Updates Sat

Changes:

1. Spoke with doc yesterday concerning her apnea spells. No cause for concern. He mentioned that even regular newborns may have apnea spells (small ones), but because they're not monitored, people just don't know that they do. He mentioned that the time that she had to be stimulated may not even be cause for concern, because he feels she eventually would have taken a breath.

2. Her weight's up to 5 lb, 4.5 oz (that's 5 pounds, not 15 pounds to those who like to critique my typos :-) ) Seems like the table scrap approach is really working for her. The other two didn't like the table scraps as much as Gracie does.

3. Enjoy the B&W pics below.

Gracie Girl's support system is in place... 

Hands and Feet 

Anna Banana 

Tanner and Anna 

Anna's praying here....She knows that the Lord is near. 

This is how I found her this morning....stretched out and bowed back....sound asleep... 

Anna's modesty shows here....Pulling on the covers before her picture was taken....sweet girl!! 

Anna smelling her fingers here....She likes the baby phisoderm smell too!! 

Update Wed

Changes:

1. Yesterday when I was feeding her, she coughed a bit, and when the bottle was taken out, she didn't breathe for about 10 seconds or so, except when she was stimulated. Needless to say, it was rather scary seeing her turn to a gray-blue color in the space of 10 seconds or so. During that time, there was no effort on her part to 'recover' or breathe on her own. She just looked like she was sleeping. Usually after a second or two babies will do a quick inhale to catch their breath after coughing, but she did not. That's when I did a quick little sternum rub to stimulate her.

2. Last night she had 5 apnea spells. All 5 times she recovered on her own, but a few of those 'spells' had the monitor going for a few times more than usual. This is kind of new behavior for her, as she's only had 4 or so total since we got home. None of these were 'false alarms'. Makes me really thankful that we have the monitor.

A beautiful pic. 

Sweet baby! 

Update Monday

Changes:

1. Went to the eye doctor today. Aimee had loads of fun being with Anna during the VERY invasive exam. A retractor is placed in each eye, pulling the eyelids apart. Then a metal something or other is stuck around the eyeball, for the doctor to move the eyeball around. Needless to say, Anna was not in a very jovial, light-hearted mood at the conclusion of her exam.

The doctor has diagnosed Anna with Stage 2 "retinopathy of prematurity" of Zone 3 of her eyes. This is a condition of immaturity of her eyes. Best case scenario is that she'll grow out of this condition in a couple of weeks. The doctor wants to have her back in for a "loads of fun" exam again in 3 weeks.

A couple of links may be of interest: Here's one that is a good read, with frequently asked questions. Here's another one that has some pictures of each Zone, and a description of the Stages.

Anna happy that Daddy switched to Ranch when he got seconds....tastes MUCH better! (Hard to believe that we already have her on table food, isn't it?) 

Anna was not happy about Daddy's Italian dressing. She is more of a Ranch girl... 

Update Friday...

Changes:

1. Went to the pediatrician today. Weight is up to 4 lb, 14.9 oz. She has gained about 2 inches to 19.

2. She'll be going back in a week for weigh-in. He wants her to gain about an ounce a day.

Her weight here... 

Anna going to the doctor 

Anna and Daddy... 

Update Tuesday evening

Changes:

1. Anna's sleeping patterns on Saturday and Sunday night were good. Last night, not so well. She seems to want to get out and play in the middle of the night, like most babies tend to do...

2. Her first alarm went off last night. She had an apnea spell. She recovered on her own, with no stimulation needed.

3. She had her first bath at home last night with Momma and Tanner, without me or Emily there. It was due to unavoidable circumstances (she dropped THE BIG ONE..).

4. She's taking on average 45 CCs per feeding. She was at 35-40 at the hospital. She's taken as much as 60 at one sitting before....(She'll be a hoss before too long)

Anna and Tan after a bath... 

After Em told Anna about her day, it was Anna's turn...."Then I had three teetee diapers, and I blew a good one out the rear end!!"

Her and Emily having a good laugh at Em's escapades at school... 

She likes to sleep with her eyes open... 

"Cleetus....'zat you?? Help me! I fallen, and I can't git up!!!"

She's enthused about Emily's day at school... 

cute one here... 

Zoom in on this one....you can see the checked pattern on her face here....She stayed too long on Daddy's Old Navy shirt here. 

Plums watching DVDs... 

Well, this is the official hospital pic that they'll want to charge hundreds of dollars for....you get to have it for free!! 

For Sissy Tracy.....