March 21, 2008

 
Katie made some good progress today.  Not only did she move into a less critical room last night, but she also had her nasal cannula removed!  She is not cared for quiet as closely as in the previous room (1:3 ratio of baby to nurse vs. 1:2 in the previous room), but that is to be expected.  Since she is not as critical, she no longer has to be watched as closely.  Regardless, this is something that Julie and I will have to adjust to as we have been used to a level of care that is no longer there.  Please continue to pray for Katie, as well as our peace of mind as we navigate continual changes.

March 20, 2008

"Attention Kmart shoppers:  Blue Light Special on isle 4"

Katie was under special blue lighting today to help knock out the jaundice.  Katie was OK with the idea, and Julie and I had to wear special glasses to protect our eyes.

Didn't I see this on Star Trek?

Mom's taking the temperature.

Julie had her first skin-to-skin contact with Katie today, as part of "Kangaroo Care".  This natural treatment for preemies is growing in popularity as physical, skin-to-skin contact with mom and dad has been found to promote all sorts of hormonal reactions that benefit the baby. More can be found here.  You can't really see her, but she's in there.

Peek-a-boo!  We were feeding at this time, so feeding + being held skin-to-skin by mom = a very content baby.

Then it was my turn.

Katie says, "Kitty!"  I loved this also, and could have done it all day.  Soon, Julie and I will both be able to.  We can't wait.

Katie continues to improve, and is pretty much on schedule.  They are hoping her PICC line can come out in a day or two, and she is breathing room air for the fist time (no oxygen supplement).  She still has the tubes in her nose to help the lungs.  Other issues persist, but Katie is not suffering from anything that is out of the ordinary for a preemie.

March 19, 2008

It was Julie's turn to change her first diaper today.  A little timid at first, just like I was yesterday, but she did great!

 
Today we got a feeding tube and a PICC line instead of a standard IV.  Katie's IVs kept coming out, so instead of continuously poking her (so happy I was never there for that), a PICC line is used.  Basically, a PICC line is a long catheter, inserted through a large vein in the arm or leg.  It is more stable than a standard IV, so it won't be pulled free and Katie can keep from getting poked.  For more details, see Wikipedia.

Someone's not so sure about what the nurse is doing!

Hmmm...

Sleepy baby!

Almost time for dinner.  She feeds from a tube right now, until she can master the suck-swallow-breathe reflex.  Until then, bottles are out.


That is one content baby.  You can see her special formula in the small tube going into her nose and down to her stomach.  She calmed down right after this started.


Mama holding her close, helping Katie feel her boundaries.


And....we're out.


Family photo take one.


C'mon, dad.  Smile!

I don't know if leaving Katie behind will ever get easier.  I don't think it's supposed to.  I don't know why, but I've had the lullaby from Dumbo, "Baby Mine", running through my head all weekend.  I haven't thought about, or heard that song for so many years.  It's as much of a curse as it is a blessing, as I want nothing more than to get that baby of mine out of there and home with us.  All in good timing.  I remind myself daily how much she needs this treatment...treatment that is literally keeping her alive.

The morning before Julie and I came home.

I think the term is "shell shocked". Whatever it was, we felt it as we drove home today, putting physical distance between us and Katie for the first time. Each night prior, Julie was at least in the same building with her. Not so tonight. The lump in our throats is still strong. The world seemed different coming home. The buildings were the same, but they looked more threatening. I told Julie I wish they could all be painted pink and covered with soft fluffy bunnies or something. Steel and cement seem so harsh now.

Katie is progressing well. You can see from the pictures today that she has graduated to the next less-intrusive air hose. Her lungs are fully formed, but they are weak and are becoming stronger. Her jaundice is to be expected and the bright light helps her skin get rid of it until her liver and digestive system can take over.
Julie held her again. It's trying for her, but as you can see, Katie doesn't seem to mind.

I held her for the first time today, and realized that time seemed to stop. Nothing else mattered.

You can see the size difference of her head and my hand.

Just a few CCs of formula.

She had her first feeding today. The nurse fed her a special formula meant to increase her calcium levels. Katie needs to master the suck-swallow-breathe reflex, something she didn't quite get yet today. That's expected though, and in time she will get it. Maybe in another week or so.  Thank you for the continuous prayer and support. We need it!

Katie - Day 2

Katie made a lot of progress today: She had her first "bath", she was upgraded to a less intrusive oxygen line, she was held by mom, and even had her diaper changed by dad.

She is so fragile. I was very timid at first, but then I felt the strong muscles in her legs which took much of the fear away.


In these pictures, you can see her hair and and how beautiful it is after her bath. She definitely has Julie's chin, but many of her other features seem to take after me (how surreal it is to write that). We'll see how long that lasts.

 
The white band around her arm is her blood pressure cuff. It's tiny, but not the tiniest they have.

Julie got to hold her for the first time. Not an easy thing to do when your baby is hooked up to so many tubes.
 

Lots of hair!

Katie is born!

At an exhausting 11:15pm on Friday, March 14, Julie's water broke quite unexpectedly. After trying to hold back delivery to allow continued growth, Katie came into the world at 10:51am, Sunday. March 16, 2008. She weighed in at 4lb 9oz, and measured 18 inches. As she is 7 weeks early, she will be spending some time in the NICU. The length of stay is undetermined, but we can expect her to be there until her original due date.

Our little baby was quickly cleaned up and stabilized before being swept away by a neonatal team to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) before Mommy even got to see her face. Daddy was her first visitor a short time later.


After dad cut the majority of the umbilical cord (and did just fine doing so, btw), Grandma Linda got to cut the excess.

Cleaning up.

New, shocked, exhausted, scared, but thankful parents.

Grandparents

 
Our beautiful little princess.

What can one say when these are the first images of your child?

Despite all the tubes and terror, the smile is genuine.


Not quite what we expected for mama's first experience.

 
It's incredible to see someone who is still supposed to be growing inside.