Thursday

I GOT TO HOLD ASHTON FROM 3:45 to 6:30 THIS AFTERNOON.  They call it "Kangaroo Care" and encourage all parents who have babies that are stable enough to hold their child skin-to-skin as much as possible.  It was too risky to hold her when she had her umbilical arterial line in, but as soon as that came out today Ashton was ready for some kangaroo cuddling.  She did great and I loved every minute of it.

As for developments today---there are not too many.  Our biggest achievement is that our belly circumference went down almost 2 cm and she lost 8 ounces.  For most premature babies losing wait is a bad thing.  For Ashton, it means she is losing some of the excess fluid she has had since birth.  Ashton weighed 3lbs, 11 ounces at birth.  Unfortunately, about a pound of that was fluid that she does not need and that her body could not get rid of.  She currently weighs 3 pounds, 3 ounces.  We have to be careful how much fluid she loses and how fast she loses it because we do not want to cause other issues (low sodium, low potassium, etc.) which could effect her heart function.

She had a couple of vent. changes today and she handled them well!  They are putting her picc line in tonight which will be the new way to deliver her medicines.  Please pray that all goes well and that she doesn't have any complications from this procedure. 

I'm sure I'm forgetting somethings from today, but I think life in the NICU is catching up with me.  I am exhausted and falling asleep as I type this update.  I want to thank you all again for your prayers for our daughter.  As the doctor told me today, everything can change with Ashton in a matter of minutes.  When he said that, the first thought that entered my mind was to make sure all the folks praying for our baby girl stay updated so they can continue to pray without ceasing.  As hard as the process is and has been I know where the comfort I have felt has come from. 

Brandi