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!!
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Frenectomy
Yesterday, the lactation consultant came in and was assessing us for the trillionth time and she noticed that Amelia was tongue tied. Being tongue tied can cause all kinds of problems latching, eating, talking, even kissing! We got an ENT consult for them to assess the degree of tongue tied-ness and they said that she had "quite a bit of ankyloglossia and they recommend cutting it." of course I consented and it was done at the bedside. She fell asleep in my arms and that is where she is now.
Hopefully she won't gets tired now while eating (one pamphlet made the comparison of trying to eat a bowl of soup with a baby spoon...that is what it is like to be tongue tied) and can latch longer and eat more.
On another positive note, Amelia is now 1830 grams!
Hopefully she won't gets tired now while eating (one pamphlet made the comparison of trying to eat a bowl of soup with a baby spoon...that is what it is like to be tongue tied) and can latch longer and eat more.
On another positive note, Amelia is now 1830 grams!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
6 days old
Amelia is 6 days old today! I am sitting in a chair next to her open crib (she graduated from an incubator to an open crib yesterday!) watching her rest. She is now 1825 grams, so just a smudge over 4 lbs, which is pretty awesome. She is just about the cutest thing ever, with her perfectly round head and teeny tiny body. She is literally a miniature baby.
Her main issue is really gaining enough weight and getting some fat on her body to maintain her glucose and temperature. She is still on hyperal, but they dc'd her lipids today. Her sugars have been pretty great lately, high 80s and 90s. With the decrease in fluids, she needs to eat more, which is a problem. She expends so much energy eating, so she gets tired. A tired baby doesn't make for a vigorously hungry baby. She is tired because she is small. It is a vicious cycle.
Unfortunately, we haven't even begun to talk about discharge. We just wait and see.
More good news, she had an eye exam yesterday (which was very traumatic) that showed no problems and no signs of a virus that could have caused IUGR.
Her main issue is really gaining enough weight and getting some fat on her body to maintain her glucose and temperature. She is still on hyperal, but they dc'd her lipids today. Her sugars have been pretty great lately, high 80s and 90s. With the decrease in fluids, she needs to eat more, which is a problem. She expends so much energy eating, so she gets tired. A tired baby doesn't make for a vigorously hungry baby. She is tired because she is small. It is a vicious cycle.
Unfortunately, we haven't even begun to talk about discharge. We just wait and see.
More good news, she had an eye exam yesterday (which was very traumatic) that showed no problems and no signs of a virus that could have caused IUGR.
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