Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Aleli is Growing!
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Aleli has now been with us for three weeks, and she is really making strides. As you can see from the pictures above, she is looking better every day. This week, she started to drink from a bottle, which makes her care time much more exciting. If she is awake and seems to show that she is interested, we give her a bottle and let her drink as much as she can until she gets too tired. Usually it is between 1/3 and 1/2 of her full amount.
She is also wearing clothes! Its fun to pick out "onesies" for her, and of course even though they are preemie size, they are still way to big. But she looks cut in flowers and in purple. The reason that she is wearing clothes now is because the nurses have progressively lowered the temperature in her isolate. Her bed is now only a few degrees warmer than normal room temperature, so she is learning to regulate her own body temperature.
At this point, many people are asking about when she might be able to come home. The nurses and doctors refrain from addressing this because, truthfully, anything could happen at any day (infections, not eating as well, etc.) However, we have picked up on a few important milestones. First, of course, is weight. A "ballpark" number is 3,500 grams, or about 7.5 pounds. Right now, Aleli is 3 pounds 6 ounces, or about 1575 grams. So clearly, she needs a few more wrinkles and layers of baby fat!
The other important factor is eating. Aleli needs to be able to take a full feeding by bottle or by nursing, consistently showing that she doesn't need a feeding tube to receive the nutrients she needs. That is why we try bottle feeding with her whenever she is ready. However, she is still only about 34 weeks gestational age, which is still very young to be eating on her own.
Therefore, we do not expect Aleli to come home before the end of October. Our impression is that the doctors and nurses in the NICU take it one day at a time, evaluating her progress and keeping her on track. For example, today a nutritionist examined her weight, deciding whether or not to increase her calorie intake. All of these numbers are closely calculated and decisions are made each day, even every hour, as to what the best care is for Aleli. When she is big enough, and eating on her own, the nurses will tell us to get ready for her to go home. At that point, it is only a few days, and things move very quickly. But for now, we just watch her grow.
Ironically, there is a lot to do when you are just watching a preemie grow! Every day at the hospital we are meeting with nurses, doctors, consultants and therapists. Each person has a certain speciality, and each person has another important area they want to discuss with Kellye and I. Meanwhile, we try to hold Aleli between 3 and 6 hours a day, skin to skin. In between holdings, we are working on bottle feeding, nursing, and of course changing her diaper and clothes as needed, just like we would with any baby.
We are so thankful for her continued growth, for the wonderful support at the hospital, and for the prayers and gifts from friends and family. We have truly been blessed these past three weeks. More than anything, we are blessed with a new little baby girl who is growing more every day!
Aleli has now been with us for three weeks, and she is really making strides. As you can see from the pictures above, she is looking better every day. This week, she started to drink from a bottle, which makes her care time much more exciting. If she is awake and seems to show that she is interested, we give her a bottle and let her drink as much as she can until she gets too tired. Usually it is between 1/3 and 1/2 of her full amount.
She is also wearing clothes! Its fun to pick out "onesies" for her, and of course even though they are preemie size, they are still way to big. But she looks cut in flowers and in purple. The reason that she is wearing clothes now is because the nurses have progressively lowered the temperature in her isolate. Her bed is now only a few degrees warmer than normal room temperature, so she is learning to regulate her own body temperature.At this point, many people are asking about when she might be able to come home. The nurses and doctors refrain from addressing this because, truthfully, anything could happen at any day (infections, not eating as well, etc.) However, we have picked up on a few important milestones. First, of course, is weight. A "ballpark" number is 3,500 grams, or about 7.5 pounds. Right now, Aleli is 3 pounds 6 ounces, or about 1575 grams. So clearly, she needs a few more wrinkles and layers of baby fat!
The other important factor is eating. Aleli needs to be able to take a full feeding by bottle or by nursing, consistently showing that she doesn't need a feeding tube to receive the nutrients she needs. That is why we try bottle feeding with her whenever she is ready. However, she is still only about 34 weeks gestational age, which is still very young to be eating on her own.
Therefore, we do not expect Aleli to come home before the end of October. Our impression is that the doctors and nurses in the NICU take it one day at a time, evaluating her progress and keeping her on track. For example, today a nutritionist examined her weight, deciding whether or not to increase her calorie intake. All of these numbers are closely calculated and decisions are made each day, even every hour, as to what the best care is for Aleli. When she is big enough, and eating on her own, the nurses will tell us to get ready for her to go home. At that point, it is only a few days, and things move very quickly. But for now, we just watch her grow.
Ironically, there is a lot to do when you are just watching a preemie grow! Every day at the hospital we are meeting with nurses, doctors, consultants and therapists. Each person has a certain speciality, and each person has another important area they want to discuss with Kellye and I. Meanwhile, we try to hold Aleli between 3 and 6 hours a day, skin to skin. In between holdings, we are working on bottle feeding, nursing, and of course changing her diaper and clothes as needed, just like we would with any baby.
We are so thankful for her continued growth, for the wonderful support at the hospital, and for the prayers and gifts from friends and family. We have truly been blessed these past three weeks. More than anything, we are blessed with a new little baby girl who is growing more every day!
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1 comment:
Jesse, I stumbled across this tonight (had never read your blog before) and wanted to say how great of a picture I have of the Schroeders' life these days, thanks to your detailed account and photos. I am so happy to hear of the 3 lbs. 6 oz! She still looks tiny, but that is serious growth compared to the birthweight. I commend you two for your strength. October will be another long month I'm sure, but someday this will all be a distant memory. Keep up the great blogging and parenting!
-Christina Hardy (Kellye's SWCS friend)
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