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.