Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Big News!


Andrea had yet another follow up eye exam today. The great news is that it appears that her eyes are developing normally, and that the areas of concern were due to her extreme prematurity. We have to see the doctor again in two weeks, either in the SCN, or IN THE OFFICE, if we've been discharged!

The other big news is that Andrea is getting her first round of vaccines today. Full term babies get them at two months. Andrea was three months old yesterday, but gestationally, shouldn't even be born yet. We had to wait for her to be over 2 kilograms before the vaccines could be given. We're actually happy that she's getting these vaccines in the hospital. It's not unusual for babies to run a slight fever after vaccinations. Andrea will be much more closely monitored in the hospital than she would be at home, and so any problems will be discovered more easily.

Andrea has been gaining weight so consistently that the doctors have changed the fortification of her formula. She is still getting breast milk, but now it just has "human milk fortifier" added. They're no longer adding powdered formula. It seems like a little thing - her old milk was 27 calories; the new one is 24. The goal is to keep her gaining weight at a healthy rate. She seems to be doing well with nursing, but doesn't have the stamina to get all her nutrition that way. She can manage about 10 to 15 minutes and then starts to fall asleep. She is allowed to have her entire feeding of 50 ml after nursing, and she has yet to leave anything behind.

Andrea's weight is up to 2090 grams (4 pounds, 9.7 ounces), having gained back the weight she lost yesterday, plus a bit more. It's hard to believe we're almost at 5 pounds. Another 160 grams and she will have quintupled her birth weight. Not bad for about 13 weeks of life! We are so proud of how hard Andrea has been working. We can see her getting stronger every day, and she fights the nurses and therapists on everything. From the beginning, we were told that was a good sign, and it has borne out. She is progressing more every day.

“At the timberline where the storms strike with the most fury, the sturdiest trees are found.” Hudson Newsletter

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