What a rough week it has been!
Mom had trouble with leaking fluid from her incision. It was a mixture of blood and fluid that the Dr said was better to come out than stay in. It was kinda scary at first and meant Mom had to go to the Dr a few extra times to get that checked. Dad started back to work but only made it there a couple of times. Good thing he has family leave...
Ryelee has had a hard time. She developed an infection somewhere that despite many many test we may never know exactly what was going on. She had blood in urine and rectal blood. Because she was so sick it meant being reintubated and put back on the ventilator. This was problematic also to get the right ventilator and oxygen flow, for a while she was requiring extra oxygen which they don't like to give them for very long. She seems to be doing a little better again. We are so grateful for skilled caregivers who recognize a problem quickly and know how to treat her.
Mom got to hold her twice! Once all wrapped in blankets and once "kangaroo care" which means skin to skin. She really seemed to like it and Amanda was definitely glad to get to hold her. Dad also changed his first diaper ever.
Mom's 3 sisters who are over 18 came up this weekend and went to visit her on Sat. They were amazed at how tiny she is. After visiting Ryelee they all went to the house and we were supposed to have our usual family get together like when everyone comes home but where are Grammie and Grampa? They were at the ER for Grammies abd pain. She ended up being there for 5 days, missing all the fun with family. :(
They all did come to see her, which was nice, when she wasn't falling asleep in the middle of a sentence. Not exactly what we had planned but hey take what you can get huh. Also while the whole family was at the hospital on Sunday a pitbull killed Mary's goat. So we are all hoping for a better week next week.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
One week old (27 weeks gestation)
May 21, 2008
Mom was released from the hospital 2 days ago. It was very hard to go home with out her baby. She is finding that with pumping, trips to the DR (mom is leaking blood and fluid from her incision) and the hospital to see Ryelee that she is alot busier than she thought she would be. Dad went back to work today and I spent the day helping Mom, running errands and going to the NICU. On Monday I was visiting Ryelee when they were giving her an enema, so they took her out of her "greenhouse" which provides humidified air to keep her skin soft and help her adjust to the dryness out here. I was watching them take care of her and the nurse said I could touch her head. I very softly cupped her little head in the palm of my hand. It seemed to be calming to her. I always talk to her when I am there. Just to tell her who I am and that I love her. Today when I was visiting they had her on her tummy with her legs tucked up and her little bottom in the air. It was so cute. Her skin is such a nice color where the bilirubin lights haven't been on her. She is red on the front.
Ryelee Update: She really wants to breath on her own so they are trying different ventilators to see which one will work best for her. She will probably be off the ventilator and onto CPAP in the next few days. They also give her caffeine to stimulate her brain center to breath.
They have started giving her colostrom. 1 ml every 3 hours. 5 mls is a teaspoon. They have to go slow to make sure she tolerates it.
Her blood pressure is still up and down and very minor adjustments are made to get it to be more stable.
She will be moved into an isolette in a few days, which will be quieter. She reacts to the other babies crying. They have observed her trying to suck on her tubes which is really unusual for this early.
Some really exciting news is that she opened her eyes! They were originally sealed shut like a kittens eyes. She has beautiful blue eyes.
Mom was released from the hospital 2 days ago. It was very hard to go home with out her baby. She is finding that with pumping, trips to the DR (mom is leaking blood and fluid from her incision) and the hospital to see Ryelee that she is alot busier than she thought she would be. Dad went back to work today and I spent the day helping Mom, running errands and going to the NICU. On Monday I was visiting Ryelee when they were giving her an enema, so they took her out of her "greenhouse" which provides humidified air to keep her skin soft and help her adjust to the dryness out here. I was watching them take care of her and the nurse said I could touch her head. I very softly cupped her little head in the palm of my hand. It seemed to be calming to her. I always talk to her when I am there. Just to tell her who I am and that I love her. Today when I was visiting they had her on her tummy with her legs tucked up and her little bottom in the air. It was so cute. Her skin is such a nice color where the bilirubin lights haven't been on her. She is red on the front.
Ryelee Update: She really wants to breath on her own so they are trying different ventilators to see which one will work best for her. She will probably be off the ventilator and onto CPAP in the next few days. They also give her caffeine to stimulate her brain center to breath.
They have started giving her colostrom. 1 ml every 3 hours. 5 mls is a teaspoon. They have to go slow to make sure she tolerates it.
Her blood pressure is still up and down and very minor adjustments are made to get it to be more stable.
She will be moved into an isolette in a few days, which will be quieter. She reacts to the other babies crying. They have observed her trying to suck on her tubes which is really unusual for this early.
Some really exciting news is that she opened her eyes! They were originally sealed shut like a kittens eyes. She has beautiful blue eyes.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Becoming Grammie Pammie
Amanda's due date Aug 19
Ryelee Mae's birth date May 14
My beautiful tiny granddaughter was impatient to be born. She started telling mom and dad she was ready on May 13. After calling the Dr they went to labor and delivery. They thought mom had an urinary tract infection causing pre-term labor. They started antibiotics and gave her something to stop labor, then sent them home. 4 or 5 hours later she woke up in labor again. Back to the hospital where they transfered her to the hospital with the best NICU in the region. The goal was to keep her pregnant as long as possible, hopefully at least 48 hours to allow the medicine to work and babies lungs to develop. We got to 12 hours when we noticed that despite what the monitors said she was in labor and had dilated completely. Because the baby was breach, they had to do an emergency c-section. There were 15 people in the delivery room, including mom and dad. They rushed Ryelee off to the NICU in a matter of minutes. Dad and I got to see her in the NICU about 1 1/2 hrs later. They brought mom by from recovery on the way to her room.
Ryelee Mae weighed 2lbs 4oz and was 14 inches long. She was a good size for a 26 week gestation baby. She will of course have many obstacles to overcome, due to immature lungs and digestive system, inability to keep herself warm and learning to suck which does not happen until 34 weeks. She also has an enlarged kidney which we knew from prenatal ultrasounds. We have faith that she will be OK, and ask for your prayers on their behalf during this time.
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