There have been a couple of changes over the last day.
Yesterday afternoon when I went in for my visit, Ella had been switched from the ossilator to the conventional ventilator. Both types of ventilation have their benefits and drawbacks. The ossilator is generally gentler on the babies but the conventional ventilator allows them to learn to breath better on their own. As of this morning, Ella is still doing well on her new ventilator and will likely continue on for the next while with this type of ventilation. Her feeds have also been increased to 10 mL every three hours.
Lucy's feeds were continuing to be excellent with increased levels of fortification at her highest level of feeds possible for her size. Unfortunately, they have decided to halt feeds for the time being while they give her a second round of medication hoping to close her open duct (PDA). Sometimes the medication impacts the feeding and they thought it would be wiser to stop feeds as a precaution. Ella has already had two rounds of the medication and now Lucy will also have two rounds. This is in anticipation of the cardiologist coming on Wednesday where the decision will likely be made about the need for surgery for both girls. The good news is that Lucy's oxygen needs have been more stable the last few days with fewer swings up and down.
One question we get asked a lot is if we are able to hold or touch the girls. For the most part, the answer is no. Premature babies can not handle a lot of stimulation and touching and handling stresses them out. Skin is an organ, and like all the other organs in premature babies, it was not fully developed when they were born. The nurses practice "cluster care," where they will do all the care that needs to happen (temperature, blood pressure, changing diapers, repositioning, etc) at once and then try not to touch them again for a couple of hours. If we happen to be there when this is happening, we might be able to change a diaper or put our finger in the isolette for the baby to grasp. Otherwise, the babies are very hands-off at this stage. As they get older and stronger and bigger, this will change.
Yesterday afternoon when I went in for my visit, Ella had been switched from the ossilator to the conventional ventilator. Both types of ventilation have their benefits and drawbacks. The ossilator is generally gentler on the babies but the conventional ventilator allows them to learn to breath better on their own. As of this morning, Ella is still doing well on her new ventilator and will likely continue on for the next while with this type of ventilation. Her feeds have also been increased to 10 mL every three hours.
Lucy's feeds were continuing to be excellent with increased levels of fortification at her highest level of feeds possible for her size. Unfortunately, they have decided to halt feeds for the time being while they give her a second round of medication hoping to close her open duct (PDA). Sometimes the medication impacts the feeding and they thought it would be wiser to stop feeds as a precaution. Ella has already had two rounds of the medication and now Lucy will also have two rounds. This is in anticipation of the cardiologist coming on Wednesday where the decision will likely be made about the need for surgery for both girls. The good news is that Lucy's oxygen needs have been more stable the last few days with fewer swings up and down.
One question we get asked a lot is if we are able to hold or touch the girls. For the most part, the answer is no. Premature babies can not handle a lot of stimulation and touching and handling stresses them out. Skin is an organ, and like all the other organs in premature babies, it was not fully developed when they were born. The nurses practice "cluster care," where they will do all the care that needs to happen (temperature, blood pressure, changing diapers, repositioning, etc) at once and then try not to touch them again for a couple of hours. If we happen to be there when this is happening, we might be able to change a diaper or put our finger in the isolette for the baby to grasp. Otherwise, the babies are very hands-off at this stage. As they get older and stronger and bigger, this will change.
posted by Theresa | 5:25 am
1 Comments:
We continue to pray for the day that you can snuggle those darling girls against you and breath inthat wonderful essence of baby. It is wonderful to hear that those days will come soon.
Thanks for keeping us all up to date...Zack loves hearing about 'Theresa's tiny babies' each day.
Hopefully you are getting lots of rest and pumping isn't taking up too much of your restful periods....I remember those days well.
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