So just as Maddie starts to feel better and overcome her infection, I seem to have picked something up myself. I woke up in the middle of the night dizzy, nauseous and weak. Still feeling like this in the morning, I took my temperature and sure enough, a 101.8 fever would put me out of commission for the day. I went to the doctor and got some antibiotics, still not sure what exactly is wrong with me and whether or not it's viral or bacterial, but I'm taking antibiotics and prescription ibuprofen to try to knock whatever this is out of my system as quickly as possible. Since I have a fever and don't know why, I wasn't able to go to the NICU today. This was the first day since they've been born that I haven't been able to see them and it literally makes my heart ache.
Today marks 4 weeks since the girls were born. I can't believe it's been a month already. After all that Maddie has been through she has proven to us that she is our fighter. So little and fragile, but with an attitude for days! She always bounces back and shows us just how feisty she is. She has developed a reputation with the NICU nurses for exactly that. Mike took this video and sent it to me tonight, knowing how much it pains me to not be there - and you'll see from this video, Maddie is back in action! Notice how in the beginning of the video she has an arm board on her left arm to hold her arm straight at the IV site (which is strapped down with velcro in three different places), and after flailing her arm around for a few seconds she manages to get it off. Now THAT is classic Maddie!
As of last night, Maddie is up to 2lbs 15.4oz! She's less than an ounce away from being 3lbs! Her stomach seems to be having a problem digesting her food, so today Dr. Kamtorn put her on a medication to help her digest her food easier and it seems to be working already. Other than having this digestive issue, she is doing great. Still on nasal cannula at 21% oxygen, which is room air, so she's not getting any extra oxygen, but she still needs the air flow that she gets from the nasal cannula, which right now is at 3 liters of pressure. Once she gets back up to a full feeding, she will be taken off of her IV fluids, but for now, she still needs them to help provide her with nutrition that she's not getting because she's only getting 5mls every 3 hours.
Melia continues to do excellent. She has done so well from the very beginning. Once she got her respiratory issues cleared up, she has really progressed at an amazing rate. Lia is our grower. She just eats, sleeps and grows. She's like a little weed this little girl. So I figure while Mike and Maddie are off doing active things, Lia and I will be taking naps. ;-) She's now 3lbs 11oz and gaining more and more weight each day. She's taking 35mls of milk every 3 hours and is tolerating these feedings very well. She also remains on nasal cannula at 21% oxygen and her air flow is at 2 liters of pressure.
These little girls are amazing. Every single day they show me more of them and it gives me a glimpse into our future. They are the best thing I've ever done. My biggest accomplishment. They've only been here for a month now and I can't remember what life was life before them. I missed them terribly today. It's crazy how one day without them can make me feel completely upside down.
Now...for daddy's blog....
It has been a very different day, with some new obstacles to overcome. Amanda came down with a fever and had to go to the doctor. We weren't able to get up to the hospital during the day, so I went up by myself this evening.
Very strange being up their without Amanda, but I will be the one that is home during the day, so I might as well get used to it. When I got there, Lia was wide awake. It seems that this is her new witching hour. I needed to feed both of the girls and since Maddie is only taking 5 mls, the nurse and I decided to get her feeding done first. She did really well, and took it all down in less than 15 minutes. I'm thinking once she shows her digestive system is 100%, she will grasp the idea of eating and breathing really well. I can hear her breathe as she eats, while you really need to pay attention to Lia. So once Maddie was done, I decided to take advantage of Lia's activity and get her fed. She came out and started off real well. At least it looked that way. Lia has great form, and looks like she is chugging, but when you pull out the bottle, there has been minimal amounts taken. But she was able to get through about 20mls before she desaturated. She then fell asleep pretty quickly and wanted nothing to do with the rest of the feeding. At this point, I noticed that Maddie was wide awake. I asked the nurse if she could put Lia back and bring Maddie back out. Maddie came out and was still wide awake. I really believe she is close to 100%. She looked like the curious little girl that we were introduced to only one month ago. I left tonight feeling I made a mistake with Lia. In retrospect, I should have taken advantage of her being so awake immediately and fed her first. But the night was definitely a success seeing the return of Maddie.
