Thankful for... Googie Pt. 3

Looking back at Googie's 10 day stay in the NICU after birth. It was a scary time for all of us, but it also made us realize how very thankful we are. That seems like a perfect theme as we head into the holidays.


July 26, 2005
1:50 AM UPDATE

I couldn't sleep, so decided to call and check on Googie. When we checked on her a few hours ago at 9pm, she was down to 60% oxygen. I just called to check on her before I tried to get in bed and received the most wonderful news.

As of right now, Googie is no longer on a ventilator and she is breathing room air. She is awake and calm... there is no need for sedation (remember, she was so easily agitated before... and pulling on all her wires and tubes, that's why they were keeping her sedated).

This is no guarantee that she might not have to go back on the oxygen (probably under an oxygen hood- like what she was under while at Spring Hill)... but this is a very good sign. Here's hoping that little spitfire continues to surprise us!

Free at last from the ventilator tube.

3:00 PM UPDATE

Googie stayed on room oxygen for several hours before having to go back under the oxygen hood this morning. At one point she was up to 50% oxygen, but throughout the day it has been weaned down to 23-25%. Our hungry little Googie enjoyed her first bit of real food today. At 11am she was fed 1/2 ounce of formula through the tube in her nose, which goes straight to her stomach. Remember, she hasn't eaten since she was born... she's been getting her nutrition through an IV.

She is no longer under sedation and is sleeping and waking up on her own. The Hub and I were with her for about 3 hours this afternoon. She was sleeping peacefully until about 1:30 when she decided she was hungry again. She took another 1/2 ounce of formula. She continued to cry for awhile, but it was the most awesome sound. We've only heard her cry twice since Thursday night... once right after she was born and again Friday when we got to hold her. Once on the ventilator, she would cry- but no sound would come out.

Her respiratory rates range anywhere from the 30s to the 90s at times. Normal range for a newborn is 30-60.. so she's still breathing quickly at times, but she is staying in the 40-60s more and more... so that's good.

They did an x-ray this morning, but her nurse Karen had not looked at it yet. Still, Karen said she didn't need an x-ray to know that Googie's lungs were getting better and the pneumonia was clearing up. She wouldn't be off the ventilator and on so little oxygen if she was still so sick.

Her billirubin level is at 14.1. Normally when the level is 15, they will put a baby under the Billi light to fight the jaundice. They may go ahead and put Googie under the light just as a precaution.

There is still no word on when she will come home. We have to follow her lead on this... she could continue to make great strides in her recovery and surprise us all (like she did last night) or she could have a couple of setbacks and take a while longer. We'll just leave that up to her.

We're still not allowing visitors at the hospital yet. We just want to do what's best for Googie. I hope everyone understands. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers... the emails and phone calls mean a lot... even if I don't respond to them all. I'm exhausted and still trying to take care of myself, too.

I'm heading back up to see her at 7:30pm tonight. I hope to have more good news to post then!

Look at her pretty lips

10:00 PM UPDATE

This update will be short compared to the others... there's not a big change... Googie is still enjoying her 1/2 ounce feedings every few hours. As I said earlier, they will up her formula a bit tomorrow, probably to about a full ounce every 3 hours.

I didn't write about this earlier, because I forgot... but they have removed the tube that was in through her umbilical cord. It was in place to allow them to do their blood draws without having to stick her every time. Earlier today we were told we wouldn't be able to hold her until that line was removed. That line goes directly into an artery... and if Googie is jostled around too much while the line is still in, it could cause bleeding. Karen, Googie's daytime nurse, estimated it might be a day or so before that line was removed. Imagine my surprise when I saw her tonight and that line is no longer there! Still, I didn't hold her tonight. I wanted to wait until The Hub was with me, so we could both hold her... it seemed like such an important moment we need to share... I can wait a few more hours... and Googie could use the rest... she's come so far in the past 24 hours, I just don't want to rush her.

Googie was still at 25% oxygen tonight... that got pushed up to 28% by the time I left tonight shortly before 10pm. Tonight was the first night shift I had been able to visit. Before, the latest I had stayed was until 6:30pm. One thing I noticed about the night shift... it's louder and brighter than the dayside shift. I'm not sure why... Googie seemed quite agitated tonight, her respiratory rate was rather high in the 70s-90s the entire time I was there. A group of nurses was seated nearby and I felt like they were talking a little too loud. Perhaps I'm being an overprotective mother... perhaps Googie was just fidgety because she's come so far, so fast. I don't know. I do plan to ask the dayside nurse about it though. Googie seems so calm during the day, but I've been told she really shows her temper at night. I wonder if she's getting overstimulated with the noise and brightness?

So that's my update. I may call later tonight and see how she's doing (in fact I'm sure I will). The Hub and I will be back by her bedside by 11 or noon Wednesday. I'll post another update when we return from that... unless there is more spectacular news to report before then!

My pretty little one with Lola, her stuffed cow