Home

At about 2:45pm on Tuesday, December 29, we walked through our front door with our daughter for the first time in the 145 days since she was born.

We spent most of Monday at the hospital. At about 7:30pm they moved Morgan to a private room in the Ronald McDonald House which is on the same floor as the NICU. She was our responsibility until almost noon the next day. Between getting used to all the little noises coming from Morgan's crib, and the not-so-comfortable bed, we didn't get a whole lot of sleep that night.


Starting care-by-parent. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

However, Morgan continues to live up to her reputation as a pretty laid back baby. Since being home, sleep is a little easier to come by and we're starting to get our routine down. She does pretty well sleeping in her crib if either of us ever put her in it...of course we're catching up on holding her and enjoying her not being tethered to any equipment. And I'm pretty sure she is enjoying it too.


Ready for bed...except for the sleepy part. (Thanks for the PJs and blanket Uncle Alan & Aunt Cara.)


Story time. In my own room! (Thanks for the book Miss Ursula)

Merry Christmas!

After nearly five months in the NICU, it seems Morgan is just days from coming home. If all goes as planned, Shelly and I will spend at least several hours and possibly overnight in a care-by-parent room with Morgan early next week. After that, assuming there are no surprises, she'll be released to come home with us. The only reason we aren't doing the care-by-parent this weekend is that they are waiting for a feeding pump to arrive that they can teach us to use and then send us home with. With the holiday and the weekend it will be early next week before it gets here.

We knew this news was on its way when nurses started asking "Why is she still here?". She definitely seems ready for this next step. Her breathing and oxygen saturation have been great and her feeds are going really well. She is now up to three bottle feeds a day and finishing them consistently.

The nurse practitioner told us yesterday they are, in fact, being a little extra cautious about releasing her. Since she had gotten some steroid treatments last week for her throat inflammation and only been off the lasix a few days, they wanted to make sure she didn't backslide any with her oxygen needs. Now that she hasn't, they are ready to start the process of releasing her.

First thing is for Shelly and I to spend some time in a private room with Morgan without a nurse and without any of the monitors she's been on during her time in the NICU. It's basically a dry run for having her home. We'll be responsible for all of her care and just have a nurse check in periodically to make sure everything is going well.

After that, they'll give us our final discharge instructions and set up her first pediatric appointments with a special practice specializing in preemies. Finally, she'll need to pass a car seat test, usually the day of release. She'll have to stay in her carseat, in the NICU, for an hour or so while they monitor her. As long as she doesn't have any problems during that time she'll be ours to take home.

We could not be more thrilled with her progress. It really is amazing to think about all the problems she overcame and all the issues that she avoided completely. It's hard to imagine what it will be like to have her home, but I'm sure it will be a great improvement over our daily trips to the hospital.

Once again, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers during the last five months. They really do mean a lot to us and to Morgan. We could not be think of a better way to start the new year than with this new addition to our family, finally home where she belongs.

Merry Christmas!

Goodbye Oxygen Support!

This morning Morgan was taken off the nasal cannula completely. So far she has tolerated it without a problem and we are very excited! If she can continue to do well without the extra oxygen then she won't need it when she comes home either. Even if she doesn't make it home for Christmas, having her stay off the cannula will make for a pretty great gift.

In other good news, she also passed her hearing test last week. Premature babies have an increased risk for hearing and vision loss so they will be testing her regularly for a while.

With all the progress she is making, the nurses are also taking steps to get her ready to come home. Today they flattened her bed instead of having it on an incline so that she will be used to that when she comes home. She wasn't real thrilled with this at first. The nurse said she was laying there crying and kicking but she eventually got her to calm down. They will also try bottle feeding again this week. She has been much more interested in her pacifier since the surgery so we hope this will translate into successful feedings.


This is much better.


I love my Nana!


zzzzzzzzzzzzz


Who took my pacifier?

More Comfortable

After dealing with some pain from her g-button site, Morgan finally seems more comfortable. Many of the nurses have commented in the past on Morgan's good temperament but she let everyone know the last four days that she wasn't happy. Her g-button was leaking and there was really little they could do but let it heal on its own. It was leaking milk from her stomach which is acidic and burns. For now they have decreased the amount of milk and stretching her feeds over two hours, hoping that by not filling the stomach as much the leakage will decrease. The last day she hasn't had any leakage and she is a lot less cranky. She has lost some weight and is down to 7lbs 3oz but the doctors aren't too concerned. Once the button heals they will be able to increase her feeds again and she should get back to putting on weight.

Saturday night Shelly went up to the hospital with a friend and Morgan was awake most of the time from about 8pm to midnight. The nurse said she was awake when they left until 4am. Hopefully she will not come home with mixed up days and nights. It was nice to see her so alert again, but without all the crying.

It will be another week or two before they start bottle feeding again to let her airway heal from the reflux and from the vent tube. She still has "stridor", a fancy word for wheezing. As of right now, it looks like she isn't quite going to make it home for Christmas. She's almost where she needs to be but the only treatment for these last few issues is time so we'll have to be patient a little longer and hopefully she'll be home for New Year's.

Off the Vent

Morgan finally came off the ventilator Tuesday morning. They tried to extubate her Sunday morning but she didn't tolerate it because her airway was irritated and swollen from the vent tube. The doctors decided to leave her on the vent and give her some medicine to reduce the swelling and help open her airway. It seems to have done the trick as she is back on the cannula and doing well. In fact, she's been on 21% oxygen (same as room air) most of the time, so hopefully that will hold up as they wean down her oxygen flow. With any luck she'll be off the oxygen support completely sooner rather than later.

Besides the vent progress, she is also back on full feeds and off all of the IV fluids. The occupational therapist will probably begin working with her on bottle feedings again in the next day or two. A move back to the 8th floor should also be coming soon as well.

The best news is that she is clearly not having the reflux problems she had before the fundo surgery. She seems much more comfortable during her feeds and when she is sleeping. And as much as she enjoys her pacifier the past few days, she should do much better with her bottle feedings than before. Even if she does catch on to the bottle feeding quickly, the doctors have told us that her g-button will need to stay in for at least 3 months to give the site enough time to heal before they would consider removing it.

We still don't have an exact date for her to come home but now it is just a matter of letting her recover from the surgery. We're still hopeful she'll make it in time for Christmas.

Recovering Well

The surgery went just as planned. Morgan seems to be recovering well. When she does wake up she cries although you can't hear her because of the ventilator. She is on morphine though to help and is also on fluids. We hope she can soon be weaned from the ventilator. They said her left lung seemed a little flat on her chest x-ray so they have her on her right side to help "fluff" it back out. Morgan has had that happen several times so although it doesn't sound very reassuring, it does work.

On the picture you can see the g-button. It is above her belly button on her left side. This will stay in at least three months. The surgeon explained that if she started taking all bottles, the button would still have to stay in for those months because the area around it needs to tighten around the button so when they do take it out the hole is smaller, which makes it heal easier. The long tube coming from it is where she will get any food that she doesn't eat by mouth.

It is very hard to see her look sick again. We know though that this was her best option and it will be exciting to see her recover and not be uncomfortable from the reflux. Now we just have to wait it out and know that all of this is more temporary than the previous times.

One More Surgery

It's become clear that Morgan's reflux is not improving and really keeping her from taking full bottles. So Friday morning Morgan will have a fundoplication, which should put a stop to her reflux, as well as a g-tube placement for feeding until she recovers from the surgery and can master bottle feeding. In preparation for the procedure they did a barium swallow test to make sure there were no surprises during surgery. While it didn't show any anatomical problems, it did confirm the severity of her reflux, as she began refluxing and aspirating the barium within a few minutes.

She will have to be put back on the ventilator for the surgery but the doctors expect her to be back on the cannula fairly quickly. So, while this is not ideal, it is the best thing for her right now to help overcome her bottle feeding problems.

The great news is that the doctors expect to send Morgan home 10-14 days after the surgery. That means she'll be home by Christmas Day or a few days before! As you can imagine, we are extremely excited that we're getting so close to having her home. Even though there will still be challenges ahead, having her home is a huge step in the right direction.

Tonight she was particularly crabby. I think it sealed the deal when the surgeon showed me the spots that they would be cutting. She must have known.

4 Months Old.

Morgan turns four months old on Monday and is closer to coming home every day. She is still on some oxygen support but not enough to prevent her release from the hospital. Really, her difficulties with bottle feedings are the only thing keeping her there. The NICU only gives her 30 minutes to finish a bottle because otherwise she burns too many calories. Last week, it seemed like her reflux issues were the main culprit, but several times this weekend, keeping her awake long enough was the bigger obstacle to finishing a whole bottle.

This week we'll be talking with her doctor to decide the next step to overcoming this last hurdle. Since the medicine she is on seems inconsistent at best, it's possible that she would need a procedure called a fundoplication to take care of the reflux. Unfortunately, that would also require her to have a either a g-tube, or g-button placed for feeding purposes, at least temporarily, until she recovered from the surgery and is able to master bottle feedings.

In either case, it seems she is only a few weeks from coming home and we are very excited for that day to arrive. One of the things that four months in the NICU gives you is a new perspective. While another surgery and feeding tube are not something we look forward too, we realize how lucky she is for this to be her biggest challenge. The fact that Morgan has avoided so many other complications, and will most likely outgrow the ones she does have, is something Shelly and I are very thankful for.

We spent most of Sunday afternoon at the hospital with Morgan and took some video of how she spends her time.

...and repeat every three hours.

Moving Up

Today Morgan was moved up a floor to Level 2. The nurse who had Morgan on her very first day was the same nurse who had her today. We are going to miss a lot of the doctors and nurses that we have become so familiar with but seeing how nice the accomodations were helped out with those feelings. Morgan gets her own room and we can spend the night as well as not be restricted by any visiting hours.

Morgan's reflux seems to be better and so her bottle feeds are going a little smoother. She is up to three bottles a day. She still has a ways to go with them but she seems to be tolerating them although not quite finishing them. We feel like their may be an end in sight......

Today she weighed 6 lbs, 15 oz. Almost 7.....

Due Date

Saturday was Morgan's original due date and she must be ready to come home now. She decided to take two entire bottles today, the first in only five minutes and another this evening in a 15 minute span. The nurse who gave her the bottles today was the same nurse to give her most of a bottle more than a month ago. Either Morgan really likes her or she is just more stubborn than Morgan can be.

To show off even more, they have also weaned her oxygen flow down to just 1/8 of a liter. They tried her at a 1/4 liter starting at 3:00 in the afternoon. By 9:00 she was still doing so well they decided to wean her again. The nurse said if she continues to do well over the next day or two, they could take her off the nasal cannula completely and see how she handles it.

Morgan also had plenty of attention from her all of her Thanksgiving visitors.

Ouch

The good news it that Morgan's MRI came back normal. However, the results of Morgan's pH probe showed she had 44 episodes of reflux in 24 hours. Of those, 21% were high acidity. Ouch. The doctors and nurses think this is one of the reasons she has been so inconsistent with bottle feeding. They have decided to go up to two bottle feeds a day though, to see if she will improve. Now she will get one during the day from an occupational therapist and a second in the evening from either a nurse or one of us. She is also on two medicines to try and cut down on the reflux, one to make the food move faster through her stomach and the other to lower the acidity. However, Dr. Khan has told us that neither is usually as effective as they would like.

He also explained that if she doesn't start to show some improvement with the bottle over the next week, he would consider placing a gastronomy "button". It is basically the same tube she has now for feedings but, instead of running it down her esophagus and into her stomach, it is placed surgically through the skin on her belly. The logic behind this is that feeding would be the last obstacle keeping her at the hospital. Apparently the button it easier for parents to manage, so she could be sent home and we could continue working with her on bottle feeding but still have a way to give her full feedings when she won't take a whole bottle. If they do put in the g-button, they might also do another procedure at the same time that would cut down on her reflux.

So it seems like this is her last obstacle before coming home. We both would like it if she could avoid another surgery, but we are also very ready for her to come. The doctors have said that being at home is much better for her developmentally than being in the NICU, which is why they wouldn't want to wait for her to master bottle feeding if that is the only thing keeping her there. With everything she has been through it seems like this should be the easiest task but the staff says this can sometimes be the biggest hurdle. Either way, in the next week we should have much better idea of when she will be coming home.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Six Pounds!

With Thanksgiving only a week away, things are getting much busier here and it seems an update is overdue. Only 10 days from what was her original due date, Morgan's is now just over 6 lbs. She is still doing fine on the nasal cannula but they haven't really been able to wean her down very much.

One of the reasons her oxygen requirements haven't improved is that she started retaining some fluid again. Because of this they decided to give her a dose a lasix last weekend and continue giving her a dose every other day to make sure she is getting the fluid off of her quickly enough. Her doctor and nurses think that reflux during her feeds might be at the root of the problem. It's possible that she is refluxing and then breathing in some of the milk which would irritate the lungs and lead to fluid buildup.

On Wednesday they put a pH probe into her esophagus for 24 hours to monitor what's going on during her feeds. We should know by the weekend if it is severe enough to require treatment, however, they've already started thickening her milk which seems to be helping. If the pH probe shows a need, they might also put her on some medicine for the reflux.

Morgan is also getting a visit from an occupational therapist once a day to work on bottle feeding again. The first couple of days she didn't take very much, but again they think reflux might be working against her. Thursday morning, with the thicker milk, she took her entire bottle in about 15 minutes which is great. If she does well again on Friday, they may go up to two bottle feeds a day.

Also on the schedule for this week is a brain MRI. The hospital does them for preemies at around 38 weeks gestation as a standard practice. We don't anticipate any problems showing up, but we'll pass on the results when we have them.

Here's looking at you!

Morgan's eyes are developing really well. She has no signs of "plus disease" which is when the blood vessels grow large, twisted, and inflamed. They are growing so well that she is now only getting bi-weekly checks instead of weekly. She is in the clear for any significant vision loss!

She is still struggling with taking a bottle. Her original due date was November 28th and the Dr discussed that when that date passes they would consider a G Button if she wasn't bottle feeding so she could still go home. The estimate on her chart for discharge is the second week of December so she has about a month to conquer bottle feeding before they put that button in. We know a lot can happen in those weeks. Her respiratory rate these past two days has been much better, around 40-70 which means she has a better shot at being physically able to take a bottle. A chest x-ray the other day showed that her right lung had little pockets that collapsed but no one seemed concerned. They kept her on her left side and yesterday her x-ray looked much better and her breathing rate improved also.

We were also told that she would go home on oxygen and a heart monitor. Her oxygen setting on the nasal cannula is at 2 liters and they usually wait to send babies home until they are at a half to one liter. Her lungs are buying her some time to figure out how to bottle feed.

Now that we are looking at roughly a month away, its hard to remember to take one day at a time!

Late Halloween

Morgan was on the CPAP when Halloween came around and since this is so large around her head, I didn't bother with her frog costume. Now that she is back on the cannula, I put it on her last night long enough to take some pictures. It didn't take long for her to be done with it.

They tried again bottle feeding her last night and she dropped her heart rate (Bradycardia) a few times so they quit for that go round. In addition, her respiratory rate needs to be under 65 breaths per minute for them to attempt the feed and she is anywhere from 40-110. She is still showing a few signs that she is not ready for the feedings but we know she will get there eventually.

3 Months, 5 Pounds and Nasal Cannula Part 2

Apparently it's a milestone week for little Morgan. First, she made it back to the nasal cannula on Thursday. She did really well on the CPAP but they decided to wean her slowly to be sure she would do well on the cannula...and so far she has. It's nice to see her face again and we are thrilled that she is moving forward.

Also, as of Thursday night, she was up to exactly five pounds. Shelly and I are both amazed at how much she has grown. Even though it has happened right in front of our eyes, it is hard to believe that she has more than tripled in size since she was born. In the past, five pounds was one of the major benchmarks for sending preemies home. However, since they are dealing with such early babies now, they focus more on their ability to regulate temperature and not have apnea episodes, in addition to feeding and gaining weight.

She is already holding her own temperature and rarely has apneas, so bottle feeding is the next step in the process. Since she is back on the cannula they will probably start working on bottle feeds again next week. The first time around she seemed to do well with a little patience. Anything other than waiting for her start on her own terms ended with her not take taking very much at all. In the meantime, they think she might be having some reflux during her feeds (another common preemie problem) because a couple of times she has spit-up a little and also tends to desat if her head isn't propped up while she feeds through her tube. They have already lengthened the amount of time that each of her feedings is given and may thicken her milk some to help her out even more.

She got another eye exam this week as well, and her ROP had not worsened. She is still classified as stage two so they'll continue to check her every week. Unless it progresses to stage three it shouldn't cause any significant vision problems. Considering her dad's eyesight, any need for glasses in the future will more than likely be genetic.

Since it depends on several factors, it is hard to say exactly when she'll come home. It seems early December is still a realistic estimate. We've heard different opinions from the doctors and nurses on whether she'll still need some oxygen support after she's released. Some say it's pretty likely, but others have said a lot of the babies there are off of it by the time they are released. Lung improvement is really just a time and growth issue, so if she still needs a little bit of oxygen support by the time she meets all of the other requirements it wouldn't keep her from being released. Regardless, we aren't too concerned considering what we've made it through already.

I'm thinking it must have been all of Morgan's special visitors last weekend that made for such a great week for her. 

Taking a Mulligan

Tuesday morning Morgan was moved to the Level II NICU at a hospital just down the street from our house. Thursday morning she was moved back to the Level III NICU in the medical center. It appears that even though we discussed the move with all of the doctors involved, we forgot to clear it with one very important person...Morgan.

The neonatologists in the medical center and the nearby hospital both agreed that Morgan was stable enough to make the transition and her needs were well within the capabilities of the Level II NICU. Also, Shelly and I would be able to visit even more often and have more opportunities to give Morgan her bottle feedings.

Well, Morgan must have really bonded with her nurses and doctors in the med center because by Wednesday night she was requiring more oxygen and actually had to be moved back to the CPAP. As you would imagine, this resulted in Shelly and I second-guessing our decision to move her in the first place. Fortunately for us Morgan's new neonatologist was more than willing to discuss our concerns and, of course, only wanted what was best for Morgan.

So, even though she did improve overnight, we met with her doctor first thing this morning and decided to move her back to the medical center. It seemed like she was walking the line between Level II and Level III and rather than wait for a setback to force a move, Shelly and I decided to move her immediately. By 2:00 this afternoon she was back in the Sheep Pod in the medical center.

While it didn't quite work out the way we hoped, I think the whole experience was good for us. It gave us an even greater appreciation for the doctors and nurses at the medical center. For them, Morgan is a now a pretty typical NICU baby with pretty typical requirements. At the Level II she seemed smaller and more tempermental than the "feeders and growers" they are used to caring for. And when the people taking care of her are more comfortable, it makes Shelly and I more comfortable.

As I mentioned, she did have a small setback during her time at the new hospital, but nothing to be too concerned about. She'll stay on the CPAP for the time being, but is stable and hopefully will make her way back to the nasal cannula sometime soon. The bottle will have to wait until then, but otherwise her feeds are still going well and she continues to grow. Now, we just have to be patient and know that the next time she leaves this hospital it will be to finally come home.

When's the next road trip?

Transfer

Morgan is still doing really well. She has hit the 4 pound mark and is now wearing clothes, including those Aunt Sherry bought her three months ago. I think the nurses have voted the camo hat as their favorite. She is now maintaining her body temperature well and has been in an open crib for a few days now.

My mom (Karen) came to Houston this weekend for her birthday. She got to hold Morgan Friday night for about three hours. Morgan was asleep the entire time and just wouldn't open her eyes. I convinced my mom not to pinch her as she suggested. I will have to watch my mom. Just kidding. When my brother Steven and his wife LeighAnn came to see Morgan on Saturday, she was wide awake for about fifteen minutes. I think she had to check out the people who brought down lots of clothes, blankets, etc. from their daughters. I love hand-me-downs.

John's mom is finally feeling better and she and William went up there on Sunday to see Morgan. John or I have to be present for someone to hold Morgan so we have made plans for them to hold her next weekend. That will be a lot of fun especially around Halloween.

The eye doctor explained on Thursday that Morgan had Stage 2 ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity, goes up to stage 5). This is when the normal vessel growth becomes abnormal from high oxgyen support and a few other factors. Considering the high oxygen levels that Morgan has been on, we have been ready for eye problems. Stage one and two only require monitoring and it is likely that she may need nothing more than that.

This morning Morgan was transferred to the hospital closer to us. We have been pretty nervous about it but having her closer will mean that we will be able to be there more frequently to participate in her care. She is now considered a level 2 instead of a level 3 so the transfer was possible. They sometimes refer to these babies as "growers and feeders" which is a category we are happy she is in. There were a lot of steps to make sure Morgan would get the care that she needs there. We've met the main doctor and she seems both nice and knowledgeable.

Below are some pictures of Aunt Sherry's outfits and my mom and sister-in-law holding Morgan.

Bottle Feeding!

John's mom called the NICU this morning to check in and the nurse mentioned that she would have another bottle feeding today. John and I didn't even know she had one yesterday so we were eager to hear about it and see for ourselves. Dr. Nawab gave her the bottle yesterday and she did very well with it. Dr. Nawab has been with Morgan from her delivery, through her surgery, and really knows Morgan well. We have been very fortunate to have her. Today they let me attempt it. I felt like it was such a milestone for Morgan. I needed a lot of coaching but the nurse Megan was fantastic and very patient. Morgan doesn't quite have the pattern of suck, swallow, breathe yet. She is forgetting about the breathe part but they said as she matures she will get the coordination down. For now they will do one bottle a day since it takes a lot of energy and the tube down her throat to her stomach will stay and be used for her other feeds.

Morgan had another eye exam today and it all looks normal. She will get these weekly. She is off her Actigall medication and she is 3 pounds 6 ounces!

We have been so fortunate, lucky, blessed....whatever words we choose they all fit. Thanks to everybody for so much support. We can't wait to see Morgan continue along.

Baby Morgan Revealed

Morgan made the next big step in her progress on Monday afternoon when she was moved from the CPAP to the nasal cannula. It still provides a higher oxygen concentration than room air but without the pressure of the CPAP which gave her a headstart on inflating her lungs. Without the pressure, her lungs will have to work a little harder but so far she seems to be adjusting well.

The best thing about the cannula is that she doesn't have to wear the headgear and large nose prongs that were required with the CPAP, so now we get to enjoy seeing her face without them!

A New Pod and a New Room

Morgan has been moved from the Bear Pod to the Sheep Pod. Apparently Bear Pod is typically reserved for more critical babies. They were expecting a new admission and since Morgan has done so well over the past weeks they decided to move her out. Also they said she weighed in at 3 lbs this evening so she continues to grow like she should.

Yesterday they did go down to a pressure of 5 on her CPAP and she hasn't had any problems adjusting, staying in the low to mid 20% range on her oxygen. The day nurse also said that the Respiratory Therapist was actually in favor of taking her off the CPAP completely today and putting her on the nasal cannula. However, the doctor decided not to since she still tends to desat when they remove her from it temporarily to adjust things. At least it seems like a good sign that it's already being discussed.

Here at home, the crib we ordered finally arrived after playing the backorder waiting game. Shelly had been pretty anxious for it since it was the last piece we needed to complete the nursery. Although, I think having it done is just going to make her that much more anxious to have Morgan here too.

Just Growing

Not much news to report but we figured an update was due since we hadn't posted in a few days. Morgan is doing well. Her feedings are still going really well. She is at 25cc every three hours, the max for her weight (2lbs 12oz), and she never seems to have any residuals left. She is also still on the CPAP and seems to stay in the mid-to-high 20's on her oxygen percentage most of the time. She has actually gotten down to 21% (same as room air) a couple of times.

They haven't lowered her pressure any recently, so she is still at six. It's possible they would eventually take her off the CPAP without any more weaning or they could take her down to a pressure of five or four first. Since there is no risk of lung damage with the CPAP like there was with the ventilator, it's mostly just a judgement call by the doctor as to when she is ready to come off and there is not really a need to continuously wean her settings like before.

Since being on the CPAP she has had a few episodes of apnea (lapses in breathing) and bradycardia (slowed heart rate) which are to be expected. It's basically just a consequence of not being completely matured yet, and as long as it doesn't happen too frequently and she recovers from them easily it's not really a concern. They do give her a little caffeine with one of her feedings each day to help combat it, but it sounds much scarier than it really is. Several times it has happened during kangaroo care which the nurse said is common because babies get so comfortable they sleep deeper. If she doesn't recover from it on her own, a little tap on the foot or bottom gets her going again.

Shelly and I have really enjoyed getting to hold her so often. The only downside is trying to make ourselves leave at a decent time during the week. Last Thursday, we got to the hospital a little later than usual and didn't get home until nearly midnight. Oh well, I guess we should get used to a little less sleep over the next couple of months.

Check out my new toy!

We visited Morgan again today after taking a day off from the NICU yesterday. Shelly decided to finally let me hold her again since she had somehow managed to hold her three times since my last turn...she's pretty conniving like that you know.

Anyway, I was obviously excited to see her and hold her again. Since being moved to the CPAP on Friday she has done really well. They have already weaned her from her original pressure setting of 8 all the way down to 6 and an oxygen rate of about 30 percent. Best of all she really hasn't had any apneas since coming off the ventilator so that is a really good sign. She'll have to get down to a pressure of 4 with oxygen in the 20-30 percent range before she'll be ready to come of the CPAP completely, so she still has some progress to make but she's headed in the right direction.

Morgan continues to do really well with her feeds, which are up to 23cc. She is now 2lbs 9oz and has grown to 14.5 inches.

The nurse taking care of Morgan today likes to give her a pacifier after she is fed so that she associates sucking with food. Apparently preemies that were intubated for as long as Morgan don't always like the pacifier at first, but she seems to know exactly what do.

Morgan with her pacifier.

A Tiny Cry

Morgan received the steroid shots for her lungs last Thursday with the reasoning that the side effects of the steroids will be less than that of long term ventillator use. Because of the shots she has been moving right along. Within about a week and a half she went from the oscillator ("rescue ventillator") to the conventional ventillator, and now to the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure). It's not the most attractive thing but it gets the job done. She also hasn't had any apneas and has been doing very well on it. Since there are no tubes pressing on her vocal cords, we also got to hear her cry for the first time this week. It is very faint and we haven't been able to get it on video because of that. I'm sure in a few months when I get the real deal I will look back at that faint cry and laugh.

Since she has been doing so much better we have had and should have many more opportunities to hold her. I have managed to hold her four times now and poor John is still at one. Ha ha. :) Maybe when the newness wears off I will share? I'm just kidding. I will share this week. We also now get more consistency with nurses Before, the nurses who had trainees were caring for Morgan since she offered so many "learning" experiences. Most of the time we didn't mind but I prefer to have the consistency of just a few people.

This last week has been so great for Morgan and us! I am getting very excited about all she has accomplished and all the good things yet to come.

What a Fun Day!

Morgan is doing well on the regular ventillator. She has a small leak in her tube but it isn't causing any problems besides a faint wheezing noise so they are going to leave it alone for now. They are weaning her bit by bit on this ventillator. They have also discussed giving steroid shots over a course of ten days to boost her lung progress. There are some side effects to it but they believe that those may be less than having her on the ventillator for much longer.

John got to hold Morgan today for the first time. She did really well with it, all three hours of it! She seemed so peaceful and comfortable.

Morgan also got some new bed sheets. One of the nurses told us we could bring in some receiving blankets to dress up her area. So the sheets with all of the flowers are new for her. She is also wearing a hat given by Aunt Sherry which came with matching "NICU" outfits. The outfits are designed to easily open with velcro and not get in the way of any cords and IVs. Two volunteers came in and traced the outfits to use it as a pattern to sew additional outfits for the other babies. I guess Morgan is a trendsetter which is a far cry from me and my sweatpants.

Kangaroo Care, Here We Come

What a great surprise it was to walk into Morgan's NICU pod today and find that she had been moved back to the regular ventilator around 11:00 am this morning. And, if that wasn't enough good news for the day, they had already weaned her settings once since the change, and were able to do so again while we were visiting.

Who knew seeing this hooked up to your daughter could be a welcome sight?

Morgan really has come a long way in the last couple of weeks. In addition to being on the regular ventilator again, she is staying around 50% oxygen. She is completely off all the IV medications and now on full feeds so they removed the IV line from her arm today. Her feeds are up to 21cc, which is the max for her current weight. And most exciting of all, she should be ready for kangaroo care again in the next day or two. Once again, thanks for all the prayers and support through all of this.

This feels good, but I think you should hold me for real tomorrow.