We had some good news today. Emily was stable all of last night and throughout the day. The doctors have been gradually weaning her off of the jet ventilator, and they started weaning her off of her nitric oxide today. She had a chest x-ray which showed improvement in her lungs. They’ve also started feeding her some of Jennifer’s milk, and she tolorated both feedings today. She has also been taken off of the antifungal medication she was on since cultures show no sign of infection, and her platelette counts have been stable. Her biggest problem now is that her neck muscles are strong enough to turn her head, and she wants to look around her environment, which risks dislodging her breathing tube.
Emily was very active today despite the morphine and versed. She opens her eyes quite frequently now and her movements are very deliberate. This evening she kept looking up at a green tube above her which is part of her breathing apparatus. Then she reached out and grabbed it in a single try! We’ve also noticed her rubbing her hands against different textures in her incubator: the leads of the heart rate monitor, the plastic of the tubing, and her bedding. This afternoon she apparently got quite a fright from Daddy. While Tony was looking at her, she opened one eye slightly, then both eyes suddenly opened wide, then shut tight. Then she took another peek before opening both eyes wide again and jerking her arms as if surprised and shutting her eyes tight again. Either she was expecting Mommy or Daddy is very scary looking to her. Yesterday, she had a tube tangled up in her right foot. Tony untangled it for her, and she immediately flexed her toes open, and stretched out her leg until she found the tube and grabbed ahold of it again.
Emily has also developed and interesting range of habits:
Blowing spit bubbles.
When sleeping, sticking her leg straight up in the air and shaking her foot just like her Daddy. (Apparently this is genetic!)
Picking her ear with her index finger.
Putting her finger in her eye.
Grabbing her bottom eyelids with her hands and pulling on them until you see the whites of her eyes.
Grabbing her bottom lip and pulling her jaw open.
Apparently Emily is a very willfull child who likes to explore her environment. Given her penchant for grabbing and pulling, I think it’s safe to say that people with long hair should be careful around our little girl after she comes home!