Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Update and Pictures
Just a quick little update on our little GEM. She's doing really good! We're working on getting her to eat more from her bottle to try and get her to complete bottle feeds and off her feeding tube. She needs to be able to eat 60ml or 2oz from a bottle consecutively and right now we're up to 10-30ml. She's doing good and gets a little better at it every day. It's harder for her to take from a bottle and takes a lot more effort on her breathing...she gets tired out quickly from it!
On to some other big news...we got moved up to the floor! She is now out of the NICU and in her own private room! I think she is really enjoying the peace and quiet...no more alarms constantly going off, people talking, and other babies crying! It's yet another transition period in her journey to her recovery! We'll also be able to do more for her up here as this is that transition period before she comes home. We've been able to do her feeds, change diapers, clothe her, bathe her and have been watching her dressing changes which occur once a day. I'm sure pretty soon we'll be taught how to do her dressing changes so we can get used to those.
Eventually on this floor we'll be able to take her for walks in the stroller around the floor and down in the garden...take her to the play room to introduce her to some toys and socialize her with other babies!
Dr. Buchmiller came in this afternoon and said that she is doing so good. Most babies with omphaloceles have respiratory issues and are on some form of oxygen assistance. Gianna doesn't have any issues with her lungs or breathing! Dr. Buchmiller's next step is to get orthopedics up here to measure her for a cast that will give some pressure to her omphalocele to start the compression phase. She said that if the only hang up was Gianna's feeding tube, that wouldn't hold us here...that we could learn how to do her feeding tube and be sent home with that. Obviously we're hoping she doesn't need to come home on it...but it does look promising for her to be coming home within the next couple months if not sooner! :)
We are able to dress her up in cute little dresses, hats, bows and socks! Her dresses look so funny because of her big belly! They're like maternity dresses! lol I can't wait to be able to go out and start shopping for some cute outfits!
So for now we're just working on her feedings and getting her closer to coming home! We're waiting for the skin to grow half way up her omphalocele and the membranes to harden over before we take her home as well.
Thank you for all of your prayers...she is doing so well! God is so good and has truly blessed us!
Here are some pictures of our little peanut!
On to some other big news...we got moved up to the floor! She is now out of the NICU and in her own private room! I think she is really enjoying the peace and quiet...no more alarms constantly going off, people talking, and other babies crying! It's yet another transition period in her journey to her recovery! We'll also be able to do more for her up here as this is that transition period before she comes home. We've been able to do her feeds, change diapers, clothe her, bathe her and have been watching her dressing changes which occur once a day. I'm sure pretty soon we'll be taught how to do her dressing changes so we can get used to those.
Eventually on this floor we'll be able to take her for walks in the stroller around the floor and down in the garden...take her to the play room to introduce her to some toys and socialize her with other babies!
Dr. Buchmiller came in this afternoon and said that she is doing so good. Most babies with omphaloceles have respiratory issues and are on some form of oxygen assistance. Gianna doesn't have any issues with her lungs or breathing! Dr. Buchmiller's next step is to get orthopedics up here to measure her for a cast that will give some pressure to her omphalocele to start the compression phase. She said that if the only hang up was Gianna's feeding tube, that wouldn't hold us here...that we could learn how to do her feeding tube and be sent home with that. Obviously we're hoping she doesn't need to come home on it...but it does look promising for her to be coming home within the next couple months if not sooner! :)
We are able to dress her up in cute little dresses, hats, bows and socks! Her dresses look so funny because of her big belly! They're like maternity dresses! lol I can't wait to be able to go out and start shopping for some cute outfits!
So for now we're just working on her feedings and getting her closer to coming home! We're waiting for the skin to grow half way up her omphalocele and the membranes to harden over before we take her home as well.
Thank you for all of your prayers...she is doing so well! God is so good and has truly blessed us!
Here are some pictures of our little peanut!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
And she is finally here!
First of all thank you all so very much for your prayers! Dan and I definitely feel them with us.
Thursday we were surprisingly calm and just so excited to meet her! So we got down there checked in and waited...and waited...and waited! Our c-section was scheduled for 10:30am but there were two c sections that came before us. One couple needed to deliver their triplets and after them we were supposed to go, but then an emergency c section came in so we had to wait yet again. Finally around 1:45pm they came and got me and brought me into the operating room to get ready! I had some issues with the spinal...they injected in and then I felt like I was going to pass out. They were like "Oh that's a normal feeling." So then I was like "I'm going to pass out" and all of a sudden I hear them all running around saying stuff like "Alright we have a pulse of 30...quick I need oxygen...ok blood pressure is dropping...pulse still dropping...Kaite stay with us...Kaite can you hear us...Kaite squeeze my hand..." lol Needless to say it was kind of scary. I'm laying there like "I'm dying!" I just had a severe reaction to the spinal. Once that was under control they brought Dan back and they started the c-section. It was such an incredible feeling to hear her little cry for the first time! She was a fighter from the start. I guess before they even pulled her out she was crying! They brought her over to the table and stabilized her...Dan got to go over and baptize her immediately. :) She's our little saint now. Her O2 sat was a little low initially so they incubated her and then wheeled her past me so I could see her and then took her up to Brigham's ICU. Dan followed them and after I got stitched up etc I was wheeled into recovery where I was met by my mom and Dad. I felt OK. I had only had two hours of sleep the previous two nights so I think I was over tired and just really drugged up...plus I hadn't had anything to eat all day. When I got there that morning they discovered that my hematocrit was 29 and should have been around 40 so I was a little anemic. During the csection I had lost a lot of blood I guess so my levels dropped to 26 and finally the next day to 23. So needless to say I've been feeling rather tired and loopey they past few days. Since then I've been given iron and do feel better today. Finally around 7pm I was wheeled up to my room. I didn't get to see her that night just because I was so out of it. I did get to go see her the next afternoon...she is sooooo cute! She's doing so good. They took her off her ventilator that Friday...put a feeding tube in that has since then been removed by herself! lol They're keeping it out for another day and going to see how she does today eating from the bottle. I've been pumping and just patiently waiting for my milk to come in so we can start feeding her with that. She's peeing, pooping and farting...lol all very good things! She's breathing really good and she weighs the same she did at birth. The omphalocele is intact and contains the liver, stomach, spleen and intestines. She is a very mellow baby and sleeps most of the time and seems to cry very little. She hasn't been on really any pain meds etc the past few days. She loves to snuggle with her mommy and daddy and loves to wear her socks hats and bows!
The latest news...Dr. Buchmiller came by this morning to look at the omphalocele and said that everything is looking really good. Those three spots on the omphalocele that were rather thin are healing nicely and getting tougher. She said that within the next couple of days she'll probably go down on the floor and be out of the NICU! We're so excited for that! So she will be in her own room and in a crib! We'll also be able to stay bedside if we wanted to when she goes down on the floor. :-)
When the skin grows up half way over the omphalocele she will most likely be able to come home! This could take up to a few months...really depends on how quickly her body heals itself. She's just doing so well though! God has truly blessed us and is certainly taking such good care of our little GEM.
She's not using her IV anymore and it will probably be taken out within the next few days. She's receiving both bottle feeds and feeds through her feeding tube. She ate 15cc today via bottle which is almost half an ounce which is really good for her! The doctor said it's very common for these babies to not take well to the bottle because it's a lot more strain on their lungs to suck from a bottle and makes it more difficult for them to breathe. Eventually she will get the hang of it and the feeding tube should come out!
We've been able to hold her, change her diaper, take her temp, help position her and hopefully everyday we'll be able to care for her more and more.
She loves to sleep! Most of the time she's asleep and we just visit with her and hold her and talk to her. Daddy read her first bedtime story to her last night and I think she really liked that. We also prayed our first family rosary together last night by her bedside. It's such an incredible feeling being our own little family. We love her to pieces and can't imagine life without her. I close my eyes at night and she's all I see and open my eyes in the morning and can't wait to see her again. What a little miracle she is!
Dan is an incredible father. He has adjusted so well to fatherhood and loves her to pieces! It's all about Gianna now. :) He loves to make sure she's content and comfortable and loves to talk to her and help out taking care of her. He's pretty skilled at changing a diaper too! ;) He has taken such good care of both of his girls. God has blessed both Gianna and I with the best daddy and husband!
I'll update some more later...going to go hold my little munchkin!
Thank you for your prayers! They are being heard!
KEM
Thursday we were surprisingly calm and just so excited to meet her! So we got down there checked in and waited...and waited...and waited! Our c-section was scheduled for 10:30am but there were two c sections that came before us. One couple needed to deliver their triplets and after them we were supposed to go, but then an emergency c section came in so we had to wait yet again. Finally around 1:45pm they came and got me and brought me into the operating room to get ready! I had some issues with the spinal...they injected in and then I felt like I was going to pass out. They were like "Oh that's a normal feeling." So then I was like "I'm going to pass out" and all of a sudden I hear them all running around saying stuff like "Alright we have a pulse of 30...quick I need oxygen...ok blood pressure is dropping...pulse still dropping...Kaite stay with us...Kaite can you hear us...Kaite squeeze my hand..." lol Needless to say it was kind of scary. I'm laying there like "I'm dying!" I just had a severe reaction to the spinal. Once that was under control they brought Dan back and they started the c-section. It was such an incredible feeling to hear her little cry for the first time! She was a fighter from the start. I guess before they even pulled her out she was crying! They brought her over to the table and stabilized her...Dan got to go over and baptize her immediately. :) She's our little saint now. Her O2 sat was a little low initially so they incubated her and then wheeled her past me so I could see her and then took her up to Brigham's ICU. Dan followed them and after I got stitched up etc I was wheeled into recovery where I was met by my mom and Dad. I felt OK. I had only had two hours of sleep the previous two nights so I think I was over tired and just really drugged up...plus I hadn't had anything to eat all day. When I got there that morning they discovered that my hematocrit was 29 and should have been around 40 so I was a little anemic. During the csection I had lost a lot of blood I guess so my levels dropped to 26 and finally the next day to 23. So needless to say I've been feeling rather tired and loopey they past few days. Since then I've been given iron and do feel better today. Finally around 7pm I was wheeled up to my room. I didn't get to see her that night just because I was so out of it. I did get to go see her the next afternoon...she is sooooo cute! She's doing so good. They took her off her ventilator that Friday...put a feeding tube in that has since then been removed by herself! lol They're keeping it out for another day and going to see how she does today eating from the bottle. I've been pumping and just patiently waiting for my milk to come in so we can start feeding her with that. She's peeing, pooping and farting...lol all very good things! She's breathing really good and she weighs the same she did at birth. The omphalocele is intact and contains the liver, stomach, spleen and intestines. She is a very mellow baby and sleeps most of the time and seems to cry very little. She hasn't been on really any pain meds etc the past few days. She loves to snuggle with her mommy and daddy and loves to wear her socks hats and bows!
The latest news...Dr. Buchmiller came by this morning to look at the omphalocele and said that everything is looking really good. Those three spots on the omphalocele that were rather thin are healing nicely and getting tougher. She said that within the next couple of days she'll probably go down on the floor and be out of the NICU! We're so excited for that! So she will be in her own room and in a crib! We'll also be able to stay bedside if we wanted to when she goes down on the floor. :-)
When the skin grows up half way over the omphalocele she will most likely be able to come home! This could take up to a few months...really depends on how quickly her body heals itself. She's just doing so well though! God has truly blessed us and is certainly taking such good care of our little GEM.
She's not using her IV anymore and it will probably be taken out within the next few days. She's receiving both bottle feeds and feeds through her feeding tube. She ate 15cc today via bottle which is almost half an ounce which is really good for her! The doctor said it's very common for these babies to not take well to the bottle because it's a lot more strain on their lungs to suck from a bottle and makes it more difficult for them to breathe. Eventually she will get the hang of it and the feeding tube should come out!
We've been able to hold her, change her diaper, take her temp, help position her and hopefully everyday we'll be able to care for her more and more.
She loves to sleep! Most of the time she's asleep and we just visit with her and hold her and talk to her. Daddy read her first bedtime story to her last night and I think she really liked that. We also prayed our first family rosary together last night by her bedside. It's such an incredible feeling being our own little family. We love her to pieces and can't imagine life without her. I close my eyes at night and she's all I see and open my eyes in the morning and can't wait to see her again. What a little miracle she is!
Dan is an incredible father. He has adjusted so well to fatherhood and loves her to pieces! It's all about Gianna now. :) He loves to make sure she's content and comfortable and loves to talk to her and help out taking care of her. He's pretty skilled at changing a diaper too! ;) He has taken such good care of both of his girls. God has blessed both Gianna and I with the best daddy and husband!
I'll update some more later...going to go hold my little munchkin!
Thank you for your prayers! They are being heard!
KEM
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