October 2, 2008

Bree is having a better day today! She was stable with all of her vitals, and....I got to hold her today!! We learned that it depends on the nurse that is setting you up with her on how you get to hold her. As you can see, I got to hold her in the classic "baby" hold...she was just wrapped up in her little bed when I was holding her. The picture that is here on the blog was before I got all situated. They ended up covering her up with two heated blankets and putting a little hat on her to keep her warm. Her little face was allowed to peek out and she even played a little bit of peek-a-boo with me. (she kept opening and closing her eyes) Just being able to hold her was so special and is a feeling and moment that I will never forget in my whole life.

We were able to talk with the heart surgeon, and the NP that was assigned to Bree today about her surgery. They were able to explain the surgery very well to us, and I was grateful for their reassurance that this is a very common procedure in preemies. They told us that they typically do very well and within a week of the surgery we will see a big difference in her ventilator settings. I feel more confident and strong with her surgery, and I know that she has so many people praying for her.

For the general update, they are still trying to wean her ventilator settings, which is going to be a constant thing until she is off of it. She was on room air oxygen (21%), which is as low as the ventilator will allow the oxygen to be. They did put an IV in her hand to prepare for the surgery tomorrow. They are using it to draw the blood they need for labs before surgery, and for her blood gases. Overall, she has had a good day today. Oh! Also, I changed one of her poopy diapers for the first time today. It is such a small amount, about the size of a pea. Funny enough, the wipes they use in the NICU are bigger than the regular baby wipes! Why?! I do not know. I joked that the wipes were bigger than Bree...ha ha!

Hope this finds everyone happy, healthy and in love with life!