Peaceful Day!

She looks so adorable sleeping.... even in her incubator. We spend a lot of time just watching her sleep. They keep her in there for long periods of time so she can simply rest. She should not even be born yet.  She sleeps almost all the time now, except to squirm for diaper changes, and fuss about getting her temperature taken.  She barely wakes up to eat.  She is taking over an ounce via bottle.

Today was a peaceful day for us and all of NICU.  We were moved to a new room. We had been in an observation room, because there were 49 babies and 45 beds.  Our new room has a window!!!!! It is great to see outside and get natural light. We had been feeling as if we were locked up in a kennel.  I think seeing outside and natural light probably helped us regain our calm.  

Todays FYI:

Weight   4 lbs 4.6 ounces

No IV nutrition

No supplemental Oxygen

Only some feeding by feeding tube.

over an ounce of formula by bottle every 3 hours.

Bili-blanket for jaundice, but numbers are improving.

Regulating her temperature much better.  Not perfect. But improved.

We are watching instruction videos and reading binders full of info from the hospital on Down Syndrome, pre term babies and low birth weight babies.  They make sure that their parents do the homework assigned by the hospital. Very thorough!

She needs to get fully eating by  bottle and regulating her temperature for herself before she can go home. They usually want the babies to be waking up to cry to be fed, but sometimes they will send the baby home on an every 3 hour care schedule.  That would be fine with us. We are in the rhythm of that schedule at the hospital and would welcome seeing her in the middle of the night every 3 hours!  New parents!!!!  Just want her with us!!!!

A nurse who knows more about DS said that she is doing really well for a baby with Down Syndrome.  She said that she is more floppy than typical pre term babies. That is what we thought.  But we are doing really well handling her and feel confident.

More tomorrow....