GOOD PROGRESS TODAY

Today has been a great day in the NICU! Ava has finally stopped losing weight and was up 10 grams. By the way, 30 grams equals one ounce. So, she is still 2 lbs, 12 ounces. She had two big poops throughout the night last night which is what we needed her to do. When any baby is born, their first few poops are a sticky tar-like substance called meconium. When you are not getting fed and your system isn't up and running yet, it is hard to get all of that out. Finally, she was able to get it all out last night!! So, we were able to start feedings again today. She will get 1 ml every three hours and we will see how she tolerates it. I am guessing she will have no problem now that things are moving. If things go well today, they will be able to increase her feedings pretty rapidly. We were also able to stop her phototherapy lights today as well. It is so nice to be able to see her little face without the sunglasses on. Now that her feedings are established, her bilirubin levels should steady and the lights won't be necessary. She might go on and off phototherapy over the next few days depending on her levels. We'll just have to see. The doctor did discuss the possibility of her needing a PICC line in the next few days also, depending on how quickly we start her feedings. A PICC line is just like an IV but can be left in for a longer period of time. This would be so she can still get the nutrients she needs in case she is not up to full feedings yet. She has been getting her nutrients through her umbilical IV but that will need to be taken out in the next couple days to avoid infection. We will just see what happens.

Please feel free to leave comments if you have questions. I am happy to answer them. Unfortunately, this all seems so normal and routine to us that I forget some of the basics. And, I forgot to mention this is my previous posts but Ava was 31 weeks when she was born.