Hattie’s Blog

1,000 Gram Club 1/22/13

January 22, 2013Melissa

Hattie's oxygen saturation is back up to her normal today. She has had a few desats today but she quickly recovers on her own. Thank you for your continued prayers. We are so proud of Hattie and so incredibly thankful for her strength and progress.

Thank you! Everything in me says "Thank you!" Angels listen as I sing my thanks. I kneel in worship facing your holy temple and say it again: "Thank you!" Thank you for your love, thank you for your faithfulness; Most holy is your name, most holy is your Word. The moment I called out, you stepped in; you made my life large with strength. When they hear what you have to say, God, all earth's kings will say "Thank you." They'll sing of what you've done: "How great the glory of God!" And here's why: God, high above, sees far below; no matter the distance, he knows everything about us. When I walk into the thick of trouble, keep me alive in the angry turmoil. With one hand strike my foes, With your other hand save me. Finish what you started in me, God. Your love is eternal - don't quit on me now.
—Psalm 138 (The Message)

I spent all day with Hattie. I have not kangarooed her since Friday. I've been holding off until I am completely over my head congestion. It's incredibly hard not to hold my sweet girl but I know it's best. We had a great day reading stories from Hattie's new Jesus Storybook Bible from her Aunt Valerie.

Dr. Alexander saw Hattie today and said she looks great! He had been off for three days and said the reason Hattie was misbehaving was because she missed him! Dr. A ordered some ointment for her little nose. The Polysporin will be applied three times per day until her septum is healed. Hattie will have another bilirubin test tomorrow morning to ensure her bili score is still low. When Hattie's PICC line was removed her skin was a little red and raw from the dressing. The doctor ordered some ointment for that as well to ensure she doesn't get an infection.

Hattie gained another half ounce today! She now weighs 1,003 grams, or two pounds 3.5 ounces! Hattie's feedings have increased again to 18 cc of milk. They are also adding the fortifier, vitamins and protein to my milk for additional calories to help fatten her up! The milk is in a syringe and placed in a machine that pushes it through her feeding tube over a 45 minute period.

Chris and Hattie kangarooed for a few hours tonight. I love how he talks to her. He told her all about his day and, of course, asked her if she wanted to go out for ice cream after she finished her dinner. When I look at them all I see is perfect.

categories Hattie Updates, Photos

New Digs 1/21/13

January 21, 2013Melissa

Hattie had a good night with only two desats! One was during her feeding and the other was during her hands on time. It makes us a bit anxious when Hattie desats but we're confident the doctors would tell us if we needed to be concerned. I was so pleased when I called this morning to hear our favorite nurse's voice. On Friday I had requested April to be Hattie's primary nurse. Being Hattie's "primary" means every time April works she is scheduled to care for Hattie. I thought since we moved pods we would no longer be able to have April as our nurse, but April is able to travel to pod 3 with Hattie!

Hattie's incubator was replaced overnight. Her new incubator is much smaller and doesn't provide humidity support. It still regulates her body temperature since she's too small to do that on her own. She will live in her incubator for at least another month. Chris calls her incubator her box or her sneeze guard, I call it her bed, and the nurses call it her Isolette or condo—take your pick!

Hattie is now on full feeds and got her PICC line out! The PICC line removal is a sterile procedure done in her bed by a specialist and is not as invasive as inserting the PICC. Hattie is eating 17 cc of milk every three hours. They are adding human milk fortifiers to my milk to increase her calorie intake. The fortifiers bring her feeds up from 20 calories to 24 calories each. She is also receiving caffeine once per day with her morning feeding.

Hattie's belly button fell off today. (Am I supposed to keep it?) She had a sponge bath in her bed tonight. Hattie now weighs 997 grams, or 2 pounds, 3 ounces! Her night nurse also changed her from the Z-Flo memory foam mattress to a snuggli. The snuggli acts like a swaddling blanket and keeps Hattie snug as a bug. She also has a "froggie" bean bag that fits around her head to keep it positioned properly. Hattie thinks she is bigger than she is and moves her head on her own from side to side.

Hattie's nasal cannula was removed tonight because it was rubbing her little septum raw. She is doing well without the extra push of room air. If Hattie does need some assistance the doctor ordered a "blow by" which is a tiny mask that fits over her nose and blows air at her to stimulate her breathing. They anticipate she may need it while she's eating. Please continue to pray Hattie is able to maintain her oxygen saturation without any assistance.

Hattie had more visitors today. We had a great dinner and wonderful conversation with our sweet friends the Hennessys!

Chris and Hattie kangarooed for hours tonight; he said it was their best kangaroo time yet! Chris played her music and sang to her. I was overjoyed hearing my sweet husband talk to our daughter. Chris told Hattie about all of the people who love her. He told her how much Jesus loves her and how He knows every hair on her head and brought her into this world at the perfect time, not a moment too soon. Chris told her all of the things they're going to do together; almost every day he tells her he's going to take her on ice cream dates, how they won't tell mommy and it'll be their little secret!

Hattie also got the hiccups during kangaroo time: Don't you just love her little squeaks?!

categories Hattie Updates, Photos
tags Audio

Go Away Desats! 1/20/13

January 20, 2013Melissa

We love the weekends because we get to spend time together as a family! We are so thankful for our baby girl and can't get enough of her! It's hard to believe it's been two weeks since Hattie was born. Sometimes it feels like it's been six months and sometimes it feels like our journey into parenthood started yesterday. We cannot imagine our life without sweet Hattie and continue to praise God for her! Hattie wasn't being herself today. She was a little fussy and her machines were beeping a lot because her oxygen saturation was dipping into the high 70s. Her saturation should be between 85-95 and she usually hangs out in the mid to high 90s. The Respiratory Therapist put her nasal cannula back in with just a little bit of oxygen (room air plus 1% oxygen) to help stimulate Hattie's breathing and remind her to take deeper breaths. The RT did not seem concerned and said this is normal behavior for a 28 weeker, but Hattie was worrying us a little bit. We aren't used to her machines beeping! Chris kangarooed Hattie but it was a hard for him to enjoy because Hattie was desating so often.

Hattie's feeding tube was changed today. It's a surprisingly easy procedure the nurse did right in Hattie's bed. It took less than two minutes for the nurse to remove Hattie's old feeding tube and put a new one in. We got to see Hattie's cute little chin with no tape on it for the first time!

Hattie had more visitors today. She is quite popular and Chris and I feel very loved by the continued outpouring of support from our friends and family. Thank you.

We stayed at the hospital until after 11 p.m. waiting for the doctor to make rounds. Dr. Brown met with us and made us feel much better about Hattie's desats today. She said Hattie is acting her age and we should not be worried. Since Hattie's feedings have been increasing so rapidly her little belly is getting very full and pushing up on her diaphragm making it harder for her to take deep breaths. Imagine the feeling after Thanksgiving dinner when you're so full you feel like you can't breathe. Dr. Brown said the nasal cannula will annoy Hattie just enough to remind her to take deeper breaths.

Please pray Hattie does not continue to desat. Please pray she is able to come off the nasal cannula quickly and will not require further breathing support.

categories Hattie Updates, Photos

Takin' it Easy on a Saturday 1/19/13

January 19, 2013Chris

Hattie likes it in her new room. That is evident by her sound sleeping today. In fact, we don't have much to report. She continues to be stable, is eating well and is just so darn cute! A few friends also visited today and Hattie sure liked the attention. I kangarooed with her this afternoon for about three hours and we of course both loved our bonding time together. Hattie's night nurse Maria further explained the benefits of parents kangarooing as often as we do. She told us that the nurses can tell a difference between babies who are kangarooed regularly and those who are not. It's great to know that we are making such a difference in Hattie's development and the countless hours we are spending at the hospital are worth it.

Melissa has the sniffles. We're hoping it is not the start of a cold, but she took precaution regardless. She didn't touch Hattie and wore a mask when near her today. Please pray that Melissa does not get sick so that she can continue to visit the NICU daily.

Because Hattie was so peacefully cocooned in her bed today, we didn't have much opportunity to take photos, but I will still leave you with one from yesterday. As I look into the big beautiful eyes of my little girl, I can't help but to know that she was created in the perfect image of God and is an integral part to His plan for the world.

categories Hattie Updates

Level 2.5! 1/18/13

January 18, 2013Melissa

Hattie's bilirubin level was back up again to 6.3 but not high enough for her to go under the light. She continues to tolerate her feedings well and is now up to 11 cc of milk every three hours. She will increase to 12 cc at 2:00 a.m. Once she is up to full feeds her PICC line will be removed! I kanagrooed Hattie for four hours today and we both loved it! She had both arms and legs sprawled out on me like a frog; I think she was trying to give me a big hug. One of the nurses told me if all mommies and daddies visited their babies and kangarooed as often as Chris and I do their babies would be as healthy as Hattie!

Right after I put Hattie back in her bed I overheard the charge nurse say baby Harper would be moving. Great news; Hattie graduated from level 3 NICU in pod 2 to "level 2.5" NICU in pod 3! Pod 3 is still technically considered level 3 NICU but it's a small step down and a small step closer to Hattie coming home! I am feeling a little nervous about the move knowing it's only been 12 days but realize the doctors would not make the decision to move Hattie if she wasn't ready.

The nurse informed me they would be moving Hattie in about an hour. I called Chris to share the good news and he was on his way. I quickly ran downstairs to get some water and use the bathroom and when I came back up Hattie had been moved! I was a little upset I missed them moving her in the less than ten minutes I was gone. I must have envisioned a graduation ceremony or parade complete with confetti, music and applause. In reality, it was just a few nurses unhooking all of her machines, wheeling her bed down the hall and hooking all of her machines back up in her new room. Nevertheless, moving pods was a big milestone for Hattie and I was sad I wasn't there to see it happen.

Pod 2 has nurses in the room 24/7, each nurse caring for two babies. The rooms have four to eight babies in them. There is often a lot of dinging and noise from other babies, parents, nurses and Respiratory Therapists. Pod 3 is a little different. Here, two babies share each room and each side is divided and very private; they feel less like a hospital room. Hattie's new room even has a window! Each nurse cares for three babies and won't be in the room 24/7, but are central monitors that are watched constantly.

We are grateful Hattie is stable enough to move to pod 3. Praise God! It makes us a bit nervous that this has happened so quickly because we still have the fear of the honeymoon phase in the back of our minds. Please pray Hattie continues to thrive in her new environment and for us to give our worries to God.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give him thanks in song.
— Psalm 28:7