550 GRAMS :)

Today is Tuesday, January 19, 2010 and my little darling is the new heavyweight champion of the world! She is weighing in these days at 550 grams. Her little face and body is starting to fill out. I just love her chunky little cheeks- I can't wait to be able to kiss them. Our visit today was a sweet one- she was awake almost the whole 1 1/2 hours I was there. It brings joy to my heart to watch her move around, smile, open her eyes, and react to my voice. Her skin has developed enough now that we can touch her a bit more without the risk of infection. I have to hold her little hands and feet each time I go in- I just cannot help myself! Her milk intake is steadily increasing- she is up to 1.3 ml/hour. I am very thankful to report that she is digesting the milk pretty well- the surgeons are happy with her progress. Her blood pressure and heart rate were looking good. She is off of the blood pressure meds and is holding her own. She is still peeing on her own and pooping some of the time on her own and sometimes with a little help from the surgeons. Her stomach is looking good and it is soft. I am so very thankful for all of these positive things happening now with my little one.
She is still having trouble with her lungs. The doctors seem to be at a standstill for the moment- the chest tubes must stay in even though they don't seem to be working properly. Taylor has had trouble with pneumothorax (collapsed lungs) and bullae (hard pockets of air that will not pass through the lung wall). She has one bullae now that does not want to dissipate. The chest tubes are staying in place to "catch" the air when the bullae bursts. If they are not left in place, the bursting bullae could cause serious damage to the lung. There is a surgery that can help with the lung problems, but Taylor is not stabilized enough to handle the procedure. We are praying that the bullae bursts on its own soon so the chest tubes can come out. (They are quite painful for her.) Her left lung is working extra hard to help out the right lung with the bullae and chest tubes. The ventilator settings are quite high- they are consistently higher now than the past few weeks. Please pray that her lung problems clear up soon.
We tell her each time we visit about all the wonderful friends and family that are rooting for her. She is doing a wonderful job fighting and we are proud of her progress. Thanks for your continued support for our petite princess Taylor Marie.