Isabella Danielle, born at 24 weeks and 1 day, 1lb 11oz, 12.5in

Zachary Michael, born at 36 weeks, 5lb 13oz, 18.5in

Alexander Charles, FULL TERM, 7lb 1oz, 20in

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Baby Bella Day 39

Getting to the hospital today did not prove to reassure me any more from yesterday’s events. Reading the chart and talking with Carol was somewhat discouraging. The best way to put it is that the little girl did not have a good night. Her oxygen requirement went all the way up to 100 at one point. Danielle, nurse practitioner, almost decided to re-intubate her with the ventilator. Bella had an episode where she needed to be bagged and with this action it appeared to knock loose a mucous plug that was affecting her breathing. Although they spend quite a bit of time suctioning her mouth and obvious throat area, they cannot suction her the way they did before with the catheter previously in her throat. So plugs or globules can accumulate in their throats caused by the dry air of the CPAP.

Isabella has continued on the same path she was on yesterday. She has had two spells today where her heart rate has dropped. Her oxygen requirements remain to be in the upper 30s to lower 40s and the CPAP machine is at its highest possible settings. Today’s nurse practitioner, Ellen, did mention that switching her to regular CPAP may be better; there may be something about the biphasic machine that isn’t agreeing with her (they have not done that yet). In addition, they are switching her caffeine dose to theophyllin; it is supposed to be a little stronger stimulus to get her to breath on her own. As for the pain medication, they increased her fentanyl to double what it was yesterday. Her withdraw and pain scores had gone up so Ellen felt it would be best to give her more to relax her since they really decreased her dose fast. This is something Chris had complained about on Saturday.

Bella is still responsive, throwing her arms around and kicking her feet all over the place. It is so adorable the way she just holds her hands up in the air. She even attempts to lift her little bottom off the bed and hoist her legs at an 80 degree angle.

I hope everyone is doing well and having peace in their day! God Bless!

5 comments:

Shauna said...

Bella must be having bad days cause she misses her daddy. I hope she turns around and starts having good days soon so mommy can relax a little especially since she's all by herself. :( Hang in there Mommy & Bella. You have lots of people rooting for you!

CAnderson said...

Breathing is hard work! Especialy when all she is really supposed to be doing right now is hanging out in mom's tummy and getting bigger. We are asking so much of her, but she can do it! Go Bella! Breath strong! Hang in there mommy; she is going to make the adjustment and continue to grow bigger. This breathing stuff will eventually be a piece of cake. :)
Love and Prayers,
Cynthia

Ellie said...

What a rough day for you guys. So sorry to hear she's struggling on CPAP. Those A&B episodes are so scary. I hope that she'll get to take a break from all the hurdles soon. She's done so much and will do even more, but I'm sure all three of you would love to have just a quiet, boring day. We will be praying for you.

Parker's mom said...

And the roller coaster continues! Hang in there Bella! You are an amazing little girl and such a fighter! Chris and Machel...stay strong...Keep God first and foremost, lots of love and prayers from Pa.
Love,
Mere, Parker & family

Amy said...

I'm so sorry to hear about the rough day, Machel. It was great to meet and visit with you today. I'm praying that Bella has a good night and a better day tomorrow!