A Great Start to the New Year - Gabriella Continues to Progress!

It has indeed been a great start to the New Year, especially after a bit of a scary ending to the old year. But I am happy to say that Gabriella continues to progress and do well.

Exhaustion and being busier than just about anything has sorta kept me from updating on a daily basis, but Gareth posted our biggest news to date on New Years eve. I meant to get out here and post photos from that big day then, but between pumping milk at home, sterilizing the pump pieces every time I use the pump, pack up to head to the NICU, spend a few hours there, pump there, come back home, tidy the house, (OMG, the laundry….I don’t even wanna think about it) then try and eat something on the run, then back to the NICU, there just hasn't been the time.

We’ve been getting home between 11:30pm and 12:00am every night and before bed I always pump…then back up at 2am or 3am to pump again then again every 2.5-3 hours after that. And whilst I am tired I feel pretty good and am very close to being able to sleep on my tummy again. Like I said from a few days ago, totally different C-Section experience this time around with not even 1/4 the pain I have had with previous Sections. One of these days I'll get around to posting the birth story.

Yesterday (and only the women who are reading this that have had babies will “get” this) I was also able to put on a pair of “pre-pregnancy” jeans and a sweater from last winter! Woohoo!!!! Of course, I was totally unprepared for the deluge of tears that would set off. For every non-maternity piece of clothing I get back into, one gets ready to be cleaned and packed away for donation to a charity shop. These are clothes I will never wear again. I will never be pregnant again and whilst I am so glad to have my darling baby here, I do miss being pregnant. Well, I miss the intimate part that Gidget and I shared and just the incredible feeling of life inside me. But then, the flipside is that I get to witness with both eyes, this incredible little life blossoming and becoming her own person day by day now that she’s here.

God continues to bless us with Gabriella's major progress, and he continues to watch over those caring for her.

Ok, so let’s see, where were we?

Yes, that’s right. She’s off the vents, and they have also started feeding her my breast milk through a NG tube and she’s tolerating that and just mere drops away from full feedings which mean the IV’s come out! And they’ll bump her up to full feedings either at noon or 3pm today! The other big step is that there is NO MORE O2!!! That’s right folks, the nasal canula is GONE! She is totally on room air! The chest tube is also gone. The only thing they’ve added are the bili-lights as she was a tad jaundiced. But this is totally normal for a baby who has undergone what she has the past 7 days. Oh and that reminds me……

~*~*~*HAPPY ONE WEEK BIRTHDAY GABRIELLA!!!!!!!~*~*~*

Wow, an entire week. This time last week I was trying to breathe through contractions, the docs and nurses were still trying to stop my labor, and Gareth was just about to walk into a Labor and Delivery ward for the first time in his life. I remember how large his eyes were when he got in, just after 10am. Goodness, time flies.

Anyhow, Gidget hates, and I mean HATES the bili-light “sunglasses” she has to wear. She keeps trying to pull them off and gets pretty upset when she can’t. When we got in last night around 9pm she had them off and was looking around.

They also told us, once she was out from under the bili-lights that we could bring stuff to dress her in, so I took some stuff up last night.

The only other thing we are watching is her respirations per minute. Still trying to get those under 60RPM consistently so we can start nursing. And I’m praying I don’t have the uphill battle that I’m thinking I might. But I’m prepared to keep at it as this is really important to me and hope that I don’t have the battle that some of the mom’s in my Mom’s Club have had with nurses about NO NIPPLES OTHER THAN MOM’S!!!! If it becomes a serious issue, I’ll back down and let them bottle feed her breast milk that I’m providing, but ONLY if it becomes apparent that we’re going to become ill if she doesn’t get it that way. Keep your fingers crossed for us that this all goes well.

Ok so, here are the pictures from New Years eve when I first got to hold Gidget.

December 31, 2005

December 31, 2005

I cannot describe the overwhelming feelings I had whilst holding our baby for the first time. I had not held her at all – not since holding her inside me. I have waited for this moment for what seems like forever. I have dreamt about it and longed for it and cried over it. And whilst I have never won the lottery, I can honestly say that I imagine this feeling to be a million times more incredible than winning Powerball.

And here she is with her eyes open for the first time that afternoon as well.

December 31, 2005

December 31, 2005

Now here are pics from New Years Day….Daddy holding his gorgeous little girl. Look at the smile on his face. Just the radiance coming off of Daddy’s face could have lit up the Times Square Ball!

January 1, 2006

January 1, 2006

Well that about does it from the Gidget Camp for now. Time to hop in the shower, pack up the pump, and head to the NICU then shopping, then back home to do it all again. And whilst we're exhausted, it's worth every single minute!

Thank you all so much for your kind words, thoughts and all your prayers, they have done wonders! "Thank You" just doesn't seem adequate sometimes...like it's not big enough to encompass what we're feeling. But please know that you all have our deepest gratitude, and just as you have all been keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, we do so as well, with all of you!

Auds