Little Milestones and a New Hurdle

It is hard to believe, but yesterday Casey turned one month old!!!  Since my last post she made some progress with her breathing and was off the breathing tube again for over a week. Her lungs are still recovering from the effusion so her back-up rate wasn't quite back down to where it was before, but it was definitely a relief to see her back on CPAP. This week our little naked child finally graduated to clothes (which makes one fashion conscious mommy super happy). Since she was able to tolerate her increased food, her supplemental IVs were removed, and that meant the nurses and I could  have fun dressing her up in all her tiny preemie clothes. Let me just say that in only one month, my child is already giving me a run for my money in the clothing department. I suspect we may be competing for closet space soon (insert eye rolls from my husband here). We also bought her some cute sheets to decorate her bed and swaddle her with since all the other mommies in the room were putting me to shame (Yep, it starts this early!). Casey has also been much more alert this week, and we have loved getting to see her with her eyes open and taking in what is going on around her. The biggest milestone this week is that she weighed in at 3 pounds just in time for her one month birthday! She has been hovering just below it for a few days now, and she finally reached it last night.

After over a week of good news, this morning we got the call that she was having more spit-ups and her CO2 levels were pretty high. After watching her for a few hours and giving her a breathing treatment, she was still continuing to drop her oxygen saturation level and the doctor determined it was best to put her back on a breathing tube while they investigated what was causing her to need to work harder to breathe.  We are still waiting on results of the tests, but the possibilities include acid reflux, irritation in her throat from the last time she was intubated, or it could also be an infection.  We of course are relieved that she is more comfortable and not struggling to breathe, but it is definitely tough to go from discussing weaning down her back-up rate and moving toward coming off CPAP one day to being on a ventilator again the next.  Specific prayers are requested that they determine the cause quickly so that they can find the right course of treatment.  Although today has been a bit discouraging, we have faith that she is in God's hands, and this is just one step in healing her little body.

At home we have been busy working on Casey's room, and the crib we ordered in July finally arrived today. We are hoping to put the finishing touches on the nursery this weekend, and I will post pictures soon.  For now enjoy the latest pictures of the Doodlebug:

Checking it all out!

 New purple sheets

 Lookin' cute in her new clothes

 So sweet in her purple swaddle

The nurse and I couldn't resist matching her clothes to her bedding.

Mommy time!



She looked so adorable her monogrammed hat made by one of Brian's co-workers.  

Official One Month picture