A Few Firsts

Since the last post Elsie has had a few firsts. First, Ryan changed his first diaper on Sunday night. The nurse was doing her regular assessment (which includes changing the diaper, taking a temp, checking blood sugar, and her blood pressure). The nurse asked if I had changed Elsie's diaper (YES! I've changed three now!), and I of course told her I had but Ryan had not. So she talked him through how to change a diaper. He concentrated very intently, stuck his tongue out, and got through it successfully. Daddy and I clapped when he finished. Way to go Ryan! A great milestone.

Secondly, I got to hold Elsie yesterday. When babies are as tiny as she is the NICU practices 'kangaroo care' meaning, you hold the baby skin to skin to keep them warm. We had to tell them in advance so they could get all the IVs and cords on the right side of her isolette, so I could hold her in the chair beside it. One of our favorite nurses had a very busy morning yesterday and made sure she had the IVs placed correctly before we got there at 11:00. We were so appreciative. At any rate, they put a little hat on Elsie, and slid her up under my shirt so her head was right under my chin. She snuggled in and slept for an hour and half and barely made a peep. She fussed when they got her out of the isolette, but the minute she got on my chest and snuggled in she loved it. So did I! Another great milestone for The Baileys. Ryan will be the next to hold her.

Thirdly, we got a call early this morning from the NICU that Elsie needed a blood transfusion. Yesterday evening when they pulled her residual (what is left in her stomach) before they fed her again, the residual was a yellowish color. So they took blood work to make sure there was no infection and did an ultrasound of her abdomen to make sure there was nothing wrong. Blood work came back negative for infection, but it showed that her Hematocrit levels were way down. This is the proportion of blood volume that is occupied by red blood cells, and is an integral part of a person's complete blood count results along with hemoglobin concentration, white blood cell count, and platelet counts. The nurse practitioner we spoke with said this is common for preemies. They think since her feedings were increased, she used all the red blood cells to digest the food, and then was not able to make more red blood cells quickly enough. So she needed a transfusion.

Not fun to get a phone call like that to start your Tuesday, but gosh love those nurses they are so nice, give great explanations, and are very quick to say "nothing is wrong, Elsie is fine, don't worry." Music to our ears. When we got there she was definitely not herself. You could tell she just did not feel well. Hopefully she'll feel better when we get there this evening.

I had my first post delivery check up yesterday. Blood Pressure is better, but I will have to be on the medication for a few more weeks. My incision looks good. I can drive this weekend, and got the okay walk Rudy. He was thrilled to death to hear me ask "wanna go for a walk?"

Love y'all,

Ellen