Follow me on this one: we are so close to being so close to going home. Ruthie has made some amazing strides in the last few weeks. Just three weeks ago, she was still on the ventilator and in an isolation room. Then things started to take off, just like all the drs/nurses/previous NICU families said it would. On a Thursday, she was given steroids to get her off the vent - by Saturday she was extubated. By Tuesday she was off the CPAP and onto the nasal cannula via high-flow oxygen, starting at 4lpm (liters per minute). Wednesday she was at 3lpm in the morning and 2lpm by evening. Thursday she was at 1lpm. The following Tuesday she was moved to NICU 2 and put on low-flow nasal cannula. The next day she started her first bottle. Just a few days ago she was moved to wall oxygen at 0.5lpm and is currently being weaned down to 0.25lpm. She is doing fantastically with regulating her temperature. She started at 30.5C and is now down to 29.3C - she has to get to 28.0C and hold it for 24 hours to be moved to a regular crib.
Our only hurdle now is getting those bottles finished. Right now she is only trying 1x a day, but when she is able to take the entire bottle for a few days, she will be moved to 2x a day and so on, so forth. Once she can take 8 bottles/day regularly for 2 days, we will be OUT of there. =)
We have started to move into the "NICUitis" stage that so many warned us about. The end is so close yet still so far away. We remind ourselves daily how truly BLESSED we have been that her NICU journey has been fairly easy. She has not had so many of the issues that her suitemates have had - she is a very easy baby (so far), never cries, and refuses to burp. =)
Her desats/bradys/apneas are getting less and less with each passing day. She was having several episodes during the day and night when she was on the blender (air/oxygen mixed) but since she's moved to the wall oxygen, she's down to 1-2 episodes in a 24-hr period. Total.
I am learning to let things go. Not an easy thing for me - it never has been. I have never been one to take criticism well, and even when someone says something that is slightly veiled in criticism, I hear it and take it for the worst and my entire day is ruined. There have been a few things about NICU 2 that I do not like and I debated about whether or not to speak up about it or let it go. While something may be a huge deal to me, it may not be to someone else, and I don't want to come off as a total witch about it when they may not have even realized in the first place how much it bothered me. I did talk to a nurse supervisor about a couple of things - one of which was immediately taken care of, the other....time will tell.
We are still in disbelief sometimes that we are even parents. Some days it feels like we just go visit this really cute baby and hold her and coo over her.....then go home. I don't think it will truly sink in for either of us until she is home. We are working on a letter that will be sent out to all our family/friends (just be forewarned, lol) about what our plans will be when we do bring her home - visitation, expectations, etc. While we hope it will not hurt anyone's feelings, we will be doing what WE think is best for Ruthie. Period. =) (All said with a smile.)
We are so grateful for everyone's continued prayers for Ruthie. God is good.
Soon, friends, soon!
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I have been following Ruthie's journey via Brenda C. who has been updating us on her blog. I am so excited for you guys and the progress she has made. You need to do what you need to do when you take Ruthie home to keep her healthy and so you guys can get rest and establish your own family routine. Stand firm no matter what anyone else says/thinks. It's getting to be flu season and all that stuff, so stick to your guns! Congrats on being so close!
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