It looks like Monday is going to be the day Amelia will get to come home. She is doing so well right now, and while things could change, she is on track to be coming home!! She is now 1875 grams (4 lbs 2 oz) and has no more IV. She is eating well from me and from the bottle and she continues to eat more each day. They decided not to fortify my breastmilk because apparently I am making 26 calorie milk! Apparently, most people only make 20 calorie milk, but not me. I'm the milk machine. :-) The NP today she could see a difference in her body size today and even made the statement that her cheeks were getting chubby. Now I wouldn't necessarily call her cheeks chubby...
On a more serious note, it was noted that Amelia had a slight murmur upon admission. Apparently it is very faint and everyone thought it was innocent, but still wanted cardiology to check it out. Yesterday, cardiology came by and did an echo and found a VSD (ventricular septal defect). This is a small hole in the heart and could cause problems later on and require surgery. Ventricular septal defect is one of the most common congenital heart defects. The baby may have no symptoms, and the hole can eventually close as the wall continues to grow after birth. If the hole is large, too much blood will be pumped to the lungs, leading to heart failure. Of course, we hope that her hole will close up and will not require surgery, but for now, she will be followed by cardiology. And just to be clear, a symptom of VSD is not sudden death (for those of you who knew Sarah, you should be relieved).
Amelia also has some funny little things going on with her. She has hypoplasia of her left pinky finger and hypoplasia of her left 4th toe and pinky toe. It basically looks like they didn't form all the way. She doesn't have a fingernail on any of those and the tips are slightly shortened. Because she has three minor anomalies and one major anomaly (the VSD), we will probably be referred to a geneticist at some point. All those things could be nothing, or they could be something. For now, it's just part of who she is. :-)
I do know that I am tired of going to the hospital and am ready to get her home. My other kids are ready to meet their baby sister!!
1 comment:
Yay, so glad she gets to come home, grow baby grow! Hope that the frenectomy has helped with the nursing. I have read that moms of preemies make higher calorie milk so you obviously are making just what she needs! Been thinking about y'all and will continue to keep you in our prayers. Happy homecoming, Amelia!
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