Sophia Updates: December 18 - December 25, 2008

I'm sure by now you've realized that I haven't written any updates in 2 weeks. I know, I suck. Life has been so busy - going to the hospita to visit Sophia, Christmas, Sue's birthday, etc. Sure you're thinking: "How can she be that busy? She's on maternity leave and Sophia isn't even home yet." I assure you that I haven't had time to barely even cook dinner, much less go to the grocery store to get food to cook. I haven't seen one Grey's Anatomy episode or The Hills episode since Sophia was born - and I think I've maybe turned the TV on a few times since then. Most nights I get maybe 5-6 hours of sleep by the time I have to get up, pump, get the bottles ready to freeze, and then wash the pump parts. I never feel very rested because I sleep in 2 hour increments. I know you're thinking "Get used to it. That's how it will be when Sophia's home." Yes, I know. I'm just saying, it's not like I get to sleep through the night and sleep in til noon. I get up in the morning usually to make Sam's lunch and then start getting ready to go to the hospital to visit Sophia. The last few days I've been spending between 8 and 12 hours in the NICU. I was able to start breastfeeding the day after Christmas, so I've been trying to be there as many feedings as I can. I'll do a quick run-down of how Sophia has been doing day by day.

December 18, 2008: Sophia was 2580 today. That's 5lbs 11oz! She is on 8cc of breast milk every 3 hours.

December 19, 2008: She's up to 2600 grams (5lbs 12 oz) and 12 cc of milk.

December 20, 2008: Sophia is 4 weeks old today! She is taking 16cc of milk and weighs 2680 grams (5lbs 14 1/2 oz). The doctors have started her on an antibiotic called arithromycin. It usually gives babies the runs - so they use it for motility - so Sophia won't get stopped up.

December 21, 2008: The doctors have increased her feeds again. Sophia is up to 20 cc and weighs almost 6lbs 1 oz (2740 grams).

December 22, 2008: Sophia is one month old. Geez Louise. She weighs exactly 6lbs 1 oz now and is on 24cc of milk.

December 23, 2008: Sophia weighs 6lbs 2oz and is on 28cc.

December 24, 2008: Grandma Barrett bought a Care Bears mobile for Sophia's crib so that she's going something else to keep her preoccupied. Tonight a nurse came around with a bunch of little knit Christmas caps...and Sophia is so big for the NICU that hers barely fit on her head. Lol. She continues to gain weight and comes in right at 6lbs 4oz. Her feeds were increased by another 4cc today.

December 25, 2008: Sophia's first Christmas! Sam and I went up to see Sophia early in the morning before heading over to Sam's parents' house for a late lunch and to open presents. We went back up to the hospital later that night - expecting to be able to take a picture with our normal clothes on, but our primary nurse wasn't there...so we didn't ask to do it. After we fed Sophia, the nurse told us that I could start trying to breastfeed! How exciting :) The lactation consultant doesn't work again though until the 27th, so I'm not sure if I'll try to breastfeed before then.

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!

Sophia updates!

Day 18, December 9, 2008: Sophia has not thrown up since yesterday - HOORAY! No feeds were scheduled for today, but the nurses feel that perhaps they will start feeding her tomorrow. Initially, we thought she was going to get her first breast milk through an IV, but the nurses told me this morning that she's probably going to start right off on a bottle! Awesome. I'm really excited about this. Maybe she'll even start pooping soon after they start her on breast milk. I held Sophia for almost 2 hours and she slept pretty much the entire time. I could just hold her and look at her all day. It's amazing how much love you can have for one person!
This morning I also went to a meeting on discharge. It's held once a month for parents of babies who will most likely be going home within the next month. It covered topics like choosing pediatricians, follow up programs, car seats, other classes we can take (infant massage, cpr, home safety, etc), day care, etc. I had never thought about how horrible day care is for a premature baby. Preemies are much more susceptible to germs and sicknesses. For example, most kids or adults who get RSV simply have cold like symptoms, but when a premature baby gets RSV, it usually means the baby ends up back in the hospital with pneumonia. They recommend that NICU babies don't go into a day care program for a year, or 6 months minimum. Oy. Another thing they covered that I had no clue about was smoking. I know obviously you should never smoke around a baby, but I didn't know that just the smoke on someone's clothing can make a preemie baby so sick. They said that if a smoker is coming over to visit the baby, they need to have their last cigarette before they get in their car and come over - they also need to then wash their face, neck, hands, etc and put on a clean shirt. Term babies aren't usually affected by this as severely as preemies are.

Day 17, December 8, 2008: Sophia got her sump out this morning after I got to the hospital. Yay! They haven't decided when they'll start feedings, and I'm worried that she'll start throwing up again like last time they took the sump out. We had an intern as a nurse today - so it's a good thing that Sophia doesn't have a whole lot going on. The only time she ever really cries is when she has a wet diaper, wants her pacifier, or wants to cuddle. She's been doing a great job sleeping through the nights - I hope this continues after she comes home! :) She is currently only on the TPN and lipids - no medications.
Sam and I gave her a bath tonight, like we always do. She didn't seem like she was feeling very well and didn't really want her pacifier either. Hopefully she'll be feeling better tomorrow! She weighed 2.08 kg tonight...which is 4.6 lbs. Sam and I finally remembered to take her swing in to the hospital so that she can sit in it when she gets tired of her view from her crib.
I've lost most of my pregnancy weight - just over 10 lbs to go...and then I hope to lose some more and get back down to the size I was when I moved to VA.


















Day 16, December 7, 2008: Sophia is gaining her weight back! She weighed 2065 grams (4 lbs 9 oz) tonight and is almost 18" long! They are no longer giving her glycerin (sepositories) since she just wasn't producing any poopy diapers. The sump came off vacuum and is now working on just gravity. There's not a whole lot coming out, so I'm guessing they'll probably try to take her off the sump again soon.
This picture cracks me up. She looks sooo happy!
















Big yawn!

















Day 15, December 6, 2008: Sam and I got our Christmas tree today and then went up to see Sophia. I went to pump as soon as we got there and Sam started holding Sophia. When I got into her NICU pod, Sam said she would just not stop crying and her sump was making strange sucking noises. He asked the nurse about it and she basically dismissed it as an issue. I really did not like this nurse. She's just not a people person and doesn't seem empathetic. Her sump continued to make weird noises and Sophia continued to cry. I asked the nurse to please come over and check on the sump because it has NEVER made noise, and it's not supposed to. She basically said "I don't know why it would be making noises" and then walked away. ARG. I was soooo mad. Something was wrong with the sump and she wouldn't even try to figure out what it was. Sam's mom went up later today to see Sophia (after we told her about the issues with the sump) and listened for the sump to make noise. She said it never did and that Sophia slept the entire time she held her. Well....we went back up later tonight and surprise, surprise - someone completely changed the sump out. There was a brand new tube in her nose and brand new tape holding the NG tube to her face. I wonder when someone finally checked on it and figured out what was wrong.


















Day 14, December 5, 2008: Sam had to work tonight from 3-11 doing DUI stuff, so I went up to the hospital at night by myself. I met Greg and Robin Jones (from our church) at CHKD and they got to each hold Sophia :) I gave her a bath on my own and she was soooo squirmy lol. She looks so cute in this new preemie onesie we got from the church baby shower!



















Day 13, December 4, 2008: Sophia's sump was put back in this morning because she was throwing up so much. She seems to be feeling much better now that everything is being pumped out of her belly. I think it was too early for the tube to come out yesterday.


















Day 12, December 3, 2008: The surgeon gave the go ahead to take our Sophia's NG tube - what I refer to as the sump. She's been having less fluid come out, and it's much lighter in color. I went to visit just after lunch and the nurse said she hadn't thrown up at all since they took the tube out. However, while I was holding her, she projectile vomited bile all over me and herself. Poor little sweetheart :( Sam and I went back at night and she was still throwing up. We gave her a bath like usual and she was pretty calm. The nurse gave her a sepository after her bath and about 10 minutes later Sophia was grunting and trying to push so hard. I feel so badly for her. She seemed to feel much better when she was laying on Daddy's chest instead of being cradled in his arms.














Day 11, December 2, 2008: The church held a baby shower for us tonight. We received tons of beautiful gifts! We got lots of cute clothes, a hamper, diaper bag, blankets, etc.

She's a fighter

Day 7, November 28, 2008: My parents got into town today and will be staying until Monday night. I took them to see Sophia and they were amazed. They said she looks so much bigger in the pictures. They both got to hold her for a bit. When we got to the hospital she was being pretty fussy. The nurse said she's probably starting to get hungry. They gave her some Ativan (anti-anxiety) medicine to help calm her down because she was getting so upset.

Day 8, November 29, 2008: Sam, my parents, and I went to see Sophia again this morning. The nurse said she was still pretty fussy, but she slept almost the entire time we were there with her. They took the vacuum off her sump and it's just run by gravity now. She will probably get the sump taken out tomorrow and then they'll start her on breast milk shortly after. I'm excited to see her face without any tubes all over it! Her belly needs to get measured every 4 hours or so just to make sure that she doesn't get a lot of stuff building up in her belly now that the vacuum is off the sump. They also inject a little water into her sump to make sure it doesn't get plugged up.
My dad got to see her open her eyes today - she was too sleepy yesterday from the Ativan. I think he was pretty excited about that. He wanted to know if she got my eyes. Her eyes are still blue, but they almond shaped like mine :) Sam's mom went earlier this morning to visit Sophia and brought her a little sleeper to wear since she wet through her diaper onto her onesie. She also went on a mission to find some type of toy to hang on her crib to stimulate Sophia. Sam and I are going to get a little bouncer to bring so the nurses can put her in that when she gets agitated.
Sam and I will go back again tonight by ourselves and we'll get to give her a bath. We tend to go late at night because it's not so crazy then. We love just sitting in the chair and rocking her to sleep. It's so relaxing I could fall right asleep too!

Sophia Ellen Barrett has arrived!

"Our Little Miracle..."

Day 1, November 22, 2008: Saturday morning at 12:30 am, my water broke while I was sleeping. Sam and I called the doctor, packed a bag, and went to the ER at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Sam of course was much more frantic than I. I kind of just stood in the bedroom thinking about what I would need to pack. Lol. So we got to the ER and then they took us up to the Labor and Delivery. It took the doctors forever to actually put me in a delivery room because they "weren't sure I was in labor." I was having contractions that lasted about 45 seconds and were 3-3 1/2 minutes apart, and my water broke....and yet they weren't sure I was in labor because one test came back positive, and one came back negative, to say if my water ruptured or not. I was like, are you kidding me? Of course I'm in fricken labor! So the contractions were getting pretty strong and they took us took a delivery room at about 5 am. They said it could take about an hour to get someone up there to give me the epidural. The contractions were so strong and painful that I was throwing up and just very, very uncomfortable. The anestesthiologist got to my room at about 6 and was done with his job around 6:15. I was in heaven. I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced when they gave me the epidural. I think the next time they checked me was around 8:50 or so and I was 8 cm dilated and 100% effaced. Two minutes later they came in to check again and they said I was complete. Sooo, they got the whole team in the room and started pushing. I pushed through 2 contractions - 3 pushes in each, and there she was! I had to stop pushing at one point so they could unwrap the cord around her neck, but I could not believe how quickly it was over. There were probably 15 doctors in the room. Some were taking care of me, some took care of Sophia, etc. I got to hold our little girl for a couple minutes before they whisked her away to the CHKD NICU.

I spent 4 hours in bed after she arrived because I wasn't able to get up from the epidural. We went to go see Sophia at about 3:30 or so. She was very sleepy from the Fentanyl pain medication and she was on a ventilator. The doctors had to cut the hole larger in order to fit the intestines back in. They had fit almost all of it back inside the first day.

Day 2, November 23, 2008: They put the rest of the intestine back in and said she'd be ready for primary closure surgery on Monday or Tuesday. It would depend on how she was doing and when they had an opening in the OR. Her calcium levels were low and they started her on TPN and lipids. This is her form of nutrition for the time being. The nurses tried to put a PICC line in, but didn't get it on the first try. Later that night they were successful. We got to touch Sophia today and she moved her arms and toes when we would run our fingers over her. Later that evening she was too sedated to move because of the pain medication they gave her when they did the PICC line. We filled out Sophia's birth certificate information today too :)

Day 3, November 24, 2008: I was discharged and Sophia underwent surgery. The surgery took Dr. Kelly less than an hour. She did well and he was able to preserve the umbilical cord so that she can have a more normal looking belly button. That night they attempted to take her off the ventilator and see if she would breathe on her own. I was really surprised they tried this so early after the surgery because she was so drugged up on the fentanyl (pain killer). That drug suppresses your breathing capabilities. She would not breathe on her own for a while and it was a very scary experience for Sam and I. Eventually they asked us to go to the waiting room while they worked on her. We came back in shortly after and they had given her Narcam (like caffeine) to reverse the effects of the fentanyl. She was on the C Pap machine to help her breathe. It's a little mask over her nose that helps keep her airways open. She's very puffy from all the fluids and surgery. She just doesn't look like herself. I feel bad everytime I look at her.

Day 4, November 25, 2008: Sophia was taken off the C Pap machine and now has just a nasal canula. She is looking much better and less puffy. The doctors heard a murmur this morning when they were listening to her heart. They did an echocardiogram to take a closer look. She has this valve, the PDA, that hasn't closed up yet. It usually closes shortly after birth. Since she didn't use her lungs in utero, she needed this valve open. Now that she's born though, it needs to close up so that food doesn't get into her lungs and into her bloodstream. The easiest way to close the PDA if it doesn't on its own, is to give her ibuprofen. She also has a little whole in her heart called the PFO. This one can take months to close - even in full term babies. The doctors are not concerned by either of these findings. We got to see her open her eyes tonight! We also got to hold her for the first time! We took our first family picture tonight too!

Day 5, November 26, 2008: Sophia no longer has a canula! They took the bandages off her belly! She is wearing clothes and sleeps in a crib! She has the most adorable little purple bow in her hair....glued in her hair. Lol. The only clothes that the nurses could find to fit her was a blue onesie, so they insisted on putting a bow in her hair. Today will be her last day of antibiotics (gentomycin). I got to change her wet diaper and held her for about an hour and a half before Auntie Kristin and Aunt Jaclyn came to visit. They both go to hold her for a few minutes. I wish they could have visited with her longer. It's impossible not to fall in love with our little girl. She's just precious. Every little noise she makes and even her cry makes my heart melt. They took her sump out of her mouth and put a smaller one in through her nose.

When Sam and I went back later at night, we got to weigh her on the scale, change her POOPY diaper! Yay! We also got to give her a bath. She wasn't real fond of this idea. We put her in a little polka dot onesie, which was huge on her even though it's newborn size. She looks absolutely gorgeous. The swelling has gone down almost entirely.

Day 6, November 27, 2008: Happy Thanksgiving! We went to go see Sophia this morning and she's doing great. I changed another poopy diaper. Hurrah! We should be giving her another bath tonight...this time I'll make Daddy do most of the washing. I love the little squaks she makes. She sounds like a baby bird. It looks like she's getting less and less stuff out of her sump and it seems to be getting lighter colored - which is the goal. Hopefully they'll start feeding her breast milk soon.