Surgery

Today was Wendy's G Tube surgery. When they got in to do the g tube the surgeon realized Wendy's intestines did not grow in the right place. She has what's called intestinal malrotation. They are going to do a Ladd procedure. This is going to extend her recovery time. I hate to see my baby suffer. I just want her to be well. People don't realize how blessed they are to have a healthy child.

Due Date

Well, today was my due date. But Miss Wendy didn't want to hold out that long! Yesterday she was 6 weeks old. I can't believe my baby is that old already! It breaks my heart that she's 6 weeks old and hasn't been able to leave the hospital. :( Hopefully it won't be much longer now. Her surgery is set for tomorrow. I don't know why it took them so long to schedule it. I am honestly just so ready to take Wendy home! She's gaining weight too! She's 5lbs 4oz now! She will probably lose back down to 4-4.5lbs after her surgery, but I'm sure it'll pick back up soon after. We were hoping to have her home by Thanksgiving, but that's not going to happen. Maybe she will be home the beginning of next week though!

My Preemie Baby

My sweet little angel turned 5 weeks old yesterday. It's amazing how fast the time has gone by. It's also amazing how much she has grown. She weighs 4lbs 12oz now! What a chunky monkey! For a normal baby, gaining 13oz in 5 weeks isn't astounding, but for Wendy it definitely is. Especially since they said they didn't know how much or fast she would grow, not only because of her being a preemie, but also because of her chromosome anomaly. I'm just amazed by her development (even though the doctors haven't mentioned her development being great, as a mom, from what I've read, am proud). No, she still can't take a bottle. BUT she is starting to try to hold her head up, which is the same thing a normal month old baby should be doing! That's amazing because you should measure a preemie's development by their adjusted age, not chronological age, and Wendy's adjusted age is below zero because she still isn't supposed to be born for another week. The doctor's haven't said anything different, we're still just waiting for surgery. Hopefully they will set a date tomorrow.

Not Long Now.. At Least I Hope

I've been waiting on an update from Wendy's medical team before I updated her blog. Well today we finally had a consult with her doctors. Next week she should be having a g tube put in. As long as everything goes okay she will be able to come home 4 or so days later. Tomorrow she willhave an echo done to check her heart again. She has a murmur and they want to see if the vein ever closed up. Also, an ENT will be looking at her airway to make sure she can breathe okay- because when she tries to suck on anything it sounds like she's gasping for breath. Finally, we got the MRI results. Her brain is not normal. It's too small and not as wrinkled as a normal brain. We don't exactly know what that will mean, but it certainly shows why she doesn't understand the suck swallow reflex right now, however the doctor said she can learn to suck and swallow. Her MRI results doesn't necessarily mean she will have severe mental delays, but of course it is possible. If her brain isn't growing by 6 months of age, then the doctor said we should worry. As of now, it's still simply wait and see. Right this moment, I'm just hoping her surgery goes well and she can make it home soon.

Fussy Little Baby!

Today was the first day I have seen little Wendy be fussy and not content. Usually she just likes to look around and sleep. Today though, she would be fine one minute, screaming the next. I held her for two hours during her feeding trying to get her to go to sleep, but she wasn't having any part of that. I read her two books and rocked her. Finally, after my arm went to sleep, so did she. Zed went to see her not long after I left and he said she was crying and ill the whole time he was there too. Hopefully she will get some good rest tonight and have a better day tomorrow.

Wendy is growing now too! She's 4lbs 1oz, which is 2oz more than what she weighed when she was born. By the time we take her home she will probably be 5-6lbs. She is actually filling out her preemie size clothes nicely.

The nurses are still having problems with her colostomy bag. Zed said the doctors had mentioned her having surgery again because her stoma isn't high enough and that's why her bag constantly comes off. I hope that if they have to do that they can do it the same time they put in her g-tube that way she isn't put under anesthesia twice. I hate seeing her on a ventilator.

November, Already

It's hard to believe it's November already. Only 18 days away from my due date. And Wendy is almost a month old!

Zed and I just talked to the doctor. One of the problems Wendy was having when she was admitted to the nicu was her right kidney was swollen. At the time they didn't know why but today they did a test and it showed that her urine has a bit of backflow from her bladder to her right kidney. It's only a grade 1 so nothing too severe. She will have to continue taking Amoxicillin and will be treated as an outpatient with a urologist.

Also, it's almost guarantee they will put a g tube in. That surgery will most likely be done around Thanksgiving so we can expect to be home around the beginning of December. One more month and our little angel should be home.

The Beginning Is Always The Hardest

I meant to post this a week or so ago, but honestly just forgot. Zed and I had ordered take out from PF Changs and we both got a fortune cookie. I'm not a superstitious one (I've got black birds tattooed on my body, haha!) so I usually don't even pay much attention to what the fortune says, I just like the way the cookie tastes! But this fortune caught my eye. It said "Don't give up; the beginning is always the hardest". On the back, my word in Chinese was "milk". This fortune hit home in so many different ways. For one I'd been having problems with pumping. My milk supply had went from about 500mL a day to 240mL. So I was having to pump constantly, every 2 hours trying to build my supply back up. For another, it's simply hard having a sick baby in the nicu. But rest assured, it will be so worth it once she's home!

Now for a more recent update. My milk supply has went back up to about 350-400mL a day. And I'm happy with that. Wendy only eats 33mL every 3 hours and part of that is formula. So I'm making enough to feed her plus I'm able to freeze a bit too. As for Wendy, she's doing okay. Her bag is still refusing to stay on, so yesterday they just put a wafer around her stoma and they're putting gauze over it and tucking it in her diaper. Her poor skin was getting raw from them having to change it every few hours. She's been spitting up a bit too. It makes me nervous because it comes out of her mouth and nose, then she's gasping for breath. They haven't tried to bottle feed her recently because she gets choked. Zed said they mentioned a consult with surgery next week about a g-tube for feedings. I'm not sure why we're doing the consult though until she can get the suck/swallow test done, which she can't do until she can take 20-30mL from a bottle and right now she's only been taking 8 (at the most, it's usually more like 2-4mL). Depending on how Wendy does with food will determine when it will be safe for her to come home. It'll probably be the beginning of December because they said they wouldn't push the bottle feeding until after her due date. If she's taking half her feedings from a bottle then we will go home with a tube through her nose for feeding, if not she'll have another surgery to place a g-tube. Either way, I know she will eventually be fine. I have faith. And I know Wendy is a tough one. I just pray that she will begin to improve. We are anxious to have her home, but ultimately it's her safety that's our main concern.