Little Squeeker

Layla always got the hiccups when I was pregnant with her at least 2 - 3 times per day. Well, now she still seems to get them a few times each day. We think her little squeeks are quite cute. The other day in her nursery her and her neighbor boy both had them at the same time and they kept going back and forth squeeking. Here she is during one of her many times with hiccups...



Layla weighed in tonight at 4 lbs 6 oz, so one more oz and she'll be an entire pound more than what she was at her lowest weight! She is also now 17" long (born at 16" inches). She is growing so quickly!!

Progress

Layla is still doing well. She is still making progress on her feedings by taking some through a tube and some through a bottle and it sill gaining weight. She now weighs 4 lbs 2 oz. It is a bit crowded now in her new room as the room is very tiny and she has two roomates.

Being on the intermediate side now we have seen lots of babies come and go so it gets us excited for when it will get to be us going home! It has been quite busy going back and forth to the hospital, so we can't wait to have her at home! They still can't tell us when she'll be coming home, but as long as she keeps making progress it hopefully won't be too much longer. Monday she will be 34 weeks gestational age and they had told us that they never send babies home before 34 weeks, so at least we have now made it to that point. Now she just needs to be able to increase the amount of feedings she takes through a bottle and then be able to maintain that for a bit! She also needs to continue to maintain a warm temperature outside of her isolet. Thanks again to everyone for all the cards, thoughts and prayers:-)

2 Weeks Old!

Layla is now 2 weeks old!! In the last 2 weeks she's experienced quite a few changes. She has gone from eating 6 mL per feeding to now 35 mL. She no longer needs an IV or to have her oxygen monitored...she has weighed as low as 3 lbs 7 oz and now weighs 3 lbs 15 oz. She is now in her 3rd room. She moved today from a large room in NIM (Neonatal Intermediate Care) to a smaller room with only 2 roomates. She also moved today out of her isolet and into a plastic "crib". If she can stay warm enough, she'll remain in the crib. If not, she will be moved back to her isolet.

She didn't know what to make of being in her new bed...


Her new room...

She likes her new outfit with "slippers" :-)

Bathing Beauty

Layla had her first bath today! It went better than we thought--she actually seemed to enjoy it! She has also gained some more weight--she's now 3 lbs 13 oz. Her bottle drinking has been about the same and she is still off her billi lights. Today they also started testing her to see if she can maintain a warm temperature on her own. Once she successfully can, she will move out of her isolet and into a plastic "crib" (more like a plastic tub). We noticed today that her eye was very mattery so she now has drops to hopefully fix her infection.

Bath time fun...

All warm and snuggly after bath time!

Back to Birth Weight!!!

First off ... sorry it has been a little bit since we last blogged.

Secondly (and most important) Layla's update.

Since our last blog Layla has continued to make progress. Her feedings are now up to 32mL and she has been nippling around 15-20mL every other feeding. Of course this depends on how sleepy she is. But overall her suck, swallow, breath pattern is continuing to develop very nicely. She now weighs 1700 grams (born at 1696)!!!! For those of you who don't speak grams ... it is 3lbs 11.8oz which was her birth weight. We are very proud of our little heavy weight!! She also lost her umbilical cord the other night making her belly look extra beautiful.

Her breathing has remained consistent except for a few forgetful moments when it drops sending off alarms. This really makes Mom and Dad's hearts race. She is still in her isolette to regulate her tempature and we think she may have to be Zorro again to get her pesky bilirubin to come down again. Oh well, whatever it takes to get her home.

These last 11 days have been a rollercoaster of emotions. It is truly amazing how immediately your life changes when you have a child. Your whole outlook revovles around them. However, today is Father's Day and I am going to enjoy my first Father's Day by her bedside ... the best gift ever!!!

Her a few pics:

Sleeping all snuggled up

Burp time

The Big Move

Layla moved rooms today! She moved from her room in the NICU to a room in NIM (Neonatal Intermediate). It is a move in the right direction, however, it doesn't really mean that she suddenly made lots of progress. The reason for her move was because she lost her "partner" in her old room in the NICU. Her "partner" went home today and therefore would have left just her to take care of for a nurse when normally each nurse in the NICU has 2 patients. In NIM, each nurse has 3 patients and someone in NIM also went home today so it was a good day to switch her. Patients in NIM are in similar situations to her--mainly working on feedings and issues like that until they are ready to go home. Her new room is much noisier which is quite annoying, but I think more so for us than for her! Here is her new homestead...



Her first real outfit...

Look at that pout!!

Daddy's Girl:)

Is there a baby in there??

She weighed in tonight at 1640, so she gained 50 grams! That means she's almost 3 lbs 10 oz. That seems like a lot to gain in one day so hopefully the nurse weighed her correctly. I guess we'll find out tomorrow night if she's suddenly back down to 3 lbs 8 oz! Her bili count was still low today too at 6.6 so she is still off the lights for right now. Thanks for checking in!

10 more grams!

Last night Layla weighed in at 1590 grams ... 10 more than the night before! Way to go honey!! She also took 18 out 30ml through her bottle a couple times yesterday. That really puts her out for the count and she hardly wakes up till her next feeding. Her bili count was down to 7 from 12 allowing her to no longer need her tanning light and be able to be all snuggled up in her cute blankets. She also started her first collection. She is collecting Pampers Points. She already has 4 (thanks to one of her friends in a bed next to her who gave her 3)! She is already making friends:-).

I don't think I ever thought being a Dad would be so cool. I can't wait for the end of the day when I can go up to the hospital and see her. Granted, I can't really do anything while I am there, but that doesn't matter. I could sit and stare at her for hours on end. She is so cute when she sleeps. Arms above her head, sticking out her tongue, leg twitches and so many more beautiful movements (can you tell I am excited!). I will try and grab a video of some of her and get it posted. 9 hrs to go!!