July 19th, 2007

Well, slight scare last night. We called in before bed and found out that Megan's abdomen was slightly distended. That means that her intestines were swollen. They did an abdomen xray which was fine and also tested her stool which was fine. They were making sure they didn't see signs of NEC which is a digestive disease that affects about 5% of preemies.

Of course, hearing that news about 10:30 at night really took the wind out of our sails after such a good day. I called this morning at 4:30 am after pumping and they said she was doing better and the swelling has gone down. They will, however, hold her feedings now for several days. She is still getting her IV's for nutrients.

I called at 9:30 am and her second abdomen xray was also fine. The swelling has completely gone down. They think they just increased her feedings a little too quickly. The nurse said that otherwise she is doing well. Her oxygen settings are going down. Last night she was at 30 at the highest and spent most of the time in the 20's which is great. Her vitals / stats have been great and she's just resting. The nurse said that when she was with Megan this morning, Megan had her eyes wide open and was very alert.

The doctor was doing his rounds when I called, so we should find out a little later if they decided to change anything.

I also had a disaster in the middle of the night. I went to the freezer to put the bottles in and the inevitable happened....about 30 frozen bottles came crashing down on me. Poor Bob came running down the stairs to find me desperately trying to keep those dang bottles in the fridge while uncontrollably sobbing. I could be the poster girl for post-pregnancy hormones. My knight in shining armor took care of getting all the bottles put in the freezer and washed the bottles for my pump so I could go back to bed. Only one more day until our freezer comes....

Our visit went okay today. The nurse said that Megan was doing well. Her stomach is all better. She said it was a combo of too much too fast and gas. They expect to resume feedings tomorrow or the day after. She has been doing well with her oxygen settings. The nurse said that Megan is showing many good signs such as moving around, opening her eyes and fighting the nurses. Megan is now notorious for getting mad when the nurses try to move her around.

Her heart rate was pretty high when we were in. I was very worried, but the nurse said she was just agitated at the time. It is just very difficult not to worry when her machine keeps beeping.

We did get to touch her head today. It is soo tiny! Her hair is so soft that you almost can't feel it. When we touch her, it has to be a solid touch. We can't caress her or rub her head b/c that would irritate her and send her heartrate up. She held Bob's finger again today and squeezed his finger. She even tried to pull it a bit! She is certainly a strong little girl (we will have to remember that!)