Eleven Weeks, One Day

Emily now weighs 1560 grams (3 lbs, 7 oz).

After having her breathing tube changed yesterday, she still has an air leak today! It is however, much smaller, but the doctor was quite surprised. Earlier there had been a debate about whether or not the tube they put in last night was too big. Apparently it wasn’t! Her gases last night and this morning were good, so her breaths per minute were reduced to 36. When she gets down to 15-20, she will be tried out on a CPAP.

Emily had an eye exam today which showed that her retinopathy has progressed to stage 2 in both eyes. However, it doesn’t seem to be progressing very quickly and ROP usually peaks at 36-37 weeks in most babies. There isn’t even any talk of eye surgery yet, so all in all, it’s actually pretty good news.

Dad finally got to hold Emily today (although she wouldn’t hold still, hence the blurred image). Even though she sleeps while Mommy holds her, she was very active for Daddy. She kept her eyes open much of the time and smiled often, especially when she heard Mom’s voice. We think that she’s definitely laughing at times, and she seems to be ticklish, particularly around her belly. She seemed to be laughing during her bath tonight while Mom was washing her belly.

She’s also moved up to eating 29 cc’s of fortified milk every three hours. Apparently the calories are sticking. Compared to her earliest pictures, she’s huge! If she gains a little more weight, she can be moved to an open top crib.

Tony