April 30, 2009

Just some more photos from yesterday of our sleepy little girl. :)

April 29, 2009 Afternoon

Just got back from visiting with Allison. We enjoyed 2.5 hours of Kangaroo time today and she did great--her body temperature was 98.2 when we got done, which means she maintained it pretty well. She has been off her ventilator for a full 48 hours now and is still hanging in there, she has some spells where she forgets to take "big girl breaths" and her heart rate drops, but she snaps right out of them with a little pat on the back. She was really sleepy before they gave her to me, and of course, wide awake when we were done cuddling. :) She's also up to 2lb, 7 oz today!

April 29, 2009 Morning

Allison had a great night! Her blood gases were good, and she got another "spa" breathing treatment, so she was a happy girl. After her treatment, the nurse said they were finally able to suction a bunch of "yuckies" from her chest and now she's all the way down to 30% oxygen and still without the ventilator (for reference, room air is only 21%)! Today she has her first eye doctor exam. The Neonatal Ophthalmologist will be in to examine her eyes and see if her extreme prematurity caused any problems with her vision.

April 28, 2009 Evening

Allison has had a great day. She has made it 24 hours off her ventilator and at 5pm her blood gas was great, so she seems to be adjusting. I got to hold her again today for our very first session of Kangaroo Care, which is where she lays on my chest for extended time periods for skin to skin contact. She did really well, we sat like that for 40 minutes and she maintained her breathing, body temperature and oxygen saturation pretty well. She had one "spell" where she got a little comfy and forgot to take some breaths, but she snapped right out of it with a little caress on her back.

April 28, 2009 Morning

Allison had a great night--she has been off her ventilator for 14 hours now! Her blood gases were really good at Midnight, the 4am ones were a little off, but still considered good, so they are hopeful she can keep it up. She had 3 little "spells" last night of apnea, so when I called this morning, she and her nurse were having "words"; meaning the nurse (Tammy) was putting Allison on her back because she got too comfy on her tummy and Allison was having absolutely NO part of it, trying to get back on her tummy. I am staying out of this one. :)

April 27, 2009 Evening

Allison got her ventilator out today!! Yay! They removed the tube about 2pm today and as of 5pm, she was hanging in there, they are just concerned about her CO2 levels, which were a bit high. Right now they are monitoring them, at 6pm they were down a bit, so they are hoping she can keep going in that direction. Otherwise, she was doing good--right number of breaths, etc. The doctor warned us they may have to re-intubate her and try again in a few days, that sometimes babies this young have to try a few times before they are completely off--but we are so proud of her, she has done amazing so far. :)

April 27, 2009 Morning

Allison had a really good night. Her blood gases were good this morning so her ventilator was turned down to a rate of 10! She only had one little spell overnight where she "forgot" to breathe, which becomes a bit bigger of a"deal" now that her vent is so much lower, but her nurse didn't think that was going to deter the doctor from taking it out because these babies just do that sometimes. We'll see what the doctor says later this morning, but we are hopeful she'll get a chance to be off the ventilator today.

April 26, 2009

Allison is having a great day today. They are working towards taking her off her ventilator tomorrow--yay!! her settings are at 14 now, Dr. Vogel wants the therapist to work towards 10 tonight so she'll be ready tomorrow. Since she is constantly trying to move her heard around and pull it out, seems like at least SHE thinks she's ready. :) She is up to 1080 grams (2lb, 6oz) which means she has gained a whole pound!

April 25, 2009

Today we got to hold our daughter for the first time! It was completely unexpected and we cannot thank her wonderful nurses enough for making it happen. She is 1,055 grams today (2lb, 5oz) and doing well. Most importantly, she really loved being held and was wide awake the entire time!

April 25, 2009 Morning

Allison had a good night. Her ventilator settings were turned down again to 24 and her blood gases were good this morning, so that's encouraging. She is still getting her 27 calorie feedings and tolerating them well. Attached is the video of her "breathing treatment", which looks mysteriously like a spa massage, doesn't it? She really is my daughter because she LOVED it. :)

April 24, 2009 Afternoon

Allison is having a wonderful afternoon. She looked much better, much more content and a lot less irritated or fussy. Her heart rate is much better--in the 160s and 170s. Dr. Vogel said her chest x-ray was a bit better this morning. He also said in the "next few days" she will be extubated and put on nasal oxygen only to see how she does without the ventilator. My guess is this will coincide with the fact that they heard some "sounds" from her today, meaning she has (quickly!) outgrown her #3 size tube and needs to be changed to a #3.5 size. This will give them the chance to take her tube out and see if she can actually go without it. It is likely to take a few tries, but the entire thing is a process, so these will be her first steps. She is also 995 grams today! Just 5 away from that 1,000 mark!

April 24, 2009 Morning

Allison had a good night. We actually got to see her last night vs. calling since we had Infant CPR class until 9pm. It was nice because it's been a while since we have seen the late shift nurses and coincidentally it was the same nurses who were there when she was delivered. :) She is doing good this morning, her blood gases were better and she is hanging in there at her reduced ventilator settings. Dr. Chen was going to give her a break from her chest x-ray, but then decided to go ahead because we really want to keep tabs on how her lungs are clearing and maybe get her vent settings down even more. We should get the results later this morning when I get there.

April 23, 2009 Afternoon

I just got back from visiting with Allison and she is doing a bit better. her blood work did NOT show any signs of infection, so that's good. Her nurse explained to me today that this is probably the beginning of a typical period that these babies go through that is going to be a bit difficult. she is feeling better and is very strong and she wants the vent tube out, however she is not quite ready to go off it yet; so it will basically be a constant battle with her trying to move around more and pull out the tube and the nurses and doctors keeping it in for now--so she will have days of just being "mad"--the tube is not comfortable--it's not painful of course, but it's just that she's growing and developing a gag reflex and becoming aware that she has something down her throat that she doesn't want there. Given this, Dr. Esparza did go ahead and order her breathing treatment for today because she needs them in order to ensure she gets off the vent more quickly. She seems to have tolerated it a bit better today, however, her heartrate was in the 180s when I was there, which is better than yesterday. And so our adventure continues...

April 23, 2009 Morning

Allison had a good night, though not as good as last night. She apparently desated a lot more (her oxygen levels went down), though she rebounded on her own most times. Her nurse, Karen, feels it is because the vent settings went from 30 to 26 yesterday in an effort to start getting her off it. That may have also caused her blood gases to be worse, which they were a bit this morning. So, Dr. Esparza will likely put the vent settings back up a bit, it may have been too ambitious to go down 4 points in one day. They did more blood work this morning to check for infection so we should have those results later this morning. But, her heart rate was much better overnight, in the 160s and 170s, so that's good.

April 22, 2009 Evening

Allison is doing better tonight. Her blood work came back good except for one elevated number, but Dr. Esparza feels that alone is not really an indication of anything wrong (infection, etc.) since she has no other indicators. So, they will repeat the tests tomorrow, since by then any other indicators should show up. They really think her episodes today were due to the breathing treatments, she appears to not be tolerating the medicine well. Since this is the second medication they have tried, they are going to change tactics and start lowering her ventilator settings so that she can get off it sooner.

April 22, 2009 Afternoon

Allison is having a rough afternoon. Her heartrate is a bit high and we can't figure out why. Poor thing just looks mad and very uncomfortable. Dr. Esparza listened to her tummy and bowels and didn't hear anything abnormal, but they stopped the feedings just in case. Her feedings had been up to 8cc today. Dr. Esparza has also ordered some blood tests just to rule out any infection. It could be something as simple as she has to "go" #2 or a side effect of her breathing treatment, which they have also held off on her next one of just in case.

April 22, 2009 Morning

Allison had a great night. She had Karen, one of our favorite nurses and the wonderful woman who came to my room in the middle of the night after she was born just to give me an update vs. just telling me on the phone. Allison is now up to 985 grams or 2lb, 2oz and her blood gases were great this morning. She had a chest x-ray, but it hadn't been interpreted yet, but we're hoping it's good news. She was also up most of the night, Karen swears she was taking notes on what she liked and didn't like and WHO was involved in doing it to her. :)

April 21, 2009 Afternoon

Allison is doing well today. She is up to 940 grams (2lb, 1oz.) and is going up to 27 calorie feeds--every calorie counts! :) She got a bath last night and apparently didn't like the actual bath, but was very happy to be clean once it was all over. Her Respiratory Therapist, who was present for her bath, said she looked at him as if to say "get this tube outta me!" and since she continues to try to pull it out, he is going to accommodate her soon, taking out her tube and giving her just nasal oxygen and see how she does. It may take several times of doing this before she is completely off and they assure us they can put her vent tube back in very quickly if she can't keep up with just nasal oxygen, so we'll see how she does.

April 20, 2009 Afternoon

Allison had a pretty good day today, she was sleeping on her tummy when we got there, but still managed to pull off her temperature probe and mess with her nasal tube a bit. But, overall she is doing well, tolerating her feeds and gaining weight, she is now up to 936 grams, so she gained 10 more yesterday. She is going up to 26 calorie feeds today, too--every calorie helps!

Today was a sad day in the NICU, however because they lost a baby this morning. There was another baby that we know was younger than Ally that passed away this morning, so she is once again the youngest baby there gestation-wise. When you remember Allison in your prayers, please think of that family, too, I know we will be. Every day that little Ally continues to grow and fight to come home to us, we are thankful and blessed.

April 20, 2009

Allison had a good night. She decided to be nice to her nurse, Cindy and not set off her monitors too much, though she did poop 3 times for her. Too much gooood food. :) True to the roller coaster ride that is the NICU, her chest x-ray wasn't as good this morning and her blood gas was a bit "off" from yesterday, so she won't get to go down on any of her vent settings today--but maybe tomorrow.

April 19, 2009

Allison had a great 1-month birthday today! She is now up to 926 grams, which is almost 2lb, 1 oz! yay! :) Her chest x-ray looked a bit better today and her blood gases were good; though she did need a transfusion today, but that is about a one-per-week thing for her and normal for her gestation and size. She got some of the blood Kevin donated so she was a bit calmer than usual today--guess his blood counteracts the feisty-ness she gets from me. :)

April 18, 2009

Allison had a good day today. She was setting off her monitors a little more than usual this afternoon, but she calmed down in the evening after her breathing treatment - she likes those--it's like a baby back massage. Her blood gases were really good tonight and she had gone down on her ventilator settings and still got good results, so that's progress! Sharon was her nurse last night--she had never had Allison before , but knew her to be a "pistol" by reputation (is it bad that my daughter has a reputation already??? ha ha!) and Allison didn't disappoint. They had wanted to put her on her back, but Allison likes her tummy--yeah, she got her way and spent the night on her tummy. :)

April 17, 2009 Afternoon

Allison Marie hit 2 lbs. today!! I spoke to Dr. Naglie (head of the NICU) today and he is very pleased with her progress--she still has the pulmonary edema, but that is unfortunately just a common thing in micropreemies, but he feels it is being managed well and she is still doing very good. Her blood gases were good and so was her blood workup. He really would like her to beef up a little bit quicker (partly because he sympathizes that we want so badly to hold her and she has to be bigger to allow that and the other part because a lot of her health issues will resolve when she gains weight and gets stronger), so she is going to begin getting 26 calorie feedings probably tomorrow and she is up to 7cc/hour. She was asleep most of the morning, but was awake this afternoon and being very, well, for lack of a better word--pissy! I finally asked the nurse if her diaper had been changed lately because that is what was needed the last time I saw her act like that and sure enough-Mommy has learned one of her little "signs"--she needed a diaper change! I was so proud of myself. :) She was, however, back to her old tricks--finding new ways to pull on her tubes as you can see in these photos--and then posing like a little angel as if to say "I didn't do it!".

Photos from 4/14/09

Just got these scanned. When she got her new "big girl" tube that day, I was out of the room but her wonderful nurse, Terry, knew I had never seen her little face without the ventilator so she snapped these photos of her precious little face. :)

April 17, 2009 Morning

Allison had a good night--once her nurse Debbie decided to do things HER way and put her on her tummy. Debbie had her on her back at "bedtime" around 9pm and that lasted about an hour before Ally got her way and got flipped back on her tummy. :) Her blood gases were the same this morning and she had a chest x-ray, but it hadn't been interpreted yet, we'll find out about that later this morning.

April 16, 2009 Afternoon

Allison is having a good day today. I spoke with Dr. Vogel for a few minutes and he is very happy with her progress. The x-ray this morning showed her new ET tube was off a bit to the right, so that may have accounted for her poor blood gas readings this morning, but he said all her other blood readings are great, so he decided not to "stick" her too much today and just let her "be" for a while. She was sleeping most of the morning, but woke up a bit this afternoon, having some fun with her nurse, Susan by setting off her monitors when moving her head around to the position SHE wants it in, not where they want her to be. That's my girl! :)

April 16, 2009 Morning

Allison had a good night, only one tiny spell where she desated and forgot to take a breath, but she just needed a little touch from the nurse and she was back on track. But, again, true to the roller coaster ride that is the NICU, her blood gases were not good this morning so they re-taped her ET tube and hope that will help since it had slipped a bit.

April 15, 2009 Evening

Allison had a good day today--she got a heart ultrasound to make sure her excess lung fluid isn't being caused by her PDA reopening--and it came back normal, so we're very happy with that. She got some more diuretic today to help her get rid of that fluid. She also started getting some "oil"--a food fortifier with fats in it to help her bulk up. She spent most of the morning sleeping, didn't really wanna play with mommy today as you can see.

April 15, 2009 Morning

Allison had a good night, her head ultrasound came back normal last night and her x-ray showed her new ET tube is perfectly placed, so that's good. This morning her nurse said her blood gases came back not quite as good as last night and her chest x-ray still showed a bit of fluid, so she gets more diuretic today (oh goody--more diaper changes!) and they'll keep monitoring her. Nancy, her nurse last night, said the blood gas thing is pretty common for micropreemies and it really should start to improve over time. She is tolerating her new higher calorie feedings very well and was nice enough to poop on her own 2 times for Nancy last night. Nancy just loves Ally and is wise to the fact that if Ally is quiet and not setting off her monitors--she's up to something! Yesterday it was wiggling her fingers up under her little nasal tube so she could yank it out. Last night, she was pulling off her monitor sticky things. That's good clean fun!

April 14, 2009 Afternoon

As you can see, Allison Marie was wide awake today! She had a really good day--she had very good blood work results this morning--first time ever there has been no sign of infection so she gets off her antibiotics--yay!! Her lung x-ray was much better this morning, too. Her blood gases were a little off, so today she got a new and bigger vent tube that will help her breath better--she is getting to be such a big girl she outgrew her other one, which is a great sign. She is tolerating her increased calorie feedings pretty well, her tummy was definitely full today. :) She got a follow up head ultrasound and x-ray this afternoon, we should get the results from those tonight.

April 14, 2009 Morning

Allison had a good night last night. We are waiting for the interpretation from the doctor, but her nurse felt her x-ray looked better this morning, so we're hopeful. But, being the roller coaster that this process is; her blood gases this morning were a little worse--they were expecting them to actually be worse than they were, though, because her tube needed to be repositioned and retaped. So they did that and will pull another gas later today to make sure they improve. Her heart rate finally lowered overnight enough that she was given another (alternate medication) breathing/lung treatment at midnight and so far she seems to be tolerating that one better. Daddy goes back to work today so I'm sure I will be camped out next to her most of the day. :)

April 13, 2009 Evening

Allison has had a pretty stable day today. We spoke with her doctor again today, her x-ray this morning was hazy again and a little worse, about back to what it was last week. They gave her Albuterol this morning for her breathing and lungs; but she didn't tolerate it very well--one side effect is an increased heart rate and Ally exhibited that, so they are going to try a different medicine once her heart rate goes back down, possibly around midnight tonight. But, she did say clinically she is still doing very well, her blood gases this morning were good and she was responding well to the diuretic they gave her to help get rid of some of the excess fluid. They are moving her up to a 22 then a 24 calorie formula supplement (she was getting 20), so that should help her get bigger quicker, which is one thing they continue to stress, that she just needs to get bigger.

April 13, 2009 Morning

Allison had a good night according to her nurse, Nancy. She had another breathing treatment and her dose of caffeine, which raised her heart rate a little (normal side affect), so she is wide awake and ready to start pulling stuff out/off!! :) Her blood gases were good this morning, she has had another chest x-ray but it hadn't been interpreted by the doctor just yet, we should get the results later today.

April 12, 2009 - Easter Sunday Afternoon

Allison was having an ok morning today. She was destating (oxygen levels going too high or too low) a bit and had a little apnea spell while we were there, but it is time for her next blood transfusion and she usually destabilizes a bit when she's about due for one of those. The good news is she will finally be getting the direct donated blood from Kevin, so we're happy about that. We spoke with Dr. Naglie at length today about her lungs, he doesn't feel we should be overly concerned right now; her x-ray this morning looked about the same. While he thinks the original infection is probably almost gone, he explained that the residual affect is that the infection scars new spots in her lungs - but because she is so young, her lungs are basically growing "new" tissue all the time and he seems optimistic that if she can keep eating and fattening up, she'll recover nicely. We asked about her head scar from the attempts to put a fetal monitor on her right before the emergency c-section--it seems like it should look more healed than it does, but he said it's doing ok, but most likely she will have a permanent scar there, though of course as she gets bigger it will be much smaller on her head. She is also up again on her feedings to 6.5cc/hour, so that's good. They are really working hard to get her growing. :)

April 11, 2009 Evening

Allison had a good day. I just spoke to her nurse and she her 5pm blood gases came back really good and she is down to 28% oxygen. She gets another chest x-ray in the morning, so we're hoping the antibiotics will show some progress in getting rid of the "yuckies" in her lungs. Her wonderful nurse said she is all tucked in for the night and hopefully she'll get a good night's sleep. :)

April 11, 2009 Morning

Allison had a stable night, not too much destating with her oxygen, and her blood gases were a bit better. According to her nurse, her chest x-ray was the same, not the best she has had but not the worst; so we are still a bit concerned. But, she did tolerate her 5.5cc feedings very well, so she's going up to 6cc today in an effort to fatten her up. She also gained another 20 grams yesterday, so that's progress. :)

April 10, 2009 Afternoon

Allie is having a good day today. Dr. Naglie said her chest x-ray looks better and she got rid of her arm IVs that were giving her "fake" nutrition. She is now getting only regular feedings of formula and breastmilk; and she's up to 5.5cc on that, with them hoping to go to 6cc tomorrow. She is 850 grams today (1lb, 14oz.) and was sleeping on her tummy when we got there. Plus, we found out today that we can "decorate" her incubator with our own crib sheets--Babies R Us trip, anyone??? ha ha ha. Here comes the pink explosion!!! ;-)

April 10, 2009 Morning

Allison had a good night, though yesterday evening she decided to have a little fun with her nurse and she actually pulled out the arterial line in her leg. It took her nurse an hour to get everything back to normal and then, true to form, since I had just changed her diaper, she pooped--a lot. So, now she has a new "crib" sheet set apparently. Her blood gases have still been pretty good, they did not do another chest x-ray this morning, but we expect one later this afternoon or tonight.

April 9, 2009

Allison is doing good today; her chest x-ray came back slightly improved, so we are encouraged that the antibiotics seem to be working, but still a bit worried. She is up to the maximum feeding volume for her weight, 5cc per hour and she has gained a bit more weight, she is now 830 grams, or 1lb, 13 oz. She's creeping up to that 2lb mark! :)

April 8, 2009 Afternoon

Allie is doing good today, though her chest x-ray still looked "yucky" this morning, she is getting her antibiotics and her blood gases are still really good. When we were there, she was alert and seemed to be feisty as ever; all of which are good signs. Attached are some photos from yesterday when I got to help change her diaper (got to change it all by myself today!) and some photos from her today with her eyes open. Does Mommy's heart good to have her looking back at us, that's for sure. :)

April 8, 2009 Morning

Allie's nurse tells us this morning that she had a really good night, she was up a bit, but did get some rest and her blood gases were still really good this morning. So, we are waiting to hear how the x-ray looks that they took at this morning to see if the antibiotics have helped.

Below is a post of an e-mail we got from a few people who thought of us as it went around the Internet (thanks Janet!). Until we can hold her, we think this is who does it, too. :)

The smell of rain
A cold March wind danced
around the dead of night in
Dallas as the doctor walked
into the small hospital room
of Diana Blessing. She was
still groggy from surgery.
Her husband, David, held her
hand as they braced
themselves for the latest
news.
That afternoon of March 10,
1991, complications had
forced Diana, only 24-weeks
pregnant, to undergo an
emergency Cesarean to
deliver couple's new
daughter, Dana Lu Blessing.
At 12 inches long and
weighing only one pound
nine ounces, they already
knew she was perilously
premature.
Still, the doctor's soft words dropped
like bombs.
"I don't think she's going to
make it," he said, as kindly as
he could.
"There's only a 10-percent
chance she will live through
the night, and even then, if by
some slim chance she does
make it, her future could be a
very cruel one"
Numb with disbelief, David
and Diana listened as the
doctor described the
devastating problems Dana
would likely face if she
survived.
She would never walk, she
would never talk, she would
probably be blind, and she
would certainly be prone to
other catastrophic conditions
from cerebral palsy to
complete mental retardation,
and on and on.
"No! No!" was all Diana could say.
She and David, with their 5-
year-old son Dustin, had long
dreamed of the day they
would have a daughter to
become a family of four.
Now, within a matter of
hours, that dream was
slipping away
But as those first days
passed, a new agony set in
for David and Diana.
Because Dana's
underdeveloped nervous
system was essentially 'raw',
the lightest kiss or caress
only intensified her
discomfort, so they couldn't
even cradle their tiny baby
girl against their chests to
offer the strength of their
love.
All they could do, as Dana
struggled alone beneath the
ultraviolet light in the tangle of
tubes and wires, was to pray
that God would stay close to
their precious little girl.
There was never a moment
when Dana suddenly grew
stronger.
But as the weeks went by,
she did slowly gain an ounce
of weight here and an ounce
of strength there.
At last, when Dana turned
two months old. her parents
were able to hold her in their
arms for the very first time.
And two months later, though
doctors continued to gently
but grimly warn that her
chances of surviving, much
less living any kind of normal
life, were next to zero, Dana
went home from the hospital,
just as her mother had
predicted.
Five years later, when Dana
was a petite but feisty young
girl with glittering gray eyes
and an unquenchable zest for
life.
She showed no signs
whatsoever of any mental or
physical impairment. Simply,
she was everything a little girl
can be and more. But that
happy ending is far from the
end of her story.
One blistering afternoon in
the summer of 1996 near her
home in Irving, Texas, Dana
was sitting in her mother's lap
in the bleachers of a local ball
park where her brother
Dustin's baseball team was
practicing.
As always, Dana was
chattering nonstop with her
mother and several other
adults sitting nearby when
she suddenly fell silent.
Hugging her arms across her
chest, little Dana asked, "Do
you smell that?"
Smelling the air and detecting
the approach of a
thunderstorm, Diana replied,
"Yes, it smells like rain."
Dana closed her eyes and
again asked, "Do you smell
that?"
Once again, her mother
replied, "Yes, I think we're
about to get wet. It smells like
rain."
Still caught in the moment,
Dana shook her head, patted
her thin shoulders with her
small hands and loudly
announced,
"No, it smells like Him.
It smells like God when you
lay your head on His chest."
Tears blurred Diana's eyes
as Dana happily hopped
down to play with the other
children.
Before the rains came, her
daughter's words confirmed
what Diana and all the
members of the extended
Blessing family had known, at
least in their hearts, all along.
During those long days and
nights of her first two months
of her life, when her nerves
were too sensitive for them to
touch her, God was holding
Dana on His chest and it is
His loving scent that she
remembers so well.

April 7, 2009

Well, in the roller coaster that is life in the NICU, we had a bit of a setback today. Dr. Chen did not like what she saw on Allie's chest x-ray this morning (it appears "patchy") and the culture taken from her showed some bacteria. They believe she may be harboring some bacteria in her lungs, so back on the 2 other antibiotics we go. For right now her blood gases are good and she is still acting as feisty as ever, which is a good sign. Hopefully this has been caught early and she will respond quickly to the treatment. They will take another x-ray in the morning to see how she is responding. Other than that, however, her vent settings are actually down a little bit and she is tolerating her feedings so well she is up to 3.5cc per hour now. Also, she has gained 10 more grams to a whopping 800 grams now. :)

April 6, 2009

Well, today started off like most of our others-I called the NICU this mroning and she had a good night; just one little blip of a lowered heartrate; but that could have been just from the ventilator tube hitting her nerve. When we got to my doctor's office, which is in the same hospital, she had already heard that Allie was "being a butt" today according to the NICU doctor, who she had passed in the hall earlier. You gotta love it when your micropreemie is described this way--it does give me a certain sense of pride. Hee hee. Apparently she got a little miffed at some of her settings today and her BP dipped a bit and her diaper was dirty so she was having issues with that. But, after they gave her some blood and changed her, she was perfectly happy when we got there around Noon.

Well, after we got scrubbed up and began getting the report of all this information from her nurse, I looked down into the incubator and got quite the shock--my baby daughter was looking back at me! Yep--her eyes are open! After I got done sniffling and getting teary eyed just a bit--it was the most beautiful sight I have seen since I first laid eyes on her. :) We stayed at the hospital for a scrapbooking class with some of the other NICU parents that will be there for a while - she has a new neighbor who is 28 weeks and we met his Mommy today, her story is not all that much different from ours and we'll be seeing a lot of each other over the next few months! Before we left, we checked in on her again--she is now up to 3cc of breastmilk every hour -- that girl loves her food! We visited with one of her doctors today and he believes she is doing "very nicely". So, thank you all again for your positive thoughts and prayers, they are doing wonders for her and we really appreciate it!

P.S. Attached is the first picture we have posted of Allie-this is her with her very first Easter bunny--to give you perspective--that is Kevin's hand in the background.

April 5, 2009 Evening

Allison had another good day today. She got to lay on her tummy almost all day, and her nurse Katie agrees she just loves it. She is now 795 grams (1lb., 12 oz)--and her feedings are up to 2.5cc every hour so hopefully she will continue to steadily gain weight. She kept setting off her breathing monitors today, so they called the Respiratory Therapist over--turned out she had the hiccups. Guess that will set them off--go figure. :) Her nurse said she got a little feisty after we left today, but turns out she had a dirty diaper. Apparently she is NOT a fan of that and demands it be changed immediately. You gotta love that!

April 5, 2009 Morning

Allie had another good, stable night as reported by her wonderful nurse, Nancy. She is still laying on her tummy except when she is being assessed, then they flip her right back because she loves it. We are going to see her today and taking her the beautiful blankie her Grandma made for her so she can have it on her incubator. :)

April 4, 2009 Afternoon

Baby Allison was laying on her tummy when we got there today--she really does seem to like it much better and is a bit calmer--guess she was getting tired of lying on her back. She is up to 780grams today (1lb, 11 3/4 oz.)! Guess all those feedings are starting to fatten her up. :) Kevin put his hand inside her little incubator today and we noticed from head to rump; she is about the size/length of his hand. :)

April 4, 2009 Morning

Allie's nurse, Nancy, said she had a great night; she even got to lay on her tummy for a little while, which she apparently LOVED. She is also apparently still a very happy girl as long as she is fed. Hummm... wonder where she gets that from????

April 3, 2009 (Afternoon)

Allie is doing really well today. We got to put our hands inside the incubator and rest one hand on her chest for a while today. That seems to soothe her while we are there and she hears us talking. She is up to 725 grams (1lb., 9.5oz), which is really good--we're creeping up to that 2lb mark where we might be able to hold her. She likes her milk so much she now gets 1.5cc every hour, which might account for her weight gain--the girl likes to eat apparently! :)

April 3, 2009 Morning

I called the NICU this morning when I woke up and Linda, her overnight nurse, told me she was a good girl last night. Of course, I had to question if she really meant my daughter. She was apparently much calmer last night, though Linda said she had her moments of feisy-ness. Apparently, they think she REALLY likes her new feedings of breastmilk and they seem to calm her. She doesn't have any major tests scheduled for today other than normal blood work and lung x-ray; which is a daily routine for her. Yesterday we were so thrilled because we got to buy her a small Easter bunny and place it in her incubator (after it was sanitized). It's pink of course. :)