Panda - Day 2

I visited the Premature Panda the NICU at 2:00 am this morning. The nurse had her on her belly in the isolette and she seemed so comfortable. I went down to the 9th floor to visit her at 6 am too. She gets fed every 3 hrs. She is still just wearing her diaper, with lots of wires and stickers all over her body. She has 2 wires with "button" stickers on her chest that monitor her heart rate and pulse. She has an IV in her left right hand that is giving her lipids and electrolytes. She has a oxygen monitor (shiny red light) taped to the bottom of her foot, and she has an oxygen tube pushing 5 ml(?) of oxygen constantly into her lungs, and she has a shiny gold heart stuck to her belly that monitors her temperature and keeps the warmer unit at the ready to heat her up when needed. We're going to go up and check up on her, the neo natalogist should have made rounds. We'll see what changed. :)

I'm Home, She's Not. :(
Boy, am I tired. Today Panda got an increase in her food intake...and at this point it is mostly formula, my milk is just now coming in. Yeah! :) And they are lowering the air pressure of the oxygen flow in her nose, which is a good sign. She had a rough morning...they had to draw blood from her foot for some blood tests...and then they had to put the IV in her foot because her hand IV was closing up. She got really upset the nurse said, I think it probably a good thing I wasn't there for that ordeal. Todd and I both held her for several hours today. I just love to feel the weight of her in my arms. Rebecca and I were present for "rounds" this afternoon and got to talk with the neonatologist. He recommended her formula change from the "high calorie" speciall blend to just a standard Good Start formula. Also we were able to ask questions and I asked..."because Miranda was born "big" for a preemie at 6 lbs 10 oz, does that make her any less of a high risk, preterm baby? ...and the answer - No, her ability to adjust and adapt to life outside the womb is mostly dependent upon the week of gestation...in her case 34 weeks and 1 day. He said her "weight percentile" has no real bearing on her preemie success. Very interesting. But it means she's still got a long haul...even with her extra padding. :) Tonight, right before I was discharged I brought 5 mL of milk (woo-hoo) and said good night to my baby girl. She seemed very content, burrito wrapped, and getting 14 mL of Good Start formula pumped directly into her stomach. At one point she even lifted her little arm out of her blankets and raised it up above her head. I got to tickle the tiniest little armpit I've ever seen. :) Good night, Miranda. Sleep well and we'll see you in the morning.