using a technique called "Kangaroo Care".  No pouch comments, please!  The concept is that holding your preemie on your bare chest, skin to skin, allows them to hear their parents' heartbeat and breathing and promotes healthy growth, lung function and heart rate in their little bodies.  We will be able to do this nearly every day from here on.  I'm also going to start reading to her.  I was reading an article in a magazine to Ian last night while we were at the hospital, and her stats leveled out the entire time I was reading.  Any recommendations on good books for a three week old? 

Keepin warm with a hat!

The infection we had to start antibiotics for is nearly gone and the doctors started her back on milk yesterday.  This will help to get her weight up - we're currently around 600 grams (1.3 lbs).  Ian took a great video of the nurse weighing her and changing her tiny diaper.  She's such a funny little thing!  She waves her arms and legs around and kicks her feet and waves her hands.  Her eyes are open wide now and she is starting to make funny little facial expressions.  It's probably just her stretching her facial muscles, but I swear she smiles at us. 

I gots the Boogie Fever!!!

The doctors also had to turn her oxygen back up as she continues to have "episodes" which consist of apnea, dropped heart rate and de-saturation of oxygen.  If she continues to struggle with breathing, they will x-ray her chest and put her on a small dose of a steroid called Flovent.  I've taken it a few times for my asthma.  She has also had a few blood transfusions, since they need to draw her blood for tests and she is struggling to produce enough red blood cells. 

Ian took a really good video of Teagan that you can watch here.

Ian and I are doing really well aside from being super tired.  He's recovering from a slight sore throat that kept him home from the hospital on antibiotics for a couple of days just to be on the safe side, and I keep improving bit by bit (though I do have a tendency to push things a little too quickly!)

We've started to decorate Teagan's room at the hospital a bit with some things from home.  She has a wonderful sign with her name on it on her door that one of the nurses made for her.  I found some sparkly ladybug stickers yesterday and I'm adding one small ladybug for each week she is in the NICU.  We are also starting to put together ideas for decorating her bedroom at home with a ladybug theme. 

Mimi Carolyn went home to Kansas City this week and Ian and I are re-adjusting to not having her help.  For her birthday, she got to go to a glass-blowing class in Redmond and made a beautiful green ornament to hang in the Teagan's nursery window.

Mimi at the Redmond School of Glass

I started back at my office half-days, who knew insurance could be so exhausting!  I've been heading to the hospital after work since my office is only a couple of miles from Evergreen, and taking our pug, Edward, in the Jeep with me.  He's super excited to get to go along, though I often joke that if I could just swaddle him properly, I could sneak him right into the nursery.  It might be worth it just for the looks on people's faces if they stop to coo at the "baby".

A face only a mother could love...