Gaining More Weight

I got to see Andrea today...thanks to my good friend from Demarest MS who, despite food poisoning, dragged herself to Livingston just to chauffeur me to the hospital. Thank you also to her husband, who got stuck doing all the driving. I would have been stuck without them. Ken was on "Kid Care" duty, watching the two boys so I could go see Andrea.


I have to say, Andrea is looking good! She's getting measured later tonight, so we'll find out if she's grown at all, but we can tell she's gained weight. She now weighs 640 grams, or 1 pound, 6.5 ounces. She's gained almost 200 grams from her birth weight. Her fingers and toes are looking more like baby appendages, and even her arms and legs have some muscle definition. She is getting cheeks, at least on her face. The nurses warned us that her butt will take the longest to develop.


Yesterday, we were told that Andrea's food was going to be held at 10 ml every three hours. Today, we were told that she's getting 10.5 ml instead. We think that they're pushing the envelope to see how much food she can tolerate. That remains the most effective way to get calories into her, and the best way to help her gain weight. The more food she can digest at each meal, the more weight she can gain.


Andrea's respirator settings were decreased slightly today. It seems that her biggest challenge is going to be getting strong, healthy lungs. So far, her progress on the ventilator has been somewhat like the roller coaster we were warned to anticipate. While her settings have not ever been very high, the respiratory therapist has to adjust them repeatedly throughout the day. Yet another reason Andrea needs to grow. As her lungs get bigger and stronger, she should be able to get by without the ventilator.
Many people have commented that Andrea doesn't look that small. This picture was taken today, and that's my hand in the isolette for scale. Granted, I'm not petite, but my hands aren't THAT big!

Please continue praying. She is truly our miracle baby, and you all share in the credit for helping her thrive.

"Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself... 'How did I get through all of that?”