She has a very strong sucking reflex... Between that binky and her fingers/fist/hand, she's almost always sucking on something when she's awake. Today, for the first time, she got to do something productive with that sucking reflex!
Yes, At her 2am feeding, our little WonderBaby got her first TASTE of Formula! (she's been eating it for a couple weeks, but this was the first time it went in through her mouth) She drank 12 of her 30 milliliters that way both times, with the remainder going into her feeding tube.
And there was another big new development today...
She moved out of her incubator and into her first big girl bed!! She's maintaining her temperature really well, so she's out on her own now. It was SO great to change her diaper in pretty much the same way I'll be able to when she comes home. It's a lot easier to do when you're not reaching through little portholes.
Her little face and body are also progressing nicely. Her face is getting fuller every day, it's amazing how much she's changing. Her official weigh-in today was 3 pounds, 9 ounces - past the 3.5 pound mark!
The final threshold begins tomorrow... Ever since her birth, Danee has been receiving caffeine to stimulate her nervous system, which in turn keeps her lungs breathing. We were warned that when preemies stop receiving the stimulant, they run the risk of "forgetting" to breathe... Not to worry, the nurses pay close attention to the monitors, and it just takes external stimulation to jolt her back to breathing. If she goes seven days without any of these apnea incidents, she's considered good to go! But as Nurse Molly put it, "if she does have an incident, she buys herself another five days."
Well, tomorrow is the first day that li'l BabyKins won't get her morning shot of caff. Naturally, we're believing (and hoping, and praying) that there won't be any problems, and that she'll just keep right on being the superstar of the NICU!
I bet she'll have a nasty headache! She is really adorable.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, when Molly was explaining the process to us, that was what I thought she was leading up to.. That Danee'd be really irritable for a few days. The whole stop-breathing thing took me quite by surprise!
ReplyDeleteSo interesting about the caffiene. I hope all will be well for her. She is a strong girl. I love the big bed for her. That was well said.
ReplyDeleteGood luck breathing on your own today Danee. You can do it.
Good luck to you baby girl!
ReplyDeleteShe looks so cozy all wrapped up in that fleecy blanky. :)
It really is amazing to see her progress. I can even see the changes in her! She's looking less like a preemie and more like a regular infant, and oh so cute! Good luck Danee!
ReplyDeleteI just love the pictures. Is there still any chance of having her home for Christmas? Cause I'm thinking probably not. Of course miracles do happen.
ReplyDeleteObviously!
I never knew that about the caffeine! Very interesting...good luck sweet baby.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Emily...she is looking 'older'. She is really beautiful. I hope we can be there in January to celebrate her official adoption into the Brinkerhoff clan :)
ReplyDeleteWhat fantastic progress. It's great to see her with her eyes open and so alert. Hopefully tomorrow will go well, I'll be thinking of you.
ReplyDelete