NICU - Day 25

Date: December 17th
Gestational Date: 31 weeks 5 days

Maddie smiled today! Okay, so it was probably just gas, but I consider it her first smile at her mommy. It was right after her nurse complimented her on the Santa hat that Grandma Ann made her. So, really, the smile was probably meant for Mom but I was the one that got to see it!

With the sock monkey

She started off on a good note. I came in and she was on a nasal cannula instead of a ventilator. Her oxygen was at 21% (room air) and she was in high spirits. Apparently she had already pulled off her heart monitors, so her nurse decided to put them on her back. At her morning x-ray, her left lung was re-inflated and the top lobe of her right lung was collapsed. By afternoon, her entire right lung was collapsed. She apparently likes the challenge. The doctors and nurses are still not concerned about this. The surgical team stopped by and were pleased with how well her incision is healing and had no concerns about it. The head NICU doctor (Maddie's doctor from the days of her first surgeries) stopped by again and just kept repeating over and over how impressed he is with her strength. He said most babies couldn't make it through all the surgeries that she has. And to still be fighting with the nurses while only breathing with one lung is just that much more impressive.

With her teddy bear

I went to NICU parent's group this afternoon and we made ornaments. Maddie's is sadly not very impressive. I got there late and a lot of the good decorations were already used. Afterwards, Sarah and I had our own craft group. It was a lot more fun.

Cuddling with Mommy!

I got to hold Madelyn this afternoon. We couldn't kangaroo hold because of her incision and ostomy (we don't want to put too much pressure on it), so she just laid in my arms. We cuddled for over an hour and then she started struggling with her oxygen. The nurse said it was probably because she kept putting her chin on her chest, which limits her ability to breath deeply. During this time, Aunt Renae came to visit and brought me a cupcake and a gift for Maddie from a friend of hers. Also a card from our cousin Kristin's daughter which was adorable! Maddie also got a gift delivered from Santa today, which was a St. Patty's Day beanie baby bear and a rattle. I'm sure she'll love the rattle with how much she loves to throw her arms around.

Burrito Baby!