Day 83

Alright, my bad, it’s been over a week since the last update, I blame Isabelle and she says sorry for the delay. Izzy has been doing really well, so we’ve been busy at home trying to get the house ready for her arrival. The crib is up, diapers are ready and the automatic formula machine is warming up. (More on that in a future post)

Izzy had a wonderful 4th of July and had a very patriotic photo shoot with the night nurse. She also enjoyed her first ride in a stroller and took a trip to her old neighborhood to visit the doctors that helped her the first few weeks she was here. Everyone loved her outfit and couldn’t believe how much she changed.

The last time I posted, 12 days ago, she had just hit the 5lb mark, and today we are pleased to report that Izzy has officially hit 6lbs 2oz. Growing like a champ! She has outgrown some of the smaller preemie clothes and will probably try some of her newborn outfits in the next few days. You are probably wondering, how much longer in the NICU?! Well, join the club because we are asking the same question. Before Isabelle can graduate and come home she has a few more milestones to hit and tests to pass. She has already demonstrated her ability to keep her temperature up and heartbeat steady, so those have been checked off the list. The only skill left to master is to drink all her milk at every meal. Right now she is eating about 80% by mouth, but the other 20% goes down the feeding tube when she becomes too tired to finish. Some days she drinks 3 or 4 full bottles but then the next day she protests and sleeps through a meal. It’s only a matter of time before she has the strength and stamina to fully eat by mouth but she is the boss and will set her own timeline. We know she is getting close because her nurse has started to say things like, “I’m going to miss you Izzy”, and “Get that car seat ready!”. Stop teasing us Karen! But we probably won’t know the actual discharge date until about 2 days before we take her home so until then we just will wait it out like the rest of you.

Once she is fully bottle feeding she will need to pass the dreaded Car Seat Test….Dun Dun Dun! Okay, that was a little dramatic, it isn’t as scary as it sounds. Before they let her roll out of the hospital they want to make sure she can sit in a car seat and maintain her oxygen levels. The slightly bent position in the seat can sometimes restrict breathing, cause overheating or slow her heart rate to a dangerous level. So, they stick Izzy in her car seat, and watch the monitor for 90 minutes. If she does well, we can take her home, but if she has trouble…. the test would be repeated the next day. Usually it goes well, but we’ve been told some babies need more than one attempt to pass. Hopefully soon they will ask us to bring in the car seat to prep for the test.

I think that covers Isabelle’s last 12 days, sorry we don’t have more exciting news but each day is almost identical to the last. Eat, sleep and repeat until you notice a larger baby. Hopefully we will have exciting news soon, I’ll try not to wait another 12 days.

UPDATE! I wrote this post this morning on the train, and later in the day the Doctors decided to take out her feeding tube! This is good news and brings her one step closer to going home. She will continue to drink her bottles and gain strength to hopefully go home soon. We will keep you updated. 

Bonus Video if you decided to read this whole post. Thanks!