Feeders and Growers

Andrea enjoyed another positive day. Her head is rapidly returning to its normal shape, now that the CPAP is gone. You can see in today's picture that the back of her head is a little bigger than normal, but it's about half the size it was a week ago. Her hair is very fine and fluffy - like a baby chick - and sort of ginger colored. It's kind of a reddish brown right now.

Andrea's weight is now 1440 grams (3 pounds, 2.8 ounces). She is now what the staff refers to as "a feeder and grower". She is (knock wood) essentially healthy. She doesn't need much in the way of true medical treatment. She is being kept warm to conserve calories, and her food is supplemented for extra nutrition. She gets vitamin and mineral supplements as well. Other than that, she is being fed and allowed to grow. She actually could be moved out of NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) and into SCN (special care nursery) because she requires so little specialized treatment. Much to our relief, she's staying in NICU for now. We prefer slow and steady, with no sudden moves. Also, her four primary nurses will move to SCN with her when she goes, so her caregivers will remain consistent.

Just a note - this is National Nurses' Week. We try to thank Andrea's nurses every chance we get, but I wanted to use today's blog to publicly thank them all again. In an effort to respect their privacy, we never mention any of them by name here, but they know who they are, and we love them for the excellent job they've done, and will continue to do, to help Andrea come home. Today's quote is for all the RWJUH NICU nurses.

"To do what nobody else will do, a way that nobody else can do, in spite of all we go through; is to be a nurse." -- Rawsi Williams