Again I apologize for keeping people waiting for a post, but honestly like I have said previously this NICU process is very up and down and it is extremely hard to write everything and keep up. Olivia is doing wonderful. She is up to 3lb and 13oz without any fortifiers in her milk, I must pat myself on the back for this one all of her nurses have said that I must have amazing breast milk. It is very rare for preemies to be able to gain weight with straight breast milk. They have tried to fortify my milk 4 times by adding formula and other items but every time they attempt this Olivia fills up with air and they are forced to hold multiple feedings until her belly comes back down, which completely defeats the purpose of adding more calories. So she will remain on straight breast milk so long as she is gaining weight. I am so grateful that I am able to provide her with the nutrition that she so desperately needs right now. The doctor said he cringes at the thought of her being on formula some babies tolerate this just fine but my Olivia has a very sensitive belly and really struggles with anything but home grown Mommy milk. It has been very frustrating and difficult to pump for 9 weeks straight and many times I wanted to give up and just give her formula but I am so grateful I have stuck with it and she is doing so well.
Her last dose of antibiotics is tomorrow. We are so excited to get the PIC Line out of her arm. She currently has 9 cables this makes it extremely difficult to change her or hold her. Once they remove the pic line we will loose at least 4 of these cables. Also she will be able to wear clothes again. They try to sort of dress her now but we have to leave that right arm out so we have had to get creative. My little daughter is rocking the off the shoulder style all ready lol, so fashionable. Some more great news about this PIC line coming out is that her Daddy and I will be able to give her, her first real bath on Christmas day. What a present that will be I cant wait. We will deff take lots of pictures and videos to share.
Olivia has officially graduated from her incubator into a big girl crib. Something about having her in a crib just makes it so real for me. This tiny gorgeous little girl is all mine it is so exciting and so frightening all at the same time. Hard to explain but Im sure you other Moms know what Im talking about. She officially knows her Mommy and Daddy and we are getting tons of smiles. Unfortunately every time we try and capture a picture we just miss it. Maybe we can catch a few on video tomorrow.
I feel like this post is a bit of a rambling but I have so much info to pass on. She is now taking some feedings via mouth. She is doing wonderful at breast feeding. This is very taxing on her tiny body so we are starting with 2 breast feeding sessions a shift. She has done very well but I can tell it completely wears her out. Now the bottle on the other hand she has pretty much mastered. She is taking 30ML which is considered a full feeding for her size right now by bottle at least 2 feedings a day with no problem. Now keep in mind she still has a feeding tube down her nose that goes straight to her belly so swallowing can be a bit difficult but she is doing a wonderful job. They will not remove the feeding tube until she is able to take all of her feedings via mouth. This is a work in progress because she is so small we have to start slow so she doesnt loose too much weight in the process but we are well on our way.
I hope everyone reading this has a wonderful Christmas. I have honestly been a bit of a grinch and not in the Christmas spirit, but I am forever grateful for my family and friends for getting me threw this very rough time I cant thank you all enough. Santa is coming around to visit all the babies in the NICU on Christmas we will deff capture this and are also very thankful for the wonderful staff that is taking care of my baby girl, they have all been amazing to us and love Olivia so much. One last thing before I sign off Stacy one of Olivia's nurses that had her the first 5 days of life and continues to watch her very frequently has grown very attached to my sweet girl and now refuses to draw her blood she makes another nurse do it lol also Olivia is due for her 2 month shots (can you believe she is 9 weeks old today wow) and Stacy said yesterday shhhh guys we just forgot her vaccines today right "wink wink" she really did not want to poke my girl, I just think it is so sweet that her and Stacy have such a close bond. These nurses are truly a blessing and have such a tough job but we are so grateful for all of them especially Stacy she is very special to us and will remain a good friend for a very long time.
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