Photo Bomb 3.13

I figure since my range of motion is limited to putting my hands straight out in front of me, and I can't hold my baby, at least I have some time now to post some pictures of my sweet girls to make myself and you all smile.  Silver lining people...it's all about the silver lining!

Mrs Amber visiting her little buddy

 

Penelope playing peep-eye

Penelope's snuggle time with MahMah

Penny the Poser

Uncle Matt getting his baby fix with Lydia

Aunt Sam slaving away while Uncle Matt held Lydia...typical

Aunt Shelli feeding Lydia

Penelope's foot got grounded for kicking at her daddy

Penny was having a talk with her bear in sheep's clothing while her bodyguard Panda Pal watches over her and her Lydi-Lamb whispers in her ear....think she's got enough stuffed animals?

reminding Eliza that she'll always be our favorite "dog"-ter

Mommy and Lydi

Daddy and Lydi

I mean really....how cute is this

there's just too much cuteness

Sweet Penny being coy....pretty girl...still working on her bilirubin

Penny wrapping herself around daddy's finger...it's mutual

And last but not least...Lydia's ballerina outfit. And I said I didn't want lots of pink clothes...who was I kidding?!?!

1.26 Uber Massive Photo Bomb! Kablam! (56k warning)

Yeah that's right... i used 56k warning 

Click on images to make larger

(pictures from 01.19-01.22)

Little Penny

 Lifting my crazy heavy daughter

 Holding Lydia after Bethany washed her for our first time.

No, I'm not happy about holding my baby.

The hoss of the two and still so tiny.

We know it's just gas but she makes some pretty awesome faces!

Dimples!

 Hair bow day!

Picture time with Penelope. Awake and looking at mom.

 Our tiny baby.

First day to Kangaroo without her PICC line!!  One step closer to wires free!

She's our escape artist... sneaking her way to the end of the isolette.

No paparazzi! 

Dear Jesus, may I have awesome hair, finger nails and for this stinkin machine to shove off.

First time for me to kangaroo Lydia!!  Overwhelmed by emotions right here.

Trying not to cry and smile.

Relishing in the newfound feeling of actually being a parent.

Close to being done and not wanting to let go.

My last ten minutes ended with a nap of course!

01.20 Evening update

With some rough days behind us, we had a semi normal day today.  It's been a rough road, feeling like a week had passed but really only two days.  That was an intimidating realization knowing the extent of this ride.  But to hear that Penelope's numbers were good this morning, was a huge relief.  Tonight's update is going to be short but sweet because truthfully, i'm mentally exhausted.

Lydia - 1370grams (2lbs 13oz)

• Her numbers have been good and have been holding steady but she has been having quite a number of apnea sessions which in turn lead to brady's. So they don't want that anymore!  They're giving her dose of caffeine in two sessions now instead of one.
• Her feedings have switched from continuous back to bolus pushes over an hour and then off three hours to help her get adjusted to regular feedings.
• She's still stubborn in the waste management area but we're hoping she gets her workers to go off strike.
• Her renal ultrasound showed that her kidney's were working just fine and that there weren't any issues.  The concern was present due to the presence of her ear tag (an extra growth of skin around the ear) which, we were told later that the ear develops as the same time as kidneys so if there's a visible variant then there might be an issue inside.

Penelope - 1030? (2lbs 4oz) in question bec. of fluid build up

• Our poor Penny has had a rough few days.  Her hematocrit numbers were down so she got her 4th transfusion.
• Her CO2 levels have been bad but today it leveled out.  Her last gas was a bit high but it was taken after she had been suctioned which can cause her to get upset which in turn raises her CO2.
• Her pH has leveled out to 7.2 meaning that she's just slightly acidotic but better than where she has been.  No new medicine is being given for that.
• Her fluid output has been good so they stopped her dopamine drip.  She'll have to work the rest of her swelling out on her own.
• Her last x-ray showed that her pulmonary edema has either gotten to a level that the x-ray can't see or it's finally gone!  Yay!
• Her head ultrasound showed no bleeding.  They were worried that there might be something going on because her crit number was down.  Bleeding in the head is a bad thing and they try and make sure that when there's a sudden low crit number that it's not caused by a bleed somewhere.
• Her echo showed that her heart was looking great and was confirmed by our cardiologist, Dr. Becker after she heard that she was having some struggles.  It was really kind of her to come up and give us a bit of hope that nothing was going on because of her heart.
• She's still trying to be weaned off the oscillator but she's still not coming off of it as fast as they'd like.  
• Her infection was confirmed to be MSSA (Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus basically means that it is antibiotic sensitive) but she has another infection going on that is gram negative rods which they haven't identified yet.  The antibiotics that she is being given are the two strongest and usually kill any gram positive or negative bugs.  Because of this, it can explain a lot of the other things that are going on because her body is bunkering down while fighting the infections.  Her lethargic nature, sensitivity to sounds and touch, her chemistry all can go back to the infection.  

And so these are our prayer requests tonight!

We have so many things outside of these downs that are praises, God providing a place where amazing care is given through the nurses, practitioners, doctors, specialists, therapists, pharmacists, social workers, clergy, consultants, and alumni of this hospital.  The support from our friends, family, church family, coworkers and those we don't know that read our story help keep us afloat through this emotional hurricane.  We wouldn't be able to continue this story in a sane manner without all of you who are journeying with us.  Thank you.

And... of course, some pictures.

A nurse friend, CJ, made the girls little bows today to put on.

Penny's bow.

Lydia's bow