Back on Milk, Back in the Incubator

We were definitely warned that we would be witnessing a 2 steps forward, one step back in our quest to having our daughter come home. On Friday, Amy was taken out of her Isolette/incubator and put into an open baby bed. She was able to stay warm on her own and was doing great. On Sunday, the doctor allowed Amy to begin taking her mother’s milk rather than relying solely on an i.v. This has been kind of a great big deal to all of us.

It was a pleasant surprise to walk into the nursery and see our baby freed from the little plexiglass pod that she has lounged in for the past two weeks. She looked so big and ready to pack her bags and come home. Pretty awesome stuff.

On Sunday, Amy was able to down a few bottles of milk and has been on the stuff for the last three days. We are watching her feed with a little fear and trepidation as tests are showing that there are still traces of blood in her stools. Nobody can see it, but there is the slight possibility that she may have to pull back from milk again for a while. We are keeping our fingers crossed that she continues to improve.

Life has a way of throwing a few curve balls here and there. As of Sunday night, Amy is back in her incubator as she was getting cold and could definitely use some help in the heat department. She is happy and comfy inside, but it’s kind of a bummer to think that she has to be trapped in that box a while longer than we had hoped for.

Weekend Setback

When Amy was born, one of the first things the doctors told us was that we should expect a recovery path of taking “2 steps forward, 1 step back”. So far, we have been able to buck this trend. Amy has done exceptionally well and had no setbacks whatsoever. That all changed this weekend.

Saturday morning I had a conversation with the doctor on duty about the baby. She had been eating rather well and they had been able to increase the amount of milk she was getting. Overnight, she had started to bleed somewhere in her digestive tract. The nurse recognized the condition quickly and no long-term damage was done. However, baby will not be having any milk or food taken orally for the next 10 days.

Amy also needed a blood transfusion and they have been giving her antibiotics to heal any internal wounds. We were a little concerned about the transfusion to say the least. However, the doctors have had the blood on hand since Amy’s birth due to the fact that both Mom and Baby were very low on blood from complications that led to Amy coming so early. The transfusion was all but inevitable.

Saturday evening was spent watching and monitoring baby as she went through numerous tests and injections. After all was said and done, she actually looks great. Her color is much better and she is resting and taking it easy (as all babies do when kicking back at the ICN).

Sunday, we all went and spent time with baby Amy as a family. Sisters and Mom were able to oogle over the little bundle of love and she is recovering rather nicely. Right now we are taking our “2 steps forward”.

Baby Amy Sucks

Literally. Aleena and I were at the hospital last night. The nurses want Aleena to practice breast-feeding with the baby. Amy latched on and began her dinner. This doesn’t sound like too much, but it’s actually a pretty big deal for a premature baby to suck, swallow and breathe so quickly. She has caught on to this much faster than expected and we can only hope that means that she can gain some weight and come home to us sooner than later.

Anyways, it’s such a joy to tell people that my kid sucks!

All the Campbell Daughters and Dad

Had a nice visit tonight with the baby. Aleena was at the hospital all day, then came home and went back with me and the kids. Two visitors at a time are all that is allowed in the ICN. We broke the rules and got some pictures to show for it. Amy no longer has the catheters and IVs attached to her belly-button. She is also taking more milk (went from 10ml to 15ml). We still don’t know when she’s going home.

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