A lot has happened in the last week. The rollercoaster of the NICU has continued. Let’s jump in!

On Tuesday Olivia began not doing well. She was still on the antibiotics but things were not getting better. Her CO2 was high, she had a fever, her heart rate was high, and she was needing 85% oxygen support. Needless to say, Tuesday night we were calling every hour to check on her, praying things would improve. By about 2AM on Wednesday she was doing better. Her CO2 was back to normal range, her temp was good, her hear rate had lowered, and she was at 50% oxygen. We are unsure of what caused the issues, but it could have been influenced by her being hot from the isolette.

On Thursday, the antibiotics were wrapping up and we were not seeing the improvement on her oxygen support that we were hoping for. The x-rays also still showed fluid in her lungs. They decided to test to see if the pneumonia had cleared and if she had any other respiratory viruses. Everything came back negative. So with her being cleared of the infection, the doctors suggested we start a ten day regimen of steroids to try and strengthen her lungs. After only one dose we started to see some improvements.

Friday, she was doing well. I got to the hospital and we were just hanging out with one of our favorite nurses, Erin. I knew a new baby was coming into our pod soon, and at some point I may have to step out while they got the baby settled. Around 6PM, the baby came in. I tried not to look to allow for privacy, but overheard that he was a micro-preemie like Olivia. I saw the dad following behind closely to the bed as they settled him in and began to get him all set up. One of the nurses spoke to the dad and told him he could get a pic so he could show mom and and their family. What I was not expecting from myself was to lose it emotionally. I tried to hide in our little corner behind a curtain and not show anyone I was upset. I began to think about how this is what happened with Olivia and Jeremy. It made me so sad. And then thinking about what this mom is going through, remembering what I went through. So confused and worried. It was too much. So, when they told me I had to leave the room and it was going to take an hour before we could come back, I was happy and sad. Happy to leave that situation, but sad to leave Livy. To add to the chaos, Verizon phones are having issues in the hospital. Jeremy was meeting me there and hadn’t arrived yet, and I was not able to get a hold of him. Once I got downstairs, my service was back and he was just getting to the hospital, so we decided to grab dinner. Out of all the places to choose we decided to go to Iron Horse Tavern. We randomly ran into our friends The Westbrooks. It was so good to see them and really perfect timing with all the chaos that had happened. We visited on the sidewalk and then headed to eat. We finally made it back to the hospital around 9. We unfortunately missed Cares, but got to see our girl and read her some bedtime stories.

Today, we headed to the hospital and when we got there Olivia was still doing well. It’s so nice to have a couple of positive days in a row. Her oxygen support has continued to stay down, as well as her CO2, and they have been able to wean her down on the jet. This has happened before, so we are being cautiously optimistic that she is turning a corner and heading in a positive direction. On top of that, I got to hold her again. This time for over two hours! It was perfection. For a period of time she was awake and alert, looking at me, and then she fell asleep in my arms and I didn’t want it to end. Looking forward to this happening more as her health improves.

A couple of other highlights:

• Earlier this week, Olivia had her first eye exam and it went well. Everything is looking good so far. They will examine her eyes every two weeks (or every week if they see concern), until we leave the NICU.
• Livy is gaining some weight! As of last night she was 2lbs 12.6oz! So, in the next few days she could be 3lbs! Our little girl is growing.

Lil’ Liv’s Dates:

• Age: 47 days
• Gestation: 32 weeks and 3 days

Until next time…