Packing On The Ounces

   

           Aug. 29,2012 26 days old and weighs in at 4.5 lbs. Olivia has had a great week she has been tolerating her feedings and is up to the full amount for her weight, 36 cc's. She has really been packing on the ounces with her increased feeding amount and is even starting to develop a little double chin. After i posted the blog "daddy's Girl" she was taken off the nasal cannula and did great breathing room air all on her own, for about 24 hours and then was showing signs of being tired and was put back on. I have been told this is totally normal and at 34 weeks and 5 days (gestational age) now it is nothing to be concerned about they will let her have what she likes. However at 36 weeks they will start pushing her to come totally off what they refer to as flow.

      As the nurses have been bumping up her feedings I have had a bit of trouble keeping up with the production of breast milk, my OB wasn't lying when she said breast feeding is the hardest job i will ever have. Olivia's bottles have been supplemented  and every feeding she is getting about 1/3 breast milk combined with her formula. The increase in her feedings has made her tummy really work hard and it is pretty funny watching her bare down and grunt. You can tell she is really working hard to get those poops out.

     We have a few very exciting experiences in the last week and a half. Last Tuesday Olivia had her first bath with water rather than just baby wipes, Gary and I got to give it to her. The bath is referred to as a swaddle bath and basically it is a sponge bath.  Gary wiped her down on body part at a time with warm soapy water while the rest of her remained wrapped to help maintain her body temperature.

                      Here she is all clean in a little hat one of her night nurses Patty made for her.

On Saturday Olivia turned 34 weeks which in the NICU means she is the appropriate age to start nippling. It is one of the skills she is required to have before she can go home and although sucking is something that comes natural to babies as a preemie the coordination needed to suck, swallow and breathe all at the same needs to be practiced repeatedly. It is very tiring for her and they only allow babies of her age to practice for 30 minutes, after that she will be burning more calories than taking in.  She will have to prove her skills by taking her feedings for 48 hours straight by bottle before they will send her home.

The nurses also have the babies practice with the use of pacifiers. She loves her and has become quite a good little sucker

 As she has put on weight she has bumped up to the next size of diaper and blood pressure cuff. Here are the sizes she began with. Have you ever seen a blood pressure cuff that tiny?

                                 

 
                  I apologize for the delay between updates and will try my hardest to keep you informed more frequently.


Here are a couple more of my favorite shots of our little nugget. We are so proud of her and Thank You all so much for your continued prayers and support.

Daddy's Girl

         

           Saturday August 11, 2012 was a good day. I Got to the NICU for her 8:30 feeding where I was informed she had been switched to a different type of oxygen and that she is doing most of her breathing on her own. The device looks the same but is doing less of the work for her, it's a great step!
           She has been tolerating her feedings and has put on 1 ounce. There is talking of upping her food from 3cc's to 6 sometime in the next few hours.
  Gary and I took a break from the hospital and went over to the fair for a couple hours. It's hard to be away from her without feeling guilty but it was a fun afternoon of bad food and good company!! 
    I called to check and see how Olivia was doing after the fair and the latest test results indicated her dead red blood cell count was high. So she is back under the UV lights for a couple days to help prevent jaundice.
                Saturday night we headed back to the hospital for a special moment, after Olivia's 8:30 feeding Gary is got to hold his little girl for the first time. I am so excited for him however I would be lying if I didn't say I was a bit jealous. Seeing him hold her for the first time was so great they snuggled for a little over an hour and she was so content...it was a good night too.

      Tuesday Aug. 14, 2012 Olivia is having a good day her food intake is up to 12 cc's, she has had a couple good poops and her weight is up to 3.5 lbs. Her nurse Misty and I discussed that she is stable enough to have her first shampoo. Since she has been so fragile they have avoided messing with her too much but she has had birth fluids in her hair for over a week now. Once Gary is off work we will be back for a little baby grooming so we can see what color her hair truly is.
   She really loved having her hair washed, so much we got to see her first real smile. Much like her mommy and daddy we think she is a fan of the water.

                                                           first shampoo

followed by...

                                                                first smile

   That night was full of firsts, after she was all cleaned up and back in her isolette we had our first family photo.

       Wednesday Aug. 15, 2012 12 days old. She is tolerating her increased feeding amount, is being bumped up to 16cc's and her weight is up 3.7 lbs. Her breathing has become a lot more effortless and during rounds the doctors tell me she is going to be switched to a small nasal tube to see how she does. This will make it much easier for her to be comfortable when being held and laying on her tummy. Here is a shot of her with her new tube, I love it because we can actually see her cute little face.

          Thursday Aug. 16, 2012 She has been on the small nasal tube for 24 hours now and is adjusting well.  Her food was bumped up to 19 cc's. I got to spend the morning holding her and she was even awake for some of it. There is nothing better than locking eyes with this little lady!! I am really starting to feel like a mommy. I can't believe she is going to be two weeks old tomorrow.

         
Lots of Love,
    Megs and Gary

30 weeks and 6 days

        As many of you know Gary and I welcomed our baby girl Olivia into the world a bit early, 9 weeks and 2 days before her due date to be exact. This is a blog to help us share our story and keep our loved ones informed on Olivia's daily growth as she spends some time in the Hoag Hospital NICU.
     
         After being diagnosed with P.I.H. (Pregnancy induced hypertension) and pre-eclampsia I was admitted into the hospital on Tuesday July 31 2012. The Doctors and nurses tried for 3 days to get my blood pressure under control with no luck and On August 3, 2012 at 2:03 pm Olivia May Strawn was born. She weighs 3lbs, is 16 inches long at arrival and although tiny appears healthy. Gary was able to cut her umbilical cord then she was wrapped with a small bag to keep her body warm.

         For the first 24 hours she was breathing with just the help of some oxygen given to her through the tubes in her nose. I was unable to see her during that time due to the medicine I was on but was able to enjoy her little face with this great photo Gary snapped.
         
          Sat. Aug 4,2012  she is doing great. She is still breathing on her own and is placed under UV lights to help prevent jaundice. They place an eye patch on her to protect her eyes and at 2:00 that afternoon I met my baby girl for the very first time.



     

           

        Saturday evening Olivia reminded us just how fragile she is when her lungs got tired and had to be put on a respirator. 

          

          Sunday Aug. 5 2012 Gary and I walked up to see our baby girl and get updates as the doctors did their morning rounds. It is really fantastic how informative everyone is and how they welcomed usto be a part of their discussion, constantly reminding us that this is our baby and we have every right to ask questions. I started using a breast pump that day as I was informed they would be using my breast milk to swab her mouth to prepare her for feedings.

         

         Monday Aug.6 2012 3 days old. Olivia's status has not changed at all she is still on the respirator and under the lights and is still this tiny adorable little lady!! That evening I had my first productive pump where I was able to get just enough milk to save. Gary and I had a mini celebration with what we refer to as liquid gold!! They also took a small swab of the breast milk and rubbed it on the inside of her cheeks which we were told signals the brain to stimulate the belly and let it know food will soon be coming.

          Tuesday Aug.7,2012 I was discharged from the hospital that afternoon and leaving there without my baby was probably one of the hardest things I have ever been through. Knowing she is in great hands here at Hoag is very comforting but there is something so wrong about leaving the hospital without our little girl.
   After a couple hours at home the empty feeling really kicked in. Gary and I headed back to the hospital and I got a great surprise, I was able to change my first diaper and take her temperature. It was such a wonderful moment. Gary got this picture of me beaming.

   

          Wednesday Aug. 8 2012 5 Days old Olivia has taken a turn in a positive direction and its shaping up to be a big day. The doctors are talking about taking her off the respirator she is getting a PIC line which is an IV that is fed through her arm but unlike a normal IV it stays in as long as they need it. Basically it means they wont have to frequently prick her which we like! They are continuing to swab her mouth with breast milk in preparation for feedings and to top it all off she had her first poop. That afternoon Gary and i had an amazing moment when Olivia opened her eyes and stared straight at us and although she can't see us as anything other than silhouettes we both felt we made eye contact with her and had a true moment of bonding.

             When we were getting ready to go home for the night her doctor came over and informed us that her latest test were in and looked good and that she would be taken off the respirator and they were going to do it in about 5 minutes. Just before bed that night I called to see how she was doing, she had been off the vent for about an hour and was doing great. 

             Thursday Aug. 9, 2012 Olivia had a good night she rested easy and seems to be very happy to be off the respirator. The nurse that morning hinted that she had one more IV to be taken off before we could hold her and it looked like they would be removing it that morning. The idea of finally getting to hold my little girl was so overwhelming I can't explain how nervous/excited I was at just the thought of it. Then it happened the nurses told me they were removing the line and to stay close because it was time for us to have some skin on skin time. They pull in a recliner have me undress from the waist up and lay her on my chest for what is truly the most magical hour and a half I have ever experienced. For the first time since I was admitted into the hospital over a week ago I was totally calm and able to concentrate on the only thing that mattered...HER!

They let me hold her again later that afternoon, this time we stayed like this for 2 hours!!

Friday Aug. 10,2012 She is week old today. She is still off the vent. and has been doing well. They started feeding yesterday and her stomach has responded well so far she is digesting everything and even had another poop which is a fantastic step. Other than that she is in a low stimulation environment so they keep her nice and comfortable in her isolette. She gets oxygen fed to her through the tubes in her nose, any meds she needs through the PIC line and is observed closely by the fantastic NICU nurses as she continues to grow. 

We were able to get this picture last night before we headed home they were changing out the tubes for her oxygen. It was so nice to see her little face without all the gear on!

She is so tiny but she is Perfect!

Happy 1 week birthday baby girl we love you more than anything in this world!!!

Gary and I want to thank all of our friends and family for all you love and support we need it now more than ever and feel blessed to have so many people praying for Olivia. We love you all!! 

Check back I will keep posting on Olivia's status as frequently as I can.