Catherine was born. She weighed 2 pounds 2 – ounces. The Doctors told us she has severe underdeveloped lungs due to the low fluid during pregnancy. They also told us her chances are slim and to prepare ourselves for the chance that the doctors will ask for our help deciding if life support should continue. They let me see her on the first day when we had her baptized. The second day, they let Christine see her.
While we were visiting Catherine, the doctor came up to us and said ‘congratulations’. The doctors were amazed at how well she was doing and are now very optimistic. She is receiving bililight treatment for Jaundice and she is being fed a little breast milk. She needed a blood transfusion. It turns out that I have the same blood type, so I went to donate blood for Catherine in case she needs another transfusion. Transfusions are common because they draw a lot of blood for all the tests and babies this small do not produce much blood. And of course, she is on a ventilator because she can not breath on her own with the underdeveloped lungs.
Her second ultrasound of her brain and the genetics tests passed. Her red blood cell count is low and so she will get another transfusion by end of week. Transfusions are somewhat expected however since babies this premature do not produce much blood.
The bililight treatment stopped (for Jaundice) and they removed the feeding IV’s. Her feeding is now up to 18mL of breast milk every 3 hours.
Christine got to hold her for the first time Monday! It’s a very exciting time for us. Catherine liked it so much they even turned down the oxygen support while being held. On the weekend, Catherine decided to pull off the ventilator, so the doctor let her try to breath on her own. But she was not able to push out all the CO2 so they put her back on the ventilator. Since they felt that she did fairly well, they tried again without the ventilator and with the CPAP (with some assisted breathing). So far, she is doing well. However she is putting up a fuss with this new device on her nose. Catherine is now getting 20mL of breast milk every 3 hours that is fortified with Enfamil to help her gain weight. She is up to 1045 grams.
Well, they put her back on the ventilator the following night. She just tired out trying to breath on her own. But after a couple days, the ventilator settings were turned down to its minimum. We expect them to try again without the ventilator this Wednesday or Thursday. We are confident she will make it this time. Especially since she is really starting to gain some weight. She is up to 2 pounds, 10.6 ounces.
Catherine has been off the ventilator for over week now. She is now breathing on her own!!! They put her on the CPAP (oxygen mask) 50% of the time. Her feeding in now 30 mL every 3 hours and her weight is up to 3 lbs- 6 oz. She is looking so good after gaining some weight. The doctor said it looks like she may be able to go home with us in 4 weeks. We are very excited about that.
Wow! Catherine is now up to 4 pounds, 8.6 ounces!!!! She is looking GREAT!!! She is totally off the CPAP and is being weaned off the nasal cannula ( O2 Flow). She is also slowly being introduced to the bottle nipple (and mama’s nipple too!). We have some new photo’s on the images page so please take a look.
We get mixed opinions on when we can take her home. But it could be as early as 2-3 weeks. We are looking forward to dressing her up for Halloween. But it’s a surprise what she is dressing up as.
Catherine is now up to 5 pounds, 14 ounces!!!! Not much else has changed. She is learning how to feed from the bottle. When she can, she will be able to go home. There are times that she is really awake and alert and we can make her smile on occasion.
Catherine is now up to 6 pounds, 13 ounces!!!! She is not learning how to eat. She has trouble swallowing without loosing O2 SAT and Heart Rate. The doctor’s are considering putting in a shunt to her stomach so we can take her home and feed her through the shunt until she can feed from the bottle. We are hoping she starts learning fast so we don’t have to go through that. I’ve added some information on the ‘Catherine’s Story’ page so please take a look. And there are some new photo’s there too!
Catherine is now 7 pounds!!!! Catherine had not been eating well. The NICU staff recommended that we allow her to feel hunger by prolonging her feedings up to one hour. This worked as she began feeding 50mL of milk from the bottle every 3-4 hours. She is back up to 60mL. She lost some weight during this transition but is sure to gain it back soon. If all goes well, we will start preparing to bring her home.
Catherine is not eating as well as she should be so she is not gaining the weight that she has in the past. Our Doctors expect Catherine to go home Wednesday or Thursday if she continues to eat the way she has the last couple of days. We are keeping our fingers crossed hoping for the best. Catherine is now 3 months old!!! And it’s about time for her to go home.
Catherine just turned two this month!. She is doing great. She still has asthma but is expected. We are having a great time with her and very, very happy with her development.