Welcome Home, Baby Audrey!

Yes, it's true friends- Baby Audrey is H-O-M-E!  We walked in the door just about exactly 1 week after she was born!  It was such an emotional day for me- I was completely on edge about whether they would let her go (her bili level was the same today...no more, but no less, either). 

When the team finally rounded on her and decided to discharge her I was so happy I just started crying my eyes out.  In retrospect it was kind of embarrassing but after all we've been through in the last week I just couldn't help myself!  We packed up all of her things, said goodbye to Nurse Betty (who has been with her the most), and put her in the carseat.  Then we met Daddy in front of the hospital to bring her home!

We spent a nice quiet afternoon putting away things and just kind of getting situated to life with a newborn again!  Then the grandparents went and picked Emily up from school.  Let me tell you- that sweet girl came in this house ON A MISSION- she wanted to see and hold her little sister!  She did such a great job and was very, very gentle.  She listened and followed our directions on how to hold and love on Audrey.  She held her for a few minutes and then said, "I am done with Baby Audrey", hahaha!  Good to see she's still our same old girl! 

Tonight we will sleep with a newborn next to the bed for the first time in 3 years.  It's a dream come true!  We are so excited and so very grateful for everyone who called, emailed, prayed, visited, and supported us during this time.  The NICU is a very scary place and Audrey was never even in critical condition...but it changed my understanding of newborn prematurity forever.  I am so grateful for the excellent care she received and the dedicated staff at the hospital who watched and treated her every need.  I brought in a big pan of cookies a few nights back because I felt like I needed to provide something to the staff for caring for her...but honestly, cookies couldn't ever be even close to saying thank you for giving someone their baby and helping her to become healthy again.  I have a whole new perspective on life now. 

NICU- Day 6

Today has been big, friends!!  We started out with rounds with the neonatal nurse practitioner and the attending (and a herd of residents, too!)  They ALL agreed that if Audrey passed her carseat test, dropped her bilirubin level, and stayed free of any apneas or bradycardias, then she can go HOME tomorrow!!! 

Next we did the car seat test.  I was SO nervous, I had to leave the room for a little while so I didn't sit there and stare at her.  When I came back I counted down the remaining minutes and her nurse appeared and proclaimed that she had PASSED!!  Car seat test- check!

Then an audiology tech came and administered her newborn hearing screening.  I was nervous about this- Emily failed hers multiple times in her left ear, so I was concerned that Audrey might too, especially given her premature status.  Guess what? SHE PASSED!!  Hearing test- check!

She nursed VERY lazily this afternoon and I think she will do better being a bottle-fed baby for the time being.  We still will nurse every day but primarily she will be bottle fed so we can monitor her growth.  In addition, we will be adding Neosure (an infant supplement) to her bottles and of course we can't do that if she is nursing. 

Tonight Paul and I went on a date for dinner and a movie. It was so nice to get out with him and enjoy one last evening of fun before we go into major Parent Mode hopefully tomorrow.  After our movie we headed back over to the hospital, where Audrey pooped ALL over her clothes, bed, and even the wall!  I was out of the room when it happened and Paul couldn't keep a straight face when he was telling me about it.  Hard to believe that so much poo can come from such a little girl!  I am hopeful that all the BMs she's had today will help bring down the bili level and we will be bringing her home tomorrow! 

NICU- Day 5

Today has been AMAZING!! Sweet Audrey continues to fight and work hard to get bigger and breathe better.  This morning when I arrived I was able to give her her first real bath...it was so much fun!  She is really tiny and it was a little awkward (I felt like I was all thumbs!) but she did so great.  Luckily my mother in law was there with me to take pictures!

Then she nursed super well and we moved to "at lib" feedings-- this means they are not going to monitor exactly how much she is getting via nursing and she has NO maximum goal- only a minimum amount to take with each feeding.  It is nice to know she can eat without pressure!

Next we heard that her oxygen saturations were going well so they agreed to begin dropping off the flow- she's been on room air (21% 02) for over a day now so they began lowering the flow of the oxygen through the tube.  Later tonight, when Paul and I arrived, her cannula was completely OUT of her nose and resting on her cheek.  We watched for about 15 minutes and were amazed to see her sats staying in the high, high 90s.  Well, then who should come around the corner than a Respiratory Therapist!  We explained what was happening and asked if she could remove the cannula completely and let Audrey try breathing completely on her own.  SHE SAID YES! So she removed the cannula and we watched, in amazement, as she moved to even higher saturations- up to 100!  WE ARE SO EXCITED!

We went ahead and fed her- she nursed again and NEVER de-sated while she was nursing, which is a huge accomplishment.  I was so proud of her!

The nurse tonight actually told us to bring her carseat in and they can do her car seat challenge test!  She said that they usually do 2, 3, or 7 day trials without oxygen, so please cross your fingers for a 2 or 3 day trial...I think I might lose it if they said 7 more days.  We will know much more tomorrow when we get her bilirubin numbers back....cross everything you have that it is lower again!

I have been holding up pretty well but frankly, I am so ready to bring home that sweet girl and get onto loving her and having her where she belongs!  My birthday is Saturday.....what a wonderful present it would be to have her HOME with us!!

NICU- Day 4

Today has been an INCREDIBLE day!  Audrey has had a wonderful day- she began by having her IV capped off and then later removed- they completely stopped giving her supplementary fluids and she will get everything she needs from her bottles of expressed milk OR....another great option, nursing!  She nursed twice today and did a FANTASTIC job both times- kept her O2 saturations up, respirations slower and steadier, and heartrate perfect.  I was so proud of her!

Also, she is only on room air (21% oxygen) through her nasal cannula and over the course of today the flow has been lowered from 2L down to 1.75 and then later to 1.5L...so she's not getting any supplementary oxygen and the flow through the tube is decreasing all the time.  She is still holding her own and having great saturations!

Her bilirubin numbers came down as well, so they took her out of the "bat cave" and put her on a biliblanket instead.  This morning her bili level was lower than where they originally even got concerned so I assume she will probably get to quit phototherapy tomorrow sometime. 

Look at all her hair!

As long as she tolerates her feedings well she may move to a more liberal feeding schedule in which she is allowed to have however much she wants as long as it meets a minimum requirement.  This will be better than having her feeds increased by 1mL every 3 hours because it can potentially show the doctors that she can handle bigger feedings (we're weighing her before and after nursing to find out how much she is getting) and so they don't need to be so concerned with the amount. 

All in all, it was a tremendous day!  We are so thankful to everyone who is sending positive thoughts our way and thinking about our precious girl.  Hopefully we can bring her home soon!

NICU- Day 3

Today has been an incredible day!  Audrey is making huge strides.  Today she has tolerated ALL feedings (increasing by 1mL every 3 hours) from a BOTTLE- no feeding tube since late last night!  I am so proud of how hard she is working.  She's also still on the nasal cannula with NO talk of CPAP at all.  She got to wear clothes today and I got to dress her, change her diaper, check her temperature, and best of all, do "kangaroo care" with her, where she got to snuggle on my chest.  I held her like that for about an hour and then Paul took a turn with her as well.  It was pure HEAVEN to hold her like that...I can't wait to bring her home and get to do it whenever we want!  It was also really nice to see all her monitors reading perfectly while she was in our arms- her O2 saturations were great, respirations slowed down, heart rate remained steady and at the correct speed.  I am so, so proud of her. 

We are now looking at a release date of late this week- tonight she is "tanning" under the bili lights due to a slight case of jaundice.  They are also only increasing her feedings by 1mL every 3 hours so tonight she will be just about halfway to the goal feeding amount of 50mLs (a little more than 1.5oz).  It will take about 3 days to get her up to this amount so we're looking more at Thursday or Friday to bring her home. 

It is hard having her away from us but at the same time I am so grateful for the incredible level of care she's getting.  She is doing so well and I am so thankful for this and also thankful that places like the NICU exist- she is a whole different baby now that she is getting bigger and healthier.  My birthday is this coming Saturday and I am so hopeful that she will be home celebrating it with us....that would be the best present I could get! 

I have some pictures from today but I'm not uploading them tonight- the camera is out in the trunk of the car and it's time for me to go pump and go to bed.  I'll post more tomorrow- she was BEAUTIFUL today so be sure you check back so you can admire how pretty she is! :)

NICU- Day 2

Today was a better day.  Audrey worked really hard today!  She had her first poop (and second, and third, haha!) and was also able to wean down OFF the CPAP machine and onto a cannula!  We are thrilled.  Emily visited her again and it was great for her to see her looking so much better.  Paul and I both spent time with her and also with Emily.  We're trying to divide our time but it is definitely challenging...I can't imagine what it will be like when she comes home!

Audrey also finally got to eat today.  She had a tube inserted through her nose down into her tummy and was able to tolerate 15mLs of expressed milk tonight.  She looked SO peaceful when I left this evening...she is such a beautiful, gorgeous princess! 

NICU- Day 1

So after my rough night I talked with Audrey's doctors and my own.  Together we made the decision that since I was fine and she was going to be in the NICU for several days at minimum, I could be discharged!  I was so happy- I hated having Emily at home without me (and she did marginally well with that, from what Paul said), and I knew I would be able to sleep better at home.  So, I went to lunch with Paul and realized during lunch that just 20 hours before, I had had my sweet girl!  The hours were just running together.

We went home and took a quick nap before picking Emmy up from school.  We brought her home, gave her a bath, and took her back to the hospital to meet Audrey (she had come to see me on Thursday night but hadn't gotten to see Audrey as they had already taken her to the NICU). 

We went back to the hospital and introduced the sisters to each other.  Emily did SO well and was so sweet with her- just held her hand and talked so sweetly.  Audrey looked so so tiny and had a velcro band holding the CPAP machine on her head.  She had some wires and monitors and things but looked much more peaceful than when I had seen her earlier in the night (before the surfactant), when her respirations were about 140/ minute.  We spent about an hour with her and then I came back later and spent about 3 hours with her.  Emmy was upset when we left and wanted to stay with Audrey.

The CPAP machine is potentially making her breathe faster than usual and they have been able to decrease the amount of oxygen that she is receiving through it.  If she can be moved to room air (21% oxygen) soon they may be able to take her off the CPAP and put her on only a nasal cannula!  The respiratory therapist, Bryan, says that CPAP makes them very irritable and that she will likely slow down a lot once she is able to move to the cannula.  I am so hopeful that that might be as soon as tomorrow!
 

NICU Admission

Audrey was having some breathing issues after she visited the Newborn Nursery so she was admitted to the NICU for observation.  Around 11pm a doctor came to tell me that they would be intubating her and administering surfactant, which would help her lungs develop further.  Then after they finished they would remove the intubation tube and put her on a CPAP machine to help keep her lungs open.

I couldn't sleep at all- my room was outside the nurses' station and it was very loud.  Ambulances kept driving into the parking lot with their sirens on (really? they need a siren in the parking lot?!), plus I was upset that Audrey wasn't with me.  It was a really restless night.  I asked for a sleeping pill around 1am, it arrived at 2am and I slept until they came to check my vitals at 4am.  I couldn't fall back to sleep so around 5am I got up and went to see her in the NICU.