FORTIFIER

3 lbs 8 ounces today!! She just keeps growing and growing! She is up to 23 mls every three hours on her feedings and since she is growing so much, her full feeding amount has also gone up. Now, we are going up to 28 mls. They have also added fortifier to her milk. An ounce of breast milk has 20 calories so they like to give these little peanuts a calorie boost. We will fortify her milk to 22 calories per ounce today and see how she does. Eventually, she will get 24 calorie fortified milk. She has been having a few heart rate/oxygen dips but it is not something to worry about at all. She seems to have high O2 saturations at all times until her belly is really full. Right at the end of a full feeding, her levels drop a bit. Her lungs don't have as much capacity when her belly is so full so that is expected. Over the next couple weeks, she will grow out of that...it just comes with prematurity. The NP mentioned today that based on her gestation, she is eligible to have one eye exam by the pediatric opthomologist. Justin had eye exams every two weeks because he was on oxygen for a while. Babies that are on oxygen sometimes can have trouble with their retinas detaching due to prematurity. It is called ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). Ava was never on much oxygen, at the most half a day. They worry about the babies that are on high levels of oxygen for an extended period of time (weeks and weeks). But, since they are willing to give her an exam, why not! They will do that on October 6th. That's all for today!