A Feisty One

Daddy said Marlo was very feisty today. :) She is super determined for such a little gal. As I have said before, she keeps everyone on their toes and is the cause of many worried looks because of her feisty little attitude. Grabbing, Kicking, Arching, and whatever else she can muster up with her tiny little body seems to be the source of many conversations. She is truly the talk of the town...NICU town that is.

More milk today. She is up to 14cc's every three hours, and tomorrow will be at what is considered a full feed, at 16cc's. One of my favorite things that happens each day is to watch her reaction as they swab her mouth, which they call oral care, with milk. She absolutely loves it, and rolls her tongue around and sucks and smacks on the vent tubing. I'm pretty certain it's one of her favorite times of the day too.

Her CBC today was excellent. There is no sign of infection, and there is also no need for her to have another blood transfusion at this point. That was a wonderful report. Most of the morning was sunshine and roses...

Then with the afternoon came a scare, and lots of action. She dropped pretty low this afternoon in her oxygen saturation levels, scaring her Daddy and the nurse. After another chest x-ray and a little talking it over they decided she needed a dose of Lasix to help get some of that fluid from her lungs out a little faster. They think this will help her stay a bit more steady on the oxygen levels. We will be glad when that happens. I think we both hold our breath every time that machine starts to beep at us with a warning that she has gone too low. We leave everyday in a state of exhaustion that is unexplainable, from the tension of the ups and downs through the day.

If her growth stays trending steadily up, we may get a shot at changing her to a different type of ventilator. It would mean no tube down her throat, and that would mean, less things to grab and pull on! :) Also, a huge deal for me...without that tube down her throat, I will be able to hear her cry for the first time. I can't tell you how amazing that will be. I know, who wants to hear a baby cry? Well this Mama does, and it will be something that makes me cry right along with her.

The kids have a visit with her tomorrow. I love to see their faces when they look at her. It's a good feeling to see the love pouring out of each of them for their tiny sister. I love my family. :)