Sophia updates 12/10 - 12/17/08

Day 26, December 17, 2008: Well, Sophia started throwing up again around 1am today. It wasn't dark green - more of a medium green, so I guess that's a little better. They put her sump back in to gravity and decided that the 10cc was too much for her to handle right away. They took her sump out around 10:45 this morning and started her back on 5 cc of breast milk. They said they'll plan to keep her on the 5 cc for a few days - even if she's not throwing up. Sophia pooped on her own this morning - without the enema! I hope she keeps up the good work.

Sam and I will not be going back to see Sophia tonight like we normally do. I feel so awful about it. You have no idea. I feel guilty and anxious about it. Sam's got plans to take me out to dinner and then some other surprise. I'm excited to spend some time with him - outside of the NICU, but at the same time hate that I won't get to see Sophia tonight. I might make him stop after we're done tonight so we can at least give her a kiss goodnight.

Day 25, December 16, 2008: Sophia pooped after her enema this morning - well actually the nurse said she pooped OUT the enema! They took Sophia's sump out and we got to feed her today! Auntie Kristin came to the hospital with me in the morning and held Sophia for over an hour. I got to feed Sophia 5 cc and she inhaled it. She was starving. After the bottle she was looking for more, she kept turning her head to the side and trying to eat the blanket. Poor thing. Since she did soooo well, the nurse asked for permission to double her intake if the first 2 feedings went well. They did go well, and Sam got to feed Sophia for her 7:30 feeding - a whopping 10 cc! It was his first time feeding her :D She must have been really wiped out because we could NOT get her to wake up. Lol. Finally we just got the nipple in her mouth and she ate the bottle and kept on sleeping. She spit up a bit after the bottle, but it wasn't dark green like the other times they had started trying to feed her. I guess they've decided to stop the rectal irrigation (enema). Sophia is ecstatic about that I'm sure, but I'm worried that she's going to stop pooping and then we'll have trouble with her throwing up again. There are 9 more days til Christmas and our nurse said if she keeps up the good work - she may be able to come home in time!

Day 24, December 15, 2008: This morning they did a gastro graph on Sophia to make sure there were no strictures or blockages in her bowel to allow for stool to pass. It's basically like doing an enema with contrast dye and they take a lot of xrays as the dye travels up the intestine. The results were good - nothing wrong there. So they'll continue the enemas and probably talk about taking her sump out and starting feeds again. They also started her on an intraveneous drug called Reglan. They said this would also help get things moving. Her weight was 2340 today! That's 5 lbs 2.5 oz!

Day 23, December 14, 2008: Sophia pooped today after her enema! Our nurse Nat was so excited that she saved the poopy diaper for us in a plastic bag. Lol. She even called one of other nurses who had already worked the morning shift. Haha. The nurses all love our little baby! Sophia's weight tonight was 2300 - a little over 5 lbs 1 oz.

Day 22, December 13, 2008: Today Sophia was extremely fussy. Poor little girl. She must not be feeling well. Her weight today was 2280 - about 5 lbs 1/2 oz!

Day 21, December 12, 2008: They put the sump back to vacuum now to help get more stuff out. Her weight continues to go up, thankfully. She's at 2260 grams - almost 4 lbs 16 oz! I can't believe she's already 3 weeks old!

Day 20, December 11, 2008: It's Connor's 8th birthday! They took her sump back out this morning already because the fluid that they were getting out with the sump was much clearer and not as thick as the night before. They started her feeds again and the morning nurse said she sucked it down quickly. I'm glad she's getting the hang of this "eating" thing haha. She made it through 3 feeds before she started throwing up the dark green bile again. Darn it! Sooo they put her sump back in, this time only to gravity. She's still gaining some weight - we're up to 2240 grams - which is 4 lbs and 15 oz!

Day 19, December 10, 2008: They decided to start feeding Sophia today! They took her sump out and I got to feed her the very first bottle of breast milk in the morning. They're starting her slowly - only 5 cc every 3 hours. I fed her at 10:30 and the nurse fed her at 1:30. She didn't really know what was going on when I fed her. She kept looking at me like, "uh Mom? This pacifier is leaking stuff into my mouth. Somethin's not right here!" lol. After her 1:30 feeding they discontinued the feeds because she was throwing up lots of bile - the dark green stuff. Sooo they put her sump back in and put it to vacuum. Tons of stuff came out. She's gaining weight - we're up to 2210 grams - that's 4 lbs and almost 14 ounces!