Bright-Eyed...
Lillian Grace is 103 days old today.
This morning the NICU‘s Lantana Room, where Lillian resides, had a full complement of 4 babies: Lillian, of course, 3 months into her stay; one new arrival being treated by bili lights for jaundice; and one baby who’s been in the NICU for 3 days and another who’s been there for 6 weeks. However, the latter two were preparing to go home: each set of parents spent last night in one of the parent rooming-in rooms with their babies; it’s the last step you take before taking your baby home. By mid-day, they were gone, moms and dads happy, and a bit apprehensive — the NICU nurses make a great support team. One of the dads is a tattoo artist (his own body is his chief form of advertisement); the sight of him carrying a large pink diaper bag and walking around with that dazed new dad look pasted on his heavily tattooed face is one we will miss.
Lillian in Swing
Lillian started the morning off early: when Ashley came in Lillian had been awake for an hour, ready for breakfast, so Ashley fed her right away. Lillian dozed off, but wanted to be held; Ashley needed to go pick up Josh (who slept in this morning), so she called in a grandparental holder to come substitute. While Ashley was out, the NICU’s eye doctor came and checked Lillian’s eyes: they are progressing nicely; Lillian will get one more eye exam in two to three weeks, and, if all continues well, won’t need another one until she is a year old. After the exam, Lillian slept.
The Two Sleepers
When Ashley tried the noon breast-feeding, Lillian still wanted to sleep, so she received her noon feeding via the mechanical pump. She has yet to do three breast-feedings in one day; once she’s on nasal cannula full-time (mid next week, we hope) we’ll be able to be a bit more flexible with feeding times. Lillian continues to gain weight: she’s up to 7 lbs, 2.8 ozs, and is getting 62 mL of milk when feeding via mechanical pump. Nasal cannula time increased to 12 hours today, and she continues to tolerate it well. She’s awake quite a bit, particularly in the afternoon; when she’s awake, she expects that someone will hold her; fortunately, so far at least, willing arms have not been in short supply.
Thanks for your prayers and support!
The Denby Clan 