The leaps and bounds Olivia has made in the last week is nothing short of miraculous. She went from bubbles of 7 on the 30th to high flow on 1/3! Olivia is a rockstar and we are so proud of her strength and resilience.
Here is a little more description about high flow: High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy is a non-invasive respiratory support technique that uses nasal prongs to deliver heated, humidified air and oxygen to premature babies. Olivia is at 5-liters per minute. In order to try and feed her by mouth we need to get down to 2-liters per minute. So like the bubble CPAP machine, we will be trying to wean her down. Right now her oxygen support is steady around 50. So, it is higher than what she was on bubbles, but she is much more comfortable now without everything covering her face.
As you can see, over the last month Olivia has not had any issues gaining weight, which is good, but also maybe a little too much at a time. Right now she is in the 30 percentile for weight but only 1 percentile for height. So we need her height to catch up. When it is off this much, it could cause her to have issues breathing with more weight on her. They have lowered her calories to 24, so hopefully she will start to lean out. But we do love those chubby cheeks. She did lost 40 grams tonight. One night of losing weight is OK, but if it continues to happen that can be an indicator that she may be working too hard to breathe and she may need to go back to the bubbles for a little bit longer. But we will wait and see 🙂
Olivia had another eye exam yesterday. We were actually there for it. I couldn’t watch it because I hate eye things, but Jer watched it. He said it wasn’t too bad. They numb her eyes, so she doesn’t feel anything. There is still no change. She is still in the same phase for ROP, but her blood vessels are not getting longer, so there is some concern for that. She will continue to get weekly eye exams. But if the blood vessels don’t grow she may have to have laser eye surgery in March or April. But we will cross that bridge when we get to it.
Here’s a precious pic of Liv in her cute new outfit she got from her primary nurse Erin.
Lil’ Liv’s Numbers:
- Age: 104 days
- Gestation: 40 weeks + 3 days
- Weight: 7lbs
Until next time…
The One... 
Danielle, Olivia looks so beautiful. 😊Thank you for sharing your Journey, your strength and positive attitude is amazing. I have been praying for Olivia every day and will continue. I look forward to the day when she is finally home with you. She is a fighter, look out World!!