Pleasant surprise

Found this in my freezer. I have no doubt Sheena told me about it, but I don't remember. Very pleasant surprise to find in the freezer!

Visitors

The last day, dec 6, in the hospital we had visitors. Mom and Dad came to visit. Dad had an appointment. Mom hung out until he was done, and then he hung out too. They watched Olivia while I got a nap. It had been a sleepless couple of nights since Olivia couldn't bottle while they monitored her on the continuous drip. She was quite hungry and fussy.

Dad got a nap too!

A gift from grandpa and grandma

Hi grandma! 

That's a funny lookin hand!

Burping is hard work!

Settling in

We were released from the Children's Hospital in the evening on dec 6. So far, the formula seems to be working. They had done an upper GI tract X-ray when we were there and had seen she has reflux issues. So now she is on Prevacid to help with the heartburn. It does not stop the spit ups. We've had some issues with evening meals. She cries while eating. We are going to see how the next week goes since she's only been on the formula and Prevacid for a week. While we were in the hospital, Olivia pulled out her feeding tube after we started bottling her again. The doctors said to see how well she ate through the night. She did well enough we left it out! Good job, baby!

Now we have set a record for days back home. Six days in a row! We are settling in. Lots of sleeping and little cleaning! Haha.

You see this thing sticking out of my nose?

I have plans for it. 

Free and clear!

Trial update dec 5

So far the formula is going well. She's been on a slow continuous drip feed through the feeding tube, so that we are being gentle with her insides and not hammering her with it. We've had some set backs as her digestive system catches up. These included a small throw up and feeling uncomfortable when she got too full because her intestines weren't emptied out yet. So her swollen belly has finally started to go down with the help of some good poopy diapers. They said it takes two weeks before they rule out that the formula is or isn't working. So hopefully this will be her solution.

Hey you! Ya you! I got somethin to say!

Hold that thought, I'm a little busy. 

This is the life. ESP: Eat.Sleep.Poop

Sorry to disappoint, but I have a date with the doc tonight. I'll call you later. 

Hi! It's me calling! Did ya miss me? 

I'll be at your place for supper 8:00 on the dot. You can even cook!

Oh you're making spaghetti? My favorite!

Mmmm yum yum

And apple pie for dessert?!?!

I'll cancel the date with the doc and be there pronto!

Once upon a time in a faraway land...

Trial

So they still don't know what's wrong, but we are going to try putting her on EleCare formula. If she tolerates that, does not vomit, and does not get bowel distention; then we can try going back to breast milk. They want me to try taking dairy out of my diet to see how she does being reintroduced to that. They don't know if that is the cause, but some babies can't digest the proteins carried through breast milk from other milk.

Pacifier to the rescue

We are back in Sioux Falls for the same unknown issue as last week. They numbed her hands and inside of her elbows to try to get an IV going and ended up starting one in her foot. No numbing cream there! Figures!

Tomorrow we will see a GI specialist and see what he says. They are giving her a continuous slow drip feed through her feeding tube through the night to see if she can tolerate that. That's all we know for now.

Stranger

Well, this marked our 6th non-consecutive day at home. We are on the return trip to Sioux Falls ER in Wonderful weather! ;) Olivia has not been keeping any food down today again. Good thing I haven't unpacked our bags since the discharge from the nicu. We are strangers in our home.

Home again

Thursday evening we started feeding Olivia by mouth(aside from IVs), and we stayed in the hospital until Saturday morning. Everything was going fine, so we were discharged then. That afternoon she had a small vomit for me and a couple spit-ups. She also was more fussy. So Wes and I switched her feedings to every 2 hrs at 40cc. The day total is still the same, just more frequent feedings with smaller amounts. She seems to be handling that better.

Also since she was emptied out, she has been bottling very well! One or two feedings she'll only eat 20cc, but now she usually eats 35-40cc every two hours. So maybe this was the wakeup call she needed. We have a follow up appointment with a pediatrician in Sioux Falls on Monday. Hoping he okays removing the feeding tube.

A gift from the hospital. 

"Homeward bound!"