What a Little Porker!!!!

Okay, okay before you all say something about the Global News spot....they have changed the broadcasting time to Wednesday Jan 14th at 6pm during the Family Health section. My apologies but we only received the call from "our agent" today at 2:00 pm that the news bit time had changed. So sorry but think of all the up to date news you guys are watching. Hee Hee.

Well we are just so amazed at our little girl, here we were hoping to get her to around 5lbs before we got her home and she has already surpassed that. She just keeps packing on the pounds and is now weighing in at 5lbs and 12 ozs, and she gets a new weigh in tonight. With the nursing staff telling us about another month before she gets home and with her weight record, we are now going to change our outlook and hope we get her coming home at around 7 1/2 to 8 pounds. She is actually fitting into some of her bigger preemie outfits and filling them in quite nicely.

Addison continues to do well with her breastfeeding and has been able to latch on most times that we try. She is getting good milk transfer when she gets the mechanics going, but still does not last too long. Mom also has to learn to burp Addison better so her tummy does not feel so full which gets Addison sleepy and too comfortable to continue on. The lactation consultants are pleased with her progross in that area and believe that Addison may be able to try two feeds a day sooner than later. The biggest problem is Addison's endurance to keep her awake for a full feed which we have not even come close to yet. With a faulty scale in the NPCU,we also have problems getting accurate readings on Addison's pre and post feeding weights so we are exactly unsure how much milk she is actually getting. Umpfff!!! So we guesstimate and she seems to take in whatever we give her by tube anyway!! She really seems to have responded well to the Reninatadine medication for her reflux and has really cut down on her reflux spells. She still manages to get those dreaded hiccups though, they really are cute though and she is so loud when she has them. She sounds like a little pup when it yips. Tooo cute. Mommy got a little uncomfortable during a feed the other day and spoke with one of the lactation nurses. Mommy was advised that it definitely looked as though she was getting "Thrush" again, which is a yeast infection in your breasts. Mommy was advised to get treatment of Genetian Violet going right away and they would watch Addison as well for any signs. Unfortunately before the day was over however, mommy was sent home with a fever and the possibility that the infection was going deeper into the breast, causing blocked ducts and severe pain. They believed that possibly the dreaded Mastosis was starting to come into mommy's system and she was ordered home on bedrest and to a doctor for antibiotics if it got any worse. We cannot seem to catch a break here. This broke mommy's heart of course, this means no visits with Addison for the next few days as bedrest is not an option and a setback for getting Addison to go to breast. Also the fear that she may be sick with something else and have passed it on to little Addy. With tears in her eyes mommy knew the nurses were right, she needed to get healthy to be strong for Addy. Soo daddy will visit with Addy and bring up fresh pumped breast milk for Addison. In the event that mommy is sick with something else, she will be producing antibodies in her breastmilk that will be important for Addison to have to fight off any coming infection and to build up her immune system.

Addison has continued to progress on her oxygen and is now continuing on a pressure of 10% and is now down to a flow of 50. The doctors believe that we will leave her at this rate for a few days and then have to come up with a plan of action for our next step. Normally they do not move down the flow as they have on Addison, so we need to figure out if she really needs the oxygen or she is using it as a crutch, because it is all she has known since birth. We hope for the latter of the two of course, no oxygen would be a wonderful thing. She has actually gotten to the point where she is saturating so well, having less spells with her reflux, that the nurses have actually removed one of Addison's monitors. This was the saturation monitor (the bright red light on Addison's foot or hand) that read her saturation levels, so that is one less wire and ringing bell we have to worry about. This really makes mom and dad concentrate on Addison's behaviour, color and breathing now to ensure that all is good in Addison's little world.

Mommy and daddy received some wonderful gifts this weekend from Aunt Betty and Uncle Les. Somehow behind mom's back, daddy secretly had passed on a copy of Addison's footprint to them. They took this to a jeweller and had a copy of it engraved on a pendant. Daddy didn't know this but they secretly made one for him to, so now they can carry a piece of Addison with them everywhere they go. Truly a special gift!!

A Week in Review

It seems as though I have let time get away from me this week and missed putting in a day or two. Thank you for all being so patient and interested in Addison's progress. I have gotten a few reminders this week from friends and family that they check on this page for Addison's progress, so my apologies I am a few days behind.

Addison is doing really well (my famous line....knock on wood). Our little angel has made us soooo proud....ahh we just love her!!! When we started off this week Addison weighed in on Monday at 5 lbs and 4 oz for bath night!! We were so excited, she had made it to the 5 lb mark we had been hoping for. What a little fighter. Now as of Friday evening bath night, the little monkey has gained another whole 5 0z over 5 days and is now weighing a whopping 5lbs and 9 oz!!!!! Can you believe it. We were all concerned when we saw this weight coming back on, especially with two weigh ins with an increase of 125 g each time. However on Thursday the doctors completed a chest x-ray to see how Addison's lungs were doing (for fluid retention and wet lungs) and the x-ray looked "suprisingly" clear. We were so happy!!! We understand however that this does not mean Addison may not need the diurectics again for fluid retention etc, but to hear that her little lungs were looking alot better was surely a relief for us!

On Monday Addison had both a hearting test and was reviewed by the Physiotherapists. Addison passed her first hearing test, which consisted of three electrodes placed about her forehead and one behind each ear. A stimulus is sent to the ear and the electrodes measured the transfer of this information to the brain if Addison recognized it. We were advised that she is still at risk and will continue to be retested simply because of her gestational age and premature birth. The physiotherapists reported that they began an assessment on Addison and were able to do some of her eyes and hearing, and were satisfied with both. Addison was exhausted and could not stay awake for long so the full assessment could not be completed. We discussed some exercises like "eye tracking" and "voice stimulus" that we can do with Addison when she is awake to strengthen and encourage the growth of her eyes and ears. Addison will not be able to escape the physiotherapists for long however, as they will come back next Tuesday to do the full workover.

On Tuesday Addison, mommy and daddy, were made T.V. stars again and did another interview for Global Television on the training they had received for the "Period of Purple Crying" program at the hospital. Watch for the spot on Global news scheduled for January 13th during the Family Health section. Addison was a little more tired for this T.V. interview, but she still did fantastic and stole the show just because she is just so darn cute.

On Wednesday Addison had her eyes retested for ROP and results were good. Her eyes both remain at a Level 1 and Stage 2 (Level 0 and Stage 3 being ideal), and she remains at a low risk for surgery at this time. She will be retested again in two weeks and we will again anticipate the outcome. We have experienced with other parents in the NICU that anything can change on a given day, so any test done and results are so important for these little guys. One of Addison's friends has already received the surgery and another is still being tested for any progression with surgery dates pending. Our thoughts and prayers go out for a fast recovery for one family and no surgery for the other waiting family.

Addison has remained stable on her oxygen, with only a few self-recovering desats and a few bad spells as a result of that dreaded reflux. She was actually prescribed Reninatadine for her reflux on Thursday to help with the reflux and acid burning, which she receives twice a day via her feeding tube. Her oxygen remains at a pressure of 10% and she has been moved down to a flow of 60 and seems to be managing well. We are continuing to move on this slowly as we are now concentrating on Addison's feeds. We have been advised that it may be inevitable that Addison comes home with oxygen, which we have accepted. She just seems to need that extra little push. Addison continues her feeds on a modified "bolus" through a pump and is now receiving 49 ml over an hour period. We attempted to move this down to have her feeds put in over 45 minutes but Addison did not respond well and began to desat. She was moved back to the hour as we want to continue having feeds be pleasurable. Bloodwork completed this week showed that Addison's proteins were on the high side so they have discontinued the addition of protein powder to her milk, however she still continues to receive the addition of Human Milk Fortifier. We spoke with our Nurse Kathy and were advised that they are dipping into my milk supply at the hospital and we may actually have to bring some from the freezer to the hospital. Mom and dad had received some frustrating news this week that Addison now may also possibly be coming home on a feeding tube as well. We always had it in the back of our minds that this may be a possibility, but we were somewhat confused as we had not even attempted breast or bottle feeding fully yet, so why was it being suggested coming home on a feeding tube. We would have to be trained to be able to insert three feeding tubes each via her nose, so that we could be in control of her feeds at home. We did not have any problems with this, we just were not to sure why when it was not even decided that she was unsuccessful with bottle or breast. We discussed this with one of our primary nurses and they agreed that we needed to attempt oral feeds first and prove them unsuccessful before it be determined whether or not Addison comes home on one. So mom met with a wonderful nurse; Diane who is also an experienced lactation consultant and learned the proper methods to gently wake Addison for her feeds and attempt to get a response from her that she is willing to try the breast. Addison made her first attempt on Friday and did an excellent job. She was very awake and gave us several cues like smacking her lips, licking and opening her mouth. Diane instructed mom on proper holding techniques and then methods and procedures to get Addison latched on the breast. Addison was a superstar and proved that she was indeed willing to give breast a go and latched on with ease. After a few tries she got the "suck, swallow, breath" mechanics down, which many preemie babes have the most issues with and had a good run at the breast for about 15 minutes. Mommy had tears in her eyes seeing her little superstar hard at work again, and relished in the feeling that she was finally doing her part as a "mom" for little Addy. What a wonderous feeling that all the hard work at my pumping constantly everyday, every two hours had finally payed off. Addy was pretty pooped after her big accomplishment and was then out like a light for the rest of the day. Babies expend a tremendous amount of energy and calories breastfeeding, so mommy was advised that this is something she will try only once a day to start Addison out. It was clearly put that Addison may not be successfuly every time, but she definitely had the mechanics down which was the first big step. Over the next few days we will actually begin taking weights of Addison pre and post breast feeding to attempt to see how much milk she is actually receiving. If she continues to be successful, we can then try two feeds on breast during the day, and possibly daddy with a supplemental bottle. Not the easy and natural process I thought it would be, but nonetheless very rewarding. Sooo....maybe coming home on a feeding tube may mean only for partial feeds to supplement the times that Addison may not be strong enough to do complete oral feeds but strong enough to come home. Not quite sure, so we trudge on with the whole process. Nurses advised mom and dad that the next step may involve mom and dad going into the Care by Parent unit, where you actually stay in the hospital and your baby moves into the room with you. The hospital has small one room units with a bed and monitors for the babies that you move into and complete full care for your child, with a nurse on staff for minor assistance, and any problems that you may encounter. This allows parents to have more confidence in taking their little miracles home and deal with any medical issues that may arise. Wow I cannot even imagine having the possibility of Addison so close to us for a full day and night, how wonderful that will be. Scary but an absolute dream. Nurses advised that we should expect at least another month in the NPCU unit prior to Care by Parent, god willing all goes well with little Addy. She truly is a little miracle and I admire her strength more each day.

Progress, progress, progress

Addison has continued to progress this week and is doing really well on her oxygen and feeds. Our nurse Deb has been able to ween her down to 10 % on her oxygen, and Addison is still saturating well. We attempted to "sprint" with Addison off her oxygen completely the other day, but she was not fooled. After approximately 2 hours she noticed the oxygen was gone and had a bradycardia spell. She obviously still needs it so we will try and try again in a few days. Deb laughs as she said that the oxygen she is getting is next to nothing, but after being on it so long these little munchkins sometimes have a hard time letting go of it. We understand, she has put up a good fight and we will continue to let her go at her own pace. Addison continues to do well with her feeds and we have gotten her down now to where she is receiving a 3 hour volume feed over 1 hour. This is great, the next step is to get her down to a true bolus feed of a 3 hour volume feed over an 1/2 hour. She is already starting to wake up prior to her next tube feeding and is showing real interest in rooting and waking up hungry. We actually attempted some breast latching the other day, which she did not to bad on. It was such a great feeling to know after all of this hard work pumping to keep up my milk, that I may actually get truly feed my little girl soon. Makes you feel like a real mom finally. As you can see the new cooler we purchased for the breastmilk is full, Greg is wondering what the heck we are going to do with more milk!!! Poor guy. Well the milk is doing Addison well, her last weigh in yesterday was 2195 grams or 4lbs and 13 oz. She is growing strong. Doctors have finally removed her from her diurectic; Aldactazide as they feel that she has done well to rid her body of the extra fluid. There was also concerns that her calcium levels had increased and sodium levels had decreased because of the medication, so it was time to remove her. Bloodwork was completed today and Addison levels for her calcium and sodium had come back to normal, and her platelet and hemoglobin levels were all great results. Addison still continues to struggle with her reflux, and needs to be watched when she has a cough or starts her feed. Mom and dad try to stimulate her to keep breathing through these episodes to avoid her heart rate or saturation levels to drop. They are getting pretty good at noticing this and helping Addison fight through it, so her recovery is much better and done on her own without extra oxygen assistance.

We have really started to notice changes in Addison, she really is turning into quite the cute little lady. All of the nursing staff tease us that she is one spoiled little girl, but we don't mind, we are going to continue to shower our little girl with love. She deserves it. The nurses spoil her too, which is great to see. They always have fun picking out her next outfit from her repetoire of clothes from all the wonderful gifts she has received already. Pink seems to be the hit colour, including this fav Pink Kimono wrap from Andrea (she has two boys so I am sure she had fun shopping for this one, Thanks Andrea). We are frequently getting comments that Addison really looks like her daddy, with a few features from mom, including the long eyelashes, even though Addy's are blonde. Her hair has really turned quite fair, with a touch of redness to it from the Baker side of the family. Hee Hee. She continues to amaze us everyday, showing us a new smile, letting out a new "coo", and acting so much more alert and attentive to us talking to her. We are soaking it all in and proud of her continued progress. We fall in love with her more and more each day, it truly is amazing how these little wonders can steal your heart.

Mom and dad have been working hard at home and have almost completed Addison's room. There are a few last minute touches, including getting Addison home to fill the room with baby!! We have noticed that there are a few more things we will have to complete that we had been putting off, but because of Addison's chronic lung disease they will need to be done. We cannot keep the old carpet in downstairs because of old dust, etc, so our next project is ripping that up and cleaning up the front room, to make it as clean as possible for her little lungs to remain healthy. But whatever is necessary, will be done.