Drinking from a bottle

Orioles season is in full effect and Charlotte has been cheering them on from her crib. Charlotte has been given her own pretty, white crib. She has more space to keep her personal items and move around. The nurses have also given Charlotte her first official Orioles hat! The nurses moved Charlotte down to a private room on the 5th floor which is a combination of Pediatric and NICU. It is so nice to spend time as a family in a quieter area. Charlotte and Laura have been working with the occupational therapist every day so that she can start drinking from a bottle. One of the things that Charlotte has been working on is sitting up and maintaining her breathing, so that she can tolerate the correct position for drinking from a bottle. Charlotte has finally gotten strong enough to sit up and maintain her breathing, and so her occupational therapist has started to let Charlotte try drinking milk from a bottle. Because she is not used to eating food by mouth, it was a little startling at first. Also, premature babies have difficulty with the "suck, swallow, breathe" sequence. So, Charlotte only takes small sips at a time because she has a hard time breathing. She also gets reflux which is very uncomfortable. So, we started on medication to help make eating more enjoyable. Once she can drink an entire bottle, she will have to pass the carseat test, and then we can go home. Charlotte will have to tolerate sitting upright in a carseat for a certain period of time while maintaining her breathing. We are getting closer and closer to going home!

See ya later incubator!

Today is a big day for our little girl. She is 4 and a half pounds now which means she is ready to sleep in an open crib! The nurse opened the top of Charlotte's incubator in preparation, and has checked her temperature all day. Her temperature has stayed right where it should. It is so much easier for David and Laura to give her kisses now. Charlotte is working with the occupational therapist, Miss Cheryl, daily to learn how to use a pacifier, sit up, and breath, so she can start taking a bottle. Cheryl showed Laura several exercises that Charlotte can work on in between sessions. The lactation consultant helped Charlotte practice breast feeding for the first time this week. Laura pumped before Charlotte breast fed, so that she didn't get any food by mouth. Charlotte latched on like a champ! Her suck is getting stronger each day. It won't be long until she is drinking bottles.

2 months old

     What a difference a month makes! Charlotte turned 2 months old today. It is like she is a whole different person now. She is crying more and definitely letting us know when she needs something. Charlotte weighs 3 lbs 11 ounces. 5 more ounces and she is out of the incubator! Nana visited for Easter, and we spent the entire day together. The nurses made Charlotte a beautiful sign with her footprints to commemorate her first Easter.
     Charlotte's medical interventions are constantly changing. Over the weekend, the doctors found out that Charlotte has a small hole between two chambers of her heart. Babies will commonly get this when they are born, and the hole will close up on its own. However, Charlotte's hole has caused a problem with her lungs because the blood in her heart isn't flowing correctly. The doctors think that the hole will hopefully close on its own. Until then, they need to use diuretics to help Charlotte's breathing, because the abnormal blood flow is causing a little swelling in her lungs. Due to the swelling, Charlotte has been placed on more oxygen to help her breathe better. Two steps forward and 3 steps back it seems some days. Charlotte has to be on less oxygen to start eating food by mouth. They have changed her feedings to a slow 90 minute feed through her tube instead of a hanging syringe, because she breathes better when she eats slower. This has definitely helped her breathe better while she eats. Occupational therapy has been working with Charlotte every day on things like using her pacifier so that she can learn to suck, swallow, and breathe correctly; sitting up and breathing; and range of motion in her arms and legs.