More Pictures

All-Nighters

Where do I begin! We took Cate to the emergency room at Children's on Sunday. At that point, she had had 3 nights of crying all night long, inconsistent stooling, and diarrhea. (Sorry for the details.) I called our pediatrician and they said to take her to the er. They did some x-rays and looked at her. They said everything looked great, no problem. They said maybe we had been feeding her too much and that constipated her and gave her a belly ache. Well who knows because she's still been crying ALL NIGHT LONG. No more diarrhea, but still not stooling like she did. It's so hard because we want to make her happy and nothing is working. She is mostly fine through the day and sleeps a lot. I gave her a suppository today. If she pulls another all-nighter then I'll call the doc tomorrow. Say some prayers for us. :) We need some sleep. If this is colic, I don't know if I'll survive. :) I don't want to sound like a big complainer... She's still the most beautiful baby ever.

Pictures

Sleep is for the Dead

Cate's personality has been coming out more these past two days. The first two days were pretty quiet, but lately she's been getting a little more vocal. We're trying to figure out when she's hungry or when she is having gas pains. I don't know if she even knows... The other night we went to bed at 5:30 am. It's hard when you're trying to make her happy and everything you do doesn't work. She sure is eating a lot. This morning I fed her for a full hour and a half. Not long after that she's ready for more. I don't know where all this food is going. It's so nice to have Duke's help. He can bottle feed her every other time. I will be pretty busy when he goes back to work. I always wondered what moms meant when they said they had no time for anything after they had their babies. Now I know. It's so funny that she is almost 3 months old because we don't see her as a 3 month old . The doctors have told us all along that she will always be 3 months behind until she is 2 years old. We are to see her as a newborn at her due date, which is January 26th. Isn't that crazy? She's still supposed to be in my belly for another week! Oh yeah,
we went to the pediatrician on Wednesday. All went well. She weighed in at 4lb, 1oz (with diaper).

Home Sweet Home

Well we're home. Yesterday morning the doctor called and said Cate gained 20 grams which put her at 1819 grams, exactly 4 pounds. He said she looked good and was ready to send her home. So Duke and I gave each other the deer in the headlights look and raced around the house to get up to the hospital. We brought her home and things have gone good so far. She's slept a lot. When we were in the transition room, she was up all night, so we were expecting more of the same. Well last night was pretty uneventful. I'm crossing my fingers for more of the same tonight. We have to feed her every 2-4 hours, no more than 4 hours without feeding. Her temps were a little low at first, probably readjusting to new surroundings. But now they've gotten much better. It's so nice to just be with her 24/7. We had her eye dr already today. Everything went well. She's still stage one, which he said is very normal for babies that are born as early and small as her. Duke asked what is the likelihood of blindness/20/20 vision. He said he can't rule out blindness, but her chances for having 20/20 vision are excellent. That's what I wanted to hear. We go back in 2 weeks. We have the pediatrician tomorrow. Duke is home with me this week. Thank God! It was hard to sleep last night. It would have been easier if she was hooked up to monitors, but at the same time it's so nice not to have to carry those cords around all the time. When she was in the hospital it felt like there wasn't ever enough time in the day to get anything done. Now that she's home we can be with her and still get some stuff done around here. At least for now... More later... Oh yeah, we packed a diaper bag for the first time today. It took us forever to figure out everything we would need. And then we left the house without it. :)

She's Home!!!!!

We just brought Cate home!!! More later... Or at least when I have two hands to type with.

Not Home Yet

Cate is still in the NICU for now. The doctor said she is gaining weight a little too slow these past few days to send her home just yet. The Friday dr told the weekend dr that she would have had to have gained a substantial amount both Friday and Saturday night to get sent home by Sunday. We were told this morning that she will probably not go home till at least Tuesday or Wednesday because of her weight and her temps have been a little on the low side. The doc said other than that she is doing great. We want her home and wish she was with us always, but are grateful for a little more time to have the house ready for her. We also need to get a little sleep tonight after being in the transition room last night. :) Welcome to parenthood, huh?! I started a z-pack yesterday morning because what I hoped was just allergies wasn't. I called the hospital in a panic because I had been around her a lot the day before. They told me to just make sure to wash my hands, sanitize and wear a mask whenever I'm in close contact with her. They said it should still be fine to be in the transition room. The lactation specialist called and said I was still good to nurse, and that actually the z-pack is giving her the antibodies to fight infections. What a relief! So we packed our bags and headed to the hospital last night. We were with Cate on our own (not really) for around 12 hours. It was a lot of fun. Cate liked it so much she decided to stay awake all night. :) She cried a lot throughout the night because she kept wanting to eat. They tell me this is called cluster feeding, and she does it because she is growing. Anyway, we loved it. Today we should have been working on the house or hanging with Cate, but we both crashed. More tomorrow... I'm heading to bed. We have an interview with Channel 6 news tomorrow. They heard about Cate and I having the same NICU nurse. Oh yeah, she's still at 3lb, 15 oz. She must think you have to do more in the 4 pounder club.

Any Day Now

Cate may be going home as soon as Sunday. The doctor said he will not be back till Monday and that whatever doctor is there on Sunday could send her home if everything is going well. We are still scheduled to have the transition room tomorrow night, so they shouldn't send us home before that. Cate weighed in at 3 lb, 15 oz. last night. She gained 52 grams in one day. She's really packing it on. :) All she wants to do is eat. She'll eat a ton and then wail for more. And when I say wail, I mean wail. Tonight may be our last night without her. Weird. We'll probably be at home most of the day tomorrow getting the house as ready as it's going to be before she comes home. When we go to the hospital tomorrow night we probably won't be leaving the hospital without her. We have gotten so used to this life these past 10 weeks. We'll be losing our crutch very soon. We're so excited and scared at the same time. Cate is 10 weeks old today. Can you believe it?!

Home is on the Horizon

Cate is doing pretty well. She is still in the crib, and still weighs 3 lb, 13 oz. She has been going up and down with her weight and her temp has been a little on the low side. This is all normal coming out of the isolette because she has to work hard to keep her temp up. She is burning more calories out of the isolette. Hopefully her temp/weight all stay in the good range and they don't have to put her back in the isolette. Assuming things go well, the doctor said she should go home Monday or Tuesday. I can't believe it. This time has flown by. We are scheduled to have the transition room all night Saturday night. There will be a nurse assigned to us, but they won't check on us unless we call them. We are basically on our own. She will then go back to her room Sunday morning. When we aren't at the hospital we will be working on getting the house ready for her. For the past few days friends have been coming over and helping me clean and get rid of the saw dust from all Duke's hard work (sanding all the woodwork and floors in our house). Thank you to our friends! I don't know what we would do without you. I came home a little early tonight. I'm not feeling very well. It killed me leaving her, but I would feel even worse if I got her sick. I'm going to bed now. Hopefully I feel energized and refreshed in the morning. We have duct cleaners coming to clean the vents out tomorrow. All of this we do for our little miracle. I can't wait to be able to see her every minute of the day. I miss her all the time.

Crib

Cate is now in a crib! Another milestone. The doc came in and decided that he thought she was ready. She's at 1760 grams (3 lb 13 oz). He said he wants to see her at 1900 grams before he sends her home. Of course, this is what he says. Another doctor could make a different decision. So it could be a couple days, or it could be a week or more. Who knows... I hope we are able to have the house ready before she comes home. Dad just recoated the wood floors, so we would like to have a little time for that to air out. They said we'll be able to use the "transition room" before we go home. I guess it's a room that we can "practice" what it will be like at home. They took her O2 monitor off today, so we just have to watch her closely to make sure her oxygen doesn't drop too low. It's hard to tell without the beeping. The tell us to watch for her lips to turn blue. This usually only happens during feeds. The dr also said that if she doesn't keep her weight/temp up she would go back in the isolette for at least 48 hours. I'll let you know how she's doing tomorrow... Thanks for all your positive comments!

Ad Lib

We talked to the dr. this morning. He said that he talked to the radiologist about Cate's ultrasound. The radiologist said that her current ultrasound looks "normal". So we have it confirmed, she probably does not have cerebral palsy. We have been very nervous about this. We want the best for her, but no matter what we'll love her to pieces. Cate is now doing ad lib feedings. This means she eats every 2-4 hours (or whenever she screams bloody murder). I can't believe there was a time when she had the vent tube in and we couldn't hear her cry. It helps me to appreciate her cry even more. She has been getting better and better at nursing. What a trooper she is! She works so hard. She gained a little weight last night. She's now at 3 lb. 13 oz. Only 3 oz to go till she's in a crib. She could be home very soon. We have so much to do at home to prepare for her. Dad has been working so hard to have the house ready for Cate. I wish she could see everything he is doing for her and how much he adores her. We appreciate all his hard work and how much time he is sacrificing being away from her.

I have been trying to do a better job at this blogging stuff. I find I do a better job if I just do it everyday. Sorry I have been so neglectful. I get a little busy sometimes. :) More tomorrow... I hope...

Full Feeds

Cate moved up to full feeds today. She was at 6 feeds a day, getting 6 oral feeds (by bottle or nursing) a day. Now she will get 8 oral feeds a day if she's up to it. This means her feeding tube will come out as soon as she shows she can handle all 8 feeds. She still has to put on a little weight to get out of the isolette and into the crib. She's at 3 lb, 11 oz right now. They said she could go home in as little as 48 hours once she's put in the crib. When she's out of the isolette she has to maintain her weight and temp. If she does that, then she goes home. We are so excited to take her home, but so scared! We wish we could go home with the monitors so we know when her heartrate or oxygen level drops. The nurses are telling us that she will have to be quarantined when she gets home--limited visitors (just family), don't take her anywhere (unless it's the doctor), etc. She is at greater risk for getting RSV and if she gets it she's back in the hospital and on a ventilator. Scary! I would love to have visitors at the house and to show Cate off, but it looks like it won't be possible. But as long as we're still at the hospital, visitors are still welcome (that's assuming you are healthy :)). Keep us in your prayers. We appreciate it!

Happy New Year

Here are some good pictures of Cate. She is now 3lbs 10oz. Cate's Dr told us that her brain ultrasound looks normal :) We are still waiting for radiology to confirm this. So it does not appear she has PLV or Cerebral Palsy. She does have Stage 1 for Retinopathy of Prematurity. She will have another eye exam in 2 weeks. Cate is taking up to 6 oral feedings a day and it is really amazing to see a baby that small work so hard. She is so determined to take these feedings that it affects her the following day and we get an exhausted baby. Yesterday she was so drained they had to put her back on oxygen for about 16 hours. We need her to save that energy and grow. We are being told Cate could go home in 2-4 weeks if she stays healthy and keeps growing. She needs a little more fat :) Hope everyone had a great week! Thanks for your prayers and support :)