Movin' on Up

Duh-duh-duh..(clap)..Another one bites the dust (clap, clap). Sing it with me now!  Monday marked the return of Dr. Kahn, the neonatologist who was on duty when Jolene was born.  I believe that is was his willingness to be a little bit aggressive (but still cautious) that is one of the reasons Jolene has progressed the way she has.  I've seen so many babies sit for what seems like too long and then it makes it harder (and takes longer) for them to recover.

Jolene had been holding steady and doing well, but we were beginning to wonder what the grand plan was.  What, exactly, was the strategy going forward to get her home?  During "rounds" on Monday morning Dr. Kahn didn't waste any time in asking why Jolene had been with her ND tube for so long, and he immediately made a new plan for her.  (In the words of one of our favorite nurses, "Dr. Kahn gets $*!# done!"). :)  The ND tube was coming out and stomach feeds would begin through her NG tube (still at a continuous rate).  One more tube gone!!  We were expecting there to be a lot of spit up when this happened but Jolene kept it to a surprising minimum.  So, the next day her feeds were changed to a more "bolus" regimen - where the milk is given more all at once instead of continuous, as would be the case for a normal feed.  Jolene, again, did pretty well.  She had a few more spit-ups but nothing that anyone was particularly concerned about.  She has also been gaining weight more steadily now and is up to 8lbs. 12oz. (still on fortified milk though).

The OT has continued to work on bottle feeds and they are starting to get a little bit better.  Jason and I have also tried a few bottle feeds here and there but most of those end in Jolene falling asleep after just a few mL.  We just must be comfy I guess.  Jolene's main issue with the bottle feed is that the sensation of the milk going down her throat causes her to gag and then spit up.  We are hoping that having one less tube helps her get over this more quickly.  Today they even tried removing the NG tube during her bottle feed to see if it would help.  It might have a little bit but it was't significant.  Tonight, however, we had the best bottle feed yet.  Jolene took 2/3 of what we had warmed for her in quite a short amount of time with minimal gagging and no spitting up.  The volume was still nowhere near what she needs to be able to drink for a full feed, but hey - progress is progress!

Tonight was also a bit bittersweet but very exciting.  Jolene was moved from her "pod" in the NICU to a private room in the NSCU - neonatal special care unit.  This means that she is no longer considered critical and is one step closer to coming home!  The new room is really quiet compared to the NICU and we will have much more privacy, but I must admit it's a bit scary not having so much constant attention from the nurses.  We will also miss everyone that we had gotten to know on the 7th floor (we are now on the 8th).  When you are there for seven weeks you get to know a lot of very special people!

Hopefully my next post will feature a picture of Jolene buckled in a car seat ready to come home, but we will keep you all posted!   Hands and hearts praying and fingers crossed. :)

P.S.  Please continue to pray for our fellow CDH baby down the street, baby Luke...he is not doing so well.  His parents were in the process of saying goodbye to him last week but he miraculously has hung on!