Just a couple days after Julie’s 2nd surgery and already she showed signs of improvement…
Julie turned one month old yesterday. Sarah and I visited for about 4 hours last night – she
needed to do some pumping and it was suggested that she be in the room with Julie. So, we didn’t get home until after 1 am.
Julie is doing well. She is off pain meds. Her lungs are clearing, but she needed to have her ventilator settings increased. She is starting to eat again and gave us her first full diaper after surgery.
The lid of the baby box was up and she seemed to handle the cold without a heating lamp. She was swaddled to keep her warm and keep her hands away from the tubes. I’ve included a picture of her from a few days ago when she was also swaddled.
Her weight is up. She doesn’t appear to have any swelling or excess fluids, but I wouldn’t be surprised if most of this weight is from the IV fluids.
Just before we left, Julie appeared to be trying to talk to us through the tubes. It was a long night and hard to leave.
Andy and Sarah Horn
PS Julie has a new roommate who was born yesterday.
Despite the emotional difficulties, Sarah continues to pump for Julie. Sometimes she has a good session and sometimes less than she hopes for.
I’ve learned from several sources that emotional health highly contributes to breast feeding results. Sarah looked for any advice to help her along while she couldn’t hold or care for Julie properly. This problem effects most NICU mothers who have a hard time directing their emotions. Frankly, most women dry up shortly after birth.
The staff hoped having Sarah and Julie in the same room would help Sarah continue producing at high rates to meet Julie’s increasing demand for milk. Of course, nothing quite replaces physical contact in the house that Mom calls home.
Despite the good signs of breathing, weight and clearing lungs, Julie still needs more oxygen than the day before. This back and forth plays havoc with our emotions. We keep wondering whether Julie has improved or simply traded one set of symptoms for another.
The best medicine came from Julie herself. Shortly after a feeding session we heard Julie’s voice for the first time. The feeding and breathing tubes have prevented her from making any sound up to this time. The nurses had heard soft cries while changing tubes, but this visit had been our first chance to heard Julie’s voice as she breathed out past the tubes.
Sarah and I couldn’t believe it! We needed the nurse to confirm what we heard. It only lasted a few seconds and we had to quietly stand right next to the baby box to hear. I can’t begin to express our emotions as we heard her for the first time – progress indeed!