The Sattler Scoop: One Week Under Our Belts

We have officially had Casey home for one week, and it has sure been a busy one! Overall, she has done well and it has been so amazing to have her with us all the time. She has such a sweet disposition, and most of the time is a pretty content baby (just don't take her paci). At night she already sleeps really well, so well in fact that we have to wake her up to take her night feeds (she doesn't take enough volume at her daytime feeds to skip her night feeds yet). Her eating has unfortunately not been great, and since she has only hit her target volume one day this week, we did decide to reinsert her feeding tube for a few days. The hope was that it would give her a break at night when she gavaged, and she would then have more stamina to complete feeds during the day. So far, it hasn't made much difference and she has still been pretty inconsistent. Today we went to the pediatrician for a quick weight check to determine if she is still gaining weight, and since she had gained 5 ounces in the 6 days since we had seen him (she is now 8 pounds, 8 ounces!), he feels that for now she is okay to take a smaller volume and keep the tube out. We will continue to go in for weight checks to ensure that she is still gaining or to determine if we need to make some adjustments. As for her apnea monitor, she hasn't had any heart rate drops while on the monitor, and so far it has only gone off for false alarms when she was wiggling around and her leads didn't have enough gel. While it is a relief to have the peace of mind to know she is breathing well when she is on it, the monitor is definitely NOT the most convenient piece of equipment. It does not have a battery, so in order to use it she has to always be plugged in (making it a real pain and completely useless when driving her to our many upcoming doctor's appointments). It is also pretty annoying to always have to plug in your baby, and when she is not connected she has two foot long cords dangling at all times. Our dogs will also appreciate when the monitor is gone, since it alarms to reset every time it is turned on, and the ear piercing noise is about to send them over the edge! Many people have asked how the dogs and cat are adjusting to a new baby, and while we have seen a few behavior changes, they mostly are handling it well (although I will say they seem to prefer her best when she is not making any noise).

Our biggest prayer request is still for her feedings, most specifically that they will pick up again and she will continue to gain wait, enabling us to keep her feeding tube out permanently. Our new schedule hasn't left much time for picture taking, but I was able to snap a few cute ones that I will post below. I also have a few to share from Casey's first visit with Santa (my friend and co-worker happens to know Santa pretty well, and she arranged for us to come to her house for a private Santa session). Thanks Trisha and Tommy for making it possible for our preemie to see Santa during RSV season (and for the amazing photos and being so accommodating with our wardrobe changes!!). Check back later this week for the rest of the photos with Santa and for pictures from Casey's first Christmas (and be sure to check your mailboxes later this week). I couldn't spoil Christmas presents by posting all of them just yet (sorry grandparents, no sneak peeks of our favorite ones!)