February 24

Not a ton to report on, but I know that if I go one more day without posting, then my niece will start freaking out. So here you go, Riley :)

Elsie is doing pretty good; we were going to go see her on Saturday, but a big snowstorm made us change our minds. So I talked to the nurse on the phone instead, who told us that Elsie's oxygen level on the CPAP was down to 28, which is good. The lower the number, the better. She is finished with her antibiotics and also finished her last dose of steroids, so her PICC line came out of her arm. She is still doing great with her feeding and digestion. Did I mention that she's up to 2 pounds? Well. Let me tell you now. On Thursday, Elsie was up to a whopping 2 pounds 2 ounces! I don't know what her weight is currently, but we were so excited that she finally hit that 2 pound mark. It ain't very big, but it's a lot bigger than she used to be.

The nurse practitioner called us this afternoon, wondering if we were going to be coming to visit Elsie today, because they were almost out of breast milk. Also, Elsie's oxygen needs had been going up most of the day, and they thought that she could use some snuggle time with Mommy. Happy to oblige, I gathered up a bundle of frozen milk bottles (we have literally hundreds in our deep freeze), and drove to the hospital. Her oxygen was up to 60, which freaked me out a little. I had never seen it that high since she has been off the vent. The respiratory therapist (Abby--she makes me laugh) told me that it was pretty common for babies to go up on their oxygen needs after they come off their steroids. Since Elsie's last dose of steroids was yesterday, I guess she's feeling the strain of not having that extra "boost" from the drugs, and was having a hard time. I donned the lovely hospital gown and held Elsie on my chest, and she was able to decrease her oxygen a little bit while I was there. It makes me feel pretty good that I have that power to help her; I mean, it's not a magic cure by any means, but it seems to help her stabilize her numbers and be calm.

Hopefully she can keep her oxygen down and not need to go back on the vent, but if she does go back on the vent, then it's not the end of the world.

Also, while I held her, Elsie was wrapped in a flannel blanket that I made for her and brought from home. That's another thing that helps me feel not completely helpless. I can't bring her home yet, but I can bring a little blanky from home to her. I'd post a picture of it now, but I'm just too darn tired right now, so I'll just tell you, it's adorable. And she wore a knit hat that was completely too big for her little head, but it was so very cute.

And now I'm going to go to bed. My 5am pumping session is going to be here before I know it. Good night, world.