Let me first update you on how early I got to bed last night (because I know that's why you're really reading this). When I went up to our room at 9:30, Canon was snoozing soundly. I made it to bed before my 10:30 curfew (yay!) but still didnt' fall asleep until almost midnight (boo!).
I slept a little later than planned this morning but still had Canon up and at school before 9:00. I had made Easter cookies for Tera's nurses, and I just needed to ice them before taking them to the hospital this morning. I made it to the hospital just in time for Tera's 11:30 bottle. When I called in to check on her last night, the nurse reported that she was going to continue our push today and give Tera a bottle every other feed. When I arrived this morning, Tera had taken a bottle at 11:30 last night and 5:30 this morning, and she had taken them both fully. When today's nurse came in to do her 8:30 meal this morning, Tera was so alert that the nurse decided to give her another bottle, which she took expertly. When I arrived at 11:30, Tera still seemed interested so we gave her another. Three bottles in a row! She left 5cc in the bottle I gave her, but she took the other 32cc so perfectly. She needed the blow-by at the beginning just to get herself in the rhythm, but she drank the rest like a professional.
When I first came in, the nurse was also putting drops in Tera's eyes. Uh oh! The follow-up eye exam was scheduled for today, and the drops were to dilate her pupils. I tried not to think about it while I fed her. The Speech Therapist came back to check in on how Tera was eating. She was very impressed with how well she is eating, especially since we have recently moved to a Standard-flow nipple instead of the Slow-flow nipple that we started with. She explained that there is a lot of research supporting the use of a Slow-flow in preemies, but she also thought that Tera was doing great with the Standard while I fed her. It's ultimately up to me which one I want used when she is fed, but it's difficult to know. I want her to learn an efficient sucking pattern with the Slow-flow, but that one also seems to make her feeding time much longer, which translates into more calories burned. I need to talk to my sister-in-law, Michele, for a second opinion. The Speech Therapist suggested that I bring in the bottles that we will be using at home, and let Tera practice using those. Two months ago I was making decisions about educating our children, and today I'm stressed out about nipple flow. Is that strange?
After she ate, Tera was completely pooped. She fell right to sleep, so I snuggled with her for the next hour.
Lydia came by for a visit. It is her 27th birthday, and we have plans for manicures and pedicures later this afternoon.
Just as she was getting ready to leave, the Ophthamologist came in to start the follow-up exam. At her last exam, the blood vessels were still immature, but they were checking for a disease called ROP. This disease develops in a lot of preemies, especially when their oxygen saturation stays too high for too long. Tera passed that test, and my hope is that her blood vessels were mature enough to examine today so that she doesn't have to have another one.
This afternoon brought back the sickening feelings I had a couple of weeks ago when my description of her first eye exam were taken the wrong way. I just have to reiterate (just to make myself feel better, I think) that I in no way think that there is something wrong with the way the eye exam is done. There are so many benefits to it, and I am happy that they do it. This does not, however, change how absolutely terrifying it is. This is why I left the room as soon as the doctor entered. I walked out with Lydia, and we both got a little squeemish when we heard Tera cry from all the way down the hall. I found as many things to do as I could before returning about half an hour later. The doctor hadn't given our nurse any indication of how the exam went, so I'll wait to hear the results of the report.
Speaking of reports, the Cardiologist report came back this morning, and Tera's PDA is still small ("small to moderate" to be exact). I asked the Neonatologist if that means it has grown, but he said no. It's all a matter of how the Cardiologist interprets it. The last one thought "small." This one thought "small to moderate." In other news, Tera continues to gain weight, up to 4 pounds 11 ounces (2150 grams). And the most exciting news of all - why have I not already mentioned this? - her bed oxygen is down to 21%. That's Room Air for those of you new to this whole oxygen thing. In other words, she is breathing air that has the same amount of oxygen as the air we breathe. If she can hang out here for a "few days," which I'm hoping actually means 1 or 2 days, then they'll try her in a crib.
I only stayed for about an hour once I returned after the eye exam. We decided to let Tera take a break during her 2:30 meal and just have it pushed through her NG tube. The nurse, however, wanted to get her out and hold her while she ate. She said that it was because Tera does so well when she's held, but I think it's just because the nurse wanted to hold her. She's so great!
I left them sitting together to join Lydia for our manicures and pedicures. I really should have taken pictures there, but it was just so relaxing that I didn't want to even have to think about getting my camera. I'm always sad to leave Tera at the hospital, and today was no different. But the hour and a half we were there was much needed by both of us. Here are the results of my pedicure:
I only included this foot because the other foot I have already messed up. When I was getting out of Lydia's car, I accidentally scraped my foot along the bottom of the dashboard and scratched some of the paint off my big toe. Oh, well. It was still worth it!
We picked Canon up from OLS next then stopped at Hart & Soul in Homewood to get some desserts for dinner tonight with Anna, Jackson, and Addie. Anna grilled hamburgers and chicken, and we enjoyed our dinner from their back porch. I really don't even want to mention this, especially since I was so hard on Canon's behavior last night, but he was even more terrible tonight. I know it was just because of how exhausted he was, so I'm going to be very forgiving tonight, but it was really bad. He had a very difficult time sharing anything with Jackson. He fell down the ladder on the way up to the slide. (Don't worry, he didn't hurt himself. Just scared him a lot). The real drama came at the very end of the night. I can't be sure of exactly why he got so upset, but I think it has something to do with the TV. Jackson turned on the TV just as we were leaving, and his mother instructed him to turn it off, which he did with no argument. Canon lost it soon after. Through his screams, I could make out "Bye, Bye" something, something, something. I tried having him say Bye Bye to everyone in the house, but it was no use. He could not be consoled. At home, when we need to turn the TV off and don't want Canon to pitch a fit, we have him say "Bye Bye" to whatever character is on TV. My only conclusion for tonight's behavior is that Canon didn't get to see "Bye Bye" to whatever character Jackson was watching for less than five seconds. After a bath (which he cried most of the way through) and a snuggle on the couch with Lydia (while watching a cartoon movie - I think we're getting addicted), he finally felt good enough to go to bed. I love him, but I haven't been this ready for bedtime in a long time.
What About Barry
He's going to hate me for sharing this with the rest of the world, but it's something that I think is worth remembering. (He thinks I'm writing about how much I miss him!) Barry is notorious for giving really strong hugs. I mean, people have been known to lose their breath when he squeezes. Until yesterday, it has all been in good fun. But yesterday, he hugged one of his co-workers just a little too hard, and today she has a bruised rib. I know, I know. Many of you are thinking, why is he hugging his co-workers? Don't read into it that way. This is not an unusual occurence. The focus here is on the bruised rib and, even more, on the fact that now I have proof that his hugs really are too aggressive sometimes. He's always just thought I was a big wimp for whining after one of these Barry Hugs. Now he knows the truth! And while he might think twice before giving a strong hug again, I'm sure he'll find some other outlet for all the love he has stored up inside.
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